Leaving the GPS

There have been several articles in various running publications about runners' reliance on their GPS (Click here for one published by Competitor.com). I will usually read them, contemplate them for a very short time, and move on. Why do I move on so quickly? I am one of those data obsessed runners. I can't wait to get back from my run and look at my stats: pace fluctuations, splits, and, when I'm wearing a monitor, my heart rate. It's a huge part of the fun. Furthermore, I get a kick out of seeing where I ran; that little map with the red line showing my course brings a little more brightness to my already amazing day! I'm really showing my simplistic tendencies! The thought of not tracking my run seems like it's wasted. That's horrible to admit and seemingly goes against my statement, in a previous post, that I'm intrinsically motivated to run. However, my Garmin/running relationship is what icing is to cake. Well, that's not entirely true; I prefer icing to cake so, to be truthful, that statement ought to be: my running/Garmin relationship is what icing is to cake; I'll always eat the icing but a little cake can improve it and add to it! Just to drive this analogy into the ground, I will eat icing without cake but I will not eat cake without icing! Done!

Anyway, what was this post supposed to be about? Ahh yes, going without a GPS for a change. Today was that day for me (Gasp). Well, sort of.

I ran a 10k this morning and although I wore my Garmin, I pledged not to look at it throughout the race (I still wanted the stats and the map!). I would not use it to set my pace.

Let me interject a short story: I arrived at the race site at around 6:10 for a planned 7am start. I went for a warm up, did a few strides and got back to the start area around 6:50am. The crowd seemed pretty thin. Where was everyone? I asked another runner and was met with incredulity as he told me the race didn't start until 8am. I was then told that it would be unsafe for runners to run in the dark! I guess I'm just a rookie who (obviously) can't follow directions (race start time) or understand basic safety procedures. I wanted to rattle off the many races I've run that began before sunrise and the plethora of races that last through the night, but I resisted. To fill the extra time, I went for another warm up run. I ended up running 6.29 miles before the race.

Ok, back to not using my Garmin. My plan was to run as hard as I could for the whole distance (I guess that's what racing is all about) without using my watch to keep pace. I had set a goal to go under 40:00 for the 10k which equates to a 6:26 per mile pace. I haven't run a 10k in years and had no idea how I would do. 40:00 seemed like a nice round number. The race started and a few guys took an early lead. After about 1/2 mile I could feel my heart beating and I wondered if I was going too fast. Nah, just hang on! The miles clicked by and I started to feel I was slowing down a lot. I knew I was not maintaining the same pace as in the beginning but I wasn't getting passed so I figured I wasn't completely doomed. The vibrating on my left wrist, a Siren's song begging me to look, came without fail every mile. I didn't submit to it!
As the finish line approached I saw, with amazement, 38 minutes was on the clock. I had run faster than I'd planned because I didn't use my Garmin to set the pace. Would I have been slower had I looked at my watch? We'll never know, but it was surprisingly refreshing, and freeing, not to glance at my wrist every mile (at least).
A bonus is that I was able to look at my data after the race. According to the Garmin, I ran 6.27 miles in 38:34. That's a 5 second PR!

Check out the pace and map. Aren't they fun to look at!