Anybody run without a garmin?

It's called Badger Miles brah. 56:00 equals 8 miles, even if you were running 6:30s. If you're going slow, 60:00 equals 8 miles.

Don't be a slave to your log. When in doubt, run farther.

The problem with mapping your runs in advance is that you're then locked into the set course, which I find to be too limiting. When I come upon a fork in the trail, I like to take it on a whim. Garmins are great for travel, too, when you're in an unfamiliar area and simply aren't going to be able to memorize all the turns for a 10 mile loop. They're also invaluable for using when hitting pace is critical.

i have a garmin, and i used to use it for EVERYTHING. it messed up several races, and it isnt 100% acurate. Now i use it just for long tempo runs,(10 miles or more), and am glad i have it. But, if you get one, dont over use it.

I have a Garmin but I don't run with it very often. I time myself once or twice a week with a regular stopwatch for a couple standard loops that have been measured.

I find the feedback provided by a Garmin a bit overwhelming and stressful and prefer just to run by feel. Sometimes it is nice to know the total time and distance once I finish running, but beyond that I like to just get in the zone and run without having to worry about what pace I am running. I will usually time my runs though so I come up with a pretty good approximation of the distance that I completed.

Some people really like running with the Garmin; maybe you could borrow a friend's Garmin a few times to see if you like it. Maybe you could check on Amazon or Craigslist for a used Garmin.

I have read that the average 5k times have not changed much since the widespread use of the Garmin watch.

The main reason I use my Garmin is so that I don't have to go back and enter everything into a running log. Just plug it into the computer and everything is right there. I already knew how long typical runs were and about how fast I was running them.

VF Runner wrote:

Never run with a Garmin, but am pretty much always accurate to within 1/4 mile up to 20 mile runs just from being able to judge my pace.

Me too. Just gmapped a trail run I used to do all the time back in my post college in-shape summer years. It was on a mix of sandy and gravel two track. I called it 10 miles, turns out it's 10.0148! All I used was a wristwatch.

No Garmin here. But if a Garmin would make me happy and satisfied then I would buy one to use.

Neil wrote:

Old Miler wrote:

Back in the 80s we all had sextants, and navigated by the stars.

....and timed ourselves with sundials.

And know our finish place by a numbered popsicle stick.

Kite16 wrote:

My mom thinks it doesn't make any sense to buy a garmin because it cost $100.

Your mom is right.

Do you think the Kenyans and Ethiopians use GPS watches? No! Just get out there and run and quit trying to make it complicated.

I would suggest anyone looking at a Garmin to read what happens when you need one repaired. I will never buy another one and will leave it at that.

VF Runner wrote:

how many "usual courses" do you have? Do you just run the same routes over, and over, and over ... Do you have your own jones/bike combo?

A 3 mile, 2 mile, and two 1 mile loops, each of them marked in 1/4's;

an out and back 8 mile, 7 mile, and a 10k dirt road;

a another mile loop at the college;

a 220 yard hill and a 3/4 hill;

a 1.4 mile loop that is uphill the first 1/2 and downhill the rest;

a 5 mile out and back over very steep hills in the country, marked every 1/2 mile;

various tracks;

1/4 mile straight on a grass field.

The farthest I've run on the 5 mile has been 19 miles. All of my courses can be shortened, lengthened, doubled or tripled etc. There are probably more besides these.

Yes I usually run the same courses over and over.

Yes I have a jones counter kept on a bicycle for that purpose, and a couple of straight calibration courses.

Dude, you don't need a garmin to know how far you are running, in fact, I believe GPS watches distract runners from listening to their body and running on feel. Basically, if you are decently fit all you really need is to know how long you have been running for. A good rule of thumb that I use is about every 7 minutes of easy running is equal to about one mile. Granted, this isn't entirely accurate, but if you run 70 minutes and felt like you've been going at a good clip, you know you ran at least 10 miles. Honestly, I don't think that base training necessitates exact distances or pace times, maybe tempo runs that call for a specific pace, but since most of your training is going to be easy runs anyway, just guesstimate bro. So save the $100 bucks, go to walgreens and pick up a cheap timex knock off, start running, and stop asking your mom for permission to do things.

I use mapmyrun.com to check distances on routes.

From there I just run..I know where I am supposed to turn around and know about how fast I am going.

Staring a garmin everyday won't make you a better runner.

Get your head out your ass and think for once.

I bought a Garmin when I was traveling quite a bit and just wanted to have a rough idea of distance in areas that were unfamiliar.

Most of my local runs it is a watch at most. I'll use it on occasion for some longer runs if I find I'm slacking off pace/keep me honest.

Not like I'm running any faster now having it though.

Unfortunately it has created a slough of runners who have no idea on how to judge effort/pace without looking at their watch (hey I'm Ryan Hall!) every 50 ft or so along the way.

I (rarely) use the MapMyRun app on my iphone if I want to get "cute" and desire a real time distance and pace.

Otherwise I map out my route on MapMyRun.com and use a plain stopwatch.

Back in the olden days, I would break out a paper map and use string or wire marked out at each mile to get the distance of my route. Then make a mental note of where each mile marker was (intersection, middle of the block, 2nd house, etc).

Unless you're running a different route every time, I don't think it is worth it. For the most part, I'm running the same routes 99% of the time.

If I want really want to be accurate for time trial or tempo run purposes, I just map out a 1 or 2 mile out and back course.

I know a lot of hobby joggers love their Garmin and download all their workouts on Facebook.

merrr wrote:

I used to use a garmin, then I accidently destroyed it.

Now I don't even use a watch. I really enjoy just running now instead of being worried about pace, distance and time. Coming back from an injury this has been the best thing for me because now I actually listen to my body and run on feel instead by the watch.

This is what happened to me. Had a garmin. Made a bunch of routes that I knew the exact distance of. Now that I killed the garmin like half a year ago, I dont even run with a watch. I just run my regular 10 mile routes by feel. I actually don't like it when someone running with me has their Garmin on and telling me we are going to slow. I want to rip their watch off and throw it in a creek.

I never go running without my astrolab. I use it to triangulate my position and closely estimate my time. From this I can determin my pace. I usually only run on clear nights so it's easier to calculate. It's also nice for casting horoscopes. My best runs usually occur not to long after the vernal equinox when jupitor aligns with saturn during the waxing gibbous. This is most likely a time when the Humour of blood is in harmony with the season of Spring. The fastest 5K you can and will ever run will be around sunset in late April/ early May.

that would include the entirety of Kenya and the non-techno fetishist parts of Virginia.

I use a garmin, it was worth the money. I don't use it during races, on trails, or on the track. I use it on easy days to make sure I'm not running too slow/fast and during tempo/long runs. I think it is an awesome tool to have. I love the stats I get afterward and looking at the elevation changes. I like being able to go online and look at what the top runners in the area are doing (I live in the same area as the Hansons team). I don't see anything wussy or wrong with wearing one because it helps my training. I do a lot of runs alone and most of those runs are 10-18 miles so it keeps me motivated to hold pace and keeps those runs from turning into timed jogs .

I do agree that someone running 2-3 miles a day would be wasting their money to buy something like this but for those of us who log a considerable amount of mileage need an opportunity to check out new routes without having to get online to map it out for 20 minutes afterwards.