Taking a poll here: when doing a workout, do you keep your watch running during a walk/standing recovery? Typically on my gps watch I just pause it when I stop running but this means I have to guess at my recovery interval.
two things, one, iphones have countdown timers and if you're running to the same consistent point why couldn't you have a rest time prepared on a phone you grab and start each rest, maybe even figure out a way to have it elevated where you don't have to stoop over.
or, what we did a lot in HS was distance rest for distance runs and time rest for time runs. that way if you're going point to point you then rest a set walking distance, or if you're running time, the setup is already open to have a rest time too.
that or you have the watch going a set time for the interval and then just visually watch the 30 seconds or minute or whatever. so the timer is 90 seconds for a roughly 90 interval, and you just go on "60" of the next timer as a rough 30 second rest, resetting the interval on start.
do they do "beep" stuff anymore? we'd do stuff with like a 15 second repeating beep. the beeps give you a rough idea on interval time and rest, and can provide the rest end and interval start.
I just hit the split button to start and finish every rep so I end up with a record of each rep and the recovery time as individual splits.
This is how you are supposed to do it. There is no reason to pause the watch during recovery. Just hit the split button and record separate splits for each segment of the workout.
I just hit the split button to start and finish every rep so I end up with a record of each rep and the recovery time as individual splits.
This is how you are supposed to do it. There is no reason to pause the watch during recovery. Just hit the split button and record separate splits for each segment of the workout.
This is how you are supposed to do it. There is no reason to pause the watch during recovery. Just hit the split button and record separate splits for each segment of the workout.
Yup, how can this not be obvious to any runner?
What's funny is most people I've run with pause the watch when we stop running. I've even been told "walking doesn't count" for mileage when I logged walk recoveries doing hill reps. Maybe it's a vanity thing to not have stopped or walking paces mess the overall strava pace but I wanted to see how others have done it. I guess I'm also susceptible to this strava vanity because when I had my old timex I used to just split it but now I pause the GPS watch.
What's funny is most people I've run with pause the watch when we stop running. I've even been told "walking doesn't count" for mileage when I logged walk recoveries doing hill reps. Maybe it's a vanity thing to not have stopped or walking paces mess the overall strava pace but I wanted to see how others have done it. I guess I'm also susceptible to this strava vanity because when I had my old timex I used to just split it but now I pause the GPS watch.
Also I should add that we're running with lots of stoplights, so pretty much any run that isn't on the track has plenty of breaks where it's just habit to pause the watch. Maybe others in less urban areas don't have this.
Some of you seem to be talking about normal runs, and others hill repeats or track intervals. Totally different. If on a track and you have timed recovery, just use the split button. If hill repeats and you're walking or barely jogging, you need to stop the watch. I agree that walking does not count.
If you're on a normal run, you 100% absolutely stop your watch if you're not running.
Yeah I keep it going. A scientist on Peter Attais podcast said that if you don't have a watch going your body doesn't recognize that it's supposed to be in a recovery interval, and in turn your muscles don't know to hurry up & recover before the next rep.
Some of you seem to be talking about normal runs, and others hill repeats or track intervals. Totally different. If on a track and you have timed recovery, just use the split button. If hill repeats and you're walking or barely jogging, you need to stop the watch. I agree that walking does not count.
If you're on a normal run, you 100% absolutely stop your watch if you're not running.
Can't believe I'm surprised that people here don't know how to use a watch
Normal run = stop at stoplights/crossings/etc
Timed intervals = keep the watch going
Someone in my run club asked how to keep track of his workout and pace during indoor track workouts because his GPS watch wasn't doing a good job. People ended up having to explain 3rd grade math to an adult.
Ok I never go near a track, but I always program my workouts beforehand so my watch does all the rest / interval stuff without me pressing lap buttons. Is this weird?
Ok I never go near a track, but I always program my workouts beforehand so my watch does all the rest / interval stuff without me pressing lap buttons. Is this weird?
Yeah, weird and too strict and unforgiving and likely less accurate unless you only do time intervals.
I've called so many audibles during workouts during my life. Sometimes you do the first rep and know it's gonna be a bad day, so you scale the workout back. If you're doing pre-programmed reps, do you have to end the workout and start something new? Seems annoying.
If you're running on a trail/road where you know the distances/they're marked, then use those markers over your GPS. Example: There's a road with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and mile markers on it that a lot of runners use here. If I do mile repeats on it, or back and forth miles for a tempo, I run the full mile, end to end. I know the guy who measured and marked it, he got it right. My GPS watch often tells me I ran a bit further than a mile, it beeps before I cross the finish line. I'd think I'm consistently running a few seconds faster than I really am if I used my GPS over my standard stopwatch.
Some of you seem to be talking about normal runs, and others hill repeats or track intervals. Totally different. If on a track and you have timed recovery, just use the split button. If hill repeats and you're walking or barely jogging, you need to stop the watch. I agree that walking does not count.
If you're on a normal run, you 100% absolutely stop your watch if you're not running.
Can't believe I'm surprised that people here don't know how to use a watch
Normal run = stop at stoplights/crossings/etc
Timed intervals = keep the watch going
Someone in my run club asked how to keep track of his workout and pace during indoor track workouts because his GPS watch wasn't doing a good job. People ended up having to explain 3rd grade math to an adult.
I agree 100%. That is what I wrote, except that I would hit the split button to record my interval time (while the main watch continues to record rest). The gray area is with the people talking about walking during runs and hills... I just meant that similarly to a traffic light, if you don't have a planned, timed recovery and you're walking, stop the watch.
On during the whole workout. Separate recordings for w/u and c/d miles. So potential 3 activities recorded.
This wrong also. There should be only 1 activity. Warm up, workout, cool down all together separated by pressing the lap button (or pre-programming like mentioned above). The worst are the people that create separate activities for every rep of the workout. SMH. One activity only!
Can't believe I'm surprised that people here don't know how to use a watch
Normal run = stop at stoplights/crossings/etc
Timed intervals = keep the watch going
Someone in my run club asked how to keep track of his workout and pace during indoor track workouts because his GPS watch wasn't doing a good job. People ended up having to explain 3rd grade math to an adult.
I agree 100%. That is what I wrote, except that I would hit the split button to record my interval time (while the main watch continues to record rest). The gray area is with the people talking about walking during runs and hills... I just meant that similarly to a traffic light, if you don't have a planned, timed recovery and you're walking, stop the watch.
Yes, I was agreeing with you too, in case you thought I wasn't!
The other grey area for me has been longer rests, typically between sets during workouts. Like, once you're rest is over a few minutes, it doesn't really matter if you took 4:30 or 4:45 rest. I did a lot of "full rest" reps. In that case, I'd usually just stop the watch and walk for 8–15 minutes or whenever I feel ready.
If I'm doing standing rest and I'm being reasonably strict about the recovery time, the watch goes on. I will walk around and this will add a few tenths or more to my total mileage. I just don't care that much.
On during the whole workout. Separate recordings for w/u and c/d miles. So potential 3 activities recorded.
This wrong also. There should be only 1 activity. Warm up, workout, cool down all together separated by pressing the lap button (or pre-programming like mentioned above). The worst are the people that create separate activities for every rep of the workout. SMH. One activity only!
I agree with this. No reason to make it 3 separate activities imo. You can easily identify your warmup and cooldown using your watch's app/software. Just look for the slow parts!
Can't believe I'm surprised that people here don't know how to use a watch
Normal run = stop at stoplights/crossings/etc
Timed intervals = keep the watch going
Someone in my run club asked how to keep track of his workout and pace during indoor track workouts because his GPS watch wasn't doing a good job. People ended up having to explain 3rd grade math to an adult.
This is the funny thing about this. It really is a simple thing but it seems to bring out people's own personal idiosyncrasies. I think the GPS watch and Strava mess it up because suddenly you're going live on social media as soon as you hit start. It's embarrassing to admit but I've definitely found myself feeling this way and altering my watch etiquette because of it. Old Timex days were much simpler: don't even start the watch on easy days and split the watch for workouts. Now though, I'm so dug into my ways on strava I'm not sure I could go back. Nice to hear how other people differ/line up though!