Ant+ needs a restart

If you didn't use the "structured workout",  probably the watch is not the culprit and maybe the chest strap is to blame. Can you use another chest strap? With the optical heart rate monitor do you still have lag?

This isn't a bug, I don't think?! The watch should be using lap pace rather than instant pace for workout targets. This was switched to this way around by Garmin months/years ago, an dis the correct way to do it (or makes much more sense to me anyway!)

It probably depends on the user and the type of workout.

For longer intervals (2km or 3 km), that usually are run at race speed, maybe is better lap/step pace.

For short intervals 200 - 400 - 500 m, where usually I run much faster than race pace,  I prefer instant pace because in this way I can check that I never go faster than a critical pace, beyond which I would fatigue too early and I would not be able to complete all the intervals of the workout.

It would be nice if Garmin let the user choose between instant pace or lap/step pace.

I use a Runscribe footpod that gives me accurate pace during interval workouts. Usually in the normal slow runs I set it with "speed from footpod = always" and distance from gps, but when I do intervals in the workout screen I have the lap pace from gps because distance is coming from gps. So if I want lap/step pace from footpod I should every time that I do intervals change the sensor settings and put "distance from footpod", but this becomes annoying if I have to do this every time. I did it two or three sessions and it worked well, but my personal preference is to use instant pace from footpod, so in the last interval sessions I didn't use the "workout screen" any more and I just used a normal page with two fields, with lap time (for the rest period, useful also to check the real speed at the beginning of the interval when I pass the 100 m and 200 m marks) and instant pace of footpod., in the same way I always did with my old watch Forerunner 610 of some years ago. I tried to use pace from gps but where I do intervals is bad for gps reception ( a lot of trees and  along a river with water that causes probably gps reflections) . So I decided to not use gps-lap pace any more.

I was curious to see if in the meantime the "structured workout"  had improved from the time of the FR610 (year 2011), but it seems to me that the only thing that improved are the readability and clarity of numbers of the watch even when there are clouds, when it rains and when are changes in light (for example from sun to the shadow of trees). So I'm seeing big improvements in the hardware side (display) but little improvements in the software side.

What really changed the quality of my intervals was using the Runscribe footpod, because it is for me really accurate during the intervals and it guides me well during the interval, so I can complete the intervals in the desired goal time. In the last workout sessions usually I started the intervals a bit slower, then I went a bit faster after every interval. I'm not a so experienced runner and I couldn't do this by feeling (like some friends do). But with the help of the Runscribe footpod now I can execute the intervals very good and in the way I planned.

I had before a Garmin footpod, but this worked very well only at the speed I calibrated it. At other speed and in uphill and downhill it was not accurate. For intervals it worked quite good, but Runscribe for me was a game changer.

However I continue to hope that Garmin improves a bit more the "structured workout" function, for example giving the user the choice between instant value and lap/step value, and improving the step/lap pace when starting from a stationary state.

Garmin just introduced a very complex feature like "pace pro", maybe if they have a lot of request they can improve even a simple feature like "the structured workout". If they will do this, I would be happy to use again the nice and beautiful workouts screen with the "pace gauge". In the meanwhile, I will keep doing intervals with my usual two fields (instant pace and lap time).

Thanks for the very considered reply! I am also a runscribe user - and have been since the very first kickstarter!

I also use instant footpod pace for short intervals to set my pace, but adjust overall pace according to lap pace - if that makes sense! I find for anything shorted than 0.5 miles (ie 800m), I use the timer and a measured distance (track, or known ponits) as I don't trust the GPS (or footpod!) to get the distance accurate enough. I then just use the lap button, and not the workout function. Every cm of accuracy counts when you are doing something like 200m or even 400m

I agree though - we'd all be happy if it was configurable!

gingerneil said:

I find for anything shorted than 0.5 miles (ie 800m), I use the timer and a measured distance (track, or known ponits)

This is the way that professional and track athletes still use to pace themselves because of course you have the maximum of accuracy, especially in short intervals. But I don't use it very much, even if on the bike path where I do intervals I have mark every 100 m or 200 m, because when I change pace I don't like every time to do the math and calculate if my pace is right, too slow or too fast, and I usually change frequently my pace depending on the length of interval and the number of them. Fortunately  I'm lucky and I find the footpod Runscribe very good for me and for my stride also for shorter intervals (300 m - 400 m). I use them  to give me an idea of my pace.

Of course, the same like you,  I  prefer to use the manual lap button  at known mark at the end of the interval, in order to have the best accuracy related to the effective duration of the interval . In the workout function it's enough to select a step with pace as target but  with distance="OPEN" without  writing a distance, in this way I could end the interval with the lap button and not automatically.

Now I still use the "workout function" only to remember what interval I have to do and to count the number of intervals, because when I'm tired I usually don't remember any more how many intervals I  already did. But, as I said before, I don't use any more the "workout screen" and the "pace alerts" because the watch gives false alarm, the alarm is very "laggish" : Garmin should work a bit  on this and improve sound pace alerts and pace shown in the workout screen. I saw a lot of other posts in this forum that complain about the "pace alarm" of Garmin: it's simply too smoothed and it sounds when it's already too late. Garmin could add an option to select the "smoothness" of the sound alert, in the same way for example Gaitcoach (CIQ app of Ronin for the Runscribe pods) permits to choose the smoothness (update rate) between 0 and 100 (0=maximum smoothness, it could be the equivalent of "30 seconds pace", 100=no smoothness, the equivalent of instant pace).  Or Garmin could add an option to select "instant pace", "step/lap" pace, or  a"X-seconds rolling pace" with X chosen by the user. I could write to Garmin and suggest to introduce in the "workout structure" the option to choose the smoothness of pace for the sound alerts and for the pace shown in the workout screen, but I won't do this, because if they didn't this already is because they don't want to do this , maybe because they want to keep the things simple.