How Pixel Watch 3 is helping me train for a marathon and 50k

Sep 17, 2024

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In little than a month, I’m moving my 3rd marathon — and 2 weeks aft that, my first-ever 50k. I’m decidedly pushing myself much than I ever have, but luckily for maine I person much information astir my fittingness level and my betterment than ever. I’ve been training pinch the Pixel Watch 3 and Fitbit Premium complete the past fewer weeks, and present are 5 things I learned that will (hopefully) thief maine tally my individual champion adjacent month!

1. I recovered a caller slumber — and societal — schedule

The astir revealing stat that aided my training was my Sleep Score. It’s 1 point to consciousness tired and different point to spot an existent people and different data that shows you your assemblage needs to rest. By wearing my Pixel Watch 3 to sleep, I utilized Fitbit Premium to spot slumber trends truthful I could set some my training schedule and my habits. I for illustration scheduling my agelong runs connected the weekends — but I besides for illustration seeing my friends connected the weekends. I noticed that connected nights I had societal plans, I typically slept worse, truthful a Friday nighttime get-together followed by a Saturday greeting tally was tough. This mightiness sound overly obvious, but I figured if I logged capable hours of sleep, I’d beryllium OK; that simply isn’t the lawsuit for me. What I eat and portion and really overmuch power I expend besides affects my sleep. Seeing my people arsenic good arsenic stats for illustration my awake clip changed my thinking. So I’ve been making judge that I scheme to spot friends the nighttime following my large play run, aliases moreover the adjacent day.

I besides learned from my slumber stats that I thin to autumn dormant accelerated and past aftermath up an hr aliases 2 later. So if I cognize I want to get successful a challenging workout the adjacent day, I should spell to furniture an hr earlier truthful that obnoxious mediate of the nighttime wake-up isn’t arsenic detrimental to my readiness the adjacent day. And this has paid off: The days I spell to furniture earlier consistently correlate pinch higher Readiness scores, helping maine hole to activity retired alternatively of recover.

2. I gained assurance successful knowing erstwhile to push my pace

One of the trickiest things astir marathon training is knowing erstwhile to push it to summation your fittingness and erstwhile to propulsion backmost truthful you don’t get hurt. When I started training, I was beautiful tired aft a 10-mile run, but that’s emotion easier these days. Still, I thin to clasp backmost connected my velocity during agelong runs because I’m worried I’ll pain retired excessively accelerated — moreover though I cognize my fittingness level is increasing. Cardio load and Target load person been highly helpful: In summation to my Readiness people — which is besides a useful penetration — these 2 metrics return things moreover further. Cardio load helps maine understand my workout strength arsenic good arsenic really difficult my bosom is moving passim the day, and Target Load is simply a proposal of really overmuch activity I’m fresh for based connected my caller Cardio load numbers and Readiness.

Plus, Readiness was precocious recalibrated truthful that it doesn’t facet successful caller activity, looking astatine bosom complaint variability, slumber and resting bosom complaint instead. So conscionable because I'm training for a marathon and signaling much activity than usual, the app won't automatically show maine a debased Readiness score: It will return these different factors into relationship and spot that my fittingness level is expanding and I tin grip more. I tin usage these 3 scores to get an thought of really overmuch cardiovascular power I person and really fresh I americium to push my speed. A precocious Target load number gives maine immoderate added assurance to tackle sprints aliases effort to tally my mile splits faster!

3. I person a amended thought of really difficult my bosom is working

I’ve been utilizing the Pixel Watch 3 to salary attraction to my bosom complaint — the latest Pixel Watch features our astir meticulous bosom complaint for moving yet1. I person a little bosom rate; partially from moving but besides genetics. And it’s not conscionable my resting bosom rate; while I’m moving retired it stays comparatively debased compared to astir group successful my demographic. And I’ll admit, sometimes erstwhile I cognize I’m moving arsenic difficult arsenic possible, it’s conscionable frustrating not to get into the highest zone. But I’ve recovered a measurement astir this pinch my Pixel Watch 3 and Fitbit app.

As portion of my training, I’ve been moving sprint intervals, the intent of which is to spike your bosom rate. With the Fitbit app, I adjusted the target bosom complaint zones based connected my individual preferences. And I’m not conscionable picking random numbers: The app offers accusation connected really you tin champion quantify your individual bosom complaint zones. Now that excavation are adjusted, I person a amended thought of really difficult my bosom is moving — alternatively of conscionable hanging retired successful “vigorous” the full time, I tin spot erstwhile I deed “peak” while moving intervals.

4. I learned astir bosom complaint variability

Until I tried Pixel Watch 3, I ne'er paid attraction to my bosom complaint variability (HRV). HRV is the variety successful the clip betwixt heartbeats and it tin scope wide from personification to person. Since it’s a stat I didn’t cognize overmuch about, I spent immoderate clip diving into my HRV metrics. I learned that while I’ve been maintaining what looks to beryllium an mean HRV for my body, it tends toward the little extremity for personification of my property and fittingness level — perchance indicating my autonomic tense strategy is stressed. This is simply a really adjuvant penetration to my training — my assemblage is perchance emotion the effects of the added mileage and hours of moving out; I apt could usage much recovery, amended slumber and accrued hydration (time to spell prime up immoderate much electrolyte tablets!).

I cognize my Pixel Watch 3 and the Fitbit app aren’t diagnostic tools, but they’re adjuvant for getting deeper insights astir my body. So it was useful to study astir HRV, and it’s thing I scheme to inquire my expert much astir — and I ne'er would person thought to without seeing these metrics.

5. I focused connected my form

I only person a mates much weeks of dedicated training, truthful it’s important I do much than conscionable log miles — I want to specifically attraction connected moving faster. Pixel Watch 3 and the Fitbit app characteristic a moving study instrumentality that helps maine do precisely this: I tin look astatine charts showing really different things, for illustration stride magnitude and cadence, impact my pace. I tin moreover dive into circumstantial runs and comparison these stats against each different aliases announcement really they changed complete the people of a run. I noticed I could salary much attraction to my vertical oscillation (or bounce) and crushed interaction clip (how agelong my ft is connected the crushed per step), some of which would thief maine amended my time. Fitbit Premium besides has AI-powered workout recommendations based connected your goals, capacity and betterment metrics. There are moreover stretching and mobility recommendations, some of which I scheme connected utilizing rather a spot arsenic title time approaches. So I'll beryllium moving connected those things for the adjacent fewer weeks — that and a really motivating playlist!