I’d like to share with you a tip I give to Club HillRunner.com members around this time every year.
As the weather gets colder and your long sleeve shirts and jackets come out of the closet, take advantage of that gear by covering your watch and not looking at it while you’re running.
You can still have the benefit of recording your run data and looking at it after the run if you choose to do so. However, practice the skill of not looking at it during the run and instead tuning into your body. Believe it or not, your body will tell you all you need to know during the run.
Why should you cover the watch?
Don’t get caught up in numbers
When you’re constantly checking your watch, you risk getting caught up in numbers. You then often will get competitive with yourself. You’ll want to go faster or at least not go slower, even if you need the rest.
By tuning into your body instead, if you’re ready for a faster pace, you’ll naturally do so. If you need some rest, you’ll naturally do that.
Get in tune with your body
Related to the above point, when you are checking your watch, you often neglect the skill and practice of paying attention to your body.
By not checking the watch, you are taking away an easy distraction and you can free up your attention to listen to your body.
Practice other skills
When do you reflexively look at your watch when it’s visible? If you’re like me, you hear the mile chime and instantly take a look.
I love to cover the watch and use seeing the sleeve instead of the watch as a cue to do something else. That once a mile chime can work perfectly for a form check, maybe a breathing or cadence check. If there’s something you want to work on, building in the habit of checking once a mile when your watch tries to steal your attention is a great use of the covered watch.
Give it a try
Next time you’re running with long sleeves, just give it a try. Cover the watch up and, when you look and see your sleeve, put your focus back on your body, maybe do a form check, and don’t worry about what the watch says. If it really doesn’t work for you, you can always uncover the watch for the next mile split.