All geared up and ready to go (as long as the batteries are charged)

I spent last couple of weeks in an orgy of on-line buying which was prompted by a state of huge procrastination regarding several big pieces of work that I have to do.  Deciding on what new gear I need to help me along the marathon path, obsessively reading reviews about which version of said gear is best, and then scouring various websites for the best deals...heaven!

It'll be like running on little pink clouds!!!

Packages from Amazon, Wiggle, and a couple of small independent retailers have been trickling in all week.  These included the Camelbak Rogue hydration system, two technical T-shirts (very plain, so no need for pictures), some proper compression recovery socks (very unsexy, so no pics of these either), and a pair of beautiful technical socks from Compresssport that are meant to cushion, stimulate, and generally love my feet.

However, the most exciting package arrived last Saturday and contained my new GPS running watch, the Garmin Forerunner 210 (the women's version with a lovely teal accent). I have a non-GPS Polar RS200 in snazzy red but, frankly, I could never remember which buttons to push to get to the timer, and I never got around to calibrating the footpod so that I could track my distance, and it was just a bit big for my delicate wrist - all of which made it pretty useless for someone who just wants things to be easy.  Lovely colour, though.

But the Garmin 210...all I have to do is push one button to locate the satellite and another button to start the timer, and I'm away!  It's certainly not the most advanced Garmin but it will do everything that I want including, when I'm finally injury-free enough to push myself again, interval training.  Perhaps I should qualify that:  it will do everything that I want, as long as I remember to charge the battery.

I've been playing with the Garmin all week and there was about a quarter of the charge left when I headed out for my 10 mile run today (which I will write about tomorrow).  Fortunately, my 'expect the worst, prepare for the worst' mindset payed off because when the battery expired at 5 miles, I was able to leap into action.  I had my phone with me, so that provided the GPS, and I had my very very old sports watch (not the Polar; this one is basically a stop watch and has never let me down) to guide my run-walk programme.  A few minutes of faffing about on the roadside, and the technology change-over was done.

I'd really prefer not to have to carry three separate time pieces on my runs (although the ones that aren't being used could comfortably live in one of the Camelbak's pockets).  'Check the Garmin' will now be on my getting-ready-to-run list, just after 'What colour mid-layer shall I wear today?' and just before 'Water, Lucozade, gels, and/or Colin the Caterpillar fruit flavoured gums?'.  Gadgets, fashion, and treats - I don't need anything else.