Let me preface this by saying that I “race” for fun; I’m not concerned about placement, nor am I super competitive. Racing, for me, is me against the course and my own fitness level.
That being said, I’m at the point where I’m debating racing sans any electronics (no watch, no phone, no bike computer). To date, the data I gather from my Edge or Forerunner while on course is purely informational…it doesn’t necessarily push me to run/ride faster (I give it all I’ve got when participating in a “timed event”), and I don’t do much with the data afterwards. I do use training run/ride data to know how I’m doing with my overall fitness, but for racing I’m not really sure I need the electronic distraction. I keep thinking about our predecessors years ago (from the original TdF riders to the first Ironmen/women) who raced with a regular watch, or nothing at all.
Personally I don’t use anything. Lost my bike computer about a year ago and realized I don’t really need it. Never used anything in training either other than my watch and checking the distance on google maps or counting laps. In racing I like just pushing myself as hard as I can vs. trying to stay at a certain speed or power output, I think to some extent you can hold yourself back with technology. I.e. if you’re stronger than expected (more power) and back off unnecessarily or if you’re slower than you’d expected and get discouraged. In my experience I’ve done better without technology as I’ve found it’s better for me not to know how hard I’m actually going. This might change depending on the types of races you’re doing, the longest races I do are OD.
How long are the races you race? My own experience is that, particularly in half-Iron distance races, that the data feedback I get from my GPS and power meter help me optimize my pacing. I just don’t race those types of races often enough to feel confident in my perceived exertion, particularly early in the bike or run.
In sprint and Olympic races I find it less necessary because I do those races more often and have a better sense of how it feels to be at the optimal pacing. I also think it helps in these races that there is a smaller change between the perceived exertion at a given pace from the start to finish. For example, running 4 minute kms in a sprint race feels pretty dang hard in the first and last kilometre in a sprint tri. In a half-iron I find running a 5 minute kilometre really easy in the first kilometre and damn near redlining it by the last one. Without real time pacing I know I would (and even with the data, have) go out too fast at the start and be unable to get my best time in.
I left my Garmin at home during my last IM, so raced that one ‘naked’. I had a huge PR, but fell short of my finish time goal. I went really easy early on to not overdo it, and ultimately couldn’t make up enough time at the end of the run. That’s the only time in 4 years of Tri when I didn’t race / train with a watch.
In shorter races, I personally find that without a ‘leash’ I go way too hard. The only time I can realistically “give it my all” in a race is in the last 500m of the run. Otherwise, I’m always balancing going as hard as I think I can go given the duration that’s left.
I’m sure with more practice I could hone this in, but alas I’m bad at it. I’ve never felt distracted by my watch. If I want to go all out for intervals and not know my power, I don’t look at it. When I need a check-in to see how I’m doing, I look at it.
I have by way of forgetting to charge the device and having it die and while I never train without, racing without isn’t a big deal. I find it much more advantageous with training to ensure proper zones and get a gauge of how I am responding. Race data is used simply as a look back, a verification of training and race planning. I still record it (if I remember to charge it) but my races don’t live or die by the real time data.
EDIT: In fact the only race day real time data I rely on are 15min reminders to eat/drink otherwise I forget.
Thanks for all the replies, guys and gals; much appreciated!
I think part of my problem is getting hung up on the tech; I remember racing with a Forerunner 205 and having all the data I needed. Might be time to go “old school” and go that route again…that way I get the device and data, without all the bells and whistles.
I race with SRM to avoid over doing it on the bike in 70.3 and IM but I run on feel. It keeps me connected to how I feel vs remaining real estate. In training I run with Gps. I used to race with GPS but found that when pace started to erode, that got demotivstional.
I’m old enough to have started triathlon (and cycling and running before) without any electronics. I now have SRM, gps etc. I use this to analyse data and help pacing. Having said that, few years ago I broke the wristband of my watch the night before and IM and decided rather than panic go back old school with no gadget, including masking my power meter. I had a great race with pretty good pacing, simply using my sensations. For lesser experienced athletes or when changing distance, electronics can help monitoring what is happening, BUT the link between sensations and objective external measurement must be made in training, otherwise one simply becomes dependent on gadgets. I like what Gordo says about powermeter in a race: it’s a ‘stupidometer’, especially early in a race.
I might be wrong but I don’t think Kienle raced with a GPS/Powermeter/watch in Kona this year. E voila, you have your answer.
World class marathonners don’t use a watch for pacing either.
Off course you van do without but GPS, pacing watches and power meters are a useful tool for us mere mortals but are not necessarely needed for top performances.
