Introduction

Runners often don’t take advantage of the tech they are carrying with them, which makes managing and tracking their sessions, particularly interval sessions, more difficult than they need to be.  You already have to focus on your running, breathing, maintaining form, etc; so why make things more difficult than they need to be?

Summary

•  A lot of runners don't realise that the information displayed on their Garmin is configurable and can become a very effective tool to improve your running sessions
• Consider the information that will help you in your training and ensure that information is readily available
• Effective running training that targets your lactate clearing system, your aerobic power, or your anaerobic threshold, will involve some level of interval training so set up your Garmin to best support the session
• Our BE Fit Coach Running Coaching Programs all involved a level of interval training and I always recommend learning to set up your Garmin effectively to support your training, not distract from it

Watch The Video

(Or scroll down to read the article below the video)

Read The Article

You're heading out the door for a run. You select "Run" on your Garmin, wait for the satellites (thankfully these days that's significantly quicker than the 2-5 minutes that we had to wait in the earlier days of Garmin), click start and then you're off...

That's great if you're heading out for a nice steady run and are only really interested in your total time and distance. After all, you can check other things like heart rate and pace on Garmin Connect or Strava when you get back 🤷🏻.

But what if your planned session has any sort of interval requirement to it? Typically any run that is aimed at developing more than just basic cardiovascular fitness and endurance (i.e. your easy runs) will have some element of interval training.

So, what's the problem?

In my experience, most runners will tend to try and work out the intervals as they go. They'll look at the current time/distance and work out how long or how far it'll be for the end of the interval.

So, for example, if you had to run an 800m intervals, you'd look at your current distance (e.g. 2.78 miles) and then add the 800m in your head, which is 0.5 miles, and note that the interval will end at 2.78 + 0.5 = 3.28 miles. You may also try to take note of the time your start the interval so that you can work out roughly how long it took.

Can you see the problem? And that example is just for one interval. You may have to repeat that interval another 7 times, and you'll have to do the mental arithmetic in your head each time.

All of this "extra work" takes your focus away from the actual intention of the session - to improve your running, work on your breathing, maintain form, etc. It's also usually inaccurate, especially as you get more and more fatigued.

You may feel this is all very familiar to you, but you won't be the only one.

Have you ever tried things this way and realised afterwards that your math was slightly out? I have and it's frustrating! It detracts from the quality of the session and the intended benefit that you should be getting from it.

But, what if there was a better way? Well, there is...

A better way 🤔

The information you see on your Garmin screen when running is called a "Data Screen". These screens are configurable AND you can have more than one active at any one time.

There are also lots of fields that can be shown on these screens (way more than you're ever likely to need).

It's worth noting at this point that every Garmin model will have a slightly or even significantly different set of fields that can be displayed, and a different number of available screens and screen layouts. Always refer to the user manual for details on your specific device.

Over my decades of running, I have tried many different configurations of fields and screens. The setup that I have now has become my default as it serves my requirements perfectly.

I'll take you through that setup in the remainder of this article and I'll also explain why I have chosen each field to be shown on each screen. Every piece of data has a clear purpose, because:

"What gets measured, gets attention!"

In other words, be mindful of what you choose to display on your screen as that will take your focus, so make sure it is always something that you need right now - "What's important to you for this run?".

Another important factor to consider when deciding what to show on your Garmin screen is how well can you read the display. A busy screen with lots of data is going to result in a smaller text size that may make it more difficult to read quickly.

I typically limit my screen to 4 fields of data, but if you struggle to read those fields clearly, you may need to consider showing fewer fields.

Before we start looking at the actual screen setup, let's take a look at what information would typically be of the highest value during an interval-based training session.

What do structured running training sessions look like?

In our BE Fit Coach Running Coaching Programs, sessions are typically based on training a particular "system" in the body. This could be cardiovascular endurance, lactate clearing, aerobic power, or anaerobic threshold; but all of them will require running 1 or more intervals for a set distance or time, at a set pace (FYI.. our coaching programs provide individual pace targets for every session).

An example of a typical session could be:

1 E + 2 sets of (6 x 400m R w/400m jg) w/800m jg + 1 E

For an example client, in plain English, this may translate to:

1. Run 1 Mile at Easy Pace (9:30 min/mile), then
2. Run 6 x 400m at Repetition Pace (1:48 mins) with 400m easy jog recoveries
3. Run 800m at an easy jog recovery pace
4. Run 6 x 400m at Repetition Pace (1:48 mins) with 400m easy jog recoveries
5. Run 1 Mile at Easy Pace (9:30 min/mile)

So based on the session structure mentioned above, we will typically want Distance, Pace, and Time. But what else would be beneficial to support the sessions?

Well, that will depend on what other aspects of your running you're currently working on.

What else could help my session?

For a lot of my past clients, this is typically cadence (the number of steps you are taking per minute). Cadence is usually one of the first technique adaptations that I get clients to work on as it can automatically correct a lot of other problems with technique.

Some other less common ones to consider, and why you may want to use them, could be:

• Heart Rate: If you have a particular need to maintain a certain heart rate range or max, then this could be a good one to keep on the main screen. Typically this is important if you have been advised to limit your max heart rate during training for health reasons. Some runners like to use HR as their guide to training intensity and I have no problem with that - AS LONG AS you are working from an accurate starting point. You'll hear a lot of people talk about the "220 minus your age" calculation but as I have mentioned in a previous blog article: (6 Great Reasons You Shouldn't Skip Easy Runs), this is wildly inaccurate for a lot of runners, me included. Take a look at the article to find out more.
• GCT Balance: Ground Contact Time (GCT) Balance, refers to the split in time spent with each foot on the floor. Ideally, you would be seeing an equal 50:50 split in the time, but if you are unbalanced in your running form because of a strength imbalance, a mobility imbalance, or any other reason, then you may be focussing on getting this balance under control so having your current GCT displayed on the main screen could help.
• Vertical Oscillation: Vertical Oscillation refers to the amount of bouncing up and down that you are doing whilst running. This is typically down to poor running technique and maybe something that you are working on in your running sessions. Any energy spent on unnecessary vertical movement is taking energy away from the necessary forward movement of running. Keeping your vertical oscillation visible on the main data screen could help keep your focus.

So, what do I place on my screen?

So by now, you've probably guessed what information I have on the main data screen for my running sessions - it's the same ones I use for my own training and when I'm coaching clients, and these are:

1. (Session) Time
2. (Session) Distance
3. (Current) Pace
4. (Current) Cadence

It looks like this:

Data screen 1

I then use the next screen to capture the "Lap" details so that when I am in each interval portion of a session I can see exactly what I need to do.

The difference between "Lap" values and "Current/Total" values is that they show the total or average for JUST that interval (Lap). To capture these correctly does require one other piece of functionality, and that is to use the lap button to record manual laps on your watch (I always switch off the auto-lap feature as it provides no additional value over what I already get using manual laps).

It would not be feasible to include the setup details of every model of watch that Garmin sells so you will need to check the manual for your specific version, but on my Garmin Forerunner 735XT, the lap button is in the bottom right corner (that is also the back button when navigating through the menu options). The symbol is an incomplete loop with an arrowhead at one end.

The lap button is simply a way of telling your watch to record something at the point the button is pressed to "mark" it as a new section on your run. This means you can have lap-specific information displayed on your watch AND you'll be able to review your run in easy-to-see sections on your Garmin Connect account after the run.

To make the best use of this capability, I always have my second data screen set up to show:

1. Lap Time
2. Lap Distance
3. (Average) Lap Pace
4. (Average) Lap Cadence

It looks like this:

Data screen 2

You'll notice from the 2 images that I keep the field locations consistent so that it's easier to read when switching between screens.

This data screen is then typically the one that I will leave displayed when I am running an interval part of my session.

So how does this all work?

Well, using the example session from earlier in this article (1 E + 2 sets of (6 x 400m R w/400m jg) w/800m jg + 1 E), I would start the Garmin at the beginning of my 1 mile at E-Pace and then once I have reached the mile, I would hit the lap button and go straight into the first 400m at R-Pace interval. Then when I reach the 400m point (0.25 miles shown on the Lap Distance field), I would hit the lap button again to record the end of the 400m section.

Note, that marking the end of the 400m R-Pace section, by default, automatically marks the start of the 400m jog recovery period. I would then continue the jog recovery until I reach the 400m (0.25 mile) point again before hitting the lap button once more and starting the next 400m R-Pace interval.

And that's it! You continue like that until the end of the session. If you need to for any reason, you can still pause and restart the session on your Garmin (this doesn't add any lap markers though so you will still need to remember to use the lap button to mark them).

Keeping your Garmin on data screen 2 throughout this will always show you exactly where you are in each current lap. No more guesswork or mental arithmetic.

What else?

Typically when you hit the lap button, your Garmin will briefly display some basic summary information for the lap you just completed. Typically this is just lap time and lap distance. If you manage to catch sight of it before the screen returns to normal then you'll quickly be able to check how you performed on that interval, but if you can't look quickly enough, or you want to know about more than just time and distance (for example, what was my average pace for that interval? What was my average cadence?), that's when the optional 3rd data screen can come in really useful.

On this one I use the following fields so that once I have completed the previous lap I can just switch to this screen to check exactly how I performed against my goals:

1. Last Lap Time
2. Last Lap Distance
3. Last Lap (Average) Pace
4. Last Lap (Average) Cadence

It looks like this:

Data screen 3

If at this point you're thinking "yeah this is all really interesting stuff Barrie, but how the hell do I set it all up?" (I just read your mind, didn't I? Well, even if I didn't you're probably wondering it now), well that's probably a bit too much detail for this article but I will write another one soon to go into the details.

In the meantime, you can either discover this for yourself by trial and error or alternatively RTFM (Read The F***ing Manual 😂). The Garmin Support Website has online versions of the manuals for every device (Garmin Customer Support).

To help you get started, I will say that typically you'll need to first go into "Run" mode (as if you were going to go out for a run). Then select "Menu", followed by "Activity Settings", and then "Data Screens".

Run -> Menu -> Activity Settings -> Data Screens

From there you will be able to scroll down and see all available screens. Remember, every Garmin device is slightly different so what screens and setting you have available on your device will likely be slightly different.

Once you have finished your run and uploaded it to Garmin, you can easily check out your "Lap" split details on the Garmin Connect website or on the Garmin App.

Click into the activity and then on the App look for the "↪️" symbol or on the web version scroll down and select "Laps" at the top of the Stats breakdown.

Now you can match each part of your running plan against exactly how you performed in the session. Much easier, don't you think?

I'd love to hear what you thought of this article.  Have you found the information useful? Are you going to implement any of the recommendations here for your own running? Please let me know either in the comments down below or get in touch with me directly.

Until next time, happy running and bye for now 👋🏻

Coach Barrie

BE Fit Coach

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