Yesterday, I discovered that I have an addiction…to my Garmin.
Those who have run with me probably already knew this, but to me it was shocking.
I was about to head out for my run, and as I put on my Garmin, it turned off. Okay, not ideal, but I can just wear my husband’s Garmin instead. As I put his Garmin on, it too turned off. Really?
Sleepy Garmin
Alright, well I will just wear a regular watch with a start/stop button so I can at least time my workout. Come to find out, this watch was working, but I couldn’t figure out how to start the timer. Forget it, I will just go without a watch.
I have run before without my Garmin. It wasn’t that bad and it hasn’t been long since then. For some reason, it felt so weird yesterday.
I have to admit, it did feel good to start out and not worry about my pace right away. However, as I approached the first traffic intersection, I reached to pause my Garmin. It wasn’t there! I literally felt like I was standing there naked in front of the whole intersection. I was stopping my running, but not my Garmin-such a weird feeling! Once the light turned green, I again tried to reach to start my Garmin. What was wrong with me?
As I kept running, I felt a sense of “freedom” finally setting in: I was running in the grass when I could-instead of the road. I picked up and slowed down my pace when I felt like it. I focused on my form. I didn’t get even angry when I had to stop for traffic-like I usually do.
I was a whole new runner today!
It took this experience for me to REALLY realize that let my Garmin control my runs a little more than it should. Or I’m addicted to it. Or both. Either way, I tried to convince myself that I need more of these “naked” runs.
Two things I do have to admit though…
First, I did try to stop and start my “Garmin-that-wasn’t-there” several more times during my run. I also ran a route/distance that I have memorized, so I could at least know how far I went. (is that cheating?)
- Do you run with a Garmin or a watch?
- Do you rely on it as much as I do?
I only got a garmin watch for Christmas this year, so I’m excited to start tracking my runs and pace FINALLY… we’ll see how fast I get addicted
I admit….I am obsessed with my watch…the less I look at it the better I do….
I just recently got a Garmin in the past 6mo. I love it, but I don’t rely on it too much. But it is nice to know my stats. Helps me track improvements. Sometimes I use it strictly for the distance since I hardly run the same exact route twice.
I like to run with my Garmin too, to track mileage if anything. I was getting too obsesse with checking it though. At my last race of 2012, a 15k in Central Park, I led my Garmin in the car. After a minor panic attack I relaxed and ran the race based on how I felt at a pace that felt right for my goal for the day. I ended up running so much better and I had a lot more fun. I can honestly say I will probably never race with a Garmin for longer distance races ever again. It takes over your world for those minutes or hours and does not let you focus and what you came to accomplish. (For me anyways)….
I don’t ever run with a watch…I did with an app a couple of times but I prefer not knowing how fast I run. I simply like to focus on running in itself.
im glad you could let go of the garmin for a day!! sometimes its nice to just run to run and not for time or pace or distance! i guess sometimes we forget how freeing it really is!
I’m so impressed that you can feel free without a garmin. I’ve tried and it makes me feel off, because I don’t know the full distance I earned on my run.
I just got a garmin for Christmas I love it, it helps push me. I don’t rely excessively on it yet but I haven’t had it long.
how did you get your Garmin back on? i have been having lots of trouble w mine and i am also addicted!!!
Well it just needed to be charged, but I have heard that if it’s completely off, hold down the two buttons on the side at the same time, then let go. It should restart.
I usually always run with my Garmin, but I would like to be able to run without it sometimes. We don’t run the same routes all the time though so I really do need to know how far I am going when we are training.
I don’t think it’s cheating if you know the distance, you still didn’t really know how long it took you. Great job getting out there without your Garmin!
I am obsessed with Garmin, congrats on breaking free! I even use my Garmin on the treadmill, to measure the time & my heart rate.
Love this post! I’m addicted to my Nike+ app. I rationalize this by saying I’m much safer with my phone on me at all times! But, it drives me crazy when I don’t have it! At the least to keep track of my yearly mileage… Check my blog!