What's it like to run without a watch vs. with a watch (e.g. sports watch)? It was definitely simpler times… I don’t think I knew or cared about distance, pace, elapsed time and so on whenever I went for a run before I got into running more seriously in 2020. Afterwards, I became more interested in tracking my running progress, so I started off with a simple watch that had a stopwatch function, then soon after got a Garmin sports watch which includes more advanced features like built-in GPS and heart rate monitor, and I still wear one today for all my runs. I feel like my Garmin sports watch has really enhanced my running experience by providing valuable data, tracking my progress, and even keeping me motivated to reach my goals. However, sometimes I also wonder what it's like to go back to running without a watch. It sounds quite liberating to run without the distractions of tracking metrics and constantly checking progress, and instead be able to immerse myself a bit more in the running experience and enjoy the simplicity of it. I think some runners like myself thrive on data and tracking, while others prefer a more intuitive and free-spirited approach. I also think it's possible to wear a sports watch and still maintain a fairly healthy relationship with running, without becoming too obsessed with numbers and performance. At the end of the day, I guess it depends on personal preferences and goals. Anyways I might try running without my watch sometime and see how it goes.
Hey mate, thanks for stopping by! I currently use the Garmin Forerunner 245, had it for about 2 years now, it’s been quite reliable and is still going strong. Could last me almost a week from a full charge, even with all the running I do haha. Would definitely get it again if I had to! I also used to have a Garmin Vivoactive 3 for about a year and half before that (was my first sports watch) - it wasn’t bad but I wasn’t a big fan of the touchscreen personally, plus the battery died so quickly after some firmware update, couldn’t even finish a long run before it’s 0%! What kinda watch do you use?
great vid man! Since your long runs are slower than your marathon goal by 10-20%, do you consider increasing the distance on the marathon pace runs to match that of long runs so you get used to that pace and have the distance be that of a long run so you're also used to higher intensity at a larger distance?
Thanks for the comment, hope your running is going well! And that's an interesting question, ages ago I used to think that marathon pace (MP) runs should be pretty long so that we're more prepared for the marathon, like up to 30-35km even. However, the longest MP run in this program is 23km (6km long + 23km MP = 29km total). I was definitely a bit nervous about missing that final 23km MP run, having raced the City2Surf that day instead, but I think I've been doing fairly ok in training overall so it shouldn't be too bad I reckon. I think a big portion of the marathon fitness comes from nailing the frequent medium long runs and the tough lactate threshold runs, to really build endurance, aerobic fitness at a high level and mental toughness. Then you pretty much complement that with plenty of recovery runs throughout, general aerobic runs to add volume, speedwork (like strides and hill sprints) to get used to fast leg turnover, VO2 max intervals to further improve aerobic capacity, and tune-up races to get you prepared for racing. The MP runs seem to be there to help you practice running at MP, plus fuelling, hydration, gear, etc. as you would for the actual race, and I don't think doing more of it would be too productive. I feel like there's enough variety in the running workouts across the structured training blocks to get you fit enough for the marathon, even though you don't really run at MP that much - in this 18-week / 55-70 miles program there's only 4 MP runs across the 18 weeks of training. There may be even more in the higher mileage programs, but is 4 MP runs a lot or a little? I'm not too sure to be honest, for now I feel like it's probably been enough for me but it'd be quite interesting to see how other training programs handle long runs or marathon pace runs.
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What's it like to run without a watch vs. with a watch (e.g. sports watch)?
It was definitely simpler times… I don’t think I knew or cared about distance, pace, elapsed time and so on whenever I went for a run before I got into running more seriously in 2020. Afterwards, I became more interested in tracking my running progress, so I started off with a simple watch that had a stopwatch function, then soon after got a Garmin sports watch which includes more advanced features like built-in GPS and heart rate monitor, and I still wear one today for all my runs.
I feel like my Garmin sports watch has really enhanced my running experience by providing valuable data, tracking my progress, and even keeping me motivated to reach my goals. However, sometimes I also wonder what it's like to go back to running without a watch. It sounds quite liberating to run without the distractions of tracking metrics and constantly checking progress, and instead be able to immerse myself a bit more in the running experience and enjoy the simplicity of it.
I think some runners like myself thrive on data and tracking, while others prefer a more intuitive and free-spirited approach. I also think it's possible to wear a sports watch and still maintain a fairly healthy relationship with running, without becoming too obsessed with numbers and performance. At the end of the day, I guess it depends on personal preferences and goals. Anyways I might try running without my watch sometime and see how it goes.
Great video. What smartwatches are you using in your daily run and race day?
Hey mate, thanks for stopping by!
I currently use the Garmin Forerunner 245, had it for about 2 years now, it’s been quite reliable and is still going strong. Could last me almost a week from a full charge, even with all the running I do haha. Would definitely get it again if I had to!
I also used to have a Garmin Vivoactive 3 for about a year and half before that (was my first sports watch) - it wasn’t bad but I wasn’t a big fan of the touchscreen personally, plus the battery died so quickly after some firmware update, couldn’t even finish a long run before it’s 0%!
What kinda watch do you use?
great vid man! Since your long runs are slower than your marathon goal by 10-20%, do you consider increasing the distance on the marathon pace runs to match that of long runs so you get used to that pace and have the distance be that of a long run so you're also used to higher intensity at a larger distance?
Thanks for the comment, hope your running is going well! And that's an interesting question, ages ago I used to think that marathon pace (MP) runs should be pretty long so that we're more prepared for the marathon, like up to 30-35km even. However, the longest MP run in this program is 23km (6km long + 23km MP = 29km total). I was definitely a bit nervous about missing that final 23km MP run, having raced the City2Surf that day instead, but I think I've been doing fairly ok in training overall so it shouldn't be too bad I reckon.
I think a big portion of the marathon fitness comes from nailing the frequent medium long runs and the tough lactate threshold runs, to really build endurance, aerobic fitness at a high level and mental toughness. Then you pretty much complement that with plenty of recovery runs throughout, general aerobic runs to add volume, speedwork (like strides and hill sprints) to get used to fast leg turnover, VO2 max intervals to further improve aerobic capacity, and tune-up races to get you prepared for racing. The MP runs seem to be there to help you practice running at MP, plus fuelling, hydration, gear, etc. as you would for the actual race, and I don't think doing more of it would be too productive.
I feel like there's enough variety in the running workouts across the structured training blocks to get you fit enough for the marathon, even though you don't really run at MP that much - in this 18-week / 55-70 miles program there's only 4 MP runs across the 18 weeks of training. There may be even more in the higher mileage programs, but is 4 MP runs a lot or a little? I'm not too sure to be honest, for now I feel like it's probably been enough for me but it'd be quite interesting to see how other training programs handle long runs or marathon pace runs.