Anybody run without a garmin?

Agree with everyone that going by feel should be possible, but I'm a slave to my Garmin. The thing is, following Daniels, you look at the variation on tempo paces between VDOT's - it's usually somewhere between 5-10 seconds a mile. Elsewhere in the book, he makes a really big deal of not increasing your VDOT unless you have ran faster race times, never running faster that VDOT paces etc. There is no way I can judge my pace for a 20 minute tempo run (esp. after almost 2 hours of running) to within 5 seconds a mile, so I honestly cannot tell how someone can follow his workouts (accurately) without a Garmin. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

I hate losing expensive things and a Garmin would definitely qualify as "expensive" for me. Thus, I don't have one. Also, if you have a local track that you can use, its always more accurate than a GPS watch.Why not just use the track for workouts and for your easy runs, map the routes on mapmyrun.com before doing them? If you need to know your pace for the easy runs, you can just use your watch to measure time.

LastAngryMan wrote:

Agree with everyone that going by feel should be possible, but I'm a slave to my Garmin. The thing is, following Daniels, you look at the variation on tempo paces between VDOT's - it's usually somewhere between 5-10 seconds a mile. Elsewhere in the book, he makes a really big deal of not increasing your VDOT unless you have ran faster race times, never running faster that VDOT paces etc. There is no way I can judge my pace for a 20 minute tempo run (esp. after almost 2 hours of running) to within 5 seconds a mile, so I honestly cannot tell how someone can follow his workouts (accurately) without a Garmin. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

drive it in a car and use odometer to track distance, pick out land marks at mile markers and memorize them for example a tree or stop sign might be your 2.5 mile out marker. Mark out a few routes that you run on a regular basis and when you run them recall what mile marker you are at all along the way. Combine this with a digital watch which costs as little as a dollar and you have a pretty well calliberated time/distance run.

-go off time, obviously you won't be able to drive every route before you run them but if you can just time your self and roughly calibrate it by your pace ie if you think you are going 8 min per mile and you run for an hour you ran roughly 7.5 miles. It may not be super accurate but really for most runs its good enough. And then you can do like everyone else on let's run and claim you are running 110 miles a week.

-measuring wheel, if you need to be super accurate for workouts buy a measuring wheel and mark it off. They sell them at home depot for about 40-50 dollars which is I know still almost as much as a cheap GPS but it will probably be even more accurate for short distances.

-----------------------------------------------

I don't have a Garmin but reading this makes me think of getting one! Or just sticking with running by feel of distance like the guy above mentioned

Other than that isn't it easier to just wear a stopwatch with GPS (Garmin) than go to the trouble of all that crap you mentioned above. Why the feck are you going to bother pissing around with a measuring wheel unless you are organising a race

Run with a watch, then divide by an assumed running pace. Sometimes I do my version of Badger Miles, and assume that I was running 8:00/mile even though I'm running faster.

Why do people insist on calling any GPS watch a Garmin? Do they call all everyday objects by their proper brand names?

I seriously don't get it. Is Garmin the only company that makes GPS watches? Surely not.

I run in a pair of tights (no shorts) in any weather. I don't need to know how far I've gone; I know when I'm done.

garminator wrote:

Why do people insist on calling any GPS watch a Garmin? Do they call all everyday objects by their proper brand names?

I seriously don't get it. Is Garmin the only company that makes GPS watches? Surely not.

Vaseline

Chap stick

Frisbee

Jet-ski

Band aid

Jacuzzi

Kleenex

Match box car

Velcro

Q-tip

Saran wrap

Speedo

Walkman

[quote]LBXC wrote:

I've tried a Garmin (my wife's)--damn thing's too heavy. I'm aware of it swinging on my wrist.

How skinny are your arms? Are you a stick figure? The little holes on the watchband are for adjusting the tension of strap so it doesn't "swing on your wrist".

Old Miler wrote:

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

Awesome. I believe we timed races with sundials, as well.

dartmoth graduate wrote:

I run in a pair of tights (no shorts) in any weather. I don't need to know how far I've gone; I know when I'm done.

Crotchless?

I use Google Earth.

This thread is good. I've been wondering lately whether to stop using my garmin and just use my stopwatch. I like the idea of not worrying about paces, but I like being able to compare paces at same effort season by season on easy runs to track my improvement in aerobic fitness. And I've had my garmin for over 2 years and it says they last 2-3 years so I have to buy a new soon which is why I'm wondering.

i can't understand why anyone who can afford to spend $150 would not go buy a garmin today. i've been running with one for a year and it is awesome.

1. you don't need to keep a running log anymore. just plug the watch into your laptop... running log filled out!

2. the data after a run is awesome. i did 12 miles at MP on saturday... too many miles to remember individual splits. stored forever on garmin connect.

3. invaluable on tempo runs, especially when getting back in shape and unsure of pace. helps me stay in line on the first 1-2 miles of a tempo which is when i'm most likely to go out too hard, etc.

i guess if you only run easy and run the same 3-4 courses exactly every single day, then you don't need one. then again, i run the same courses generally but i might take a detour every now and then to add/subtract miles depending on how i'm feeling or where i am in training. garmin lets me just do that on a whim without having to do any other planning or thinking. then there's the travel aspect... i travel for work weekly in all different places so garmin has changed how i train when i'm on the road.

maybe you also just really like filling out a log in a notebook. maybe you're just being an old codger who consistently resists technology that would actually make your life better. otherwise i have no idea why you wouldn't use a garmin every day.

Charlie Stache wrote:

1. you don't need to keep a running log anymore. just plug the watch into your laptop... running log filled out!

I used to be a slave to my garmin back in the 201 days. I got convinced here to start running by feel and I'm completely sold on it. That was a huge change for the better. I do wear a garmin sometimes if I'm starting to do more miles just to 'log' it. Just set it near my laptop and it connects via bluetooth and automatically uploads that data and I don't have to do anything. I'm lazy like that. I will sometimes 'check' my pace. I don't adjust my pace like I did way back when but I'll sometimes check myself to see if the pace I think I'm running is right to help me judge my paces in a race. More for logging though and I'll use it for the bike too.

Charlie Stache wrote:

why you wouldn't use a garmin every day.

You mean a GPS-enabled watch, right? ;)

Not all GPS-enabled watches are Garmins.

I do have one though and, just like you said, it's a great piece of equipment, especially for those who like their numbers and statistics.

+1

Old Miler wrote:

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

Lots of friends wear them, but I guess I'm just set in my ways from running since the early 80s or too cheap or both. Most of them started running later in life and went into a running store and loaded up on all the latest apparel and gear. They've never run without a piece of equipment on their wrist measuring their runs.

Sometimes I run with a cheap stop watch on about half dozen routes I've marked near my home. Some are out my front door and back and some I drive five or ten minutes to start. Measured them in my car and spray painted markings on the road at every mile. Later I discovered route mapping sites and double checked the distance. I have one out and back that can be anything from 2 miles to 12 miles. Lots of times I run a specific mileage but I don't wear a watch and go by feel. Depends how I'm feeling or the purpose of the run.

For intervals, I use the HS track where I used to coach the track and XC teams, and I also have a segment of the road near my house where I wheel measured 400, 800 and 1000 meters and marked the road with spray paint.

When I'm away from home I just run for time and figure 8 minute miles.

I have a feeling if I bought a Garmin-type watch it would be like before I got a smart phone. I always said I wouldn't get one, that I didn't want to be that connected, that dependent on technology. Now I can't survive without the damn thing. The difference is, my phone is a work tool and keeps me connected to my kids, friends and my world. Bottom line, I've seen people so anal about their paces and splits and looking at their Garmins every 3 minutes that I don't see how they enjoy running or understand what their body is telling them.

Lastly, to the poster who said he could feel it 'swinging on his wrist', I get you. I was at a 5k race a while back and I forgot my watch and wanted to be careful of my splits since I had never run the course before. A friend handed me her Garmin. I put it on and immediately said Thanks but no thanks. Felt like one of those tracking devices people on parole have to wear.

Many of us have run forever without a GPS watch or even knowing the exact distance of any of our runs.

You run for a certain amount of time and you know your effort and that's all you need.

Do specific pace workouts on a track or some marked trail to gauge fitness.

Then race.

I run. I do not wear a Garmin. I will never have a Garmin.