Nice article on Yahoo News about the use of GPS and other electronic devices in training. I am a big believer in technology making you a better athlete, but I also think we should have days where we just go running for fun. The GPS thing is great, though, as I now feel I can go running whereever I want and I will know exactly how far I have gone, whereas before it was always the same routes that I had measured in the car.

One thing not discussed in the article that would be a big help for runners is the use of the GPS during a race for setting pace. For instance, the Garmin Forerunner 305 has a training partner mode where you can set the pace you want to run and then monitor whether you are ahead of or behind your pace.  Why not use this in a race?  Race pacing is one of the hardest things about running.  With this watch, it becomes trivial (as long as you have a reliable signal for the GPS).  Just dial in your pace at the start and then go out and run it (assuming you are realistic about your pace).  No more sub-6 minute start when you really only meant for a 6:30 pace.  Heck, you may even be able to achieve a negative split time (which all racers should aspire to) during the race by speeding up a bit at each split.

Now, if only I had $300 to spend on a toy to make me run faster!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 5th, 2006 at 6:09 am and is filed under Running, Training, Triathlon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.