I hate my GPS watch right now. After many months of injury I am actively avoiding it. I hardly ever charge it up anymore. The watch is feeling neglected too. It’s sat in the hallway, unused and rejected by it’s owner. It’s been sat there so long that it’s reset itself to January 2007 in some kind of attention seeking blip, begging for a software update. Well right now it’s not getting one.
Ok, I’ve told an untruth. I have used it recently. I used it for a 4 mile run just after I started running again. I’m still none the wiser as to why I set it to track my run and my pace. I kept looking at it and was continually depressed by the fact I was running slower than my marathon pace. Every time I looked down at it I felt like I was having my nose rubbed in how slow I was. My watch was taunting me, ‘Look at you, you’re pathetic. Why are you even bothering? Just walk, it’s all you’re good for!’
When I finished the run, which felt dreadful anyway, it just stopped. No ‘well done’ or ‘you smashed it’ message on the screen like it used to. It was a run where the least said the better. I left the watch on the side and walked away, not even flinching when my son took it to pretend it was a Ben 10 Omnitrix.
So my watch and I haven’t spent a lot of time together since then. I feel that I’m enjoying my running more without it. No pressure, no furtive looks to see how fast I’m going and no feelings of failure at the end of the run however or whatever I’m feeling.
Technology and running can be a blessing but occasionally it can become a bit of a curse. We can become so dependent on it that we forget to run for the love of running and instead have our run dictated to us. This is fine if we are doing tempo runs or have a specific training goal but this isn’t me right now. I need to learn to run and enjoy training again. I’m still building back up to regular running which after 6 months of injury I’m finding tough, mentally and physically. So until I get my fitness back up the GPS is staying at home where it can’t mess with my head and we won’t fall out.
(Twatchops is an anagram for Stopwatch)
Running Mum 
I had a knee injury last year and didn’t run for 6 months… started running again the end of last year… and I would not leave your device at home – I didn’t – even though I would run 3 k in 30 min… and had to walk in-between… it is great to track your progress… never mind time and distance, you’re out there and that is what really matters… right ?