So there I was recently running along a deserted seafront at Southport in driving rain and wind, battling against the elements when suddenly my gps watch decided to switch itself off. Obviously, I was not the only one who did not like the conditions.

The point about this is that I rarely use this type of device and I was happy to continue running, adapting my pace to the conditions and environment. The learning is, how often do you go watchless for a training session and allow yourself the luxury of listening to your body and running to how you feel. After time you may even begin to recognise what different paces feel like.

If your gps watch had gone into shut down mode in a race what would you have done, gone into a state of panic, asked the race organiser to stop the race whilst you find the satellite, or continued running in the belief that all will be well?

So go on, occasionally forget technology and run watchless. The technology companies may not like it but I suspect you will.