I recently completed a 10km run at Chester Zoo. It was my first ever race and my first sustained attempt at being a runner. I’d tried to complete the couch to 5K plan in the past, but always dropped out around the 5 week mark, convinced running just wasn’t for me.
And then a shoulder injury meant that I needed to take a 12 week break from weight lifting, so I turned to running as a way to maintain fitness and stay active – aka, not go mental. I have border collie energy, and it needs to go somewhere. Signing up for a 10K was the perfect way to motivate myself and bring a sense of purpose to this time away from the gym.
I used my trusty FitBit throughout training, tracking my runs and watching my performance improve. And then the day of the race arrived, and I started strong. Around the 4K mark, I noticed my pace was way better than it normally was and decided to slow down, scared that I might not have enough left in the tank to make it all the way to the finish line.
And then things started to go wrong. The markers on the side of the road didn’t match what my watch was telling me. My fitness tracker insisted I was much further ahead in the race. My mind reeled. Could I have taken a wrong turn? Either the race markers were wrong, or my fitness tracker was telling me porkies.
I suddenly doubted all of my training – what if I’d never actually run as far as I thought I had. That might mean I don’t have enough in the tank to finish this race.
At a time when I should have been listening to my body and focusing on the race, I was second guessing my training and obsessing about the numbers on the watch.
Knowing that I couldn’t trust the pace on my watch, I suddenly felt lost, unable to work out if I was going way too fast or too slow. I finished the race much slower than I know I could have done if I had been focussed on my music, my heartbeat and the feeling in my body. Mindfulness is something that I apply to almost every area of my life, yet I had left it out of running, instead favouring the rose gold dictator on my wrist.
I thought back to times when I had felt energised, but avoided running because my FitBit app said my daily readiness score was low. I remembered a time in the gym when my personal trainer asked me about my recovery between sets. When asked if the last set had raised my heart rate, I looked at my watch, as if this would offer more insight than I could.
I realised that my fitness tracker was standing in the way of my sense of awareness. It provided me with stats and reassurance, but this was at the expense of knowing my body and its limits.
Fitness should always be about a mind-body connection. Knowing where your limits are, and knowing when you can push through.
I removed the Fitbit when I got home from the race and I haven’t worn it since. I’m not obsessing about hitting my step count or giving myself a break (and an extra cookie) once I’ve hit my calorie burn goal. Instead, I’m listening to my body. I’m resting when I’m tired and I’m pushing myself when I feel I have more to give.
Given I’ve had an average daily step count of 12,000 for the past 3 years, I’m confident that not wearing my Fitbit won’t change this too much. I know that I might not hit 10,000 every single day, but I also know that I regularly exceed my step count. I don’t need the daily pat on the back to let me know I’m doing enough.
By breaking up with my FitBit, I’m paving the way for a more intuitive approach to fitness that forces me to pay attention to how I feel. I might be missing out on some fun stats, but I’m hoping this will make me a better runner and more attuned to my wellness.
I’m not saying that Fitbits are useless. I would still recommend them for anyone starting their fitness journey. However, I think that fitness trackers have a limited shelf life in the fitness journey. Once you know with confidence what pushing yourself feels like, when your body is screaming out for rest, and when you definitely have something left in the tank, I think it’s time to lose the watch and listen to your instincts. You know yourself best.
