Disconnect

If you own a GPS watch, you have probably done it. Delayed the start of your run while you impatiently wait for it to get a location fix. You consider heading off before it has found its clearly errant satellite, but unless you are in a huge hurry, you usually ditch the idea for fear of missing out on recording your precious, hard earned meters.

I like my gadgets. After having done the prerequisite research (“are you STILL looking at watches?”), I purchased a Garmin Fenix 3. It is a technical marvel which can record all manner and means of things. It is the closest thing to a piece of magic that I own. I have no idea how it can work out my vertical oscillation or ground contact time, let alone which leg is in contact with the ground. Apparently my right foot spends 0.8% more time in contact with the ground than my left foot. I have no idea of what use that information is to me, but I still find it far more interesting than the latest tweet from Donald Trump. And having crucial features like these helps me justify why I spent all that money on a little supercomputer that looks like a baby helipad.

My summer project is learning to surf, and I was curious to see what sort of distance I would cover in a session, so into open water swim mode we went. When coming out, I hit the stop button and it buzzed a couple more times than normal. I thought nothing of it, but when I took it off, I noticed it was still recording. It would not respond to any buttons. Turned it off and on. No joy. It was on strike and refused to come back to work.

I asked the all-knowing Google who offered many suggestions. Still no joy. I let the battery run out and recharged it. But now all it will do is show the time. The wrong time. Which would be fine if I lived in Singapore, but I don’t.

We love our technology, until it doesn’t work for us. Then we can get very frustrated with it. I have witnessed some wonderful tantrums that were completely out of proportion to the inconvenience caused by a non-functioning piece of technology. Always entertaining.

Part of the reason for this frustration is due to how said piece of technology has cunningly inveigled itself into our lives. Those sneaky people (who know us better than ourselves) from applebook and other similar companies have done a magnificent job of entwining their software and gadgets into our days. But my technology had just leapt out of my day and appeared to have no intention of returning.

So I went for my first run in a very long time with no tracking device. My left hand felt strangely lighter. What I expected to feel was a slight sense of frustration of not being able to see how far I went, how many vertical meters I climbed, or add to my daily total of steps to give me that that little hit of dopamine when I crack a milestone.

I was wrong. What I felt was freedom. Free from my electronic conscience who quietly exhorts me to round up my time or kilometres. Free from pausing the watch while I take a stone from my shoe or stop to chat (because it would be overstating it if I counted that time!). It was now OK to slow to a walk and take in an amazing view, which I started to do.

Also without the distraction of cadence, pace, and distance, I had freed up that cognitive capacity to listen to myself. My senses were now my tracking device. I listened to my breathing, concentrated on how my dodgy knee was feeling on different terrain, and enjoyed the dance of my feet over the root strewn single track. It reminded me why I love running. It made my run seem a little more pure, being free from my little wonder of modern technology.

Having said all that, I am not going to go all righteous and swear off GPS watches, I do find the data interesting, and like to see I when I break a PB. So even if Google or Garmin comes to my rescue with a remedy, I am going to have more of a tan on my left wrist than I have had for some time.

So try ditching your device every now and then, go untracked. See what difference it makes. You may surprise yours