Bought a GPS

[rickwhitelaw]

After 12 years of running, the last 2.5 more seriously, I finally bought a GPS. It is a basic Timex, but a good "experimental" GPS. I think it will fit my needs for now. I just thought I should be more consistent in my pacing and track my mileage better to improve on my future marathon times. I took it out for a test last evening. It worked well, but I found out I run really slow (it was just a recovery run, but slow). It's hard not to look at it every few minutes and not trip on things. I guess I will get used to that in the future and I don't plan to use it for every run, I still enjoy my most minimal runs the best.

 

[NickW]

Uh-oh, the beginning of the end my friend.... I try to not look at mine anymore until the end now, which kills me. I got so obsessed with that data for a while. Come January I am laying the Garmin down and just running to run, to heck with knowing distances and paces for a while.

 

[Abide]

I've been thining about getting one as well. Not for every run, but I definitely think it'll help with speed work at least.

How much was that one?

 

[Mikkel]

I think the need for looking at the watch all the time will go away as soon as it looses the news interest. I use a Forerunner but I only look at it when I think my run is about to be over.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

They are handy for training purposes. But always keep those runs without a GPS in rotation!

 

[NickW]

I think the need for looking at the watch all the time will go away as soon as it looses the news interest. I use a Forerunner but I only look at it when I think my run is about to be over.

I still have a hard time not looking at it even though I've had mine for over a year. I think you are very lucky if you yourself don't feel compelled to constantly check your pace or distance. I know a lot of us get hooked on knowing the numbers at all times. I'm a very obsessive personality though.

 

[rbondi]

I look at mine maybe twice per mile. I used to wear it for every run. Now just for speed work and long runs. In the summer I don't use it at all. It has helped me a lot in races. I tend to get caught up in the excitement and go out too fast. The Garmin will let me know this much sooner than my body, so I can back off a bit. When my body figures it out, it is too late.

 

[TheTechnobear]

Ive used my forerunner for 18mths, and initially kept checking, but after a while stopped... What i find, is that mine alerts at 1k intervals and i usually take a look then. I then only become obssesed if i think im on for a PR

Having just taken up BF though, i now use it the other way, to check im not pushing too hard, and that i keep within my target kms.

Of course, i spend way to much time after the run, looking at the numbers!

Enjoy your new tool/toy

 

[rickwhitelaw]

I've been thining about getting one as well. Not for every run, but I definitely think it'll help with speed work at least.

How much was that one?

It is a Timex Marathon. List 99.99. I got a running club discount so my price was 84.99. I mainly got it for my long runs. I tend to zone out during hours 2-3 and my pace falls off a bit.

I noticed today that there is a little bit of a lag. I kicked up the pace and it took a minute to adjust. Probably normal, but maybe there is less of a lag with the more expensive GPS watches.

 

[Tristan]

I dont look at mine very much, maybe once or twice a mile. I find them quite useful for specific things, like warmups and cooldowns for example. I usually start really gradual for the first 15 minutes. So I use it for time and pace there, making sure to keep my pace low and gradually bring it up. Same thing when cooling down. I'd say after doing that a while you could probably warmup the same by feel or whatever, but I do often catch myself starting way too fast by the first time I glance down.

Also use it for intervals, like when I do 1/2 mile sprints.

Or on a long run like today, thats partly an out and back, I know half way through when I need to turn around. If I feel like I can do more when I get back, I can always keep going. But half way through my body has no idea that I'm half way and need to turn around! Now if you know your route well and the distances you dont really need the gps, but I like to go different routes all the time and kind of decide what I am going to do on the fly.

I don't really use it when I am doing a familiar loop or course and have no specific time goals, except maybe for the warmup/cooldown.

 

[Larry]

I bought a motorola motoactv recently to keep an eye on distance because I'm recovering from an injury and I'm trying to avoid running too far. It's handy for that, and as an added bonus I can check what my cadence was like at the end of the run. I find it hard to keep an eye on this because my mind wanders, so for me it is a useful tool to help me identify times when I'm falling back into old habits and see if I can remember what I was doing at the time.

I tend not to look at it very often while running, because the figures are usually pretty depressing.

 

[Lomad]

I'm an unabashed GPS lover. I like the pace management it gives me on longer runs. I usually only look at it at the early part of a run (I tend to go out too fast and blow up as a result) and at the mile beeps. I've never been able to 'feel' pace, so I find it helpful.

Plus I'm a supernerd and the data makes my heart all fluttery.

 

[Mikkel]

I still have a hard time not looking at it even though I've had mine for over a year. I think you are very lucky if you yourself don't feel compelled to constantly check your pace or distance. I know a lot of us get hooked on knowing the numbers at all times. I'm a very obsessive personality though.

I just think that I have reached a point in my running where I don't run against the clock anymore. I run just for the fun of it. I'm having some problems with runners knee so I use the watch to not over-do my running.

 

[Hobbit]

It's hard not to look at it every few minutes and not trip on things.

Yes, that's exactly the problem: As soon as you're looking on your GPS or fumbling with its buttons, you're doomed to step on nasty things: slugs, dead frogs, dead hedgehogs, poo and whatever everybody always told you to beware of when running barefoot!

 

[skedaddle]

I bought a GPS and lost it, so much for satellite tracking

 

[Abide]

I bought a 410 last night it was only 149 at amazon with a hr strap not a bad deal.

 

[ThomDavid]

I'm an unabashed GPS lover. I like the pace management it gives me on longer runs. I usually only look at it at the early part of a run (I tend to go out too fast and blow up as a result) and at the mile beeps. I've never been able to 'feel' pace, so I find it helpful.

Plus I'm a supernerd and the data makes my heart all fluttery.

I'm with you, Lomad.

As I posted in another thread by Barefoot Gentile on the same topic, I think the data can be a useful tool if you manage it rather than allowing it to manage you. For example, I've been using one for such a long time that I don't have the "checking it every 10 second" problem any more. I set the thing to alert me on the mile, so I look down once when it beeps to check my distance. If something feels "off," as in I seem to be struggling on a run that shouldn't be quite so taxing, I check my heart rate for indications that maybe I'm not fully recovered from a previous workout. The cadence function has been a godsend where barefooting is concerned. I couldn't have reached a decent 180+ cadence without something other than my poor feeble mind keeping count of my steps. It keeps me from getting too lazy, and from getting over-confident on those days when I'd run myself too hard and pay the price for several days thereafter.

So, I say, enjoy the new info if it helps. If it doesn't, there's always eBay....

 

[Robbi]

I'm a lifehacker too, love the data, but I did ditch the gadgetry for a while. Cadence was hopeless I found, ended up running a BPM analyzer on my mp3 collection and listening to songs at 180+. Muuuuch better.

Now I'm back to the gadget for my Maff efforts so I can watch heart rate.

 

[Zetti]

Just got this...but it hard not to do math while running...

Sorry Rick...couldn't resist!!

 

[rickwhitelaw]

I bought a 410 last night it was only 149 at amazon with a hr strap not a bad deal.

Maybe I should have waited. I saw the 410 discounted at Costco (online) for $159. I'm not interested in the hr yet, but having a few alerts would be nice and the elevation change is a nice feature.

Just an update on my usage: I've been having fun with mine. Still need to spend some time figuring out all the features. I have gotten over wanting to check my pace all the time. I got it mainly to track mileage and that has been working well. I usually run a little extra to "round up."