Beginners and Beyond

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Running Without A Watch (Read 116 times)

    For those who race without a watch, that would scare the shit outta me.  Only because I would be afraid of leaving crumbs on the table so to speak.  On the other hand, one could run faster than they ever have during an event and do so comfortably, yet look down and see a pace that they are not accustomed to and scare themselves into slowing down so I see the logic there.

     

     

    Know thyself, as they say. Though, you might try it once on a 5k - that's a fairly low cost proposition, and you never know...it's worked out great for me lately.

    Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
    We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes


    Antipodean

      I don't own a garmin but I use a simple casio stopwatch. I chose 'every once in a while', because every once in a while I have a 'timing malfunction', as in accidentally wiping my time half way through a run, usualy tied to stopping my watch at traffic lights while I'm waiting or something. I'm pretty OCD about timing everything.

       

      But, that said, I'm often in the zone and actually forget to look at my watch anyway. And without a garmin I often don't know exactly where my mile splits are on my run, so it's more when I get home that I like to log immediately and analyse my run.

      Julie

       

      "It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

      ~ Sir Edmund Hillary


      Hip Redux

        For those who race without a watch, that would scare the shit outta me.  Only because I would be afraid of leaving crumbs on the table so to speak.  On the other hand, one could run faster than they ever have during an event and do so comfortably, yet look down and see a pace that they are not accustomed to and scare themselves into slowing down so I see the logic there.

         

         

        I know for me my 5k without a watch was "holy crap, I ran HOW fast?" - it was minutes faster than my time with a watch.   I think I see numbers on the watch and freak myself out!    Now I have a better sense of where my limit is, I think.

         

        Longer than a 5k, perhaps other pacing issues come into play.

         

        Docket_Rocket


          I seriously need coffee because I read is as running without a witch, LOL.

           

          I never run without it but when I forget it, I use my iPhone stopwatch.  So long as I know the distance or the approximate, I am fine without it.

          Damaris

           

          As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

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          cmb4314


            I'm a nerd when it comes to numbers and data, so I like to have my watch for that purpose alone.

             

            That said, two years ago when I was marathon training I left it at home on purpose a few times.  It's a nice, low pressure way to run.  I would just plot my route before leaving so I knew my distance, look at the clock when leaving and when coming back in, and estimate my pace per mile.

             

            This past winter while marathon training, I ran with it all the time, but half the time I was running in the dark and it was too much effort to look at my splits anyway, LOL.

            My wildly inconsistent PRs:

            5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)  

            10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)  

            HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)

            Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011) 


            Mostly harmless

              I wear my Garmin for every run.  I have forgotten it a couple times and there have been a few times where it bumped against something in my bag and turned on so the battery died.  In those instances I use the Endomondo app on my phone.

              "It doesn’t matter how often you do it or how much you accomplish, in general, not running is a lot easier than running." - Meb Keflezighi

              GinnyinPA


                I'm a new runner, and I don't own a Garmin or a stopwatch.  My Timex is just a basic timekeeper.  I'll look at it when I leave the house and again when I walk in the door, but that's pretty much it.  Today I used it to figure out when to turn around on an out and back run. ("Only 50 minutes, got to keep going another ten.")  I run by feel and, at this point, I don't need to know what the exact pace is.  When I've raced (only four so far) I was curious about how I was doing, but knowing an exact pace wouldn't have made any difference.

                wcrunner2


                Are we there, yet?

                  I voted every once in a while, but it really should be rarely. Not wearing one won't stop me and even without one I can closely estimate pace and time from perceived effort, but I really prefer something more precise. At the very least I like to have a watch because I often need to finish by a certain time.

                   2024 Races:

                        03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                        05/11 - D3 50K
                        05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                        06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                   

                   

                       

                  Rondog65


                    The only time I don't use electronics is for technical reasons i.e. operator error or the battery dies!!

                    Ron's PRs 5K 24:14 (12/07/2013); Half Marathon 1:53:33 (5/26/2013)


                    Village people

                      I still remember driving my car around town to measure my running routes. Times have changed!

                       

                      I don't often run outside, but when I do, I leave my garmin at home. I just enjoy the experience.

                      B-Plus


                        I'm too much of a numbers whore to run without it. I may not stare at my watch during the run, but I like to have it to log the data.

                        Zentastic


                        Chasing Rainbows

                          I still remember driving my car around town to measure my running routes. Times have changed!

                           

                          LOL, I used to do that too!  Ah, the good old days . . .

                          The obstacle is the path. - Zen proverb

                            I checked "no Garmin no run", although my real answer would be "never". Because I never do (except the one time the battery died en route), but it would not actually stop me from running. And I still have Strava & RunKeeper on my phone anyway (which I used before I got my Garmin last Xmas), I would bring that & get the same info.

                            It's funny because I never really manage my paces very much during training runs, I just like to keep track of them.

                            Dave

                            workinprogress11


                              I always run with one unless I forget it.  I don't check it much during my runs, though.  I just like having the data after the run.  Actually, the HM I recently PR'd in was the first time I was looking at it a lot during a race.  Hmmm, maybe I should try that more often.

                              LRB


                                Know thyself, as they say. Though, you might try it once on a 5k - that's a fairly low cost proposition, and you never know...it's worked out great for me lately.

                                 

                                I am still in the learn thyself phase, but the idea of running a low level 5k, something during the dog days of summer perhaps when PR's are unlikely intrigues me.

                                 

                                DJ, I drove my routes once as well, so glad I can just get out and run now.

                                 

                                Ginny, I was once where you are and understand your point.    The Garmin has been invaluable these days though as I target a multitude of paces on any given day, and sometimes within the same run or mile even.

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