Mary Johnson ran her first marathon in 2010, wearing a simple watch that only tracked the time. A couple years later, hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon, she started using a GPS watch, which allowed her to closely track her paces and other metrics.
She soon locked in on a training pace to meet her goal, but she often ran faster on many of her runs.
“I became consumed by the numbers on my watch,” said Ms. Johnson, 39. “Every run became a race, and all my easy runs were too fast.” While she did qualify for Boston, she also ended up with a stress fracture.
Ms. Johnson, who is now a running coach, said that by focusing too much on the data, she tuned out the signals from her body that could have told her she was overdoing it.
After returning from two injuries — and then two pregnancies — she dusted off her old watch and began training more simply again. She stayed healthier and met race goals, too, setting new personal bests in the 5K and 10K in the ensuing months.
Modern running watches and fitness trackers can be wonderful tools, making it easy to analyze metrics like pace, distance, heart rate and more. But all that data can lead some runners to fixate on their stats, which can be counterproductive.
“It can easily become paralysis by analysis,” said Mario Fraioli, a running coach in the Bay Area who works with athletes of all levels. “There’s an overwhelming amount of data, and people don’t know how to make sense of it or have a healthy relationship with it.”
You don’t need to ditch your watch entirely, but if you’re new to running and want to get the most out of it — or if you’re more seasoned and want to improve — it can be worthwhile to get comfortable leaving it behind.
Choose your data points carefully.
Running, at its core, is a straightforward sport: You need a pair of shoes and a place to put one foot in front of the other.
For the casual runner, Mr. Fraioli said, the most important data points to track are the frequency of runs, weekly mileage and how hard each run felt.
Metrics like sleep tracking can be a distraction and hold you back, Mr. Fraioli said. If your sleep score says you haven’t recovered enough to work out, you may opt out of a run, even if you actually feel rested.
Remember that data for any single day can be inaccurate. Look for trends over time instead, such as over a week.
A coach or trainer can also help guide you on which metrics to pay attention to, said Dr. Zachary Crockett, who recently completed his residency at Harvard Medical School and has studied the relationship between the use of running technology and injuries.
Pay attention to your body.
The most important data comes from your own legs, lungs and mind, the coaches said, but understanding them takes time and practice. A few simple techniques can help you tune in.
The first is known as the talk test. “If you’re doing a hard workout, you shouldn’t be able to say more than one or two words,” Mr. Fraioli said. On a longer run, he added, “you should be able to get in two or three sentences before catching your breath.”
You can also try rating your effort level on a scale of one to 10, from easiest to hardest, known as the rate of perceived exertion. Aim for a four or five on your easier runs. For tougher runs, target around seven to nine. A 10 would be an all-out sprint that you could sustain for only a few seconds.
As you experiment with these techniques, try leaving your watch at home — or wear it but don’t look at the paces until afterward, so you can understand how different speeds line up with your sense of effort. (If you’re too tempted to look, you can change the settings to track only elapsed time.)
Before long, you will be able to distinguish between easy and hard efforts without needing a watch to tell you the difference.
Write it down.
Keeping a simple training log — using a spreadsheet or pen and paper — can help you reflect on your progress and identify trends. After each workout, record a few notes about how you felt before, during and afterward.
Revisit your notes and training log weekly, looking at three categories, Mr. Fraioli said.
First is energy level. If you noticed your legs felt slow and sluggish or you struggled to get moving, note it. If the trend continues another couple of days, consider taking a rest day or running at an easier pace for a few days.
The second is aches and pains. Maybe you noticed a niggle in your foot. If that continues for a few days, take a day or two off, try running again to see if the pain is lingering. If it is, you also then have a record of when that pain started to share with a doctor or physical therapist.
Last, track your overall mood. If you’ve been consistently tired and grumpy, it can be a sign that overtraining and should reduce your volume and intensity.
Noting the patterns in these three areas can help you to course correct, Mr. Fraioli said.
“When you see things trending in a not-so-good direction, the sooner you can identify and do something about it, the more trouble you will save yourself,” he added.
- Credits: The New York Times
- Author: Amanda Loudin
- Illustration: Jackson Gibbs
