one of my best running companions became terminally ill this week, so i came into the race knowing i was on my own. no pacing help available. i'd have to do it all by feel. new territory for me.
but it was also liberating in a way. i decided not to put any pressure on myself. just run the race hard and enjoy the journey and be happy with the results no matter what.
so i did. it was a good race. beautiful scenery. great weather. net result, +23 seconds slower than last year's finish time. it could have been better. but it could have been worse. i can live with that.
as for my running companion, he's on his way to Texas for diagnosis. if all works out, i'll get a cash refund of my original purchase price and i can apply it toward another Garmin 205 to replace him. he was just over 2 years old (from my experience that's like 80 in GPS years...). but the extended warranty that i purchased for him 2 years ago was about to expire within 14 days, so the timing worked out well.
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