I use a GPS for tracking, not telling me what to do, so I always run by feel, but use the watch amongst other things [treadmill screen, known route, etc.] to tally up my total mileage and keep it within whatever level I am at so I'm not making sudden increases and whatnot.
I haven't seen my watch face on a run throughout most of the winter. I'm doing some low heart rate base training before my fall marathon training block begins later in May. All I see is HR and Zone. I pretty much have an inbuilt GPS since my runs are on known routes in my neighbourhood.
Upstate NY so at least 6 months of long sleeves, layers and gloves at 4AM! :D. That makes the 'hidden watch' easy.
As for the others (for example, 50F+ last two mornings), I love that my watch (Garmin FR 245+) has a page that is ... a watch. So I press start, tab to the clock screen, and leave it. On weekday mornings I don't need to look at it because I know my routes by heart and have already worked out timing ... but on weekends I can make on-the-fly changes to where and how long I am running (or not depending on schedule).
I ran for ~22 years before getting my first GPS watch (2011), and honestly wouldn't use it except for tracking monthly miles and shoes ... and habit. And that it is now integrated 'activity monitor' and smartwatch. Ugh.
It will be more difficult to do, now that I can run in short sleeves, but I've been covering up my Garmin and trying to run by feel for the last 3 or 4 months. I do peek while I am getting close to the end, but it's more to check the mileage and not the pace. Now, that's not to say if I get back into a training plan that I start monitoring the pace a little closer than I am now.
When I run, I do track my workouts using my Apple Watch. But with the exception of total time or distance, just to make sure that I get back home on time, I almost never pay attention to pace or heartbeat, etc. The main reason I record my workouts at all is because I have wired a savings account to my watch as motivation: every time I complete at least 30 minutes of running or walking per day, a little bit of money gets put into that savings account, and I use that money to pay for running clothes, race entries, etc. so if I want to hit the trails and not be buck naked while doing it, I’d better get my workouts done!
I never run without mine, but I only look at it during workouts. I'm a huge proponent of racing by feel and have run all of my PRs that way, and on easy runs there is no reason to monitor pace (I also have no problem running slow on easy days). I just like having all of my data on Garmin Connect and Strava, which I use for tracking mileage and shoe mileage.
I always run with my Coros watch. Mainly for distance. I do use it to keep track of daily and weekly mileage. I try to make route and mileage adjustments on every daily run. I occasionally look at pace, but don't get too excited about it as I'm looking to run by feel as opposed to pace. Numbers (pace) shouldn't be sole or major objective of every workout. Upcoming training starting in couple weeks will be for a 50 miler (50k) be long tune up for race. Will begin training for time on feet instead of just mileage. Adding in some walking (power). Beginning with some 6 and later finishing with 8 hours on my feet (combination of walking & running. So while watch has it's place, obsessive use such as constantly monitoring pace can be stressful.
I use a GPS for tracking, not telling me what to do, so I always run by feel, but use the watch amongst other things [treadmill screen, known route, etc.] to tally up my total mileage and keep it within whatever level I am at so I'm not making sudden increases and whatnot.
I haven't seen my watch face on a run throughout most of the winter. I'm doing some low heart rate base training before my fall marathon training block begins later in May. All I see is HR and Zone. I pretty much have an inbuilt GPS since my runs are on known routes in my neighbourhood.
Another 'barely look' person.
Upstate NY so at least 6 months of long sleeves, layers and gloves at 4AM! :D. That makes the 'hidden watch' easy.
As for the others (for example, 50F+ last two mornings), I love that my watch (Garmin FR 245+) has a page that is ... a watch. So I press start, tab to the clock screen, and leave it. On weekday mornings I don't need to look at it because I know my routes by heart and have already worked out timing ... but on weekends I can make on-the-fly changes to where and how long I am running (or not depending on schedule).
I ran for ~22 years before getting my first GPS watch (2011), and honestly wouldn't use it except for tracking monthly miles and shoes ... and habit. And that it is now integrated 'activity monitor' and smartwatch. Ugh.
It will be more difficult to do, now that I can run in short sleeves, but I've been covering up my Garmin and trying to run by feel for the last 3 or 4 months. I do peek while I am getting close to the end, but it's more to check the mileage and not the pace. Now, that's not to say if I get back into a training plan that I start monitoring the pace a little closer than I am now.
When I run, I do track my workouts using my Apple Watch. But with the exception of total time or distance, just to make sure that I get back home on time, I almost never pay attention to pace or heartbeat, etc. The main reason I record my workouts at all is because I have wired a savings account to my watch as motivation: every time I complete at least 30 minutes of running or walking per day, a little bit of money gets put into that savings account, and I use that money to pay for running clothes, race entries, etc. so if I want to hit the trails and not be buck naked while doing it, I’d better get my workouts done!
I don’t have a GPS watch, but I never go on a run without my phone and Runkeeper
I think I fall in with everyone here. I always wear it but don't always look at it.
I never run without mine, but I only look at it during workouts. I'm a huge proponent of racing by feel and have run all of my PRs that way, and on easy runs there is no reason to monitor pace (I also have no problem running slow on easy days). I just like having all of my data on Garmin Connect and Strava, which I use for tracking mileage and shoe mileage.
I always wear the watch so I have a record, but on most runs I don't look at it.
I always run with my Coros watch. Mainly for distance. I do use it to keep track of daily and weekly mileage. I try to make route and mileage adjustments on every daily run. I occasionally look at pace, but don't get too excited about it as I'm looking to run by feel as opposed to pace. Numbers (pace) shouldn't be sole or major objective of every workout. Upcoming training starting in couple weeks will be for a 50 miler (50k) be long tune up for race. Will begin training for time on feet instead of just mileage. Adding in some walking (power). Beginning with some 6 and later finishing with 8 hours on my feet (combination of walking & running. So while watch has it's place, obsessive use such as constantly monitoring pace can be stressful.