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The philosophy of no watch (Read 1931 times)

    All I ever have had is a Timex - Today I actually wore it for an 8 mile easy run.  I ran @6 minutes faster than I had planned.  I am not sure if there is a correlation to me wearing a watch and how fast I run ...

    Next time, wear two watches.  For science!

    "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

    -- Dick LeBeau

    vegefrog


      I'm running a 5K tonight with no watch...because mine is broken. Damn thing fogged up after I went swimming so sent it back to Timex. It is supposed to be water resistant to 100m!!

       

      I'm very curious to see how I do. It's a rather small race so I don't think there will be splits along the course. I will just be either pleasantly surprised or slightly disappointed at the finish line, LOL. I usually wear a watch and look at my mile splits along the way, but I think it will be liberating to run by feel alone. It's 90 degrees and 81% humidity, so I have a feeling that "feeling" is gonna be pain no matter what pace I'm running Wink

         I will just be either pleasantly surprised or slightly disappointed at the finish line, LOL.

        Either way, I think you will have a really, really good time.  Enjoy it. 

        "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

          Either way, I think you will have a really, really good time.  Enjoy it. 

          That's good advice. I should follow it sometime, haha.Cool

           

          Seriously though, I haven't worn my watch on a run in months, and I don't really regret it. I see people every day now going along and glancing down at their watches and it makes me glad that I am not dependent on that. I might wear it out once in awhile, but for now I'm happy with just marking out my routes online so I have an idea of how far I went. I think it's when one ignores the body that trouble happens. 

          if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!

            I do get why you wanted to ditch the watch. Obsession control.

             

            Personally I found it tedious and boring to map out the route afterwards. So I mostly ran the same loops over and over again - to not have to micromanage so much. I do love to go running in new places and discovering new things. So I invested in a Garmin 910xt. With the map function I know I'll always find my way back to the starting point, great when travelling, as an exampel. For me personally, the Garmin increases a sense of freedom rather than decreases it.

             

            I do keep looking at it while running, to make sure I don't let my heart rate go too high or too low. If I feel like it, I can let it drift though - but mostly I'd like to make sure I'm not overdoing my easy runs. I like the automatic lap function as well. It makes it so much easier to know if I'm making progress or not. I used the preprogramming target pace function once, didn't like it so I haven't used it since. In races I set the virtual racer to go on target pace, rather than having it beep or vibrate. The garmin devices are good slaves and bad masters. Smile

            Running Blog: On my two feet

            DoppleBock


              I do run with my timex when I am out of town - I log the mileage based on time spent running and effort.  if my 20 miler was really 19 or 21 is immaterial.

              Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

               

               


              Doc, my tooth hurts

                I wear my garmin for every run. On hard days (tempos, intervals, etc) I do check pace. On easy days I never check pace. I put it on the watch function so I can see what time it is so I know if I'm going to be able maybe squeeze another mile in if I'm feeling good. If I'm not feeling good and it's rough, I'll cut it short and come home and do 20 minutes of stretching, weights, things like that.. I pretty much just like to have it for "record keeping" and don't pay attention to pace 5 out of 7 days a week. I also don't like to map my runs after the fact.

                  I always wear my Garmin, but I intentionally show data I don't care about. 

                   

                  This is what I do:  On anything but intervals (which I almost never do) or race days, what I have my watch show can vary.  Sometimes just time of day or just time elapsed.  Sometimes, just HR, which I'm not a slave to--since it's not always a perfect indicator of effort, especially in the hot summer.  If I want to make sure I ignore it--but have the data so I can just run wherever I want--I put the screens to something totally meaningless.  You want to make sure you don't look at your Garmin?

                   

                  Set that thing to percent grade.  It's basically gibberish at that point.  You might look at it because it's funny, though.  E.g., "That driveway is apparently a RIGHT GOD DAMNED ANGLE.  HAHA!"  But, well, that adds joy to the run, right?

                   

                  I like the historical/reflective data.  I have a couple set routes, but I sometimes like to meander.  I don't like to measure routes.  I used to get real, real hung up on checking the Garmin, too.  Then I became accustomed to it showing me information that's basically useless, and I've become much, much better at running by feel.

                   

                  However, this is just my experience.  If you enjoy your running more--and feel better after your runs, the day after your runs, and the like--without it, ditch the thing.  I'm basically a newbie, but I think the most important thing we can do as runners is, first, make sure we enjoy damned near every run.  The second thing is to make sure you're feeling good for the next one.  Unless it's a race--then we get ready to suffer and tear ourselves to shreds.  But I digress.

                   

                  Most importantly, glad you're enjoying your runs again.

                  "When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." 
                  Emil Zatopek

                  vegefrog


                    Well...that 5K was a bust, but I don't think it was due to the lack of watch wearing. Smile I think it had everything to do with the rainforest like weather. It rained about 45 minutes before the race, so it was pretty much like running through a steam room. I did go out too fast, but I always do that even with a watch.

                     

                    It was fun and the awards were these handmade wooden alligators with a moving tail and head. Pretty cool addition to my collection Wink

                     

                    I have been enjoying my runs this week with no watch. In this heat I'm running so slow that wearing a watch would probably just depress me anyway. I think I will keep running sans watch until I start my marathon training in August. Even then I may only wear it for speed workouts and long runs.


                    Hoodoo Guru

                      I do run with my timex when I am out of town - I log the mileage based on time spent running and effort.  if my 20 miler was really 19 or 21 is immaterial.

                       

                      Ditto (except replace "20" with "6" and "19 or 21" with "5 or 7.")

                      The tangents are moot.

                       

                       

                       

                      LedLincoln


                      not bad for mile 25

                        Well...that 5K was a bust, but I don't think it was due to the lack of watch wearing. Smile I think it had everything to do with the rainforest like weather. It rained about 45 minutes before the race, so it was pretty much like running through a steam room. I did go out too fast, but I always do that even with a watch.

                         

                        It was fun and the awards were these handmade wooden alligators with a moving tail and head. Pretty cool addition to my collection Wink

                         

                        I have been enjoying my runs this week with no watch. In this heat I'm running so slow that wearing a watch would probably just depress me anyway. I think I will keep running sans watch until I start my marathon training in August. Even then I may only wear it for speed workouts and long runs.

                         

                        I totally want one of those awards!

                         

                        I have a 5K coming up August 4. No watch; I just have to run faster than anyone who appears to be around my age.  Boring awards - gift certificates.

                        racecat


                        Goddess of the Cuisine

                          To some extent, the garmin has really helped my training, and just running in general. I have a tendency to run faster than I realize and constantly seeing my pace has helped me slow down during recovery/easy runs. The downside is that I really have to work to keep myself from looking at the distance and pace ALL the time.

                           

                          It would probably help me to run sans watch a few times a week as I'm coming back from an injury, and training is not what I need to be focusing on right now. Whereas in the past I ran too fast by default, now if I go out without a watch I make sure to keep it slow the first mile or so. And I do feel less stressful without it.

                          In transit, arriving on time. 

                            I can relate. I

                             

                            didn't go "watchless", but on a recent long run I stopped letting my Garmin tell me how fast I should be going (by tracking and adjusting pace to a number) and just let my body "feel" my pace. There's this natural pace that I settle into and I feel like gravity is just pulling my body forward. I'm sure everyone has their :gravity pace", and it can be different, depending on the length of the run and your aim (long and slow or short and fast).

                             

                            Do you know what I'm talking about? Where the forward motion feels so natural and so effortless (okay, not totally effortless). So I let myself run THERE instead of at the pace I thought I should be running at, and it was SO much more enjoyable! Felt more natural, really good. 

                             

                             

                            So yeah, I can totally see how ditching the digits can help make running more enjoyable, absolutely! Happy you found your sweet spot.

                            2012: Just run.

                              I can relate. I

                               

                              didn't go "watchless", but on a recent long run I stopped letting my Garmin tell me how fast I should be going (by tracking and adjusting pace to a number) and just let my body "feel" my pace. There's this natural pace that I settle into and I feel like gravity is just pulling my body forward. I'm sure everyone has their :gravity pace", and it can be different, depending on the length of the run and your aim (long and slow or short and fast).

                               

                              Do you know what I'm talking about? Where the forward motion feels so natural and so effortless (okay, not totally effortless). So I let myself run THERE instead of at the pace I thought I should be running at, and it was SO much more enjoyable! Felt more natural, really good. 

                               

                               

                              So yeah, I can totally see how ditching the digits can help make running more enjoyable, absolutely! Happy you found your sweet spot.

                              Ah! That elusive light, energetic feeling. I know exactly what you mean. How I crave it! For me, at least, it is the pace that I know I could 

                              sustain for at least an hour regardless of terrain. That's one of the reasons my default run is the 8-miler; it usually takes me around an hour, give 

                              or take. I don't wear my watch lately as I am coming back from an injury and struggling to hold the mileage without needing R&R weeks, but

                              I'll probably slowly start using it again within a couple months. 

                              if you're tired of starting over then stop giving up!

                              BeeRunB


                                So, I own a Forerunner 110. After recovering from my injury in the spring, I've still been running consistently, but haven't even been using the thing or logging and uploading my runs. Why, do you ask? It feels more natural, and I felt like my eyes were constantly being drawn down to it while on a run. Plus, I know the distance of my routes by heart, so needing a watch just to tell me that I ran a meter short of my intended distance is just another distraction for me. If I'm having a crappy day/run, I don't need the watch to beep angrily and verify that my pace is off-target. 

                                 

                                On the one hand, it seems that it lets me more in tune with my body; on the other, I sometimes miss the number-crunching of my former "training plans." I use quotes because I realized recently how flawed they were, and especially after reading some books on running training. Is ditching the watch a good idea? 

                                 

                                Go for it. Experiment. You might find you love running even more. Or you find you need and miss  a watch. Have fun.Cool

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