Sport has always been central to my life, especially swimming and running. Exactly 30 years ago, I bought a Polar Accurex heart rate monitor with my civilian service wages from a triathlon shop. That chunky watch must have cost around 500 marks. Back then (and now) that was serious money.
But I wore it daily. My faithful companion through cycling marathons and later, actual marathons.
Back then you’d strap a tight black rubberised band around your chest. The thick plastic contact strips near your heart often needed saliva to get enough contact for the heart rate reading. Different times. But that’s not what this is about today.
If you can make it to New York….
Almost 25 years ago I ran my last marathon in New York. Cold December day in 1996. That was—and remains—a meaningful experience for me. Without that trip and that finish line, my life would have unfolded differently.
Inspired by “if you can make it to New York, you can make it anywhere,” I made bold decisions. Somehow though, that was also the end of my marathon era and serious running. I never stopped running completely. But I rarely entered races after that.
More running, better mood
There were phases when I ran a lot, almost daily. Other periods of my life, my running shoes sat unused in the corner for months. Small gadgets—especially new heart rate monitors (mostly Polar, lately Garmin) or shoes (I was sceptical at first, but now love the plush Hoka One Ones)—always brought me back to running.
Sometimes I forget this simple truth. But the people around me know better: when I’m in a foul mood, they send me out for a run. Afterwards I’m restored, feeling good again. I need this physical outlet.
When I run regularly—three to four days a week consistently—I simply feel better.
Garmin vs Apple Watch: which is better for runners?
Until recently I ran with a Garmin Forerunner 645 Music. Practical—I could listen to podcasts while running through Bluetooth headphones. Unfortunately, you could tell this was Garmin’s first model that could play music. The Bluetooth connection to my bone conduction headphones often failed, and loading podcasts was fiddly. Usually didn’t work as hoped.
The watch never remembered where I’d stopped listening to a podcast, so I rarely reached the end of episodes.
I’d gotten used to my Garmin’s quirks, but recently I went weak and bought an Apple Watch. Overall I like it, though as a runner I have some criticisms:
Heart rate isn’t prominently visible. Maybe I haven’t found the right watch face yet, but I can’t really see what heart rate I’m running at. The Garmin handled this much better.
The Apple Watch needs charging daily. The Garmin lasted four to five days. You get used to it, but I find it annoying. We’re currently in lockdown, so I’m not travelling. But on trips, this means always carrying my Apple Watch charging cable.
The running apps are excellent, but have one crucial flaw. I’m testing the Nike Running Club app right now. Makes a great impression. I like having a trainer in my ear talking about training plans and load management. More than that—the trainer gets me thinking in that typically American way. It motivates me.
I like that Nike Running Club lets me load running sessions onto the watch (“40 Minute Run,” “Speed Run,” “Running in the Heat”). What’s missing are workouts that incorporate heart rate—say, an “under 130 BPM” running programme. The voice could tell me to slow down because my pulse is above that threshold. My old Garmin does this better. I can set upper and lower limits.
Back during that New York marathon, the watch beeped at 165. I can’t imagine running 3.5 hours at that heart rate now. Different topic entirely.
I’ve been running more regularly for a few months now and I’m getting back into the swing of it. Overall I’m very satisfied with the Apple Watch and looking forward to the next run.
You can connect with me through Nike Running Club (if you use it) or via Strava.
The German original lives at reinergaertner.de, my blog since before most of the internet existed (1997). Translation: AI. Quality control: me, squinting. Apologies in advance.