I have been thinking about goals lately. I do not normally discuss goals too much because I do not normally set goals for myself. I just like to see what happens and then maybe try to set a goal. However, I do have 2 goals for this spring/summer to work on.
Goal #1
I want to consistently run a sub-50 minute 10K on tempo runs. More specifically, I want to run 6+ miles at a sub-8 min/mile pace. This will take a bit of work, BUT I think it is a very doable goal. On most of my tempo(ish) runs lately, my 10K time is just over 51 minutes. So I am going to work a couple days a week on speed to be able to run longer at a 7:45-7:55 pace. Looking back at my fastest days, it looks like I have only run 3 sub-8 min/miles in a row. So I just need to up the pace and be able to hold it longer. I think this is absolutely a challenge I can meet over the next few months.
Goal #2
I want to consistently run 16-18 mile long runs and not feel like death afterwords. I had a couple really rewarding long runs in my last marathon training cycle and that was great, but many of the runs left me just feeling bad. I will work better on my fueling and hope that nice, long, slow runs can start to feel great again. If I am not training for something, but just doing long runs for 'fun,' I hope I can do this. Then when I do train for my next marathon, I can work on adding a bit of speed to long runs and not trying to do everything all at once (speed, distance, and fueling).
Seeking Advice
For all of you Garmin-wearers out there, I need advice. For years, I have been adamantly against getting a Garmin because: 1) I do not want to obsess about my pace while I am running, 2) I hate having things around my wrist, and 3) do I really need to spend all that money? I trained for my first marathon without ever knowing how far my long runs were. I trained entirely based on time and I finished in about the time I had predicted (4:23, about 10 min/miles). I love running free and not caring about time/pace/distance.
Now I run with my phone and usually only look at it AFTER the run is over to give me an idea of what I did. I do wonder how accurate my phone is, though. I am sure the elevation is not accurate; it is always all over the place and never matches up when I do an out and back route. Plus, after my 20K race (which should have been 12.4 miles), my phone said I did 12.75 miles. I did not hug all of the corners, but I think the extra .35 miles is a bit high.
Perhaps the time will come soon where I think maybe a Garmin might help. So here are some questions for all you Garmin-users:
I just learned that Garmins have a function where you can make the screen go blank so you do not have to look at it. Is this true? What other cool functions do they have that might help win me over?
Also, do they make non-watch Garmins that you could put in a pocket or do you have to have it on your wrist the whole time?
Finally, if you were advising someone on getting their first Garmin (or GPS watch in general), which model would you suggest for being able to track routes and easily track tempo runs?
I'm relatively confident that a Garmin will give you better data than your phone. Garmin's algorithms are really quite good. I would also say that, as long as you exercise a little self control, you don't have to let the Garmin rule you. Plus, the data can be *really* useful. [I am not paid by Garmin, I just think it's a powerful tool. And I was a late-ish convert. I ran with a simple stopwatch for many, many years.]
ReplyDeleteI think that pretty much all the Garmins are designed for wrist wear. That being said, you could *probably* tuck it in a pocket, if you wanted, and get decent reception most of the time. I've never done it, though - so no guarantees.
The Forerunner 10 is probably the smallest and simplest. You'll get distance and time, but not too many other frills. Price point from Garmin is $130. I have a few clients that use it - the functionality is more limited than some of the more advanced models (you can't program in a complicated speed workout, or multiple intervals at different speeds, for example), but it does the basic stuff you need. For someone going for simple - who only wants to use the watch for running - this is what I'd suggest. I don't know about the screen-blanking, though.
The only caveat would be - consider whether you'll ever want to do heartrate training. The 10 doesn't integrate with a heartrate monitor - and the Forerunner 110 does. The 110 is a bit more expensive (just under $200, I think), and that's without the heart rate monitor itself - BUT you'd have that option, if you ever wanted it.
I don't think you're a big multi-sport person, but neither of these watches is ideal for cycling and swimming. Sounds like that's OK.
Finally, I can't offer any reviews of this product, because it's not out yet, but I'm a Kickstarter funder on the Bia-Sport campaign. Basically, Bia is a start-up that's re-designing the GPS watch. I won't go into details here, but you can check it out on their website: http://www.bia-sport.com/. If you're willing to wait, this might be worth checking out. :)
Allright. That's what I've got for now. Hopefully that helps you on your way to clarity, rather than creating additional confusion... :)
I'm glad you are getting your goals out in the open. And I KNOW you can meet them.
ReplyDeleteI love my garmin, but that's because I like to know my pace and over all run time. I don't use it for anything else. Apparently the 10 has those features.
I love my Forerunner 10. $130
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can make the screen go blank, but I do know that when I wear a long-sleeved shirt with the little thumb holes that I just put the Garmin underneath.
Fueling is so important... especially after the long run. Sometimes if I don't eat right an 8-miler can feel like a 16-miler!
Oh! And...I nominated you for a Liebster award!
DeleteI have never run with a Garmin either for exactly the same reasons you listed. I can definitely see how they would be truly helpful though. Can't wait to hear what you get.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh -- I LOVE making goals! I always am making them. I think your goals sound great! I'd like to continue doing some longer runs this summer even without a race on the schedule until fall.
ReplyDeleteI really like my Garmin. I have gotten to the point where I don't really look at the speed/dist/ect all the time... about once a mile. I like to know if I need to speed up or slow down a little based on even just looking at it that often. But it is nice to have the data!
A couple friends of mine have the MOTOACTV device. You can wear it as a watch, or clip it to you or put it in a pocket, I think. (http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/8GB-or-16GB-MOTOACTV/79070,en_US,pd.html) They really love it, and I think it even can be used to play music too! I know that their screens can be turned black while you are going if you want as well. Anyway, just wanted to throw another option to you besides Garmin brand.
Garmin's elevation measure is probably better than a phone's, but I never trust the elevation on mine. We've had some issues, to put it mildly.
ReplyDeleteI might be in the minority, but until I started marathon training at very specific paces, I never felt the need to look at my garmin while running. I was always interested to look at the data after the fact, but even when I wore it for races I never looked at it while running. If you don't care about your pace, I don't think you really have to worry about looking at it every two seconds.
I've run with my Garmin 405 for years and I love it. If you really want to stay at 5:00 min/km, having a speedometer in the form of a watch really helps.
ReplyDeleteI understand your concern constantly checking it. But there are ways around that. My watch cycles through 3 different screens, which is pretty good for helping me not obsess. One of the screens is the "virtual partner" which tells me how ahead or behind I am to someone going my target pace.
You can also program certain GPS watches to beep when you go too fast or too slow, so you don't even need to look at it very often.
If you're going to go with any watch, I recommend the Garmin over all the others. I might sound a little biased, but I run with a lot of people who regret paying a little less for the Nike or Soleus watches. Apparently the GPS isn't as accurate and getting satelite sync takes much longer than Garmin.
Those sound like great goals! I'm a fairly recent Garmin convert. I use the Forerunner 110 and am surprised at how much I enjoy it. I find the data interesting, but then again, I'm a pretty "chill" runner in that it's rare I get hung up on a particular speed.
ReplyDeleteI like your goals! I really need to make some on my own. I currently use the "just see what happens" method.
ReplyDeleteI am a Garmin user, but probably not the best one to give advice. Mainly I use mine because I'm very type A when it comes to how far I ran and at what pace, because I want to write exact amounts down in my running log. I usually don't look at my watch during my run, unless I'm doing a tempo or progressive run and want to make sure I'm hitting/holding a certain pace. I really like the function of the USB stick that plugs into the computer and wirelessly transfers the data from your Garmin to your computer. I have a program I downloaded from Garmin called Trainin Center, and I really like looking at the elevation profile and other data from my runs.
I have the Garmin Forerunner 405 and I really like this model. Previously I had the 205 and it was larger and would sometimes rub my wrist on longer runs.
Because I enjoy reading your blog, I nominated you for a Liebster award today! You can see it on my post.
ReplyDeleteI do wear a garmin and enjoy having it. I do make sure I do at least one run a week without it though- it's good to stay away from being completely reliant on it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite pros is it pushes me to go faster- esp on a tough run day.
First, if it makes you feel better, my Garmin concurred with what your phone said for the 20K -- it was definitely over 12.7!
ReplyDeleteYou clearly don't need a Garmin! But if you're considering getting one, I will say that I'm obsessed with mine and can't run without it (I have the 405). Honestly, there are a zillion features and things you can do with is that I don't use -- it's all about pace and time for me. But yes, you can change the screen so that you're not inclined to stare at your wrist the whole time. :)
I have a Garmin 610, got it during the black Friday sales last year. I love it. I don't look at it too much while I'm running. I have it set to auto calculate mile split times, and will look down when it beeps for each mile out of curiosity, but don't generally adjust my pace based on my split. I do love seeing the map, altitude, and all the data once I get back home. I'm just a real data nerd though :) It's good to have all the data to look back on, for the days/weeks when I feel like I'm in a rut, and not improving. The 610 has a touch screen which I really like, but I've never tried the other models, so I don't know how it compares!
ReplyDelete