To watch or not to watch: could training by feel make you a faster triathlete?

As triathletes, we love our technology and training stats. We want to know how fast we go on runs, how quickly our heat beats during hard swims, how much power we push on the bike, and more. All of these stats and numbers are great, as they can help us figure out how to improve in each area of our training.

With that being said, there is something to training based on feel—no fancy watches or wearable tech, just your body, your mind, and the task at hand. There’s no right or wrong way to train, but here are a few reasons why you might want to test a feel-based approach once in a while.

Know your paces

Imagine this: you get into T1 after a great swim. Your legs feel strong and ready to go. You set off onto the bike course, look at your watch or computer, and… It’s dead. If you obsessively watch your times, your paces, your wattage, or any other stats, you’ll know that you can push a certain speed, but will you be able to trust your body to not go too far past your limits and risk blowing up midway through the race?

If you train based on feel, however, you will know what your race pace feels like. You’ll know when you’re going too hard or if you’re holding back and have another level to give. We’re not saying you have to abandon technology and numbers altogether—just try to work some effort-based workouts into your schedule, too.

Get into your workouts

Looking at your watch or computer constantly can prevent you from getting into a flow state or into “the zone” in workouts. When you ditch the tech for a swim, ride, or run, you can let your mind focus on the activity and nothing else, which will help you reach that flow state and nail your workout.

Numbers can hold you down

If you go into racing or training with a goal pace in mind, you might be afraid to push past it and go faster even if you feel like doing so is well within your abilities. If you train by feel every now and then, you will get used to listening to your body and you’ll become more aware of when to push and when to stay steady or pull back a bit. This will help on race day when you hit your goal pace, as you can ask your body if it’s time to push harder or not (rather than sticking to what the numbers on your watch say).

Have more fun

There is something freeing and fun about going for a swim, bike, or run without any technology. If you haven’t done it in a while, we highly recommend trying it out today. Odds are you’ll love it.