If you know me, you know I never get too attached to technology. I’m happy to run without a watch of any kind; I know my body is really registering the miles. But I tested a Garmin Forerunner 265 and I’m not exaggerating when I say I think I’ve fallen in love.

I wore this watch for four months, and in that time my opinion of it went from “nice watch, I guess” to “my best friend [this watch] and I are going to crush a race together.” I used the workout suggestions to train for a 5K race — not my first ever, but my first in a long time — and came shockingly close to setting a record. I found the stats and workout suggestions useful but not overpowering, and the watch itself is much more convenient to run with than your typical Apple- or Pixel-type smartwatch.

The Forerunner 265, like many of its Garmin brethren, is designed for runners in a way that most smartwatches aren’t. It has physical buttons, so you can end your run at exactly the right moment without even looking at the screen. It has tools for creating detailed workouts. It automatically detects your maximum heart rate and lactate threshold. It can suggest custom workouts for you, whether you’ve bothered to set up a coaching plan or not. And it’s customizable enough that it gets all that out of the way if you don’t want to use it.

It’s rare that a gadget walks the line between delivering everything you need without overwhelming you with data. Garmin does a great job of this, across its entire ecosystem. The Forerunner 265 combines that philosophy with a feature set that will appeal to most runners, from casual to serious. It’s so built for runners that it has a feature (on by default) where, while you’re standing in line at the grocery store, you can swipe your finger up on the screen and see a prediction of how fast you could run a 5K, if you were running one right now.