I got a watch for Father’s day this year. Today was the first time I actually got to use its features. It is a Timex Ironman. Has a memory of 50 laps. I thought that was a nice modest amount to start with. Some day I will need a 100 lap watch, but right now, more than 25 laps is out of my need zone.
I ran a 5 Km. route. With Google Earth I was able to know where each of my kilometers ended. I ran “laps” of 5:38, 5:35, 5:38, 5:33 and 5:37 for a total time 28:02:47. That is not wonderfully fast for some people, but it is for me and I am happy. That works out to 9:01:something per mile.
What is cool about it is with the 2 tools of Google Earth and a watch with a lap counter, I can do speed work without having to go to a track. I can just step out my door and start on my run for the day. On the other hand, going to the track is much safer than running on the road.
Since I moved recently, I have not had any routes at the new house that were measured. I have been running the last several weeks on time only. Just run a certain number of minutes and call it a day. That works fine if you are not actually training for anything, but since I am starting to train for the Phedippidations World Wide Half Marathon, it is helpful to actually work certain distances (or close to those numbers) at certain speeds. Some days it will be all out running, where some days it should be a very casual pace.
I have all the tools I need to be ready for the race. Now I just have to get out there and train. That is the fun part.