{"id":720,"date":"2019-08-01T19:40:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T19:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/?p=720"},"modified":"2019-08-01T19:40:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T19:40:59","slug":"no-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/01\/no-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"No watch…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I would likely be described as old-school with my approach to running, at least in terms of technology. I don\u2019t use Strava, I don\u2019t have a GPS watch, I don\u2019t have a heart-rate monitor, and I avoid taking my phone with me while running. (For that last piece of equipment, I should probably carry it for safety purposes but that\u2019s another thing\u2026)

It\u2019s just pencil and paper for designing my training plans and races, and a watch and my noggin for remembering splits and intervals during a speed workout.

This may strike some as odd, for I am also fiercely competitive when it comes to running. I plan my race splits precisely, I design my speed and distance workouts carefully, and when I\u2019m on the race course, there\u2019s not a \u201cfun\u201d element. I\u2019m going to push myself. Having more devices and programs to track my training and race performance would give me more detailed information. And yet, I still rely on a watch, pen, and paper for all of this.

A lot of people thrive on running data and technology, and though I don\u2019t use it, in spite of what I\u2019ve written above, I do think it\u2019s a good thing. It tends to inspire and push people to improve their fitness or times, and to have something affiliated with their workouts that they enjoy evaluating.

Would I be a faster or better prepared runner on race day if I used more of the technology that\u2019s available out there? It\u2019s possible. Being able to trace a more sluggish run or speed workout to my heart rate being slightly different one day or my course having a barely perceptible difference in elevation change might guide my post-workout evaluations (typically a simple \u201cEh\u201d or \u201cNice!\u201d) to be more precise, instead of just grumping that I wasn\u2019t faster. Being able to compare my training paces to other runners on Strava routes might give me a better sense of how my training is going from a relative standpoint. On the other hand, short of resting, eating intelligently, and being mentally prepared, we have very little control over exactly how we feel on race morning. Maybe using more running technology and drawing on the data that morning could give me better expectations, but even then you sometimes have a phenomenal race when you least expect it. You would hate to falsely lower your expectations when if you just relax and run, you turn in a better result than anticipated. This also happens in training. Many times I\u2019ve shot off the front step like a rocket, only to falter later. Conversely, I\u2019ve also started more slowly and ended up with a time that surprised me.

This past Saturday, without planning it, I left my watch at home when I went running. It felt good to hit the trail without any time-keeping mechanism whatsoever. While at the moment there\u2019s no danger of my becoming too dependent on technology, it\u2019s also liberating to get out and run unattached to anything.

There have been times when it was probably unwise to be off the grid. For example, I hit some trails on some flatland in north Boulder one hot afternoon. Once I was pretty far off the road, it occurred to me that if I had been bitten by a rattlesnake (and they do live out here), I would be in some serious trouble. Fortunately, that didn\u2019t come to pass and I relished my run with nothing but my car key and a bottle of Gatorade.

If you\u2019re aiming for specific times, technology (even if it\u2019s just a watch) and careful planning will need to be a part of it. The planning part is certainly there for me. Yet, there\u2019s also a place for just going out with no care but to cover your training run. Maybe you want a more relaxed pace without the possibility of a Strava route or your own course times inadvertently pushing you. Or maybe you want the thrill of a hard run without seeing your time. Regardless, though I will admit that more technology and data would likely help me out, leaving the watch and other technology behind has a place in the routine, even if only occasionally.

Running food review of the week:\u00a0(note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Hammer Gel Orange (Real Fruit!)<\/a>: Presumably there is real fruit in this and presumably it\u2019s orange. Oddly, this didn\u2019t taste exactly like orange. There was a hint of it, but while it was sweet and pleasant, I wouldn\u2019t define it as orange. From an energy standpoint, it was good. I\u2019d run the night before and used this over a six-mile run, during which I felt pretty good. No GI issues. While I wouldn\u2019t grab it again for flavor, I\u2019d be fine picking it up on a race course. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I would likely be described as old-school with my approach to running, at least in terms of technology. I don\u2019t use Strava, I don\u2019t have a GPS watch, I don\u2019t have a heart-rate monitor, and I avoid taking my phone with me while running. (For that last piece of equipment, I should probably carry it … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “No watch…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9W0ku-bC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":696,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/04\/pacing\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":0},"title":"Pacing…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"July 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One common question as people schedule races for later this summer or fall is, \u201cHow fast can I run that event?\u201d There will be several factors in picking a goal time including past race experience, current training, whether it\u2019s a familiar or new distance, the course toughness, etc.As mentioned in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1005,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/26\/untamed-precision\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":1},"title":"Untamed precision…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"November 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"GPS watches have gained in popularity for several years now, to the point where I\u2019m pretty sure I was in the minority with my \u201cregular\u201d watch at my local run club. When I first saw GPS watches in the early 2000s, they were brick-sized machines worn on the wrist, or\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1135,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2021\/09\/03\/stretching\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":2},"title":"Stretching…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"September 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This post isn\u2019t about stretching in the traditional sense, it\u2019s about extending workout distances. Couldn't resist a bit of word play.This past Saturday I ran eighteen miles though my plan was sixteen. Things changed because at mile twelve I was feeling good and figured I could stretch it out to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1927,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/25\/metric-notes\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":3},"title":"Metric Notes…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"May 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My next race is a 10K, or 6.2 miles, and I thought that it could be beneficial and at least interesting to plan my splits by every one kilometer instead of per mile. During workouts, on my Garmin watch face I see three pieces of data: accumulated distance on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":960,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/03\/taco-bell-as-a-pre-race-meal\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":4},"title":"Taco Bell as a pre-race meal?","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"September 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I ran another time trial on August 21st. It was a 3200M\/2-mile where we began at the primary start line of the track, then walked off another 18M past that to allow us to measure both marks in the same race. Based on my time from a mile time trial\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":903,"url":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/2020\/04\/30\/a-new-running-trance\/","url_meta":{"origin":720,"position":5},"title":"A new running trance…","author":"36jonraessler50","date":"April 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a point in some races where, especially if you\u2019re on the edge of a goal time or you\u2019re in a barn-burner for the podium, the world disappears into a fog. You lose track of everything except the finish line. You\u2019re aware of the pain that you\u2019re putting your body\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":721,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720\/revisions\/721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/untamedrunner.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}