Last month (Part 1), I told you about my little gadget, but I didn't explain the other pretty data charts it provides... From the same short run as the other chart, here is one that shows additional detail.
In a snapshot, it shows it all...you see that I stopped a total of 4 minutes (I actually stopped the timer on the watch three times, which you can also see in the charts on the previous review post). First time, was a result of seeing my kids in a car driving by and chatting...they were soooo excited to see mommy running so how could I not stop to talk! Second time was the kids again...they dropped off their big sister and wanted to try to find me again, so they drove down the street again and of course I had to pause and wave and tell them to be good listeners for daddy, or I couldn't read them a book before bed. See...they were out for ice cream. I should get extra credit, right? I ran instead of going with my kids to Cold Stone. Seriously, there should be a running medal just for this alone!
Now, the third pause was simply due to me being tired. No excuses, but I gave myself a 60 second walking break and then got it into my head that I had 8 more minutes of running and I was going to focus and not stop again. I did just that.
What I find also surprising about this little watch is that I find myself constantly looking at my pace. I suppose as a beginner runner, I know when I'm really really slow and I know when I'm speedy, but I don't have a sense of the nuances between running at an 10:45 pace versus a 10:30 pace. That is slowly changing. I now know that I can confidently run a 5k at an 10:25 pace, on average....so I find myself watching my watch every minute throughout my run to see where I am and to gadge my energy level. If I run at a 10:10 pace, I know thats too fast so I do see how long I can maintain that, but eventually I slow down. Likewise, if I see 10:45 on my watch, I force myself to speed up simply because I know I can do better!
See...its that constant display which tells me my performance. I don't want to have a slow overall pace, and I know its better to have a negative split or even pace throughout...so its in my face constantly, and I can't avoid it. Its like my own little personal trainer in there telling me to get off my butt and stop smelling the flowers because I already know what those smell like!
So, yes, its not just a stop watch with charts to review after the run...its real time performance measurement, and real time reminders of what I should do. And before I know it, I bet I can feel if I'm running at a 10:30 pace versus a 10:15 pace!
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