These 5 Features in a Running Watch Can Improve Your Sessions

Running watches nowadays involve considerably more than just a simple stopwatch.

In fact, the most advanced models have all sorts of handy capabilities such as recording, tracking and analysis features that can do a lot to maximize your running and improve your performance and workouts.

There are 5 specific features in a running watch that can help you optimize your running sessions:

1. Lap Feature Recall: While a basic sports watch will keep a running stop watch, once it is reset, all of the time records are gone. But, a running watch with Lap Memory Recall allows you to keep a record of your sessions in the watch’s memory. This way, you can retrieve the information later and analyze it to help plan future sessions, and track your improvement. If you do quite a bit of repetition work, this is a perfect way to keep track of your times.

2. Countdown or Interval Timer: A basic countdown timer counts down to zero from a pre-set amount of time. When it reaches zero, an alarm sounds and it will either stop or start a running chrono. This is particularly helpful with timed repetition sessions. Interval timers are even handier than countdown timers because they allow you to structure a timed repetition with a timed recovery. For example, you could set the interval timer to count down to zero after three minutes, and then go to the next timer in the process and countdown after two minutes, and so on.

3. Finish Time: This feature comes in really handy if you want to predict the time it will take you to run a certain distance. You just enter your target time into the running watch, and then as you press each marker, you press a button on the watch and it will tell you if you’re on track on not.

4. Heart Rate Zones: This feature is found in running watches that support a hear rate monitor, and lets you set up an upper and lower limit for your heart rate. An alert will be triggered during your session if your heart rate drops too low or climbs too high. A lot of heart rate monitors will record how much time you spend actually in the zone, which is the optimum heart rate to reach for a good cardio workout.

5. Speed and Distance Tracking: It’s always helpful to know your speed. There are a lot of running watches that measure speed and distance in various ways. An accurate device is a foot pod unit, found on many running watches. This unit clips into your shoe and sends a signal back to your watch. It measures speed and distance, as well as cadence. Many running watches have GPS units, too. These are Global Positioning Satellite devices that calculate speed and distance based on a system of satellites that orbit earth and emit continuous signals.

If you are careful to choose a running watch with the above features, it can be a valuable tool in your exercise and running sessions!