Long time Dynamo runners may remember a newsletter article I penned a long while back, titled "Do You Have Acute Garminitis?" whereupon I raged against the GPS tech toys taking over the running scene.  If you hadn't yet seen it (or don't remember it), it's STILL a very pertinent and poignant read even now - click here.  The article concluded with  the line "just don't count on catching coach Kev with one strapped to his wrist any time soon."

Well, it took almost six years, but alas, I've got to eat those words. There now is--and has been for the past 4 months--a Garmin 230 Forerunner strapped to my wrist day and night.

It's not that I've experienced any major shift in belief about the risks and pitfalls of using GPS watches - I haven't.  The reason I abandoned my trusty Timex stopwatch of the past 35 years, was initially because by the end of 2016, at least 85% of all the runners we coach were using them, and I felt mounting "professional pressure" to experience and learn the finer points of Garmins to help our runners use them productively in the future. The kicker though for me was when, by this past Christmas, I realized that all the the "old school" guys that I've run with for almost 20 years now, one by one, had succumbed to the siren song of Garmins, and I was the very last one among us without one.

Advantages & Upsides:

A Wealth of Running Biomechanical Info at Your Fingertips

Through Garmin Connect, the web based portal for downloading, storing and analyzing all the data collected by your Garmin, there is an easily-accessible treasure trove of very useful information about your running form.

1) Establishing the "shape" of any run at a glance: By reviewing the splits of any run, you can quickly, easily and accurately determine if you ran an ideal slight negative split, or an even split, or slowed down late resulting in a positive split, and by how much. Its VERY useful info to compare the split profile with how you felt throughout the run, to help fine tune your ability to accomplish consistent slight negative splits. And all this done without the time-consuming exercise of copying out splits from a watch manually (or not even having that information available)

2) Cadence/Stride Rate: I was SHOCKED to learn how low/slow my average stride rate is on easy, relaxed runs (approx 165), and even faster on steady state, OMP-type runs (170-172).  Only when doing very fast tempo or intervals did my cadence rise up into the vaunted 180 strides per min range.  I had overhauled my running form many years ago, and believed, because I often did "manual" checks mid-run, that my cadence at just about any pace was up "close to" the 180 spm level. But the reason for that misinformation was that when I did cadence checks, I obviously subconsciously increased my stride rate above what was natural, simply because I was recording/observing it. Only when measured independently with the Garmin over the entirety of multiple runs at many different paces, did I find out the true stride rate.

I followed up with a biomechanics expert (Dr. Kris Sheppard at Runner's Academy) on a hunch that this slow cadence may have something to do with 2 recent injuries I've experienced this past year (lower leg and upper foot), and through video gait analysis we determined that I was indeed overstriding (1st point of foot contact well in front of my centre of gravity, increasing shock to and through the body, and reducing running efficiency (through the braking action).  Now we are working on ways to slightly alter my running form to improve my mechanics, and hopefully reduce injuries and improve efficiency in the future.

3) Convenience and accuracy of training log updates - For those of you who still keep a "manual" training log (like me...does anyone else still do this?), or a computer or online training log that doesn't automatically update from your watch, the Garmin Connect storage of many weeks training is a big advantage.  I used to be able to remember what training I did for up to 1-2 weeks back if I neglected to update my log for a spell.  But these days, with my fading memory, I sometimes can't remember the specs of a workout I did just 2-3 days ago. Garmin Connect to the rescue - I can find ALL the data I need on runs and other cross-training workouts very quickly and easily.

4) Establishing "continuity quality" of runs - I stumbled upon this one a few years ago, well before I owned my own Garmin, when runners I coach would send me the link to their Garmin Connect to review specific workouts.  In a number of cases, I noticed a BIG difference (in some cases, 15min or more) between the "moving time" and the "elapsed time", so innocently inquired "why is there such a big difference?  The answer floored me - "oh, I was running with a group of others, and we all took breaks at different times...we ran into a friend going the other way so we stopped and chatted for a bit...etc, etc.

15 minutes of break in a 2hr45min run?  Whoa!  This is the quickest way to devalue the long run quality and reduce benefit to long racing ability.  By taking frequent and prolonged breaks (I mean stop/standing breaks, not pre-planned recovery walk breaks worked into and included in the run pace/time), you severly alter the perception of how hard it is to hold any given pace.  The result is that on race day, when you go EXTRA far, at a fairly quick pace, and take away all those breaks, it gets progressively harder than you're prepared for, and you'll likely have to slow down--a lot--to finish your race.

I'm not averse to runners taking short breaks while doing training runs...far from it.  In fact, MOST of my Long Runs and OMP runs (and even the odd tempo run) include 1 or 2 breaks for a quick stretch (or an impromptu washroom stop), but they are always short and with a sense of urgency to get started again.

A great guideline to use to manage your breaks on runs is to try to take no more than 1 minute per hour of distance run.  So for runs of up to 60 min - 1 min break time.  Up to 2hrs run - 2 minutes, etc, etc.

If you keep the breaks short and infrequent, they allow you to take care of business (stretching, water stop, washroom break) without devaluing your key run workouts.  

And you can always compare your moving time vs elapsed time on your Garmin connect to check yourself!

5) Other Fitness Metrics - my Garmin tracks/monitors other important activity info all day and night, which has become very helpful to asses in relation to my run training.  The "Step Counter" is perfect to monitor my commitment to MDI's Running Health Insurance practice (I target 20,000 steps per day, though usually average 16-18K).  And the sleep measurement metric is extremely useful for someone like me who has notoriously erratic and poor sleep patterns (showing me when I get the required 7-8hrs shut eye, and most importantly, when I DON'T.  Note: there can be accuracy issues with this function as the Garmin can be easily fooled if when movie watching or reading (either that or I must nod off a heck of a lot while doing both)

6) Fancier models (like the Garmin 735XT) - provide HR info, ground-contact time comparisons (left vs right, to assess stride symmetry), convenient features like "Back To Start" (travelling or new routes so don't have to worry about getting lost or how to retread your route), vertical oscillation measurement (essentially measuring "bounce" which is an indicator of inefficiency in running form) and more.  All very useful and or convenient tools for techy runners looking for an edge in their running performance! 

DISADVANTAGES/CAVEATS

  2) Recording Inaccuracy in/around tall buildings and/or tree/forest cover. Though the accuracy of signal/measurement of Garmin devices has GREATLY improved over time, there is still very much an accuracy issue when running between very tall buildings, or under full, or even partial, tree canopy cover.  I have observed consistent, immediate and MARKED errors in pacing feedback in these situations - my garmin "instantaneous pace" display often bumps by 45-60 sec/mile slower as soon as I hit forest cover, then jumps back that same margin faster as soon as I'm back in clear/open air, even though I maintain a steady, even pace throughout.  All the more reason not to let instant pace or split times displayed DURING your run (when near buildings or forest) influence your pace or intensity during your runs.

It's especially important when doing faster/harder intensity running over shorter distances (ie. intervals, repetitions), under these circumstances, to use pre-measured markers (ie. a track), for accuracy and consistency.

3) Race Day No-No - After every large race we send runners to, the next day, without fail, there are always at least a few "Garmin Fail" stories from runners bemoaning how their GPS watches let them down, one way or another.  Be it "conking out" before or during (since Garmins need to be charged frequently), or more commonly "not agreeing with" the markers or finish line distance - i.e. "my garmin says I ran 42.8K not 42.2K, so I really DID run a BQ"...won't get you an invite to Boston, sorry!), or messing up mid-race pacing feedback (as per point #2 above), there are a number of ways Garmins can get you into trouble on race day.  Not the least of which is taking your focus away from FEEL, and putting too much weight on FIGURES (even when they ARE accurate, but especially when they aren't!)

As long as you make sure your Garmin is well-charged the night before the race, then you can certainly use it (cause the stopwatch feature is always working!) as a backup for mid-race feedback/info, and more importantly for post-race analysis, while your primary focus should be your game plan/paceband, the race markers, and above all else your sense of feel, along the way. 

All this to say that in this brave new running world we live in, even a technological troglodyte like me, set in his old school ways, has begrudgingly become a devotee of CONSTRUCTIVE use of Garmins to assist with runner training and development. Whodathunk?!