There is a spot on my left wrist about 2 inches wide that is smooth to the touch and around 3 shades whiter than any other part of my body (which is pretty WHITE if you have seen me with no shirt). My wrist now feels naked without the Nike running watch that was it's companion for over a year. The watch, a gift from my beautiful wife Stephanie, finally gave out. A runner becomes incredibly dependent upon his/her watch, frequently looking at it on the run for a steady stream of feedback (whether postitive or negative). I have run without my watch now for over a week. Out of habit, I still reach for the stop button every time I pause to cross a busy street, tie a shoe, or fend off a dog attack. My watch was my way of measuring how far I had run; I knew if I ran for an hour that I had completed at least 9 miles.
Without the running time strapped around my wrist, I have been simply running on feel. I run until my legs begin to feel tired, then I stop. Surprisingly, the fatigue usually sets in about an hour later. However, what I have noticed is that the runs seem shorter. An hour run seems more like 30 or 40 minutes; time seems to pass by at a much faster rate. Perhaps the running watch provides too much feedback. I know with a watch, I would constantly look down at my time to check my progress only to discover that I still had 50 minutes of running left to do. I have also been able to run at a much more relaxed pace, paying attention to how my legs feel instead of trying to push and run a route faster than the time before.
Still, it seems strange to start a run without pushing a START button. I intend to send my watch off for repair, and I look forward to getting it back soon. But, I think it would be a good idea to incorporate some "watch-less" days of running into my training, especially on easier recovery days where pace is irrelevant.
