Rely more on your bodily sensations and your performance during key sessions than on your GPS watch's pace estimates to define your race-day running rhythm.

noli's read

This advice is based on the concept of Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), a tool validated by numerous studies as an excellent regulator of intensity (Meta-analysis, Foster et al.). Research confirms that technological tools, based on predictive algorithms, ignore crucial variables such as nervous fatigue, stress, or fluctuating environmental conditions (Observational studies on the validity of GPS watches). It is accurate that running economy and psychological state impact actual performance, elements that the body naturally integrates. The advice is relevant within a self-regulation approach, although the 'exaggerated' aspect may lie in the underestimation of the informative value of GPS data, which remain useful benchmarks for avoiding starting too quickly. In summary, the literature supports the idea that the runner gains efficiency by learning to correlate their internal sensations with their external data.

the sources

No named source held this one up — that absence is part of the verdict.