New Girl in town.

Last year I wrote a love letter about my Garmin Forerunner 305 (aka “Becky”).

I waxed poetic about her wondrous qualities and charming idiosyncrasies. And how we were running soulmates destined to be together until dead battery do us part.

(It’s one of my favorite posts and you can read it here).

Well, sadly, Becky and I are finally going our separate ways.

Her battery hasn’t been holding its charge lately. She no longer syncs easily to Garmin Connect. And two weeks ago one of her straps broke during my long run.

In addition, I’m starting a bit of a running reboot and change is the order of the day.

It was time.

So, last week I ordered and received my new running watch: the Garmin Forerunner 220.

She’s sleek, sporting a black and red band, and also has a color display. She also syncs to Garmin Connect lickety-split.

Oh, and she vibrates to signal my run/walk breaks, something poor Becky was never designed to do (not her fault).

Yup, my Forerunner 220 is pretty sweet. By the way, I’ve christened her “Cindy.”

And so where does that leave poor Becky?

Becky & Cindy.

Well, last Saturday I went for my first run with Cindy on my wrist. But I had Becky on right next to her (yup, two watches one wrist) to see how they compared. It was like Becky was showing Cindy the ropes before she moved on to her next adventure.

And no, Becky is not being relegated to my electronic “junk box,” home to outdated tech like: my iPhone 3G, zip drive, VCR and dozens of connectors/cables from days gone by.

No, I’m sending Becky back to Garmin as I’m getting a $99 upgrade rebate for her. See, Becky even gave me a going away present.

I asked the Garmin rep on the phone what will happen to Becky. I told her about my affection for and history with my GPS watch. Oddly enough, the rep understood (or was too polite to admit she was creeped out). She said she’d talked to other people who had also had trouble letting go of a longtime GPS watch. See, I’m not the only freak out there.

Anyway, the rep explained that Becky would be refurbished and given a brand-spanking new battery before being sent out to another customer.

“You’ve got a friend in me.”

And for a brief moment I got a little choked up like Andy when he handed over his beloved toy Woody to young Bonnie at the end of Toy Story 3 (it’s been out for years people, so it doesn’t qualify as a spoiler).

Becky will find a new home and a new owner to take her on runs for years to come.

I hope that runner earns PRs of his or her own and travels to a whole bunch of new places to run marathons. Heck, maybe Becky will even be able to participate in the Boston Marathon, something I wasn’t able to do for her.

I’m looking forward to running my first race with Cindy in July and many more to follow. But Becky will always hold a special place in my running heart.

And to whomever is lucky enough to be the next person to strap Becky to their wrist I have one thing to say… Take good care of her and she’ll take good care of you.

Becky is one great lady.

GPS set…and Run on!

(Do you have a running item, be it a watch, hat, shirt or some other accessory that means something special to you? If so, please share.)