Do you like the Garmin Coach 5k plan?

Curious which coach you picked, how long you've been following the plan, what you like/dislike.

I just discovered the Garmin Coach 5k plan for beginner and intermediate runners. I consider myself an intermediate runner. I decided to give it a go and entered my target 5k pace for the end of training. I picked Coach McMillan. I'll complete the Benchmark Run (9 minutes) tonight. It looks like al future training session will be developed after this run as they say "Stay Tuned for Details".

I'll update this post as I progress in my training. Please do the same.
  • How did you sync with the watch? It doesn't appear anything on mine after sync.
  • TiagoVale can you sync other workouts with your calenday?
  • I am so far not impressed. I wrote about my experience here:
    https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/running/forerunner-935-aa/1374016-garmin-coach?p=1401748#post1401748

    I am now in week 6 of my 18 months Galloway plan, and I don't really feel that I am being coached. I have so far had two workouts with a prescribed pace. All the other workouts have only had targets of duration or distance or nothing (yes! nothing! "Run until you push the Lap button"!).

    So I am left with absolutely no idea about how hard I should run those workouts, except for some cryptical messages like "don't sprint". The plan knows my VO2Max, my usual pace, my heart rates, etc. How can it just say "don't sprint" instead of "run at a pace of x:xx minutes/km" or "run at a HR of xxx BPM".

    I also spend some time rowing in a rowing ergometer, and here the training plans are much more structured. I will do some tests initially and during the plan period so the plan knows my performance, and based on that, I will get rowing sessions with a number of intervals with prescribed duration/pace targets.
  • AllanOlesen67 where do your test plans for the rowing come from I only see running plans in Garmin Coach
  • AllanOlesen67 where do your test plans for the rowing come from I only see running plans in Garmin Coach


    Not from Garmin. As far as I know, the 5k Coach run plan is the only adaptive plan that Garmin is offering in any sport. I was just relating to my experience from other plans from other sources.

    In the ergometer rowing community there are different training plans, some where you do the necessary target calculations yourself, like the Wolverine Plan or the Pete Plan, and some where it is done interactively on a web site. But most of them share the same principle, that your target intensities during a session are based on calculations from earlier achievement.
  • AllanOlesen67 ok thanks I thought I'd missed something on Garmin. I'll start the 5K plan again out of interest but the minimum target times are a bit high but will be interesting to see what happens as I am very unfit at the moment having had a long layoff due to injury
  • I tried the plan, the main problem is that you cannot get alerts. Tried a walk run and max hr alert and they don't work.
  • As someone who is not that physically fit I like the coach plan as an added motivator. Im just starting week 3 but I have already knocked almost 2 min off my mile time. I can see where this might be of little benefit to more seasoned runners but for someone who is just starting out like me every little bit extra help keep me focused.
  • As someone who is not that physically fit I like the coach plan as an added motivator. Im just starting week 3 but I have already knocked almost 2 min off my mile time. I can see where this might be of little benefit to more seasoned runners but for someone who is just starting out like me every little bit extra help keep me focused.


    I agree with the above statement! I can ride my bike and hike all day long, yet running has always been difficult for me. I have always envied distance runners. I will give this program a try. I need all the help I can get!
  • Hi. I am in week 7 of Greg Mc Millan plan with 4 runs a week.
    I also commented in the other thread mentioned by AllanOlesen67.
    Until now there were most times one "harder" run and three easy runs a week.
    The harder ones were runs within a certain pace (I assume based on the first benchmark run) at the first weeks, then followed by some interval run variations and one "mountain" run which I could not do, because I did not find suitable terrain. I just ran the mountain run like an interval run on flat terrain.
    The harder run of week 7 was actually the first run that was pretty challenging: run 5 times 1km at nearly racing pace followed by jogging/walking for 200m then 3 times "sprint" interval.
    Week 8 starts with the same hard run.
    Unfortunately I have muscular problems since one week (calf pain), I think I will pause the training which seems possible. If problems don't disappear I will quit.
    Maybe 4 runs a week are just too much for my legs. I am 49, regular runner, but ran mostly 2 times or max. 3 times a week and did some additional weight , cardio training and biking. With 4 runs a week I was not able to do additional training.
    While in the first three weeks I felt like my fitness increased, the following weeks I felt like fitness decreased more and more. My VO2max dropped from 47 to nearly 45. Might have other health reasons though. My lactate threshold did not improve, same value as before training plan.
    As of the training accuracy graph I am on a good way (pointer is nearly within the lilac zone), but currently I feel like I will not reach the training target (5km in 25 minutes).