The tyranny of the GPS watch
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Replies
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What ever happened to the good old days when you didn't have to measure everything?
When running was just about the beauty of movement and the freedom of the road or trail, and, maybe, the meditative aspect of a repetitive activity. When you didn't mark your minutes per mile, every mile.
When, if you wanted to get better, you just ran a little further every time, or every week, and you had no idea how far it was exactly.
When, if you wanted to get faster, you just found a hill andraced to the top a little more quickly every time, and the reward was you got a nice view of the countryside at the top, or maybe you just sprinted at the end of every run, to finish it off.
I know people (I am trying to avoid getting into marital-relations trouble here) who have to wait for five minutes before every run to beam in their satellites. They know how quick their every step is. They know exactly how many miles they have run. They do speed work every week, where they go faster for exactly 300 yards or 800 yards or half a mile.
Don't the watches suck all the fun and spontaneity out of running? Don't they make it a little too obsessive?
I mean, who really wants to know: "You have exactly three more miles to go"? Not me. That's torture. When I run, I wanna think, 'Gee, this is a nice road/trail. i wonder what is around the corner.'
Is there anyone else who feels like I do?
I run for health reasons and because it's a hobby that's both physically and intellectually demanding and physically and intellectually rewarding. I don't run to sightsee — I run to achieve goals.
You might suggest to your partner turn on the HRM and put it by a window before getting dressed to run. That way, the GPS will be ready (should be) when she's ready.
Finally, a thought struck me while reading your wistful posting — is this something that you should, perhaps, print out and show to the person-with-whom-you-wish-to-avoid-marital-discord? (Note that I'm not advocating avoiding "marital-relations", of course! :-) )0 -
I have a science/engineering background so I enjoy the numbers. Having that info easily accessible helps to track progress, look for trends, and places to improve. My $.02 anyway.
Another engineering nerd here who loves her data... my Garmin is my BFF!!! That being said, I do occasionally stop and admire when people say they just run without their watch, but I don't have that in me. At the intersection of engineering & running is a Garmin with a HRM. :laugh:
However you like doin' it, happy running! :flowerforyou:0 -
I like knowing on my training runs whether I am setting a new pr, which happened last week. On races, the race does it for me.
There have been times when I know I am running fast and don't time it. it does feel good, but measuring does give me motivation.0 -
I use my (not always functioning) Map my Run on my phone for a general mileage idea since I am technically training for a marathon, and I just ordered my HRM to aid w/weight loss.
But I stopped listening to music and it's liberating during my runs.
I also didn't buy a satellite watch mostly because of the cost. But my true love is running and wondering what lies ahead, the thrill of discovery, that alone fuels my runs, it's beautiful.
After my marathon, I'm running only for the love of it, I don't care how fast, slow, I run, it's ok, I can live without knowing, and I bet I'll run better by the sheer freedom of it.
-nice post, my friend OP0 -
welcome to the 21st century, OP.
Running has come a long way since Philipadese.0 -
Running without any technology can be fun, but for me its fun to run with it as well. Since I like data, and my HRM dictates my pace for most runs I run with a HRM/GPS most of the time.0
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welcome to the 21st century, OP.
Running has come a long way since Philipadese.
Darn you, savvy kids!0 -
My profession is a Data Analyst, so I am a data freak no matter what it is. Running, budget, gas usage....etc. I know....geeky, but I have made a good living off of it. I think in 5 years I have not used my garmin 2 times. I like comparing my recordings from 5 years ago with the data I have today(heart rate, pace and distance). It gives me a good reminder of where I was and how far I have come. I guess it helps to "cement it" into my brain.0
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Funny; after seeing the other replies I guess I am more middle of the road than I thought. I use my phone mostly just to keep a log of runs. No HRM and I don't go back and slice and dice the data other than looking at the trend of individual run lengths and total mileage over time. I do have it tell me my last pace at each mile, partly to keep me from starting too fast if I am planning a long run and partly just to know how far I have gone as I do a lot of variations in my routes. I have emailed links to neighbors who asked about routes for different distances, which is a nice feature.0
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It's funny, I've had my Garmin for about three and a half years now, and I used to use it religiously. Like to the point where a bit of the enjoyment of running was diminished by my inability to "document" it. Silly, I know.
But I've been doing in a training running group for my upcoming marathons and it's really taught me to hone in on my physical presence, my perceived rate of exertion, and run without music. It's been great in a lot of ways and I'm learning to read and listen to the cues of my body a lot better. I still wear a HRM and a watch, but that's mostly for intervals/speedwork and just to check what my HRM is when I really feel like I'm dying during a workout.
It's interesting, I've really enjoyed reading all of the responses to this thread. I guess for me, it's not so much I have a hard and fast need to "improve" my times, but I do like the documentation of my runs, the accounting of it, I suppose (though I haven't kept a running log of my runs in a long time and have no idea what my miles for the year looks like). But I do like running specific distances (i.e. 5 miles exactly versus 5.2). Meh, I blame it on my slight OCD tendencies. There are worse things to be I suppose.0 -
I use my (not always functioning) Map my Run on my phone for a general mileage idea since I am technically training for a marathon, and I just ordered my HRM to aid w/weight loss.
But I stopped listening to music and it's liberating during my runs.
I also didn't buy a satellite watch mostly because of the cost. But my true love is running and wondering what lies ahead, the thrill of discovery, that alone fuels my runs, it's beautiful.
After my marathon, I'm running only for the love of it, I don't care how fast, slow, I run, it's ok, I can live without knowing, and I bet I'll run better by the sheer freedom of it.
-nice post, my friend OP
This. 0 -
I like my Garmin for improving with personal bests and such, but I totally relate to how
we need a break from The Matrix - to run for running, to listen to natural sound, and to
have a plasma-less day once in a great while.0 -
I wish I could be one of those people who just runs for the pure joy of it...:noway:
However, my main motivation is the sense of achievement I get from running that extra half a mile or knocking a minute off a timed race. :bigsmile:
To push myself to get these achievements, I need toys! :laugh:0
