When I first began running in high school on the track team, it made sense to carefully clock every mile and push myself to race for personal bests. But as I changed from running for sport to running for amusement as an adult, I found that tracking my workouts often just ended with frustration. And it wasn't until my watch battery died several years ago that I first experienced the sense of calm that came with running for the pure joy of it. I never replaced the watch battery, and that might not be a bad thing for my fitness goals.
This is the idea of unplugged(不插电的) running, which is gaining steam in the fitness community. And recent research has shown that getting rid of your running watch, especially if it's a smartwatch or fitness tracker, could actually improve your workout—or at least your enjoyment of running.
"People used to have an interest in their sport and get enjoyment out of the sport, but now that'sswitching to the data, " said Eoin Whelan, a senior lecture r at the National University of Ireland Galway. "They will compare themselves to people who are better than them, who are running faster or runninglonger. And in the end we know that makes them feel bad. "
Whelan also noted that people who are very dependent on smart watches or fitness trackers are more likely to skip their workouts if the batteries on their tracking devices are dead.
In addition, there is evidence that running watch-free is beneficial for more than just the casual jogger. Some professionals also have had success with leaving their watches at home. Welsh runner Steve Jones famously set a world record at the 1984 Chicago Marathon without wearing a watch. More recently, Olympic marathoner Trevor Hofbauer made headlines for winning the 2019 Canadian Marathon Championships without a watch.
"If you have too much information being fed to you in real time, it can kind of get in your head, " Hofbauer said. " For me, the simpler, the better. "
