Tuesday I responded to the usual "You in for running today?" email from work colleagues by saying that I would be in for running Thursday at noon.
Wednesday night I packed my bag. Shoes, socks, shorts, sports bra, shirt, visor.
Thursday morning I threw in my toiletries. Hair band, face wash, towel, deodorant.
Thursday mid-morning I realized I forgot to pack my Garmin.
Cue freaking out.
I'll be honest. I almost skipped this run. It wasn't one on my training schedule anyway. I really didn't want to run without knowing my pace or my distance. Ever since I got my Garmin in December and ever since I started this blog in January I've felt the need to track those things.
But, I ran anyway. We did somewhere between 3 and 4 miles. I don't know exactly how far we ran because I can't quite map it accurately on any of the online mapping sites. And I don't know how fast. I know I kept up with the guys for the first 2 miles but then started lagging behind on the return portion. But that was okay because the other girl who was running with us was also lagging behind. We ran together. I know that I probably could have kept up with the guys on the return trip, but I would have been totally wiped out for the rest of the afternoon. Plus, I would have felt bad for leaving my sole female companion in the dust.
Was it freeing to run without knowing my pace and distance? Many runners assured me it would be. Honestly, though, it wasn't. Yes, there was a time not that long ago when I ran just to run. I didn't really time myself but I did know my distance. But I also wasn't trying to get faster then. I knew that speed would come as I increased distance. Now I've hit that spot where speed and distance are separate entities. I LIKE seeing myself get faster.
On the other hand, perhaps if I've know how fast I was or wasn't going on my run yesterday I might have gotten psyched out. I guess I'll never know. All I know is that I hope I don't ever forget my Garmin again!
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7 comments:
Ugh! I would have been so frustrated! Did the other people not have Garmins?
I tried not to look at my Garmin much yesterday (only at the mile mark), but like you said - we need to know our pace to improve!
I think it depends on your personality. You need to be in control and know your stats as you go. Others are just content to be out there.
I ran today with my Nike+ but didn't pay attention to my pace even once. I had the best run I've had in a while! Of course I'm not training for a big race so my pace, etc are insignificant to me.
I agree with you. I'd have liked to know. Now, I did run without my Garmin today ON PURPOSE, because I've been skipping my easy runs and I wanted it to be sooooo easy and I didn't want to stress over times. David and I went together and stopped for him at the bathroom (I stretched) and stopped again to check out blackberries and it was very very slow. So I was almost glad to not have it, ahhaah. But that's a rare case.
Sometimes I like to just go by the feel of my body anyways. I can't believe you almost skipped the run because you forgot you Garmin. Loosen the leash girl ;)
Hey there - my friend is addicted to his Garmin for running. I think his reaction to forgetting it would be the same!
Hey, I'm throwing a party pretty soon and I want to invite you! e-mail me at: myeverydayadventures@gmail.com and I'll send you the date!
I know what you mean by running without. I just recently got a Garmin Forerunner 305 and I love it. I might even be slightly obsessed with it!
I've forgotten Garmin (or the HR strap) twice in the last two weeks. But I had my regular sport watch.
Both runs were amazing because I knew the route and the splits and could not be bound by the HR monitor.
Matter of fact the last run (still need to blog it) would have been a new 10K PR, so while I hate not having the data and feedback sometimes it's good to go old school. :)
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