Are you a slave to your Garmin? Do you let is boss you around? Do you believe everything it tells you?
Have you ever had the experience of feeling really good on a run, then looking down at your Garmin and thinking “No way can that be right. I am NOT going that slow,” then all of a sudden you are not liking your run anymore and you feel like a puddle of crap?
Then you need to read the article in this month’s Running Times called GPS Rules.
Basically, this is a no nonsense guide to using a GPS watch without letting it dictate your every step on the run.
My favorite rule is Don’t Look - A great reminder that we often start our runs too fast because we let the GPS force us into a starting speed we might not be up for yet.
Have you ever felt like the first couple of miles of a run are the toughest? That’s because your body is trying to acclimate, to settle into a pace for the run. It’s called warming up. If you are going out for a marathon pace run of an 9:00 min/mile average and you start off balls to the wall, your performance for the rest of the run might suffer.
“A proper warm up increases heart rate, breathing rate, and blood flow to the muscles. It prepares the body for increasingly vigorous activity, allows it to work more efficiently, and reduces injury risk by loosening you up." {source}.
Sure, you can do other activities as your warm up (see here for a great pre-run warm up), but you might want to still start out slower than goal pace when you first start out.
And, if anyone tells you this you have my permission to kick them in the crotch:
Another helpful rule is Let the Pace Vary. None of us maintain exactly the same pace, step for step, throughout an entire run (well, if you're on the treadmill you might- but not outside). When you take into account hills, wind, terrain, and many other factors, you will find that your pace changes constantly. For this reason the author (Greg McMillan) advises, “Get comfortable with the pace variation and don’t worry so much about your exact speed at any given time during an easy run.”
Bottom line: pay attention, but not too close of attention. Your GPS is a tool, not something to stress you out or jeopardize you.
Do you run with a GPS? If so, are you a frequent looker, or do you just check in every so often? I always run with a Garmin (this one). I’ve tried to get into the habit of checking only at every mile marker (to get the average for that mile), unless I’m doing speed work. For easy, shorter or less structured runs, I don’t look at it at all.
SUAR
PS: Warning: If you hate everything related to vomit as much as I do, be careful reading the March edition of Running Times. There is a whole article (and images!) called “Puking Primer: Why Runners Suffer Race Day Nausea and What To Do About It.” I’m scarred. Not scared. SCARRED. Yes, I have a problem. Thank God I’m not a puker.
PPS: Fun Fact: Fred Zalokar (54 years old, runs a 2:34 marathon) does 40% of his mileage (he has done 182 miles in a week before) on the treadmill because he finds it easier on his body. Get this – he sets the treadmill on a 3% decline for faster turnover.