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Training and Racing
Leaving the Watch Behind
By Lowell Ladd
July/August 2009
For the Washington Running Report
The digital wristwatch was a great invention, right? Runners have benefited from this toy/tool as much as any group. It allows us to time our runs and workouts, give split times to the hundredth of a second, and (some of them) save hundreds of workouts on the watch, making it a portable training log. The watch helps you structure your training by measuring the duration of the run and allows you to determine your pace (assuming that you know the distance of the run).
How maniacal are you about using your watch when you run? Do you stop it every time you come to an intersection that you cannot cross immediately, checking to make sure that you did not hit the wrong button and erase your running time? Do you compare the time of each of your runs to the time that it took you to cover that loop on previous occasions? Does the watch become more of a burden than a help at times?
Despite all the negatives, there are a lot of good reasons and appropriate times to wear a watch while running. Good times include workouts, whether they be track or road based. Usually, workouts are designed to work a specific energy system and it is difficult to quantify that effort without timing the interval(s). Another occasion that watches are helpful is when you are running over a course that is not measured, whether it is trails or roads. Without a watch, you will have trouble knowing how far to go (if you have been running for a while, you should have a good idea of your pace, and can calculate the time you should run from that). Also, there are times when a speed workout can be incorporated into a road run, and a watch is vital to this type of workout so you know when to start and stop the intervals-the more high tech ones can be programmed to beep when you are supposed to stop, start, or both.
When you head out for a regular easy day, maintenance run, or LSD (long slow distance) run, those are good days to leave the watch at home and just run based on how you feel (and keep your wrist from getting a glaring tan line if you run during the daylight hours). If you are training hard, especially gearing toward a certain race with hard workouts and long runs, it is important to take easy days to allow yourself to recover from the hard days. Too many runners fall into the trap of stagnant running, where they have difficulty running hard or easy, instead running a moderate pace every day. If you run with a watch you can fall into the trap of running harder than you should by thinking that you have to run at your "normal" pace, based on the time that it takes you to cover a measured loop. By running without a watch, your body will naturally run at a pace that it needs to recover from the harder workouts that make up a balanced training program.
This article will help you decide when you should run with a watch and when it is better to leave the watch at home. If you are a treadmill junkie (some people get addicted to working out at the gym or running in front of a TV at home), you should try to get away from it periodically and run outside without a watch. People who run with heart rate monitors can also fall into the many pitfalls of using a watch. If you are among this last group, make sure you find times to leave your monitor at home and run electronically naked.
Lowell Ladd is Head Coach and Founder of 2L Coaching Services, a leading company providing personal individualized online coaching to runners and triathletes. He can be reached via www.2lcoaching.com.