Wearable technology is all the rage in running and other sports. There are benefits to having statistics and paces available almost instantly. Do they really help you get faster and are the necessary for success?
Wearable technology can be beneficial if you know how to use it to your advantage, but is not always necessarily required for success. Someone with a marathon coach certification may recommend a GPS tracking watch to a new client. These watches are beneficial to people who are doing drills to improve speed and agility or training for distance. A GPS watch can track pace and average run time. You are able to upload the information to your computer and see patterns over time to monitor improvements made on a specific course. You can track and compare your fastest miles and your longest distances to see where improvements can be made. This can also be beneficial if you are trying to find the reason to a problem, such as rib pain while running. If you normally run an eleven minute mile and had rib pain during a specific portion of your run, you could track that specific portion of your run. The usual culprit would be you ran that specific mile too fast! Having access to that type of data could help you see where you need to slow down or speed up to keep the desired pace or goal time.
Activity trackers and pacing tools are great for interval training or Galloway Method running. You can use the tracker or pacing tools to set your desired interval pace times. Using a tracker or device can help ensure that your pace stays consistent throughout your run. This is very important for distance runners. Going out too fast or trying to hold onto a pace that is too fast will hurt your time in the end or make you more susceptible to injury. Using a tracker is a great way to make sure you stay steady and within the pace and times that you have trained for. Runners recommend these trackers as a tip for running in heat as well. Slowing down their pace and taking interval breaks allows them to get through those miles in adverse weather conditions.
Heart rate monitors are also great tools for individuals who use heart rate training to increase endurance training. Heart rate monitors can also be beneficial for those who are running while overweight. You can make sure that your heart rate does not get too high putting your health at risk.
Wearable technology can certainly help you with training and help you to reach specific goals. They are not necessary for success and you can still enjoy the sport of running without them. If you have specific training zones you are trying to obtain, a tracker is the only way to make sure you are getting that specific type of training since you will have more accurate information to track.
