Human Etch a Sketch

I didn't get a new car from Santa, but I did get my rattly one fixed which should see me through a few more years (touch wood!)

I did, however, get a rather special present from my in-laws. With a little help from my husband, they bought me a Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS running watch. I love it because it is pink and part of the purchase price included a donation to Cancer Research - a charity close to my heart. I haven't quite worked out what all the buttons do yet but I love it because it records every mile that I run, my average minutes per mile and my best pace. I love it because I can upload my runs onto my personal profile on the Garmin website and compare stats and routes and see progress and set goals. It is hugely motivating.

I also love it because it sketches out the route I have run and shows it as a red line overlaid on a street map.

I couldn't help seeing the potential to use this feature to turn myself and my town into a giant Etch a Sketch. Just like the Etch a Sketch I played with as a child, I could make any shape (that within reason fits in with street geography) that can be made with one continuous line. My daughter's boyfriend, who also owns a Garmin running watch, inadvertently ran a Xmas tree shape which was seasonally appropriate and very funny.


My childish side really wants to experiment with the human Etch a Sketch idea but the lack of exercise and overindulgence of late has meant my ability to run falls far short of my ambition.  But with regular training, stamina can only improve. The town will be my artistic playground!