Shoes, appropriate clothes, sweat-resistant sunscreen: These things are hard to do without.
But those running watches that it seems like everyone has?
You dont need one on your first day.
You dont even need your phone.
It’s kind of strange that fitness has become almost synonymous withtrackingfitness: How many steps are you taking?
How many calories are you burning?
How many minutes per mile was your pace when you went jogging this morning?
What was your heart rate?
But you dont need to know any of this.
This process does not require you, at any point, to look at numbers on a screen.
So do you need a Garmin, a Fitbit, an Apple Watch, or any of their kin?
I have a vague idea of time and mileage, but no precise numbers.
Want to run 3 miles?
How to do without: Measure a route beforehand.
For a nicer interface, use an app likeFootpath.
It can be handy to have a few routes on hand for common distances you like to run.
Time
The watch tells you: how long youve been running.
How to do without: Go by feel.
Do faster intervals at a pace that feels challenging but doesnt leave you gassed.
The exact numbers arent important.
If youre an experienced runner, use that experience!
How do you feel when youre running 10-minute miles?
How to do without: Honestly, if youre a beginner, dont use heart rate at all.
So, go with perceived effort here too.
Do you feel like you could keep this up almost forever?
Like you could talk on the phone with only a little bit of heavy breathing?
Thatsthe famous zone 2.See, you didnt need a heart rate monitor after all.
Without a watch, youre on your own for this stuff.
Well then, Ill go out on Tuesday and run (roughly, approximately) 3 miles.
The following week, I started adding a little mileagedoing 2 miles most morning instead of 1.5.
This worked beautifully as a gentle re-introduction to running, and honestly?
I dont think I would have done it this way if I were wearing a watch.
But once I was in the habit, it was easy to add mileage.
These days, I have a few neighborhood routes in mind.
I keep track of my mileage in a notebook.
Three miles, five times a week, is 15 miles.
Ill usually head to a nearby park where I know the mileage of my favorite trails and roads.
When I hear that song, I turn around.
Thats a 45-minute run in the booksin the ballpark of four miles or so.
Can I use my phone instead of a running watch?
Pros of phone based running apps:
No need to buy special equipment like a watch.
Numbers are available anytime you want to pull your phone out and look at them.
Youre probably bringing your phone anyway to listen to music.
Youll get a map of your run after the fact (thanks to your phones GPS).
The app will keep track of your mileage over time.
GPS tracking on phones is not as accurate as the tracking on watches.
GPS tracking tends to run a phones battery down faster than if you werent using the GPS.
What are the best running apps to use if you dont have a phone?
The classic is Strava.
But you might also record a run from the Strava app directly, no extra unit needed.
Other popular running apps includeMapMyRun,Runkeeper,Adidas Running(formerly Runtastic), andNike Run Club.
There are also some general fitness apps that can track running data, likePolar BeatandIntervals Pro.
How do you track mileage when running without a watch?
(In the olden days, we would sometimes drive a route and use the odometer.)
How do you pace yourself when running without a watch?
By paying attention to your body.
Youll learn over time what each appropriate pace feels like.
Do I need a watch to run a marathon?
But its notnecessaryin any way.
This is how almost everybody trained until running watches became more accessible about 10 or 15 years ago.
Its notjustgrab one of these temporary tattoosthat has them all calculated for you.
What is the best running watch for beginners?
Fortunately, we havea guide to the best watches for runners here.
