To Use GPS or Not

I'll admit I've been as devoted to my GPS running watch as anyone out there. As a device it's a very attractive thing, it validates your efforts, can keep you on task and promises to improve your performance through constant feedback... But is it really as useful or necessary as we in the modern era of running have come to believe? I for one am beginning to believe it's not.

My interest in ditching my watch started as I began to ramp up my weekly mileage this spring. As with any increase in one's weekly mileage you'll tend to see a decrease in your pace as you increase the distance, this is a crucial part of the ramp up as doing more mileage while trying to maintain a set intensity is a well known recipe for burnout and injury. The problem of course is that as a runner going slower sucks, especially when you're cranking out 10+ miles per day at 20-30 seconds a mile slower than you're used to. In this instance the constant feedback of my GPS enabled watch was doing far more harm than good by reminding me how slowly I was going (as if being passed by the occasional weekend warrior wasn't enough). Those runs prompted me to think a bit more about my GPS use than I had before; what services was the watch really doing for me, and what value did the data it provided actually have on the run? These questions led to more questions and a then to a complete rethinking of my GPS use.

1) Perceived Effort vs. External Data

This is the big (and usually only) complaint I hear from people regarding GPS watches, that it is hard to go easy when you're constantly reminded how slow an easy pace really is. I hear from a lot of newer runners, and I include my self in that group, that a GPS watch helps them to maintain a good effort, however that isn't always the help it seems. I for one tend to run too fast GPS watch or no, and when it comes to easy runs I regularly hammer my easy days to the point that I'm flat when I need to really go hard in a track workout or tempo run... So what is the point of relying on a device that tells me my pace when what I'm aiming to measure is my effort, isn't my own nervous system a better guide to that specific measurement? Yes, yes it is...

This is the main point that convinced me to ditch the watch. As I've become a better and stronger runner I've noticed that I easily settle into the correct pace for a given situation, I slow down just the right amount to maintain my effort on a hill, speed up enough when the wind is at my back, and that my legs no exactly what pace they can handle that day for a 10 mile tempo. The fact of the matter is my body is great at figuring out what it can and can't do... Except for when I look at my watch. When I glance down at my watch I inevitably determine that the pace that my body has selected is wrong in every way and then I make a decision to speed up or slow down, and that decision is rarely the correct one. 

2) Running is Supposed to be Low-Tech Right?

So what are some of the features of running that drew you to the sport? If you're like me the simplicity of the activity was a big draw. Coming to running from the world of cycling I quickly embraced the lack of equipment and low cost of the sport; aspects which are somewhat tarnished by the wearing of a $200+ watch which needs to be charged between uses. Now one may argue that the striping away of technology doesn't necessarily enhance the sport, for some it maybe in fact detract from the experience, and as with everything in running it is a matter of personal opinion, but for those of us who got into running in part for the simplicity the thrill of disconnecting further is a huge benefit. Not having to pack another charger when traveling is also a nice side effect.  

3) Running "Exactly" 10 Miles...

I think everyone has done this at least once... You get back from your run and realize upon reaching your front door that you have run 9.896748 miles (or something else close to a whole number) and instead of shrugging your shoulders and heading in for a shower you instead run up and down you block like a crazy person until you have run exactly 10 miles, not a step more or less. Note that you're probably tired and/or cold and all you really want to do is go back inside because you've already had a productive workout, but you keep running to reach an arbitrary end point which represents no meaningful training stimulus. The reality is of course that GPS watches are never truly accurate and it is almost certain that if you've run 10 miles exactly per your watch's calculation you've in fact run some other distance which +\- 10 miles. Why not just accept that some days you'll run more and some day's you'll run less; instead of focusing on distance why not run for time?

4) Really, Why Not Run for Time?

We tend to believe that distance is the great equalizer, if you run 10 miles today it'll be the same as running 10 miles tomorrow. But what if today there's not a breathe of wind and tomorrow is nearly hurricane force? First off why are you out running in a hurricane? But more to the point how are the two even remotely equal? Running into a strong wind sucks and no one with an ounce of logic could possibly believe that a 70 minute run on a calm day is equal to an 75 minute run into a gale, so why pretend they are? Why not instead run for a set amount of time and then sort the mileage out later? This is a technique my coach uses when we're working on ramping up the mileage or increasing intensity, it is in fact a lot less risky because it builds in a safety valve for exhaustion (i.e. if I run 8.5 miles in a 60 minute easy run today and only 8 tomorrow it means I'm tired and should be running less, it also signals to me and my coach that I'm worn down because it demonstrates a decrease in output).

None of the above if to say mileage is not significant, it's just to say that setting arbitrary mileage goals is more likely to cause over training that are time goals, and that time better indicates training volume in most instances. When training for longer distances for example Time on Feet (TOF) is considered a more important training stimulus than is distance run, after all few runners will run the full 26 miles 385 yards of a marathon in training but many will run the full time of their race (though far more slowly) during their long runs. For me this type of time first training is easier without a GPS tech strapped to my wrist. 

5) Fly by Wire Racing
And finally my chief concern, racing. In my experience racing is best done by feel and that GPS data is only useful for post-hoc analysis, this is not to say that one cannot race well with continuous GPS data, but it is one additional piece of additional information which can confuse and complicate what is essentially a simple endeavor. For many runner, again myself included, racing with a GPS watch can turn into a game of matching pace to an idealized goal, this can sometimes be helpful but other times it can cause you to out run you capabilities or even worse hold you back from a breakthrough performance. It is chiefly the urge to look at my watch and my inability to ignore this impulse that leads me to ditch the watch.

I recognize that this is not a prescription that will work for everyone, but for me at least it may be exactly the change in my training and racing that I need, a way too disconnect further from the world while running and return to the aspects of the sport that I loved when I first started. With that thought I'll say goodbye for the time being, in the mean time keep the rubber on the road!