Watching the watch.

There are many different views on the running watch. Some people wear them just to record their training, some to find out how far they are going/have gone, some people use it to track their pace and others don’t wear one at all and just trust their body.  Each of these and more are totally excellent reasons why to or not to wear a running watch.

For the first year I ran with the club, I didn’t have a watch at all. I did have an ipod nano on a watch strap that I would use from time to time, but because it didn’t have a gps, the pace was never right and the distances were always a little off. I mainly used it for time during big races with km markers, but didn’t rely on it a whole lot. I mostly relied on my body but without know how was I have gone or how far I had left, it didn’t always work in my favour.

So after a year plus in the club, I decided that it was likely I was going to keep up with my running, and bought a running watch. One of the main purposes of buying it was to try to help my break 30 on my 5k. However it took a lot of training and learning how to use the watch before I could make this happen.

I did the first 5k of the year. The Holyrood Chilly Dash. I mainly used it to see what pace I was going. I was on track for my 5k goal and then the last km and a half I died, and ended up with 30 and change. BP 5k I did the same thing but died in the 3 km. Mundy Pond I followed my watch and died in the 4^th k and picked up for the last one for a time of 30:08. The closest I have gotten thus far. By the time we got to the Provincial 5k in August, I figured out how to use my watch to strategize, I also learnt that the reason why I couldn’t break 30 on a 5k was because I went too fast at the start and would die in the middle. So with this strategy in mind and a little help from sugar’s magic headbands, I went to the Provincial 5k, with the goal to break 30 finally. 

The Plan was to do the first two kms at a 6:05 pace, the next two at 5:55. That would put me at net zero for 30:00 and I could use my famous sprint at the end to break my 30. I did the first km at 6:06 and then went to 5:54, 5:50, 5:56 for the next 3, so a little better than planned. I was watching my watch the whole time to make sure I did not cross the 6:00 mark on my pace. When I did, I would dig deep and cross back over to the 5’s. I then went all out for the last km and finished it in 5:21. For a time for 29:22. See how fast I was running at the beginning and then making myself hold back, made all the difference.

I now do this for all races, I strategize my time and the pace I need to do for it. I then break it up so that my first km is the slower and my last is the fastest. For the most part this has worked out. Of course depending on the route, I will change it up a bit. I also look back at my paces for that race from the previous year to help me figure out my plan. Now that I have a plan, the watch does what I need it to do.