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You've gotta take your time
I'm starting to think that you can get obsessional about timing your runs etc and that it can be counter-priductive.
eg doing interval work, 1 quick mile then a slow mile then repeat. Looking at my watch robs me of energy and time, and doesn't serve any useful purpose. I get the feeling that the brain limits how fast teh body can go in these circumstances if my current fast mile is on for the same amount of time that I usually do, given that speed work can be hard going.
Don't get me wrong, I want to do quick times all the way up to half-marathon, but I'm thinking of not taking my watch with me to the marathon, as I don't see the point. I don't believe I'm going to be competitive at that distance and would rather enjoy teh scenery as I run around at a pace that my body feels comfortable with, rather than one dictated to me by my blooming watch!
eg doing interval work, 1 quick mile then a slow mile then repeat. Looking at my watch robs me of energy and time, and doesn't serve any useful purpose. I get the feeling that the brain limits how fast teh body can go in these circumstances if my current fast mile is on for the same amount of time that I usually do, given that speed work can be hard going.
Don't get me wrong, I want to do quick times all the way up to half-marathon, but I'm thinking of not taking my watch with me to the marathon, as I don't see the point. I don't believe I'm going to be competitive at that distance and would rather enjoy teh scenery as I run around at a pace that my body feels comfortable with, rather than one dictated to me by my blooming watch!
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Comments
lots of different things there
certainly its possible to get obsessive about timing. and that can lead amongst other things to overtraining (especially amongst beginners) as you try to beat a certain time every time you go out.
but i think a stopwatch is very important for certain types of training and especially for interval work. how else can you judge whether you got the pace of your first rep right (as in you complete all the reps at roughly the smae pace) or how else can you judge the increase in your fitness over time?
as for racing? if you want to run round at a comfortable pace and enjoy the scenery then sure there's no need for a watch. but if you want to race to the best of your ability you'll probably need one to stop you going off too fast.
and by the way i think whether you are "competitve" at a certain distance or not is purely in your own head. i've run 51.30 for a 10k and 2.04.45 for a half-marathon. i hope to beat both of those pbs this year. so in which of those distances am i "not competitive"?
Perhaps saying "at my full potential" would've been better. It's easier to get closer to that at shorter distances I think.
Anyway, I'm going to do some intervals tonite and shan't be taking the watch with me. I'll just run as hard as I bloody can on the fast sections.
I'll take it out on Thursday when I do my half-mara pace, but since I'm in a race Sunday, I'll leave it at home then.