By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro
I love data. I really do. If you’ve read me for a while, you know I’m not anti-tech, anti-GPS, or anti-metrics. Data can be incredibly useful, and it’s been key to my success in getting runners to their goals. It can guide decisions, confirm progress, force adjustments, and even prevent you and me from doing something stupid.
But somewhere along the way we crossed a line and started obeying it instead of letting it guide us. We have let the data determine how we feel, when, and what to do about it. We have delegated the agency of our running to the data.
I recently read an article by Coach Steve Magness where he nailed it by stating: “Data can make you a better judge, or it can make you forget you were ever the judge.” Eighteen words defining a bad trend in running.
Data is a blessing and a curse. It has revolutionized all sports. Baseball is out of control and has become hard to watch. Joe Maddon, who managed 2599 MLB games and even won a World Series, recently said, “The game today would rather lose analytically than win based on feel.” How sadly true.
And don’t we all know a runner just like that? The one who ran a PR but is sad because Garmin marked him unproductive. The one who decides she needs to double the mileage because the watch says VO2Max is slipping, while not knowing how it is measured or what it measures. The one who is told three days of rest are required when the training calls to run on tired legs for a very specific reason? That runner may even be yourself.
Leaving a running decision entirely to the data, instead of allowing input on how we feel at decision time, is equivalent to pulling your starting pitcher in the 8th inning while he’s tossing a perfect game because data says he gets tired after 100 pitches. It is total nonsense. Let’s stop this madness!
The algorithms used by watch and app giants are based on averages from millions upon millions of data points from millions of runners. And while they do segment certain areas of the data and won’t (hopefully) average Olympians with weekend warriors, they still calculate averages and tendencies without you or your needs at the center of it all.
The algorithm doesn’t know your kid had you up at 2 a.m. with a tummy ache. It doesn’t know your boss has been a jerk all week, or if you had a screaming match with your spouse before hitting the road. It doesn’t know you cut your run short yesterday because you didn’t want to push on that niggle on your ankle that, even though it didn’t hurt, you just knew it was there. It doesn’t know your running goals either. So why would you allow it to make bad decisions on your behalf?
Let’s stop delegating unearned authority to a gadget designed to record our movements so we can make better decisions. The app shouldn’t emit verdicts. They gather data for you to use, analyze, and act on.
The watch and the app are tools, amazing tools. But they are not your coach. Ignoring the data is as dumb as following it blindly. Learn from it. Look for trends, not single-day fluctuations. Let it help you make informed decisions, not dictate your emotions.
I advocate simplicity in our running lives. Simplicity doesn’t mean easy. Don’t make it harder by outsourcing your self-belief, your choices, and your progress to a piece of plastic strapped to your wrist, even if it has a supercomputer inside.
Trust your training. Trust your body. Trust you know yourself better than the algorithm does.
As usual, I would love to read your thoughts on this subject. Please leave a comment below.
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