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My two MUST HAVE data fields on my watch display come race day

The amount of data available at your fingertips from a GPS running watch is nothing short of incredible. Come race day though I like to filter out the noise and focus on two metrics to help push me to the finish line.

by Mark

My two MUST HAVE data fields on my watch display come race day

The sheer amount of real time data available through modern day GPS wearables is incredible. Having all these metrics readily available can be extremely useful to tailor and adapt sessions to maximise your training effectiveness.

Come race day it is a different story, the work is done, the variables have been accounted for and its time to lock in and see what you have in your legs. For this reason I prefer to filter out all the noise and focus on two main things to help me power to the finish.

PACE

Elapsed time, splits and other time metrics are all well and good but don't really factor in the technical difficulty of the terrain or elevation changes etc. Current pace is different for me though and through honing in my relative paces during my training efforts I find it a good benchmark to control my effort and decide when to push.

For example I know on fresh legs and a medium gradient I can hold sub 10min/k pace if I concentrate and push. 10-12 min/k if I concentrate and take it easy and if I got above 12 min/k pace then I am usually day dreaming and zoned out (something to avoid during races!).

Similarly if I am bombing a downhill and see myself going sub 4 min/k I know my quads are going to be cooked at the end. Early on in a race that would be a good signal for me to back off - whilst if its in the last few kms of a race I know then I am giving it everything I have!

Having my pace on my display helps me do a real time check in with my relative effort and then adjust accordingly, an essential tool to get the best out of myself on race day.

CADENCE

Cadence is the second data field I like to display during races. I have read varying arguments as to the importance of cadence for running performance. I am not going to argue those points here but will just say it is a highly individualised metric.

My main argument for having cadence on display is it helps me focus on my "ultra shuffle" for those longer events. (If you want to know what the ultra shuffle looks like check out Ricky Gates running style in his youtube documentary transamericana ).

Taking quicker and shorter strides helps me to maintain pace whilst keeping my feet underneath me and places less stress/force on my stabilising leg muscles. This helps my legs to last longer during and race and I find is particularly useful to get myself moving again after a big climb.

So give these two metrics a try in your next training run and see if they work for you. Otherwise if you're looking for other suggestions on what works for other people check out the discussion on our online trail running forum post

Comments

@mat.moretrail

Love heart rate too, I generally run to feel but if I'm heading up a hill it's a good guide for when I'm working too hard.

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