I was running through Valley Forge Park yesterday. About a mile in, I glanced down at my Garmin. It showed my heart rate in big, bold letters, then my lap pace and my distance.
These three indicators are really all I need for a good run... here is why.
I want to keep my heart rate in check at all times. For example, when I plan to run a relatively easy 5 miles, then I want to build my heart rate as I go. So the first mile or so, I keep it under 150, then below 155, then below 160, and not worry about it in the last couple of miles.
Lap pace is important too. I don't really care what pace I am going at any point in time. But if I plan to go out easy, say a 9min pace, then drop it as I go, then I can use the lap pace to keep me close to the mark. If I have .25 miles left in mile three and I was trying to do a 7:30, but I'm at 7:35, I can pick it up a bit. This is good practice for race pacing on longer races.
The distance indicator is more to feed the other two indicators.
With all of that said, I will sometimes use total time for my primary indicator, if I plan to do a 90 minute run or longer.
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