“National Running Day, held annually on the first Wednesday in June, is a day when runners everywhere declare their passion for running. Wherever we are and whomever we’re with, we run—fast or slow, alone or with others, all over town or just around the block. It is a coast-to-coast celebration of a sport and activity that’s simple, inexpensive, and fun. It’s the perfect way for longtime runners to reaffirm their love of running and for beginners to kick off a lifetime and life-changing commitment.”
Since it's National Running Day, today is the perfect day to talk about The Second W. Need to catch up on the First W? Read all about it HERE.
The Second W = Watch
A lot of people probably ask the question, do you really need a watch? Do you really need to track your times? I think yes...and here's why. You can measure your current progress and begin to improve your time for the distances you run. If you have a GPS watch, you can track your pace, mile splits, the courses your run, and so much more. I have a Garmin 410 and I am obsessed with it. I was checking the website tonight though and decided that I want to add a Forerunner 10 to my collection! They have purple & pink...how will I decide????
I like knowing my pace during a run and during a race. Whether I'm pushing it to beat a PR or running sloooowly to recover, I always know what pace I'm at. I also like being able to upload all of my data to Garmin Connect and track it over time. Justin and I ran a ridiculously hilly run recently. We took the Garmin so we could check out the elevation when we got back...another good reason to get a GPS watch :)
Do you run with a watch? GPS? Non GPS?
How many miles did you run today?
I use a simple Timex Ironman 10 lap. No GPS of course, but if I plot my runs ahead of time I can memorize the mile markers and the watch has a "Split Time" button that I can hit. The later, I can review the splits. I often don't have a clue what my pace was until I hit the mile split. My roommate swears you should do it this way to "get a feel" for the pacing rather than relying on technology... all I "feel" is out of breath! :)
ReplyDeleteI run with a watch, and also with the Nike + iPod app. Neither has a GPS function, but Nike measures distance, pace, and calories
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend used the Nike + for a while and really liked it.
DeleteThanks for reading!