You don't have to look at your watch all the time, or at all. It's good for recording. You don't have to look at the daya either of you choose not to know, but it's there at least if you have a modern running watch.
I would agree with you up to a point, but there's still a part of my brain that knows the distance and pace is being recorded and so I instinctively speed up a little if I feel I'm lagging.
I would even say that I'm someone who runs his easy runs very easy (much slower than I see others of similar ability), and yet I still find myself looking down at the watch and not wanting to go "too slow" (even though it doesn't matter at all).
The beauty of a standard stopwatch is that you will never know the exact distance or pace you are running, so there's never any nagging sensation to speed up.
You don't need to bro. If it's an easy run, run easy and enjoy the run. No need to let the watch get to you and speed up. If it's moderate, run within reason, maybe have a mile mark or check point to keep it where you need to be. If it's a workout, you probably are on the track or have some type of interval loop.
Only problem I have with GPS watch is a lot of people don't know it's not 100% accurate. It does awful on turns and can miss by a mile for track runs. Personally, I just don't care for the extra information. I rather just run by feel and time.
Jon Gault 14:25 5k - Suunto Digital Fastime RW3 - Blue
Easy is easy, moderate is moderate, effort is the most important thing. Go to the track once a week, or a measured loop - hit the workout to see where you're at, then run easy by feel to recover, log it all in a book, do it again. Mileage is a biproduct of the work that actually needs to be done... None of this silly Strava mileage tracking, data selling, social media distractions to getting in your way.
Time the run, log the time or miles, get the effort, and keep it rolling. Somedays are faster naturally, and some days are slower - the body decides, not the watch.
DISCUS
I know, true LR bros run by feel without wearing anything, like literally nothing, and run butt naked on snowed roads in negative Fahrenheit weather with no modesty necessary thanks to extreme shrinkage.
As usual with almost all "debates" your claim is not based on either a shared definition nor on shared values.
1) you didn't define "better" because you didn't say better at what.
2) you didn't tell us what you want from a watch.
You are not "wrong" about a stopwatch vs. a gps watch. You just aren't right either because you never defined the perimeters of the debate.
A normal Timex Ironman "stopwatch" style running watch is better in the following ways: costs less, lighter, doesn't need to be charged, battery lasts for years, screen is simple to use and navigate, doesn't need to "link up" to anything, can easily be used while running, and can track 30 splits without ever getting out of synch.
But I use a GPS watch for 98% of my runs because I value tracking my mileage.
It is question of what I value, thus there is no "one right answer."
The only relevant question is: do people who train with a GPS watch have improved performance relative to those who train with a regular watch?
Has anyone ever proven that training with a GPS watch actually makes you faster?
Recording data is only unpleasant for people who don't like numbers ...
Geolocation isn't accurate enough for that data to mean anything.
Do a 30 rep workout and no individual rep is meaningful enough to record either. But important enough to need to be within +/- .1 seconds or so accurate, and only a stopwatch can do that.
Recording data is only unpleasant for people who don't like numbers ...
Geolocation isn't accurate enough for that data to mean anything.
Do a 30 rep workout and no individual rep is meaningful enough to record either. But important enough to need to be within +/- .1 seconds or so accurate, and only a stopwatch can do that.
GPS watches also time accurately within 0.1 seconds just like the stopwatch. Plus they store the entire workout and upload it to your desired running log automatically. If you want to write it down in a paper log, everything you could possibly want to write down is stored in the watch's history.
You value tracking mileage? Bust out On The Go Map if you don't know the route and a few clicks or taps later, boom. You know roughly how far you went. In the words of Malmo and The Karate Kid. "I'm trying to make you feel Kung Fu, 'not think' it"
There is one right answer. Does it make you happy? Then is a good watch. There you go, solved your debate for you.
I don't need it to be super accurate but I like to know my ballpark mileage as I am running. I just want to run 50-60-70 miles a week or whatever. My GPS watch is good for getting close to that.
But since I am old and slow, I can't really just "run by feel" because the efforts of my youth (and paces) don't line up with my current perceived efforts (and paces).
But you are right, I could just run by time and that would be fine too. I could do 30-45-60-90 minutes. I would be fine with that. But I grew up running my sessions based on mileage and I won't change that now after decades of running.
I would agree with you up to a point, but there's still a part of my brain that knows the distance and pace is being recorded and so I instinctively speed up a little if I feel I'm lagging.
I would even say that I'm someone who runs his easy runs very easy (much slower than I see others of similar ability), and yet I still find myself looking down at the watch and not wanting to go "too slow" (even though it doesn't matter at all).
The beauty of a standard stopwatch is that you will never know the exact distance or pace you are running, so there's never any nagging sensation to speed up.
You don't need to bro. If it's an easy run, run easy and enjoy the run. No need to let the watch get to you and speed up. If it's moderate, run within reason, maybe have a mile mark or check point to keep it where you need to be. If it's a workout, you probably are on the track or have some type of interval loop.
I know this.
My point was that this nagging feeling doesn't come from a rational place.
I'm the first to tell people that they don't need to worry about pace on an easy run, and yet the feeling of unease is still there.
And yet, when I take off the GPS watch and run with a stopwatch (thereby ensuring it'll never be measured), that tension goes away - and I enjoy the run way more.
Geolocation isn't accurate enough for that data to mean anything.
Do a 30 rep workout and no individual rep is meaningful enough to record either. But important enough to need to be within +/- .1 seconds or so accurate, and only a stopwatch can do that.
GPS watches also time accurately within 0.1 seconds just like the stopwatch. Plus they store the entire workout and upload it to your desired running log automatically. If you want to write it down in a paper log, everything you could possibly want to write down is stored in the watch's history.
that's paying more for something I don't need. I don't just not want to write it all down, I don't even want to read it.
Why even have a watch? You are just running after all, check the time before you go out and when you are back!?
This was my approach in my early years of running. I have intentionally gone out without a watch on routes with a known distance, just so I ignore the time.
I often run with a Timex Ironman watch instead of a Garmin because I want to run by feel. However, I inevitably learn the average time I reach point A or B, and this can cause me to get caught up on how fast I'm running.
The real benefit of running with no watch or with a simple stopwatch, especially during longer intervals and tempos, is that you get better at calibrating speed in wind, heat, etc.
Also, I think it's better to run 4 X mile interval effort (for example) and figure out what that time is than to aim for a goal time on intervals. The same for figuring out 5k, 10k, marathon pace. You have to start with what your body tells you, then set your targets from there. At some point, you want to collect data, but you have to start with your body, not with the data.
Obvious as this sounds, I know lots of people who pick a goal pace and let the data drive their training and racing. This is how people end up tanking in a race because their GPS wouldn't connect on the start line, and they don't know how fast to run without it.
Yawn. Post something new and interesting next time.
Yeah really. You cheapskates always justify not having to spend money.
“ I’m a fat boomer. I wear the same sportcoat from 1985.” Ok
“ My $10 blender works just as good as a Vitamix” .Sure it does
” I don’t need a car. I run with a backpack to work.” Yeah, ok.
” I spend $50 a month on groceries.” No you don’t.
Listen a$$ ponies, my Garmin is the best watch ever. I can travel and know how far to run and look at all my routes. It’s no honor to be pennypinching goons.
Yawn. Post something new and interesting next time.
Yeah really. You cheapskates always justify not having to spend money.
“ I’m a fat boomer. I wear the same sportcoat from 1985.” Ok
“ My $10 blender works just as good as a Vitamix” .Sure it does
” I don’t need a car. I run with a backpack to work.” Yeah, ok.
” I spend $50 a month on groceries.” No you don’t.
Listen a$ ponies, my Garmin is the best watch ever. I can travel and know how far to run and look at all my routes. It’s no honor to be pennypinching goons.
Yawn. Post something new and interesting next time.
Yeah really. You cheapskates always justify not having to spend money.
“ I’m a fat boomer. I wear the same sportcoat from 1985.” Ok
“ My $10 blender works just as good as a Vitamix” .Sure it does
” I don’t need a car. I run with a backpack to work.” Yeah, ok.
” I spend $50 a month on groceries.” No you don’t.
Listen a$ ponies, my Garmin is the best watch ever. I can travel and know how far to run and look at all my routes. It’s no honor to be pennypinching goons.
Listen, zoomer, there are other generations besides boomers, millennials, and gen z. Enter Gen X. We like technology but have enough experience to understand its downfalls. Consider the following points about technology and life experience:
-You can listen to a record or CD without having a company track and sell your information
-You can run without a company tracking your whereabouts for several hours a day
-Sometimes people who are older than you and have more experience know something that you don't
-Embodiment doesn't have to be a data-driven experience
-Boomers are very unlikely to say they don't need a car. They understand the freedom that comes with setting out on the open road in a car that one can repair with their own two hands
-Human history does not necessarily bend toward progress, and there may be benefits to doing things the "old way"
The world records have more to do with lax standards in PED testing. Look at the scientific approach the Ingebrigstens use and how successful that has been for them. Collecting training data could be a negative but only if you are unable to interpret it properly. Feeling out your training can work but only if you are a very talented runner or have a very talented coach. In general, the more measurements we can take in regards to our performance will only improve our ability to train efficiently.
I mean, you can't feel when you're going lactic? They do a lot on the track, which can be measured via time. The treadmill is the treadmill, and then the blood testing is a whole other thing I am not getting into on this thread because most of us aren't on the professional level to be measuring that closely. I'm not saying it doesn't help, but I do think the GPS hinders us in a way.
Runners with a decent amount of experience are pretty darn good at identifying when they are at lactate threshold. I have done enough lab testing using blood samples and RPE to see it. On the 6-20 scale most runners/triathletes hit LT around 15-17 and is very consistent for each runner. So yeah, you can sort of tell.
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