I've never run without a watch, just wondering if it might be a good thing to try. Anyone have anything to share?
I've never run without a watch, just wondering if it might be a good thing to try. Anyone have anything to share?
After college always with a watch. I believe it may slow me down though.
Time to go watchless?
I wear a watch for road races, but never really look at it. It's basically so I know what time it is while doing my warmup and to make sure I get to the start on time.
It depends if you're racing the clock or another runner. If you're chasing a PR, then a watch may help to check that you're on pace with the effort you're putting in. If you're trying to best another runner, then it really doesn't matter what the time says.
That said, I always need my lucky watch.
no watch unless I'm on the track.
no watch in races - it just brings on too many negative feelings since I always set ambitous goals that I rarely meet
I've found racing to be less stressful when I worry less about time - and that has translated to faster races
Definitely with a watch. You get to see your improvements or your unimprovements. haha.
sdffffff wrote:
I've never run without a watch, just wondering if it might be a good thing to try. Anyone have anything to share?
Ok for training purposes but not racing.
I am old enough to remember running when nobody had one.Racing then was about hanging on as long as you could and the finish time was just a measure of how hard you had to run to win or place as high as possible.Now we have multi-thousand runners in a "race" all running to their own drum and wrist watch.
So if you have never worn one while racing don't start now,just race people,no matter how far back in the field you finish,you will enjoy racing more.
Without.
I run without a watch when I train, anyway.
I agree with Judy.
Check out older race images...say before 1980 or even before 1972 at the time of Shorter's emergence.
Half marathon -> watch
Everything else -> no watch
Note: I have never ran longer than a half marathon
I wear a watch. Don't use it during races. It just feels to weird to not have it on.
I always wear a watch. I either want to make sure the person reading the splits is correct or I want to know my split if nobody is reading them.
I am even on the fence about buying a garmin. Don't really need it everyday, but during races I can check splits more often like every half mile.
When you are old and average, you really are only racing yourself and whoever might be around you that particular race. It becomes more about the time than place.
Wear my Garmin when I race everything, from 5Ks to marathons. For shorter races like 5 and 10ks, it's such a huge watch that it feels ridiculous, but I still wear it because I'm addicted to knowing my average, current and lap paces. I was hoping the Forerunner 110 would be the replacement, but it's missing some features, so I may need to wait to get reliable info in a smaller package.
sdffffff wrote:
I've never run without a watch, just wondering if it might be a good thing to try. Anyone have anything to share?
I've done both. I've forgotten my watch/Garmin in a race and have run with one. I think I actually do better without a watch or Garmin. I am more relaxed and I tend to go by feel versus when I wear a watch, I focus too much on pace and stress out more.
Yes. I do race with or without a watch.
I tried racing with a watch once. It just sat in its lane and didn't move. Really wasn't much of a challenge.
Sonny Threadkiller wrote:
I tried racing with a watch once. It just sat in its lane and didn't move. Really wasn't much of a challenge.
Dude, you still have to start it. They don't start themselves!!
The watch / Garmin is a tool... and just like any other tool, you can use it (or not use it) in a way that benefits you.
I always used to run the way Judy mentions... running hard and trying to hang on. This worked well at times... but at others it left disappointment. No matter how hard I tried, I would always start way too hard to run negative splits. Then came the Garmin. Now I choose a target time for a race (based on conditions, course, etc.), divide that in half, and use the Garmin to keep me on that pace (and not faster) until approximately half way.
This has allowed me to PR much more consistently than my old approach. Now... that works for me, but everyone is different. Try some different techniques and see what works best for YOU>
NOTE: If the technology of today existed in Shorter's time... my guess is it would have been a lot more prevalent.
I'm not sure why people feel that you can only "race" if you're watchless, or that if you're wearing a watch you are letting it direct you.
I wear a watch and I "race".
The watch can be used simply as a tool for recording splits and giving you feedback once you've finished. And you can do that while still going after people and putting yourself into the race.
I don't understand why people think that watch wearers are under the control of their watches.
For the record, I race with a timex ironman. I record my splits that way. Doesn't necessarily help (in a marathon/ 1/2 marathon it does), but gives me the stats I want.
For training I wear a Garmin. I still go out and listen to my body and run as I feel or as I planned for training each day. Then, after the run and sometimes during, I can see what kind of results I'm having that day. I don't let the watch drive me. You just have to be disciplined.