To GPS or not to GPS... (Read 1559 times)

The discussion continues in all corners of the running community:  "When it comes down to it, you know, I'm training to race...Kyle's training to have a pretty training log, you know, and the Garmin just assists in the prettiness of his training log."

I ride bikes because zombies can't.

Why isn't that Columbia guy wearing a seatbelt?

Two Three reasons that I personally wear a Garmin:

  a)  I really suck at estimating pace by feel.  Everything feels more difficult at the beginning of a run, and feels too easy while cruising at the end of a run.  A glance at the wrist keeps me honest with my training goal.

  b)  Seeing my progress in my training log is added motivation for me.  Garmin facilitates this record keeping.

  c)  I love running.  I love gadgets.  It's a perfect match...

+1 or +3 ...whatever, I am in the rear with the gear.

I wear a (non-Garmin) GPS because I want to.  I wear headphones because I want to.  I use hiking poles in hilly races sometimes... because... you guessed it... I want to.  I run in a way that makes me happy, which is the entire reason I run.  

I really don't care what other people think.  I gave up caring about other people's opinions on such matters a long time ago.    

I probably qualify as one of those obsessive GPS wearers that hates going out without my Garmin, but in my case it's mostly just because I like poring over the data afterwards.  During the actual run I rarely pay the watch any attention, except to maybe glance at my HR once in awhile.

Just out of curiosity, when you pore over the data, do you do anything afterward?  In other words, are you using that data to drive your future training and racing?  If so, how?

Honest questions.

I probably qualify as one of those obsessive GPS wearers that hates going out without my Garmin, but in my case it's mostly just because I like poring over the data afterwards.  During the actual run I rarely pay the watch any attention, except to maybe glance at my HR once in awhile.

See, I am almost the opposite.  I find that having the info fed to me on the run helps me pass the time.  

Just out of curiosity, when you pore over the data, do you do anything afterward?  In other words, are you using that data to drive your future training and racing?  If so, how?

 

Honest questions.

 Not anything too specific -- the data gives me an idea of how things are going without having done much racing (e.g., my pace at HR X is better than three months ago).  Day to day I'm mostly just going by feel rather than what the data tells me.  Maybe I'll use it in a more concrete way in the future, but I'm still at the stage where I'm improving just by logging miles without worrying too much about the specifics of what I'm doing.

I also like being able to browse old runs just for enjoyment and I imagine I won't mind having it years down the line.  Kind of like a time capsule of running.  Basically it's just another aspect of running I find rewarding for its own sake, even if it doesn't strongly affect my future running.

It's interesting considering how new GPS watches are, though.  I sometimes wonder if I'd have gotten as into running 20 years ago before Garmins were available.  I'm not sure if I would have.