Running app functionality

Hi Julia,

I also like to run and am a programmer too. Usually I do the same route several times and like to compare my actual pace against the PR I obtained on that track, so I developed a data field to compare the distance/time I am from my PR. It is not exactly what you described but is a data field I like to use while doing that routes so I can know if my actual workout is going better or worse than the best time or a saved time.

If you think is useful you can download at store (data field name is "GhostMyself"):

https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/fe4a80f9-cdaf-4abd-bffa-ef05a395b55d

5998677 said:

2. As a runner, I try to race with a negative split i.e the second half of the race faster than the first half. I use the basic lap function on the garmin when running but I haven't found a way to tag turnaround points / half way points other than using the basic lap function, which then means I can't track my pace per km as easily once the run is over. Do you know of an app that will help me do this? Ideally it would allow me to view my splits in multiple ways for the same run - my pace per km, my pace per lap, my pace per mile etc.

https://www.runalyze.com is free and it syncs with your Garmin account. Among other things, it lets you view an activity with arbitrary laps by time or distance (regardless of what laps were actually recorded.) The laps you choose don't even have to be the same length. If you tag an activity as a race in runalyze, it automatically shows you 1st half / 2nd half splits.

The only downside is that there's no app, just a website which isn't mobile friendly (you can use it on a phone, but it won't be a great experience.)

5998677 said:

1. I often do the same training route but I can't find any way to overlay instances of running on the same route to compare why one run was better than the other - did I go out too fast in one run? or slow down up a hill? what trends am I seeing over time for the same route? It could work by defining named routes and then each time I tag a new run as having that run name, it would add it to the trend. Colour coding to show trends over time would be great. It would be important to then be able to drill down into outliers to see why a particular run was so good or so bad relative to others - including sourcing information such as on what date it was (maybe peak summer and very humid etc). Plotting these multiple instances of the same run, overlaid on each other, would be one set of data. Is there an app out there that does this? or anyone that is interested in creating one? 

You can compare up to 4 activities (not routes) in the Garmin Connect website. Not exactly what you're looking for, I know, but there is a large selection of metrics which can be displayed on the graph.

Something that's closer to what you're looking for could be the segments feature in Strava. If you define a segment, you can compare your own efforts (and the efforts of others, if you make the segment public.) The downsides are:

- on the strava website (which isn't mobile-friendly), you can compare multiple results of your choice, but you can only see pace and time ahead/behind

- on the strava app, you can compare pace, grade, HR and power, but only for a single selected result vs. your PR

trux said:

It is easier doing it directly with Garmin Segments - you get your own ranking on the segments directly in Garmin Connect.

Yes, but it doesn't seem like you can do any other kind of comparison. With Strava segments, you get a comparison graph with certain activity stats overlaid on top of each other, and you can scrub the graph to see these stats at any point in the activities. This is similar to what is possible when comparing activities in Garmin Connect.

FlowState said:

With Strava segments, you get a comparison graph with certain activity stats overlaid on top of each other, and you can scrub the graph to see these stats at any point in the activities.

Yes, but unfortunately only with the paid version, AFAIK.