GEAR CHECK is another semi-regular-when-I'm-feeling-it series like the WORKOUT OF THE WEEK and various race recaps. There's a ton of different products out there marketed towards runners, so I wanted to highlight some of the things that I use and what I think about them. It might also be telling the stuff I don't use, but that's a whole 'nother topic.
Running is a pretty simple sport; at least, that's the way it should be. In the modern era of mass marketing, the amount of stuff that you're told you need to have to be a real runner is astounding. In my opinion, all you really need is a good pair of shoes and a watch. That's it.
Of course, even then the industry will find ways to inflate your purchase. How about $160 shoes or a $300 watch? (Side note: that price for a GPS watch is in the mid-range of all available! How insane is that?!)
Screw that. I prefer a watch that is reasonably priced, durable, and doesn't need to be updated.
Enter the Timex Ironman, the staple of endurance athletes and virtually unchanged since it's introduction in 1984. For about $50 you can typically find one at your local running store -- or you may get lucky and find it cheaper at Target or Walmart. For that price you'll get a product that will stand up for years to whatever beatings you can dish out. Oh, and it doesn't need to be recharged before and/or after use.
I'm not a Luddite; I'm just not a fan of unnecessary products to "enhance" my running experience. I get that GPS watches can be a useful tool for training, especially when you want to know the distance of an unfamiliar loop or gauge the pace on a tempo run or other hard, off-track efforts. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that GPS watches are extremely precise but not necessarily accurate (just because it listed your distance out to two decimal points does not make it exact).
At the end of the run (or during it), GPS watches are an approximation of your pace and distance. I have enough experience to be able to approximate both pace and distance on my own, based solely on elapsed time and how I feel during the run. Why would I want all that extraneous info a GPS provides when all I really need is 'Start', 'Stop', and 'Split'?
I firmly believe that GPS watches distract people from the truly essential focus of training: how does it feel? Watches that supposedly track your vertical oscillation, stride length, V02max, optimal recovery time 'til your next run (yes, these are all real functions on some GPS watches)...what do you possibly do with all that information? How does it actually impact your day-to-day training? All of that is a distraction from the ultimate goal: just run, baby.
You do need to track your runs; you just don't need anything more complex than elapsed time for distance runs and split time for interval workouts. The Timex Ironman delivers that for a fraction of the price of standard GPS watches, and it will probably (almost definitely) last longer, too.
But more importantly: you'll learn (or re-learn) how to train and race based on the most accurate and immediate data available to anyone -- your own biofeedback, how do you feel in the moment?
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| This trusty ol' watch came back from the dead yesterday. |
Of course, even then the industry will find ways to inflate your purchase. How about $160 shoes or a $300 watch? (Side note: that price for a GPS watch is in the mid-range of all available! How insane is that?!)
Screw that. I prefer a watch that is reasonably priced, durable, and doesn't need to be updated.
Enter the Timex Ironman, the staple of endurance athletes and virtually unchanged since it's introduction in 1984. For about $50 you can typically find one at your local running store -- or you may get lucky and find it cheaper at Target or Walmart. For that price you'll get a product that will stand up for years to whatever beatings you can dish out. Oh, and it doesn't need to be recharged before and/or after use.
I'm not a Luddite; I'm just not a fan of unnecessary products to "enhance" my running experience. I get that GPS watches can be a useful tool for training, especially when you want to know the distance of an unfamiliar loop or gauge the pace on a tempo run or other hard, off-track efforts. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that GPS watches are extremely precise but not necessarily accurate (just because it listed your distance out to two decimal points does not make it exact).
At the end of the run (or during it), GPS watches are an approximation of your pace and distance. I have enough experience to be able to approximate both pace and distance on my own, based solely on elapsed time and how I feel during the run. Why would I want all that extraneous info a GPS provides when all I really need is 'Start', 'Stop', and 'Split'?
I firmly believe that GPS watches distract people from the truly essential focus of training: how does it feel? Watches that supposedly track your vertical oscillation, stride length, V02max, optimal recovery time 'til your next run (yes, these are all real functions on some GPS watches)...what do you possibly do with all that information? How does it actually impact your day-to-day training? All of that is a distraction from the ultimate goal: just run, baby.
You do need to track your runs; you just don't need anything more complex than elapsed time for distance runs and split time for interval workouts. The Timex Ironman delivers that for a fraction of the price of standard GPS watches, and it will probably (almost definitely) last longer, too.
But more importantly: you'll learn (or re-learn) how to train and race based on the most accurate and immediate data available to anyone -- your own biofeedback, how do you feel in the moment?
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