The Running Marketer

As much as I deny it, my husband is right and my watch does direct a lot of what I do. He says I let it control me. I say it directs me.

My watch–a Garmin Forerunner 265s for those curious–is pretty useful. I use it to remind me to drink enough. The gamification encourages me to move more. I can use it to pay for things and play music without my phone. And it has safety alerts when I’m running. Helpful things.

It also predicts my race times and predicts I’ll run the Ballarat Marathon in April in 6 hours 32 minutes and 27 seconds. Not helpful.

I know the time is calculated from my current walking pace and bike workouts. They’ve been intentionally slow, but putting me more than half an hour past the cut off time and 90 minutes slower than what I’m really likely to run?!?

So 6:32:27 hurts. It hurts a lot.

What’s hard to admit is that my watch is probably correct. It’s even ambitious. I’ve never hit its estimates for me before. It’s accurate for today. Logically I know it. Emotionally I want to deny it.

I have just over 23 weeks to build back my strength and capacity and I can do it easily. I only turn on the electric part of my bike when it’s too much for my injured leg or a particularly steep hill. Deep water running starts on Friday, and I now have clearance to hop. Running returns soon.

Getting back to a 5 hour marathon will happen. I just have to be patience and put the work in.

And not let my watch control me. I’m better than that.

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Today’s photo is from a favourite route at the Blackburn end of the Gardiners Creek Trail.