Should you use your watch or body to pace runs?
I saw a post on Instagram where someone had run the Tokyo marathon with a goal time of 3hrs 15. Conditions were bad so they wore extra layers which covered their watch and they decided to run how they felt. In the end they ran 3hrs 1 and said that if they’d looked at their watch they’d have slowed down. Here are my thoughts on that
Don’t listen to only one thing
Check your watch occasionally as you know roughly what you usually do, but equally listen to your body as well.
In 2018 I ran the Norwich half marathon with a target of sub 1hr 30. On the day I went out for the first mile at 6:34 knowing it gets busy and I’d be weaving around people for ages if I didn’t get out there.
The first mile felt ok and conditions were pretty good so I carried it on for another mile. That one felt good too, and even a little easier as it was less congested meaning I could hear my breathing over the heavy footfalls of some of the other runners.
I checked my watch but didn’t pay attention to it, instead making sure that I ran a pace that seemed maintainable
It was about 15 seconds per mile faster than I’d run in training for 13 miles but I went with it. Every mile was between 6:26 and 6:35 (including some short inclines and declines) right up until mile 11 which is an infamous 1/4 mile or more of STEEP uphill climb. That was tough, but it was always going to be.
The last mile and a bit after that were in open ground with a bit of a swirling wind by that point which made it tricky, but I finished in 1:25:53.
If I’d only listened to my watch I’d have slowed. If I only ran on feel I may have pushed too hard too early. Check your watch, listen to your body. Both are giving you feedback, so provided you know what you expect of yourself, you’ve then got what you need to make an informed decision and run your best.
Why see that I’m well ahead of pace and still running well but then slow down? What would be the point? Seeing that I was so far ahead of target spurred me on. Instead of wondering if I’d do it in time, I was focusing on how far ahead of my goal time I could get. It was one of the most motivated runs I’ve ever done.
Basically my viewpoint is that watches don’t slow people down unless you’re holding yourself back and not using all the information your body gives you.
After writing this, I ran my first marathon and the same thing happened. Went out faster than planned over the first 16 miles as it felt good, pushed on over the final miles and came in at 2:51:43, over 8 minutes ahead of my 3 hour target time. Trust me, listening the watch and body works!
Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach, based in Norwich, Norfolk
