I try to not use the ‘pause’ function on the Garmin. It’s just too tempting. Before you know it, you are pausing not just to shed a layer, but for a stile, a cattle grid, a view... the temptation is to press pause to do x, but then there becomes a pause for a y and a z, which is REALLY about catching my breath. And therefore cheating. Tennis players might pause between games for a banana, or exit the court for a comfort break, but you don’t tend to see runners taking a time out with the clock stopped. I wonder how long Usain Bolt would take to run the marathon if he could do it in 100m segments with a break in between?!* You get my point. It defeats the object, which in my case, is running for 30 minutes nonstop, tiptoeing over cattle grids and straddling stiles with the clock still ticking.
Anyway. I pressed pause for the second time in C25K The Return on this run. It was, again (genuinely) to disrobe (though I can’t pretend that a 30 second time out doesn’t do wonders for my heartrate). Storm Isha has a chilly bite, and I’m a bit depleted, so I felt cold and went (again) for too many layers. The reflective vest is impeding my usual wrestling whilst waddling striptease. Houdini might be able to keep moving whilst shrugging out of it, but it’s beyond me. It’s like I’m gift wrapped in this neon pink harness.
I deliberately didn’t press pause at the start of a hill, because that would definitely be multi-purposing. I waited until a reasonably comfortable moment - I say reasonably, because when I’m hot, it’s a slog - then did a quick unbuckling, unzipping, wrestling the cuffs over the watch, tying two layers round the waist, etc. Restart and a moment later, bugger, wrong button, nothing is recording. Ah well, start a new recording, keep going, I wonder how long I missed? Can’t be more than a minute? Coach called time. Keep going… keep going…
31 minutes and 31 seconds.
Onwards and upwards.
Does anyone else feel the lure of the “pause” function?!
*I can’t resist. Marathon = 42,195 metres. Let’s give Usain a break and give him 10 metres per second, not the 9.58 WR pace. So that’s 4219.5 seconds/60 = just over 1 hour and 10 minutes. Which means the very best marathon runners are going less than half as slowly as the best 100m sprinters for 26 miles. Which is insane.
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ktsok
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I like to use a tactical pause - but rarely press the button! I will here impart some more of my learned wisdom….. running for me is for fun. It’s not always about beating your previous time, and therefore if you want to stop, then stop! Just because you can run for 30 mins non-stop (well done on that!) doesn’t mean that you have to every time you run. Sometimes I will just run a mile, sometimes I choose a route that has many road crossings purely so that I can take regular breathers and it’s not my fault! I don’t press pause for that though, it is cheating.
Looking forward to your graduation run post in a few days!!
I like the tactical pause! It’s so funny, the rules we make for ourselves. There is a perverse kind of enjoyment in the various sticks, as well as the carrots. Maybe the carrots are ON sticks?! What I mean is, I am enjoying myself, even when I’m not. And I am definitely not trying to beat a previous time (though getting a lower HR average might be a target 🫠)
I only recently discovered pause, and that was doing nrc intervals last week, and I forgot to press it for the 1st 1 or 2🤷🏻♀️. I think this c25k programme has a lot to answer for re feeling guilty if we stop.
I envy people who can stop to take a photo. Maybe that's something to try...
At the moment I am really trying to just get out there. Feeling too slow, or not fast enough can be counterintuitive, you stop enjoying the run and you don't run as often.
I seem to recall you were always a layer shedder🤣🤣🤣
I just run.... the watch stops automatically if I do...
I am at the stage now, building back, where , I am just running , and very grateful that I am... I am working back to 10K for a race in April, but the run will be the thing.. not the time taken...
Sounds a tad boring and unchallenging maybe.., but as we all are, we do it our way.. and as it has been so blinking cold here... I don't stop much anyway... got to keep moving to keep warm!
I will say though...if I reach the station and the barriers are down, I don't stand still and wait, I run up and down the line of cars... looking like a real runner and showing off !
Just because I am ancient. doesn't mean I ain't still got it... and I flaunt it ! 🤣🏃♀️🏃♀️🤣
Another image I now have of Old Floss (along with the battle cry of “freeeeeedom”) is as Station Monitor. They should make badges for this sort of thing.
“As we all are, we do it our way…” Very true. Bizarrely, the pause thing isn’t overtly about times. Maybe it’s a legacy from the old days of trying to get the blooming 5K in 30 minutes around what seemed like an obstacle course.
The good ol’ days. But the games I play in my head to get through the tougher moments remain!
No, I don't think I've pressed the pause button, so my runs include everything, red traffic lights, photo stops and bathroom breaks on the longer ones. I turned auto pause off a long time ago too
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W9 R3! done it at last!
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