Things in my running life sometimes happen in freakish ways.

In 2009, I got a stress fracture in my foot, and a week later ran what is still by far my fastest 5K. You may remember that earlier this year I tore a meniscus in my knee while boarding a Metro train and couldn’t run for weeks.

I’ve done a few half-marathons on ridiculously little training and finished in surprisingly good times.

A duck laughed at me when I ran by.  Twice.  And now, a watch I have put through all kinds of torturous conditions broke when I set it down on my desk:

Those of you who have seen the area on my dresser where I kept this watch might be saying, “But Chris, don’t you have another watch that usually sits right next to this one?”

Yes.  Yes I do.  The other one is a GPS watch, which I adore, but mainly use for longer runs and those in which I don’t know the landmarks for mile points.  The now-broken watch was perfectly suited for shorter runs of two or four miles, with the exact information I would want to see on each screen and easy to use buttons I never have to think about.

(Wait, is it crazy that 99 percent of my runs cover even-numbered distances?  I will not run five miles on my own — four or six, pick one.)

But all is not sad in watch land.  Obviously I can use the GPS for shorter runs, but after a trip to REI this morning to get a new “other” watch, the extremely helpful salesperson told me the one I want is going on sale next week.  Score.

Until next time.