Forums >Gears and Wears>How often do you leave your GPS at home?
Greetings,
New member here, so forgive me if I've missed this topic posted somewhere before, but I've recently begun leaving the GPS at home more and more to just go for an easy run and only keep track of the time with an analog watch.
Curious how often other runners are doing this, and of those who have, what your opinion of this practice is?
Personally, I've found that I spend much less time during my run checking my watch and paying more attention to where I'm running...kind of makes me feel like i've gone back in time to early high school cross country days when GPS was only a thing in futuristic sci-fi.
Oh, and a quick intro, my name is Ryan, from Texas, and I prefer trails when I can find them, and my loyal running partner is our youngest of 3 dogs, the other two have "retired" to leisurely walks.
That's all for now
-Ryan
I NEVER leave my GPS watch at home. if I forget it I'll do something I hate and run with my phone, to automatically keep track of my weekly, monthly and yearly stats. Often I don't check my pace at all in my run, but it is still recording, and the data goes in the Garmin and RA databases.
Interval Junkie --Nobby
Almost never.
I'm not a slave to my watch, but I like to know the number of miles I ran. And it takes all the work out of that. So, I don't know why I would ever leave it at home.
2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do
I NEVER leave my GPS watch at home. Often I don't check my pace at all in my run, but it is still recording, and the data goes in the Garmin and RA databases.
I NEVER leave my GPS watch at home.
Often I don't check my pace at all in my run, but it is still recording, and the data goes in the Garmin and RA databases.
Same here. I just like to have everything logged, and this is the easiest way to do it.
There is generally no need to be monitoring your pace on easy runs. But sometimes it's hard to avoid looking at your watch, especially if it's relatively new to you. If leaving the watch at home is the solution, then by all means do it.
MTA: I talked to a guy at a 5k running it without a watch, which a lot of people say is a good thing to do, but I don't think I ever could. However he actually had it in his back pocket, so he could still log it & review his splits. So that's another option (if you have a back pocket).
Dave
I don’t own one any more (I used to sometimes borrow my sons when I traveled to a new place). Now 90% of the time I don’t even bother with a stopwatch- I usually wear it on longer runs just to have an idea of how long I’ve been out and when I need to head back. All the times I log are wall clock guesses. I don’t race with any watch either, not since that disaster at baystate in 2012 (which was totally the watch’s fault and not mine). But my opinion is, do whatever makes you happy.
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
I never run without the GPS, and check splits on a quarter-mile interval every single run. I find i learn something even on the recovery runs. For example, some recovery runs, i think that based on my perceived effort, i must be doing a certain pace, but the GPS spits out the quarter mile split and i discover that i am actually going a lot slower. That tells me some valuable info like i may not be more run down than i thought, etc.,
But more than anything, i just crave the feedback. I don't know, if it can't be measured, maybe it just isn't worth doing. If that's wrong-headed, so be it, it's kept me performing at a fairly good level for many years now.
Old , Ugly and slow
Never.
I do all my running in the woods i like knowing how far i run
I would go crazy without it now.
first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007
2019 goals 1000 miles , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes
Only by accident, and if I'm less than a mile from home (driving to workout) I'll turn around to get it.
I like data. When I first got the watch, I was racing it all the time. After a year I just use it to check how I'm doing, and don't try to race it.
I'm going to get the Polar M430 with heart rate next (I have M400). I AM interested in stryd or lumorun or some other data gathering devices for each foot, check my ground contact time and all that other fun stuff.
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
Commenting on SurlyBill's observation, i have the Garmin FR220, and find that the stuff about cadence, stride length, etc., was interesting at first, but quickly looses its appeal. A couple of friends have an advanced model that also tells foot contact time, and other things (i think), and they told me they checked it the first time they used it and never since.
As for racing the watch, i have a way of avoiding that in a strict sense, and that is to run a route that is one ongoing series of uphills followed by downhills, and so on... Consequently, when it kicks out my split for the last quarter mile, it can't really be compared to much of anything because it was invariably a combination of uphill and downhill, to some unknown ratio, and so i just work off of effort while i am running.
When i want to do a true tempo run and see where i'm at, i will often make sure to do it on a flat route just to get a good picture of my capabilities at that time.
Another thing - i never forget it because i use it as my everyday watch - it never comes off.
I agree with Tom, i would go crazy without it. Well, i''m already crazy, but i'm a very high functioning crazy, so let's just leave that as it is.
Mmmm Bop
For the last couple of years I’ve left my watch at home for most of my outside runs. (I do speed/tempo workouts on the treadmill)
In 2015 my GPS went dead after a couple of miles during a marathon and ended up running most of it solo as it was a low key race. I surprisingly enjoyed the experience and that’s when I started ditching the watch. My best AG% marathon was last year and best half this year so it hasn’t done me any harm. I know the distance of all my running routes and still record my mpw during a marathon cycle.
I think some people feel that if their run isn’t on Strava or the RA log then it didn’t happen.
P.S. I still use a GPS for races.
5k - 17:53 (4/19) 10k - 37:53 (11/18) Half - 1:23:18 (4/19) Full - 2:50:43 (4/19)
No GPS ever. I wear a watch twice a week for tempos and track intervals. That's it. Otherwise I run the same paths all the time. I don't need to know if my run was a 7:34 or 7:37 pace last night. I'll also wear a watch if I'm somewhere unfamiliar like a vacation but that is only for time where 30 minutes equals 4 miles and that's close enough for me.
It's the heart monitor I leave behind.
Chief Unicorn Officer
Maybe once or twice a week.
I think there is a lot of value to running by feel. A lot of newer runners tend to get caught up in their pace. I’ve been running for more than half my 37 year life and only in recent years have i had a GPS. Especially when you are getting into it at first, or coming back from injury or a break, it’s just not that important to constantly be worrying about how fast you’re going. I map out a route ahead of time so I know how far I’m going but that’s it.
I like to think I’m decently fast for a female, yet once a week I run with a friend who runs 11:00 miles, and my running friends I meet up with for long runs run “down” to my pace. Our training doesn’t suffer because of this. Our racing doesn’t suffer. I actually think it’s good for all of us to do this sometimes...not to sound like a jerk but locally, we’re among the top runners, and often train slower or more laid-back than many of the people on FB posting their runs and touting their fast paces for an everyday run.
Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
Rarely. If I do forget it then I'll run with my phone. I actually cannot remember the last time I ran without either the watch or the phone. I don't check splits unless I'm doing some workout but I MUST have the data for later, useless, analysis.
not bad for mile 25
I don't have a GPS, and I think I don't want one. On the fairly rare occasions that I'm running on an unfamiliar, unmeasured course, I use my phone. In such circumstances, it's probably better to have a phone, for its maps, communication, and camera.
That said, I may end up getting a Garmin because I have accumulated so many gift certificates to the LRS, and don't have anything else to spend them on.