Running motivation: should you pause your fitness watch at the traffic lights?
Source: Running motivation: should you pause your fitness watch at the traffic lights?
We runners usually have a complicated relationship with traffic lights. On the one hand, a red light can provide a much-needed break/chance to switch running podcasts/tighten shoelaces; otherwise they will break your momentum.
Anyone running in a busy city will be all too familiar with having to stop every five minutes to let cars drive by, and if you’re trying to run fast you might be tempted to pause your running watch or Strava app To do this save your splits.
When I started running home from work a few years ago, I was running Strava. Driving from Kensington to Mile End I had to jog in place at every intersection between Green Park and Bank, and besides the heavy backpack, the weekly session was more about keeping time on my feet than trying to make big ones to drive speed. However, in a post-pandemic world where working from home is the norm and walking as a commuter is far less common, I’ve become the person to stop my watch at every opportunity.
To defend against stopping the clock
Some runners will say it’s an ego thing, but I think stopping the clock is more practical than letting it continue. There are no cars, cyclists or pedestrians with cell phone drones in your way during a race. So when you’re exercising, it’s more useful to see the time and effort you’re putting in when you’re actually on the go.
Sure, you can stop to use the restroom (although that can be avoided for some) or have to take a small detour for a drink, but by and large there’s a lot less to do in a parkrun, runthrough 10k, or marathon Obstacles on your way than there are in a random run.
Stopping your watch also gives you a chance to do a little active rest (which you don’t need/want during an actual running event). If you have tight tendons, jogging in place can prevent them from becoming stiff and painful. You can do some hamstring and side stretches, move your hips, flex your calves. A stopped clock isn’t an invitation to stop, but it might give you a chance to stretch without worrying that it’s time to get going again.
Lauren Geall, stylistThe digital author of , volunteer Strong Woman and recent convert, runs with an Apple Watch that stops automatically when she stops moving. However, if she didn’t have such a fancy, intuitive tracker, she still stops the clock.
“I think I would still take a break because I really enjoy the sense of accomplishment that running gives me, and being able to track my times and strive to improve is part of that experience,” she explains. “Five or ten seconds at the light may seem small on the whole, but it can make a huge difference when chasing a new 5,000-PB, for example. Also, it doesn’t hurt anyone, so who cares if I’m pedantic?”
Why it can be liberating to let the clock tick
I’m with Lauren: who cares if we stop our own trackers on our own runs? However, if you ask many runners, they will roll their eyes at the idea of stopping the clock, because for them it is about a holistic running philosophy.
When I asked on Twitter if it was customary to stop trackers at traffic lights, 64% voted to keep the clock running – far more than I expected. I thought most runners were like me, who frantically roll up their sleeves to stop their watch at the slightest disturbance. Not so, says running blogger Alistair Jones, who explains that he “always let it run. Start at the beginning, stop at the end”.
It’s the idea that you hit ‘start’ when you leave your house, and from there the timing becomes secondary to the overall experience. “I find if I stop for any reason, I enjoy a little burst when I start again, so it all evens out anyway,” Jones said – suggesting that many runners are “too obsessed with numbers.”
He’s right, of course; I’ve been annoyed for days when my Garmin “cheats” me a mile on a morning jog or when I realize I haven’t restarted Strava after a temporary hiatus. These things don’t negate the work done, but when numbers are the main motivation, you run the risk of a lot going wrong (poor GPS connection, low battery, forgetting to stop/start, etc.).
While it all depends on what you want out of running and what you find motivating, there may be room for excursions when you break your run and those where you let it run. If you’re going slow on a long or easy run, does it make sense to pause your time? Then again, these habits are hard to break, and if maintaining a certain split is crucial to getting you out the door in the first place, then, friend, keep holding on.
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