I'm an injured Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS watch - may be old & injured, but definitely not out!
Let me introduce myself.......
I'm a Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch.
My surname is Garmin, and my given name is Forerunner 10.
I was born in a factory in Taiwan. I have many siblings and we all have the same name - Garmin Forerunner 10, but differentiated by our tattooed birth mark (code number).
I still remember I have many older brothers and sisters. Their names are Garmin Forerunner 25, Garmin Forerunner 220, Garmin Forerunner 620, etc.
In 2012, I went overseas for the first time - traveling from Taiwan to a shop in Orchard Road, Singapore. Since then I had been lying in the display shelf for few months. Occasionally, there were people coming in requesting to touch me and try me out.
On a sunny day in the month of November 2012, a blur-blur dude looking like someone from Mars came into the shop asking about Garmin watch and the price. He seemed to be nice but he looked nervous. From his English accent, I could tell he is not Singaporean cos he didn't have enough "lah lah lah" at the end of his spoken sentences. :)
He came in and out of the shops 2 times. And he finally decided to exchange me with Singapore dollars and brought me home. Little did I know that he is from Malaysia - and there we went - traveling by bus from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.
I love my new "pa pa". He really takes care of me. I think it's the first time owning a GPS watch. I could tell from his facial expression and how lost he was when he was trying to figure out everything about me.
I guess he is also not a techie. Even though I have many nice wonderful talent - like Garmin Connect, etc. He seemed to be only interested in pretty much basic things:
- Distance in KM
- Average Pace ( min / km)
- Time
- History Records
And he still keeps my home (the box) after all these years which I am very grateful.
Bring me out for a run on Sundays
Almost every Saturday evening, he would take me out from my home (box) to charge me up with 5 hours of super power! And on Sunday mornings. he would take me out for a run - usually double hill 10 km or Lake Garden to Seri Hartamas route (20 km).
After run, he would usually wash me with running water and wait until I'm dry and comfortable before putting me back to the box to sleep.
He is tired from running 10 - 20 km almost every Sunday. And I am tired too. But every time I go out with my owner - I'm super happy!
So it has become a routine that I sleep in my home (box) from Monday to Friday. And on Saturday evening I was taken out for recharge. And on Sunday - it's my field trips! And I love it, especially Sundays!
Share his joy, hard work, sweat, pain, laughter, achievements in races
I'm very honoured to say that I have accompanied him to run in about 23 races to date. And many times, his strong determination and mental strength have helped him to achieve personal best times. I helped him to record his best full marathon time in Kuching Marathon 2015 with the net time of 3 hours 57 min.
When I see his smiling face, I too am happy because he would keep looking at me checking out his running time... :) And he would also take a photo of me whenever he finishes a race. And in most occasions, he would post me on facebook so that I get to know other Garmin's brothers and sisters through their owners' posts.
How cool is my papa!! I love him! :)
Good times almost came to an end when I injured my hand (wristband)
Unfortunately, when we were in Bali before the marathon, I noticed that my right hand (wristband) was almost broken. As you can see from the pictures below, I was injured at 2 locations. 1 is around my "shoulder area", and another is around my "wrist" area. I think it is probably due to my age. The unavoidable "wear and tear"!
My papa has been treating me and taking care of me very well since Nov 2012. So when he saw my broken hands, he was very sad and depressed.
He put plaster around my "shoulder area" and then used super glue to glue my "wrist" back.
This would allow him to run the Bali Marathon 2015.
My papa has been treating me and taking care of me very well since Nov 2012. So when he saw my broken hands, he was very sad and depressed.
He put plaster around my "shoulder area" and then used super glue to glue my "wrist" back.
This would allow him to run the Bali Marathon 2015.
Papa brought me to hospital (Garmin HQ Service Center in Cheras) for treatment on 9 Oct. And the hospital surgeon (repair person) was very knowledgeable and experienced. He successfully conducted a surgical operation on me to give me brand new arms!! My "medical surgical fee" came out to be RM 84.
I'm so thrilled with my new hands (wristband) !!
What touched me most about my owner Pa Pa is that he didn't throw me away, ditch me going for my newborn brother Garmin Forerunner 15.
To be with my papa as long as I am still functioning
Now that I have new hands and I'm like new born, I can see how joyful and excited my Pa Pa is. And I look forward to rekindle my relationship with him on Sunday runs and races in future.
In fact, my papa brought me out for a 10 km double hill run this morning. It was the first time that I accompanied him to run with my "new hands" (new wristband). I felt great! I could function perfectly! And i could see the happy smiling face of my papa!
I'm fully alive once again! Yohoo!
Written on 2015.10.14