Running Without a Watch

So, we're into Week 14 of marathon training and I have a confession to make.  I haven't gotten a running watch yet.  Nor do I carry my cellphone or track our weekly long runs with a running app of any kind.

And guess what - I kinda like it!

I feel very free and liberated without the watch and the constant reminder of my time and distance.  I'm that type of person that will stare at the distance and the time.  Then, I get these ideas in my head about a certain time I should be running the distance in and in turn, I put some pressure on myself to run faster, which at times, does more harm to my body than good.

Take for example, this week - I ran 5 miles on Tuesday (9:13 pace per mile) and 9 miles on Wednesday (10:10 per mile).  Today, my right knee was very sore and stiff so I decided to rest instead of run.  I don't feel bad since I did run 14 and our long run Saturday is 14.  So, that's not too bad.

But, anyway, my reasoning for not wearing a watch is this:

This is my first marathon.  So, my goal truly should be to finish.  I learned my lesson after my first half marathon.  I set a goal for myself of sub-2 hours and was disappointed when I finished in 2:05:10.  I felt terrible at the end of the run.  I would have felt a lot better and proud of my accomplishment had my goal simply been to finish.

If I have the watch on, I'll be staring at it and I will be focused on the time and the distance as opposed to simply enjoying my first marathon experience.

This way, I'm literally taking the pressure off myself by not putting a watch on.  We'll see how this works out.

My marathon plan is to try my best to hang with my pace leaders to finish around 4:25 and there will be clocks along the way so that will help.  And, I'll have my phone so if I really want to track it then I can.