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Should I Run With a GPS Watch?

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Nov 5, 2024 | Article, List, Opinion, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As I write the title of this blog post, I feel like the answer to such silly questions is, ”Duh! Of course, I should run with a GPS watch. How Am I going to know what I’m doing if I don’t.” Yet, there is a reason why I chose this topic for this week’s post. The answer is not so simple.

For a few hundred bucks we have more computing power on our wrists thatn what NASA had to land Apollo 11. Let’s use it wisely (Image by WIndows Copilot)

Our GPS Watches, generically called Garmin as it is the dominant brand in the market, are nowadays as ubiquitous as our smartphones. They are an extension of our smartphones, and they can’t work if they are not paired with them.

I’ve written before about not letting our watches become the directors of our runs instead of the recording devices. Also, about the data overload ruining our experience. But this is about what type of runner may benefit or be affected by the use of a GPS device on their wrist.

You should use a GPS Watch if:

► You understand the data you are looking at and know what to do about it should it need adjustment in the middle of the run. Worrying about your right foot oscillation or maximum power is futile if you don’t know what it means, let alone how to fix it or if it even needs fixing.

► You are running on perceived effort. The pace and all the stats will be the result of how hard you are running, not the other way around. With time, the data will allow you to measure progress.

► The first thought when you check your metrics in mid-run is, ”How does this reconcile with my running plan for today?” instead of, ”Wait until my friends see this posted in my social media feeds”.

► You can complete an entire easy run without looking at your watch once, regardless of how many times it beeped to let you know data was available. An easy run is about putting in some easy effort miles (hence the name) regardless of your pace.

► Your self-worth as a runner or as a person is not linked to the number of marathons you ran, your weekly mileage or your average pace.

► You can maintain your running as your primary focus while receiving feedback from your watch. If the feedback impairs your brain function, makes you wish you were a mathematician or makes you unable to enjoy what you are doing, it may be time to give it a break.

There is no need to connect all this stuff to your wrist when you are running (Photo: Obsahovka Obsahovka, Pexels)

You should ditch the GPS Watch if:

► Knowing your pace is a few seconds off makes you anxious. Sure, we all want to hit specific paces and at certain times. But if running that split in 2:02 instead of 2:00 feels like the end of the world, you are better off running watchless.

► You feel the need to stop your watch at a traffic light, or a water stop, or to tie your shoe because it will ruin your averages. Races don’t stop the clocks when you stop at the port-a-potty. The stoppage is part of the deal. It doesn’t matter if it adds a couple of seconds per mile.

► You see your splits, and the thought of seeing it published on Strava for the world to see worries you to the point that you must make up for it. Especially on training runs.

► You feel dodging traffic at an intersection or beating a freight train to avoid extra time is a risk worth taking.

► your need for hyper connection to the world is so endemic that your watch constantly beeps with texts and emails, and you can’t help but check them.

I am not advocating against the GPS watch. I am advocating against it ruling our running. We don’t need another smartphone-type device sucking the joy of something we love and controlling our lives. We are not professional runners. We run because we want to, and if the GPS watch is hindering such enjoyment, why allow it?

The physiological benefits of your training will be realized whether the mileage is posted on Instagram or not. It is not like that last 20-miler won’t help you on the marathon because it doesn’t show on Strava. You can also apply a revolutionary concept: keep the watch running and not look at it. Then you can analyze the data later instead of during. What a revolutionary concept!

A GPS Watch is an extraordinary tool. One that, for a few hundred bucks, provides you with more computing power than what NASA had at its disposal to land Apollo 11 on the Moon. If you can use it as a collector of data to be analyzed at the appropriate time so you can become a better runner, go for it! If not, then rethink its use.

Please like this post and share any recommendations from your previous experiences in the box below. Let’s build a community of informed and prepared runners.

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Taper: Nothing to Win, Everything to Lose

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Oct 8, 2024 | Article, List, Science

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As you prepare to reap the benefits of your hard weeks of training. Or you may be wondering if you have done enough to hit the starting line in PR shape. Or as you realize you have screwed up your training and will have to wing it. If you plan to race hard, or long, you will need to taper.

Taper (or tapering) is the label commonly used to identify the short training cycle between the end of our race-focused training cycle and race day. The word taper is an intransitive verb. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it means “to become progressively smaller toward one end. To diminish gradually.” In running, that’s exactly what we are referring to. We start reducing our workload as race day approaches. But why?

Our bodies usually take 14-20 days to adapt to whatever we do in training. If we ran 20 miles today, we are not better for it tomorrow. As our body recovers, it adapts to the benefits of such stressful events and thus becomes stronger. This is why whatever we do in the last two, maybe three weeks before race day, will be of little or no benefit.

There is nothing to gain during taper, but everything to lose. Many races have been ruined by not taking the taper seriously. Don’t become a victim.

Meb Keflezighi has a great quote that epitomizes the last few paragraphs: “It is better to be 90% ready and make it to the starting line than panic and become overtrained or be unable to start the race.”

According to Jess Movold, in a 2024 article in Runner’s World magazine: “Tapering is one of the most critical parts of any marathon training plan, but in many cases, it’s also one of the hardest to implement. Ever heard of the taper tantrums?”

In my personal experience, I’ve felt better with a 2-week taper. But if the fatigue accumulation really beats you up and feel like another long run will destroy you more than help you, an additional week is beneficial.

Theories abound about how to handle the taper, but the scope of this blog post does not include analyzing any models. It wants to point out a handful of errors and misconceptions you may incur that will eventually negate your training gains.

While on taper, be on the lookout for the following so you don’t ruin your race:

I know I picked this up from Instagram, but I don’t know the source I should credit.

1. Follow the original plan: If you got here with your plan, then this is not the time to improvise, regardless of how confident you are or not about attaining your goal.

2. Don’t try one more long run: There is no place for it. It will add to the fatigue, hinder your recovery, and won’t produce adaptations in time for race day.

3. Focus on nutrition: Avoid detoxes, new supplements, weight-shedding schemes, carb unloading/loading protocols, and indulgent eating. Eat clean and enough.

4. Tapering means you are still training: You shouldn’t think you can stop because it’s tapering. It is still part of the training program, and it requires work.

5. Manage your excess energy: With the decrease in activity, as your body rests and recovers, you will bounce off the walls. Expect it and control it.

6. Take the extra sleep: Your body is repairing itself, so it may ask for more sleep than usual. Don’t skimp on sleep. It is the best recovery tool.

7. Control your training effort: Because you’ll feel energized, compared with the last few months, it is easy to push harder and even perform your race effort before the actual race. Don’t!

8. Focus on the main goal: Everything you do must serve your race. This is not the time to try new stretches, foods, gels, shoes, or routines. Stick to what has worked so far.

9. Strengthen your immune system: Your body is working overtime to repair itself, so your immune system is low. Be proactive. It is no time to get sick.

10. Tread carefully: Be extra cautious as you transit through life. Don’t take unnecessary risks. Don’t climb ladders, jump the sidewalks, text while walking, or rearrange furniture. All that can wait.

Please like this post and share any recommendations from your previous experiences in the box below. Let’s build a community of informed and prepared runners.

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Optimism vs. Wishful Thinking

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Sep 10, 2024 | Article, List, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I recently read Ball Four, the classic baseball book from the 1970s by the controversial major league pitcher Jim Bouton. In it, Bouton discusses the 1969 spring training with the expansion Seattle Pilots and the high expectations management had for their upcoming season: “We may be building ourselves up to that kind of fall with this club. Everybody is saying we’re going to be great. There’s a difference between optimism and wishful thinking.”

Sitting on the couch wishing you were running won’t get you very far in achieving your goals (Image by Windows Copilot)

Don’t we all know a runner who fits into that last sentence? When was the last time we were the runner matching it? I smelled a blog post right away. Thus, here we are.

As runners, we are all about optimism. We must be optimists if we want to look into the future and visualize what we want, how to achieve it, and how to set up a map from where we are to where we anticipate being. Sure, some daydreaming is allowed, and it is even necessary to keep ourselves moving forward, especially through the inevitable periods of difficulty that will show up in every training cycle.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, optimism is “an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.”

If we ran a 1:05 in our last 10K, we dream not just of the 59:59, but why not a 55:00? If we ran a 3:20 marathon, we would know by heart all the mathematical breakdowns needed for that magical Sub-3. These are healthy and within the boundaries of feasibility.

But if you just ran that first sub-20 5K and started focusing on qualifying for the Olympics next year, or if you are eying that marathon PR but haven’t run in three months, then we are entering the realm of wishful thinking.

The same dictionary defines wishful thinking as “the attribution of reality to what one wishes to be true or the tenuous justification of what one wants to believe.”

Optimism is a great tool to keep you engaged and focused. Wishful thinking is a recipe for a letdown and/or injury. Sitting on the couch wishing you were running will not make you a better runner.

Examples of Optimism:

• I am trusting the process my coach has laid out for me. I will follow it up to the best of my ability.

• I’ve seen gradual improvements in my training, and I know I can keep progressing if I stay consistent.

• I didn’t hit my goal in this race, but I know what I need to adjust in training to improve next time.

• I’m excited to tackle the next training cycle because it’s designed to address my weaknesses.

• My pace has been steadily improving, and I know that if I stay disciplined, I’ll reach my target time.

• I’ve learned from my setbacks, and I trust that I’ll achieve my personal best with perseverance.

• I’ve been putting in the work, and I trust that the results will follow with patience and dedication.

Being an optimist and doing something about it is the path to achieve your running goals (Photo Pexels)

Examples of Wishful Thinking:

• When I get off this couch and start training, I will really focus on being the best runner I can be.

• I haven’t trained consistently, but I can still PR in my next race if I push hard on race day.

• I skipped a few workouts this week, but I’ll just make up for it by running harder next week.

• I don’t need a specific training plan; I’ll just wing it and rely on my natural ability.

• I haven’t been doing speed work, but I still can hit my goal pace in my upcoming race.

• I’ve been running the same pace for months, but I’m sure I’ll somehow drop 30 seconds per mile next week.

• I’m planning on hitting a huge PR in my next race, even though I’ve barely trained, and my body feels off.

Let’s focus on our goals and create a solid plan to get from point A to point B, then follow through with discipline to achieve it. It sounds simple, even obvious, but haven’t we all found ourselves stuck in wishful thinking at some point—maybe even recently? Now that we understand the difference, let’s commit to staying on the right side of the line and strive for the best, most realistic performance we can achieve.

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Speedwork: Track or Road?

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Aug 13, 2024 | Article, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

Should I run my speedwork on a track or on the road? While it is one of the building blocks of any training plan, for any race and at any distance, no one size fits all. Especially when the label “track” precedes the workout.

Before GPS-integrated tracking devices, monitoring real-time pacing and stats during runs was difficult unless running on a standard track. Tracks allowed runners to measure workouts and check progress while road runs were measured with a car odometer. This is why many runners still prefer running speed workouts in this setting. Running on a track facilitates precise pacing and distance measurement.\”

Today’s tech allow us to run speework off the track, but track still has its merits (Photo by Markus Spiske, Pexels)

I want to note that there is nothing physiologically magical about the 400-meter length of a standard track. Running a 393-meter or a 405-meter rep won’t mess up your physiology or your recovery. And no, tracks are not mismeasured because your GPS watch said so.

Though I haven\’t researched it, I believe that the 400-meter track became the standard because it is a convenient measure to be fitted around a soccer field, and thus into a stadium, so it ended up becoming the standard. And no, it\’s not because it is a quarter mile. A quarter mile is 402.33 meters, not 400.

Running your speed workouts on tracks has its benefits, but these are not negated if you run them on the road. Both options have their advantages and merits, no doubt. These are some of them:

Why on track

• A premeasured distance allows you to focus on hitting time splits by providing awareness on where you are on the rep just by understanding your location on the track.

• Provides the ability to measure progress by comparing previous performances on the same surface and the same distance. This removes subjectivity.

• No roads to cross, no cars to dodge, no red lights to wait for, and your hydration and supplies are available every 400 meters

• The geometry of the standard 400-meter track grants your coach or running buddies a full view throughout the entire length, allowing for better and immediate feedback.

• For group settings, it is easier to start a new rep together, regardless of when each runner finishes the previous one. It\’s also easier for the coach to keep track of different paces.

Why on Road

• Unless your race is on a track, the road is the closest you will practice on the same terrain on which you will be racing. There is value in that.

• It will provide you with a better opportunity to visualize your next competition.

• You are not held to the counterclockwise direction track etiquette dictates, so you won’t have the extra strain on your left leg.

• Variability of terrain and elevation are now available to you. Variety is now limited only by your creativity.

• It adjusts better for reps based on time rather than distance, since you don’t have to stop at an awkward place within the measured track.

Why do I prefer the road?

I have trained on a track and it does have its merits. But I prefer the road for many reasons. Unless you have access to a private track, public ones are congested with people doing lots of activities that are not track related. At Plantation Central Park, which is near where I live and used to train, there are kids with bikes and skateboards. People walking 3 or 4 side by side on the inside lane, etc. And simultaneously, you have soccer and football practices happening on the inside pitch.

The open road still allows plenty of fexibility to build a “track workout” (Photo by Bohle Media, Pexels)

I haven’t worked out on a track in over 10 years because of an incident. I was running an interval at all my might on the inside lane while some youth soccer activities were happening on the infield. Suddenly, a kid of about 7 or 8, crosses the lane not 5 yards in front of me. Instead of panicking, I grabbed him firmly by the shoulders and using my momentum, swung him to the side and left him standing and in one piece. I was so proud of my quick thinking. Five minutes later the kid’s father confronted me yelling at me for “touching his son” and jumped to beat me up. Yes, physically. Bystanders intervened and pulled the guy off me. It was the last time I trained on track.

I am sure there are plenty of tracks where that doesn’t happen, but after that experience I lost my interest in finding one of those. These days with my GPS watch and a few routes I’ve mapped out, I can run up to mile-repeats and more without aggravation. And 100% of my racing is on the road.

Whether you do it on the track or on the road, make sure to include speedwork as part of your weekly training. It is a must if you are training for a PR or just looking for progress.

Share your preferences in the comment box below!

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End of a Challenging Running Year

by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro | Dec 26, 2023 | Opinion, Personal, Reflection

By Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

As 2024 approaches (or it is already here depending on when you are reading this post) and we look forward to a blank canvas to fill out with new goals, challenges, and adventures, we quickly turn our heads back to the year that was, to reminisce and reflect on our running year.

We saw marathon world records fall to the point where it seems feasible that 2024 will give us the first sub-2 marathon for men and first sub-2:10 for women. We are just 36 and 114 seconds away from such feats. We saw the 6-star finisher list growing to 8,143 and it is a matter of time before a 7th Major is included. Many of our friends set PRs in their marathons, shorter distances or just lost their 26.2 virginities. But, for many of us, 2023 was a challenging year. One that tested our core as runner beings. I was in that latter group.

Winning my Age Group at the Plantation F*ck Cancer 5K was one of the few highlight of my 2023 running season.

I completed the 1000-mile challenge with just three days to spare. And sure, it is a nice achievement, but it doesn’t tell the whole story of my 2023. At least I did not get any injury and beyond the normal aches and pains, was able to run throughout the year with no interruption. That alone is a win. Still, it was far from what I expected it to be 12 months ago.

For some reason, it was very difficult to get into the running groove during the year. In my two half marathons early in the season, I was forced to walk after mile 10, finishing in unimpressive times that are embarrassing for me, when compared to what I have done in the recent past. I also had to withdraw from the Marine Corps Marathon because my body could not adjust to the heat and humidity of summer training in South Florida. It was impossible for me to complete more than 8 miles in one run, so I focused on 5 and 10K races until the end of the year. Those are not my favorite distances, as I prefer to go longer, but this was the adjustment that was required, and I am OK with it. I even won my age group in a local 5K, a rare occurrence.

For the first time in the last 15 years if felt little motivation to lace up and run. For the first time in recent memory, I dreaded waking up early on a weekend to go run long. Anxiety from my professional life, which was at an all-time high during the year, crept into my running life and affected me negatively. I gained weight, slowed down and lost the will to dig deep when a run got tough.

My lowest point was one day around September when for the first time ever, or at least that I can recall, I went out for a run and before the first minute was through, I decided I did not want to do this, so I stopped and drove home. Not before stopping at a gas station and stuffing up on cookies and chips. I still look back and can’t believe this happened.

Yet, I kept running. After more than 40 years of being active, I know how you will feel after a good run. The support of my two running groups kept me accountable and sometimes I just forced myself to go out despite not feeling it.

I completed a handful of races with not many results to brag about.

I have tried to pinpoint where the problem lies but I haven’t been able to do so. Maybe it is because I am approaching 60. Maybe two and a half years after my open-heart surgery I must accept I won’t be able to run the same as before. Maybe the anxiety my work life has put me through for the last 18 months is taking a toll on me. Maybe my peak running years are behind me. Maybe it is a combination of everything.

But this difficult year has been an opportunity to analyze life from a different perspective and realize I am still very blessed. My running life is not my life, it is just part of it. My value as a husband, as a father, as a friend, as a son, as a coach or as a professional, is not tied to my marathon PR or my medal rack display at home. I still have a healthy marriage with a wife I adore, a healthy and successful son, both my parents are alive in their eighties and living independently, I have a thriving coaching business, I am part of a phenomenal running community with true friends, and I am injury free. At this stage in my life this is more valuable than running sub-2 in the half once again, or setting up another PR. I call this maturity.

This does not mean I have given up on improvement. I still want to go over 1000 miles in 2024. I still want to run at least 4 or 5 halves and be part of one marathon cycle. I want to get rid of the source of anxiety and lose the extra pounds I added in 2023. I thank God that He is providing me with 12 brand-new, crisp, months to achieve it all.

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