Your watch is a brilliant training tool. On race day, though, it can quietly work against you. If you’ve ever glanced down, seen a number you didn’t like, and felt something shift in your head, you already know what I mean. Learning when to trust your watch, and when to simply run, is one of the most underrated race day skills there is.
The number can mess with your head
Here’s something I feel strongly about. The moment you focus on your heart rate mid race and see that it’s “too high,” or that you’ve drifted into the red, it does something to you mentally. Suddenly you’re worried, you back off, and you end up slower than you needed to be. The data that was meant to help you has just talked you out of your best race. That’s why I never look at my heart rate until after I’ve finished. The race is where you go for it. There’s no holding back.
Race by feel, because you’ve earned it
You’ve trained for this moment, so you don’t play it safe on the day. The only exception is if you’ve built a specific pacing plan with your coach and practised it in training, so you know exactly what those numbers should feel like. Outside of that, feel is king. The gun goes, the adrenaline hits, and everything feels easy for the first few minutes. The watch will happily confirm a pace far quicker than you’ve ever trained at, without ever warning you it’s a trap. That early free speed is borrowed, and the bill always arrives later in the race.
How I actually use my watch
In a training race, I use my watch for one job only. I lap myself as I go in and out of the Roxzone, purely to check I’m running the pace I set out to run. I have a goal time, and that lap button keeps me accountable to it. That’s it. Everything else is feel. And here’s the encouraging part. The more you train and the more you race, the more you simply know what pace you’re running and roughly where your heart rate sits, without needing to look. That instinct is real, but it takes time to build, so be patient with yourself while it develops.
A simple race day rule
- First third, run by feel and deliberately hold back, even when it feels too easy.
- Middle third, settle into your rhythm and trust the effort you know so well.
- Final third, now you race, and if you’ve paced it honestly you’ll have plenty left.
Treat your watch as a guide, not a master. The athletes who finish strong are almost always the ones running their own effort, not chasing a flickering number on their wrist. Trust your training, trust your feel, and save the data for the coffee afterwards.