can't stop competing with myself
4leighbee
Posts: 1,275 Member
So I joined the 21st century in the spring of last year and started using a running app which gives me my splits at the end of the run. This is HUGE for all the obvious reasons, so I love using it. The trouble has become that when I'm on my long (slow) runs, I struggle to keep my speed under control, knowing that my splits will be recorded in that app for all time and wanting my "record" to look impressive (even though I'm the only one seeing it - and *definitely* the only one who would be impressed by it, lol). Can any of you relate? Do you leave the app off on those runs that are supposed to just be for distance or train your brain to stop pushing so hard or ...
And if my app doesn't record my run, did it really happen?! (jk)
Just curious.
And if my app doesn't record my run, did it really happen?! (jk)
Just curious.
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Leigh. I am an accountant. I currently work as the corporate controller for a small manufacturing company.
I quit smoking on January 6, 1999. I started a spreadsheet back then to track how many steps I was getting in, and my weight. Various formats of that have emerged over time, but I can still go back to those roots almost 18 years later! I track a lot of stuff. I'm currently tracking my progress towards my running. I also track my weight lifting. All of this OUTSIDE of what I get off MFP and Garmin Connect! I don't know why I do this, but I can't seem to stop. Now I've done this so long, I can see on summary sheet all of the ups and downs of life over the last almost 20 years through my weight and running. I have all of my running stats since I started running off/on in 2005. Sigh.... I still have not decided if that is good or bad. Probably I shouldn't be so obsessed, and just enjoy the running, especially since I know that I still have 40 pounds to lose, and I'll always be a back of the packer, and at almost 60 years old, who cares besides me?!
As to your second question, I have been angry when my Fitbit or Garmin didn't work right, or I forgot my tracking tools for a run. Sigh....2 -
The only times I care about spits is when I'm racing and when I'm doing a workout that requires I pay attention (progression run, ladders, etc). Otherwise I ignore them and run by feel. Today's easy run started off way too fast so I slowed it way down. It wasn't too fast compared to previous runs, it was just too fast for me today. My body made it clear and I'm finally smart enough to listen.
If you try to beat yourself every time you run you will eventually 'beat' yourself. You will get slower and/or injured. If you find you are having problems ignoring the numbers, I suggest you start running without the watch or phone.3 -
I learnt that i had to go more steady after I got injured - my runs had to be slow (and short to start with) to get my mileage back up.
Plus, it was advice that running pals on here had been giving me for months!!! :laugh:1 -
Stop using the app for a while.
It's the same as when you get obsessed with the numbers on the scale, stop weighing yourself until you can handle it again.2 -
Interesting analogy. Thanks for all of your insight. Can't help but think if I would leave the music and the app at home for a few trail runs, it would be rejuvenating.0
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I track my runs on Garmin Connect and have the same issue. It's taken a while, but I'm getting better at ignoring the watch and running by feel on the long runs. Sometimes I still have to keep reminding myself throughout the run to slow down. Regarding the run not being recorded on the app, I have been known to panic if I get a low battery warning in the middle of a run.1
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If you want an accurate picture of where you are and what your "easy" pace is right now, you're kind of cheating if you're running those long runs too fast. You also won't be able to track your progress going forward.1
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Hmmm ... I don't cheat. This was an effective comment lol ...0
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Hmmm ... I don't cheat. This was an effective comment lol ...
Your cheating yourself, I believe the comment means. There is a reason why training plans have long slow runs planned in to them. If you are running those too fast because of your split times you are not getting the actual benefit of the long slow run.
If you can't control your pace on your slow runs then you need to leave the tech at home and go with the plan that if you can't sing or talk without being out of breath you are running too fast.0 -
Do you use a heart rate monitor? That is what helped me control my pace. Slowing down is one of the hardest things to do when marathon training, but it is, IMO, the number one most effective way to make gains in endurance and ultimately, speed. Using a heart rate monitor and forcing myself to run in a target zone is what really helped me with that. Instead of worrying about pace, I became focused on HR instead and it really paid off. Within a few months, my heart rate was in the proper zone AND my pace was improving.2
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Hmmm ... I don't cheat. This was an effective comment lol ...
Your cheating yourself, I believe the comment means. There is a reason why training plans have long slow runs planned in to them. If you are running those too fast because of your split times you are not getting the actual benefit of the long slow run.
If you can't control your pace on your slow runs then you need to leave the tech at home and go with the plan that if you can't sing or talk without being out of breath you are running too fast.
Thank you - yes, sorry I wasn't clear. I understood what she meant. I've coached running, and I'm funny about not cheating yourself - i.e., not cutting the corners, etc. LOL ... so, the idea that by not slowing down I am only cheating myself bothers me immensely. All on the same page! I appreciate your additional information. I think I might try leaving it at home one weekend run a week for a while and see how it goes!0 -
lporter229 wrote: »Do you use a heart rate monitor? That is what helped me control my pace. Slowing down is one of the hardest things to do when marathon training, but it is, IMO, the number one most effective way to make gains in endurance and ultimately, speed. Using a heart rate monitor and forcing myself to run in a target zone is what really helped me with that. Instead of worrying about pace, I became focused on HR instead and it really paid off. Within a few months, my heart rate was in the proper zone AND my pace was improving.
I never have so maybe I could look into it. It so ironic that slowing down speeds you up ... can't get my head around it (especially when I'm in the middle of a run) ... "this is my moment!" ruins the planned slow run every single time.
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Hmmm ... I don't cheat. This was an effective comment lol ...
Your cheating yourself, I believe the comment means. There is a reason why training plans have long slow runs planned in to them. If you are running those too fast because of your split times you are not getting the actual benefit of the long slow run.
If you can't control your pace on your slow runs then you need to leave the tech at home and go with the plan that if you can't sing or talk without being out of breath you are running too fast.
Thank you - yes, sorry I wasn't clear. I understood what she meant. I've coached running, and I'm funny about not cheating yourself - i.e., not cutting the corners, etc. LOL ... so, the idea that by not slowing down I am only cheating myself bothers me immensely. All on the same page! I appreciate your additional information. I think I might try leaving it at home one weekend run a week for a while and see how it goes!
When you are coaching, what would you say if someone came to you and said they were trying to race all their long runs?1 -
They were small, so that wasn't usually the problem ... but certainly I would have spoken to them about the body's need to recover.0
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I have done almost all of my training using a heart rate monitor. Started with a chest strap and moved on to wrist based system after I confirmed (for myself) that the readings were very close between the chest-based and wrist-based readings.
I can echo the statements on using HR to keep runs from getting too fast (for conditions). I look back on last year's training plan and workouts and realize that my training pace now is roughly the same as the training pace last year. Why? Because the combination of heat, humidity and training has me operating within certain heart rate zones. While I do see my pace as the most visible number that everyone else sees on Strava, MapMyFitness, Endomondo, and the members on the Runningahead.com sites, it's the distance and the specific goal of each run (as measured by HR) that is most important to me. My pace for the long runs can look incredibly slow (like 12:30/mile). But on race day late in the fall, I see the benefits.
Last year, my times looked pretty slow as I was training for an October marathon in Venice, Italy. However, once I got there in the cooler weather a couple of weeks before the race, my training times (with the same HR) got much faster. And on race day, while running very easily (I was on vacation, after all), I PR'd my previous marathon mark by 17:43, for a time of 4:16:17. Slower can mean faster if you do it correctly.
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Hmmm ... I don't cheat. This was an effective comment lol ...
Your cheating yourself, I believe the comment means. There is a reason why training plans have long slow runs planned in to them. If you are running those too fast because of your split times you are not getting the actual benefit of the long slow run.
If you can't control your pace on your slow runs then you need to leave the tech at home and go with the plan that if you can't sing or talk without being out of breath you are running too fast.
Thank you - yes, sorry I wasn't clear. I understood what she meant. I've coached running, and I'm funny about not cheating yourself - i.e., not cutting the corners, etc. LOL ... so, the idea that by not slowing down I am only cheating myself bothers me immensely. All on the same page! I appreciate your additional information. I think I might try leaving it at home one weekend run a week for a while and see how it goes!
Do I still get to count the calories burned by the increased heart rate I had for the few minutes when I thought I had offended someone on a MFP forum?
All in good fun of course! 1 -
Haha ... never me! I get angsty when I read about people getting offended with each other on these forums ... seems like it happens a lot! But not me ... xo
Sry for the elevated heart rate lol!!1 -
This is something that it took a while to train my brain out of doing. I used to go out and do every run feeling pressure to go fast because "Other people can see it!" But now I just don't let it bother me. I know that the slow runs have a purpose and that purpose is not to beat myself or to impress anyone. The purpose is to recover or get time on my feet. I just have to keep reminding myself that the pace doesn't matter. It's hard because data is awesome and fun, but instead of going by speed you can marvel at how slow and steady you ran, etc.1
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kristinegift wrote: »This is something that it took a while to train my brain out of doing. I used to go out and do every run feeling pressure to go fast because "Other people can see it!" But now I just don't let it bother me. I know that the slow runs have a purpose and that purpose is not to beat myself or to impress anyone. The purpose is to recover or get time on my feet. I just have to keep reminding myself that the pace doesn't matter. It's hard because data is awesome and fun, but instead of going by speed you can marvel at how slow and steady you ran, etc.
I love that I can now run 10 miles, get a shower and food and go about the rest of my day because it was an 'easy' run... instead of it wiping me out for the day like it used to 12 months ago!4 -
As an alternative to training by heart rate, another way to compete with yourself is to see how close you can come to a target pace. You pick the pace to be what your easy runs should be, and regard faster *or* slower than that pace as undesirable. Maybe you use a point pace, maybe you use a range; but the idea is to make your self-competition into a game of doing what you really need to do to keep those long runs at an easy pace.3
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Love this idea. I've tried but not meaningfully ... hadn't allow this to be a valid way to "compete" with myself lol ... i'll have to give it a workout title.0
