I swear it did happen

This morning, I woke up to find my trusty Coros Pace 2 watch had died on me. It had been my constant companion for the past 18 months, never missing a beat. Despite trying all the troubleshooting tricks, the watch refused to start. It looks like it's dead for good.

Although I'm still heading out for my daily run, I must admit that the idea of not having my watch for a while makes me a little uneasy. I don't use any fancy features; I just hit the start/stop buttons to track my time and distance. This keeps me honest and feeds data into my training log, which spans 15 years. It's my way of keeping an eye on my fitness level and progress over time.

The real issue is the upcoming Noosa Ultra Trail 100km race next Saturday. It's unlikely that I'll have a new or repaired watch by then. Do I really need it, though? Will knowing my pace and heart rate make a difference in how I perform? Probably not.

The worst part would be having a "manual 100km activity" in Strava afterwards. I love being able to look back at my GPS data visualized on the map, with an overlay of my key running stats and memories. I can reflect on and relive the experience to some extent, and compare it to previous attempts.
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Part of me wants to embrace the freedom of racing without a watch, and just run by feel. But then again, maybe I should just borrow one for race day! I guess I'll have to make a decision soon.