My new toy

Here it is! "It" being the fancy GPS that my friends got for my birthday. (Okay, that's really just a picture; the real thing actually exists in three dimensions!)

My friend "The Wiz" and I took ourselves and Garmin out for a spin yesterday morning at 6:15.
The temperature was "only" 80 degrees, but so humid that you could see it in the air.

I'd like to say that Garmin made the run easier. In fact, I will say it: "The Garmin made the run easier!" No, that's a lie. But in spite of the less-than-ideal conditions, it was encouraging to be able consistently to track our progress over the three miles that we ran. I usually have no idea how I'm doing while a run is going on, but the Garmin allows for constant monitoring. This may not ultimately be a good thing, but for now, it's a nice change from the anxiety of wondering.

Unfortunately, in spite of the gadgetry, my pace was not quite where it will need to be to finish under 44 minutes for the Tomato Art Fest 5K in just over a week. But according to the current weather forecast, it looks like it may be cooler that morning than it has been recently, so a sub-44 finish is still a possibility! Here's hoping! My goal is to get at least one 3+ mile run in before TAF, and at least one shorter run, too.