It Takes a Licking…
When it comes to running gear, of course shoes are at the top of the list. Well, maybe pants should be first, but shoes are a close second. But after that – and I suppose a good sports bra for a significant portion of this audience – there are a lot of optional things that are really tempting to get, especially if you like gadgets!
Regardless of your geekiness, I think a good watch is essential, particularly if you're just starting to run – like me. I got a pretty basic Timex Ironman that does interval timing with 2 separate intervals. Why interval timing, you ask? Come on, ask it.
I'm glad you asked! Because I'm running for about 1 minute, and walking for 1.5-2 minutes, repeating that over and over. Looking at my watch constantly would get old, and listening to pretimed podcasts outside can be dangerous. But this way I can set the watch to beep every 1 minute, followed by 1.5 minutes, and then repeat the pattern. It beeps for a few seconds every switchover, and then I know when to start and stop running. As I do more running/less walking, I can adjust the intervals.
There are tons of watches to choose from, and I recommend you go somewhere where they know how to set it so you can see it in action. I got mine at my local running shoe store and I'm sure I overpaid for it, but at least they knew what I was looking for. I kind of wish I'd gotten one with more than 2 intervals, but that would just be a luxury. Regardless of what you get, you'll love the instructions…printed on onionskin paper and wadded up into a tiny ball, with your choice of 100 different languages. How can you resist?
Coming next time…a great idea for taking your I.D. with you!
- Bill
Bill — Do you know of a watch that will allow you to track your speed? I suppose there should be a way to calculate that maybe with this watch. But when you run on the treadmill, it’s easy to calculate your speed and what kind of mile you’re running. I wonder if there’s a way to do that on the watch for when I start to run outside. Any thoughts?
There are GPS watches that track speed, elevation changes, etc. But they were VERY expensive. The cheapest one the running store had was over $300. I’m sure you can shop around and get them cheaper, but still…
They also did heart rate stuff and a bunch of other neat things. But my eyes kind of glazed over after hearing the price.
I use the timer on the watch and google maps to calculate speed. Start at your address and put your neighbor’s address as the finish. Then click on the line and drag it to match your route. You can keep adding waypoints, and at the end you’ll have your distance within .1 miles.
Wow – how did people ever run before all this technology?!?