Data Field: Peter's (Race) Pacer

This is the support Thread for the Data Field Peter's (Race) Pacer.

Setup Guide with pictures: http://starttorun.info/peters-race-pacer/

Download
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/23ea0301-30c6-4c33-b4ef-63e2b5394e76

Summary
Peter's (Race) Pacer resolves 2 issues for me when I'm running a race:
  • Before the race starts I want to see the time of the day (How long till the race starts?)
  • I often pace marathons and it used to be doing mental math all the way, now this is no longer necessary as I can fully depend on the average pace/speed, because this data field allows to correct the distance at the kilometer / mile marker by simply pressing the LAP button
While the data field's primary intent is to race races, you can also use it to run laps around the track, just set the lap distance to 400 meters and press the lap button as you cross the line!...

Intro
In it's full glory this data field uses about 24kb which is too much to run on the older devices. To enable using the data field on older connect IQ devices I've stripped some functionality from these older watches in order to let them operate within the 16kb limit that Connect IQ 1.x allows. (Items marked with (*ciQ2) are only available on the high memory watches (high memory watches are FR735xt, fenix chronos & fenix5 variants))

The data field is fully functional as is, yet donations are encouraged on the watch by a small encouragement text.

Usage
Before starting the race an initial data screen is shown (* cIQ2), this screen shows you the following data
  • Time of the day
  • Current heart rate (+ zone indication)
  • Configured Settings Summary (Change these settings in Garmin Express or in the Garmin Connect Android App)
  • Battery Percentage Remaining
  • Gps Signal Strength Indication
After pressing the START button the race timer will start and a new data screen will be shown, this data screen will show you the following information:
  • top middle configurable field: current heart rate / average pace / average speed / perfect pace / perfect speed (*)
  • row 1 left configurable field: average pace / average speed / current heart rate / perfect pace / perfect speed
  • row 1 middle configurable field: speed, smooth speed (5s average), smooth speed (10s average), pace, smooth pace (5s average), smooth pace (10s average)
  • time ahead / behind
  • race timer
  • (adjusted) distance covered (see adjusting distance explanation below)
  • estimated time of arrival
After Activity in Garmin Connect (*cIQ2)
  • When you opt to record the ahead Time to the FIT track an extra graphic is shown in Garmin Connect
Perfect Pace / Perfect Speed
This field recalculates as you run and gives you the pace you need to run to arrive at the finish with 0 seconds behind / ahead (eg if you run a 10k race and want to arrive in 1 hour (avg pace=6:00min/km), currently you're at the 7k point in 41:30, which means you're 30 seconds ahead, the perfect pace will thus show the value 6:10 (min/km) as you can run the next 3k 10 seconds slower to still get in time at the finish line)

Distance Adjustment
When you press the LAP button the on screen distance is adjusted to the nearest LAP SIZE (eg 5.31k will be adjusted to 5k if the lap size is 1000 meters).
When you press the LAP button by mistake you have 30 seconds to undo the last correction (just press the LAP button again)

When you miss a mile/kilometer marker, don't worry DO NOT PRESS THE LAP button and wait for the next kilometer/mile marker and press the LAP button there.

Adjusting the distance has no influence on the recorded distance (In Garmin Connect when you come back home you will see the real recorded GPS distance, yet of course you will be able to determine based on the lap marker postions where the LAP markings really were)...

Recommendations
  • Train with the data field before you race with it so you're used to the layout!
  • Have a backup second datascreen layout, in case the field crashes you can switch to the native data screen layout
  • If you have a Connect IQ 1.x device consider the application option to enjoy all features of Peter's (Race) Pacer: https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/ea97af1f-1e5d-4541-820c-9bd994080d4
Tested on real FR735XT, all other devices were tested in the simulator.
  • Yes, 920xt - IQ 1.4. Thanks for Your answer. Will try app version
  • Hi Peter
    I have a Forerunner 235 an Android phone and a windows laptop with Garmin Express installed (& updated).
    I've been using the pacer for a few weeks now and I really like it but I'm having a bit of a problem trying to configure the data field for Target Finish Time.
    On my phone, the settings for the data field does not give me the option for Target Finish Time - only Target Pace.
    I've installed the app onto my watch and the Target Finish Time is visible there but if I update it and synch then it doesn't change the watch settings.
    I've tried using Garmin Express and get the same result.
    Any ideas?

    I've seen mention of an Android app, is this the one that appears on the watch or is it a stand alone app on the phone - as I can't find anything in Google Play.

    Thanks
  • There are indeed "2 versions" of Peter's (Race) Pacer, I've been meaning to make an overview page with the differences between all my pacer apps to make the differences more clear.

    The FR235 is a Connect IQ 1.x device, this means that in data field mode there is only 16k available (which is not enough to enable all the functionality), so some things such as configuring the target finish time were removed on connect iq 1.x devices to make it fit within the 16k limit and let it run on the FR235 as a datafield....

    There is no Android App of Peter's (Race) Pacer.

    But as you've noticed there is indeed a "watch-app" version of the pacer field called Peter's Pacer (The App). This version runs in standalone mode, has 64k memory (enough for all functionality). The app version is not a data field so you can not assign that version to a field within the activity profile "run".

    You find the app version of the app under the "Apps" section on your watch. (on my FR735xt I have to press the up key when I'm on Run and then choose "Apps" and after that "Peter's Pacer (The App) - potentially access to the "apps" on your FR235 is different so if you don't find it you might have to check your user manual).
  • Peter. Excellent, thanks, I understand now I hadn't realised how the watch apps work.
    You were right on how to access the apps, now I have the field that I wanted and I can experiment,
  • Released version 4.5.2:
    - slight changes for Fenix5-family based devices (240x240 layout - more room for the left field)
    - built with new SDK 2.4.1
  • Hello Peter/All,

    First let me say that I really enjoy the Hi Vis version of this. I think it's awesome for someone who's colorblind (in that I can't minute amounts of green/red). The large display quickly lets me know how I'm doing. That said, because I can't see color very well, is it too difficult to code/color the whole ahead/behind field red/green (or give the user the option to cycle through it - either on or off)? I ask because as I'm running I'd have to pause my watch, stop, take my sunglasses off, and then carefully study it (obviously, self-defeating if you're really running for time/a race).

    I think having the whole ahead/behind field (versus a small bar of color) indicating the pace might help out more runners more than you might realize. The numbers might be white versus black against the red/green background. If that's possible, I think it would be stellar!

    Thanks,
    Al
  • hi Al,
    as your inquiries are about Peter's (Hi Vis) Pacer, I've replied to your questions here: https://forums.garmin.com/forum/deve...71#post1292571
    Cheers,
    Peter.
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 6 years ago
    Hi Pete

    im having problems with this data field on my FR235. I had been using it without problem but at some point over the last few months something has happened.

    The lroblem is with the target pace. Set to 10k at 5:00. At the end of of the first km when I am running it tells me I am 2 mins behind pace even though I have ran it in 4:50 etc. I have tried to ensure that the watch and settings are all set to km rather than mikes but still getting issues.

    Am am I missing something ?
  • One of the fixes that was done was that when the watch settings were in mixed units (eg pace in miles and distance in kilometers) the ahead/behind time is now calculated correctly... are you using mixed units for distance and pace?

    Things to also take care of is the lap settings.
    How big is the auto-lap size on your watch? How big is the lap size in the settings of the pacer? (They should match.)

    Can you link to an activity of yours? Maybe we can spot something there?
  • Former Member
    Former Member over 6 years ago
    Hi Pete.

    I have just reset reset the watch to default settings and setup the app again. I’m hoping this solves it. I might well have had a different unit in the pace and distance (my bad). I definitely had the auto lap and the lap in the over set to the same.

    Will do do a bit more testing and see how I get on. Thanks for the reply and will keep you posted.