An increasing number of elite distance runners don’t wear activity tracking or GPS watches. They think they are better athletes because of it.
"[Heather MacLean, an Olympic 1,500-meter runner] realized her watch was draining the fun from her runs. It was especially apparent to her during a low-key stretch when she was simply trying to build fitness.
I hated that every run I went on, I felt like I had to check my pace and my distance and whatever else,” she said. “So I just decided that I was going to lay off it for a while and switch to a regular watch.”
She never went back. MacLean, 28, who now wears an Armitron Dragonfly that she said she picked up for $10 at Walmart, acknowledged that there were certain workouts when a GPS watch would come in handy, like when she did a tempo run by herself. (Tempo runs are faster than easy jogs, and frequently run at a prescribed pace.) But Mark Coogan, her coach, has long prioritized effort over pace, and MacLean logs her training in minutes rather than in miles.
“I know I’m at the elite level now, so not everything is going to be joyful,” MacLean said. “But when there are things that bring me a lot of joy, I’m going to invest in them. And one of those things is the ability to avoid focusing on my pace during my runs.”
Without the pressure of feeling as if she needs to account for every mile — or, perish the thought, post her workouts for public inspection on Strava, the exercise-tracking platform — MacLean has also gotten better about listening to her body. She has no qualms about bailing on an extra workout if she is feeling beat.
“And I’ll tell Mark that I’m going for a walk instead,” MacLean said. “And he’s like, ‘OK!’”
Whatever they're experiencing, I have the opposite. It's the numbers and the data that keeps me interested and focused. It's learning to align what my body is telling me with what my watch is telling me.
If I lost access to smart watches, I'd probably not stay active
100% same for me. I'm a data geek. I don't even need to actually be using the data to train by to get enjoyment just out of seeing it there. Seeing my averages change, or my monthly time grow, or just looking at the relationship between pace, cadence, and stride length. That's part of the fun of it all!
I'm not a runner, but I lift and I'm very goal and data oriented much like yourself. I love to see objective measurements of improvement in what my body is capable of. I love track the sheer tonnage that I pick up off my basement floor then put right back down on my basement floor. I live to look back at my numbers from a year ago and see the difference and I think I really would lose a lot of my motivation if I couldn't.
Same, it was getting a Garmin that got me into tracking steps, fitness etc. I didn't even run initially. I walked for 18 months first. Slowly progressing to jogging bits of it, then more until eventually I was jogging the whole circuit.
I'm no elite runner. The first kilometer of my circuit has a 130m ascent of staircase up an escarpment. It's brutal and I love conquering it. But it stifles any hope of breaking time records.
Anyone else ever just feel like every topic these days has to have pro and con article out there for people to latch onto? I'm sure it's only getting worse with AI, but there's so many of these that just seem to exist to be sticks to get people to discuss things.
I guess I'm the guilty party. :) I posted the article because I thought it was thought provoking enough to engender discussion -- something I like if it's civil and mostly intelligent. I didn't think everyone would agree with the athletes quoted or that they should or shouldn't.
It always blows my mind that people just can’t tell themselves no. Notice you’re looking at your Watch for every little thing and don’t like it? Then train yourself to not do it. Jesus.
I have a Garmin. I mainly use it as a time measure. Yeah it has stats and stuff, but it also lets me store some music on it so I don't need to run with a phone.
My Garmin Fenix 6 does this. Other models (forerunner, Enduro, etc) are also capable of pairing and streaming music to ear buds.
Here is their website filtering wearables with 'Music Storage'.
Desfit and DC rainmaker YT channels have some great reviews and dives into these products if you need more information. The Garmin website isn't bad either.
I think the biggest problem is strava and the subliminal pressure to impress. I cherish slow runs, in between fast ones, but rarely post anything on strava, only monster workouts if any
I'm old and I used to run at a sub elite level. My PBs are all behind me, which if nothing else, frees me from the pressure to impress random Strava users :)
I had that issue with Strava, especially coming back after an injury or hiatus. I just stopped checking the social aspect of it completely and just use it for tracking, though I use Garmin connect more for that now though.
And that's what everyone else does as well, thus warping everyone's perceptions and basically creating the same "Instagram life" issues but with sports, where you compare your worst to other's bests.
I have a dozen cheap watches and one smart watch. I only wear the smart watch for dress up events.
I get how people are motivated counting steps and what not, that's perfectly valid. Power to ya! But my body and mind know if I've moved enough for the day, or failed to do so.
I'm outside and moving, a lot. At first it was neat to have a watch telling me what I had done, not so much anymore. And how valid is the data? There's a hella difference walking around the office/downtown, kayaking a swamp and hiking smooth/rough trails.
Gf and I are sporting $20 1980's Seikos. Much love! I also have 3 Swatches from back in the day. Point being, go with what works for you. Hell, I'm told I'm ancient for even wearing a watch. (Are they in fashion again?)
But my body and mind know if I’ve moved enough for the day, or failed to do so.
I wonder how much of it comes down to that. I never know when my body has had enough until after the fact. I've ran myself in to a stress fracture without even realising that I'm hurt, because it's so hard for me to hear what my body has to say.
As the Born To Run guy says, mind and body don't speak the same languages! Often true for me. I too, have run myself into stress fractures while certain I was listening to my body.
anyone got a archive copy, or gift pass to see it?
Edit, thanks I came here from elsewhere, reading now. my bad
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its an interesting perspective. I don't have a coach who can check splits or plan my runs by time. I could plot and guess, and I'm sure I'd do well, might be interesting to see if I can produce results w/out a watch, but I do like it.
Like earbuds / music u do you.
well, funny as I just got myself a smartwatch to help motivate myself and track myself.
For anyone privacy conscious I can recommend Gadgetbridge and the Amazfit Smartwatches btw, like 99% of features work, and the watch (or app) cannot send anything to a third party without you doing it manually.