Switch directly from a free workout to the suggested workout from Garmin Coach?

Doing a couch dry-run with my FR955 on a rather old Firmware (19.18) it **seems** to work. At least the watch didn't complain... But what actually does get written to the .fit file I have no idea. Non-working procedure I first tried was to long-press the Up button while in a normal Run activity, but there was no option to start structured workouts or otherwise change the ongoing session, only to start navigation or change the actual session into a multi-activity, with Biking, Swimming asf.

Then I tried the Edge-procedure you outlined by going to the 'Home Page' with a long-press of the Back button. After which I used the Up (or Down) button to reach a 'folder' I call 'Planning' where I have put a copy of Garmin's "Suggested Workout" widget. There it was just the normal procedure of pressing the Start-Stop button many times to choose the suggestion, review it and finally start it (you could even switch to another Run form like Trail etc...)

However, the reason I said it **seems** to work is that the "Timer" of the activity began from zero again, as if I never had started the original Run session in the first place. So, others with actual real life experience will have to chime in here for the final answer.

soptunna said:

So, others with actual real life experience will have to chime in here for the final answer.

Ok, now I have the experience myself... Since I only use the Garmin watch as a flexible Alert unit and possible extension to my main Suunto watch, I could 'burn'/'foul up' a session with this experiment. And it _did_ work, kind of... It created a "Multisport" activity as seen in the Garmin Connect App. Perhaps simply doing two Run sessions is easier and more aesthetic than this?

I had decided to do a ca 70 minutes Easy Run (total 10 km Out&Back) so the "Suggested Workout" of 30 minutes at 75% HRMax fit perfectly in the overall scheme.

20 minutes into my main Run I long-pressed the Back button and from the 'Home Page' started the DSW. First thing that happened was a screen prompting me to sync the watch with the Connect app to update the suggestions! The watch _was_ synced prior to the run, but I guess the ongoing activity had changed stuff enough to trigger this inane prompt. Well, there was no phone available so I just pushed the Back button and re-selected the DSW. And the second time I was granted access...

The DSW started with two confusing screens. First stated "Run 20:xx" and "Run 30" (I think it was) which 'obviously' was Past and Future activities [Edit: Run string Nr2 was 0:0X, counting up the seconds since I had started the _current_ activity, nothing 'Future' about it...]. Second screen was the countdown 'cancel' one which normally comes after having done a manual Lap with the Back button. No idea why it is shown - other than the fact that DSW triggered a Lap in the main activity (outside of auto laps). I let the countdown run its course without touching any buttons. [Edit: cancelling the countdown also aborts the Sports/DSW change and returns to the previous session - found by further experiments].

Then the DSW was active. One screen above the Red-Green-Red workout view, a new one (I have never seen before) turned up stating "TOTAL TIME" in a tiny font and the actual total running time in a gigantic font below. Single data field. Otherwise Distance and Timer fields all belonged to the DSW activity. The first Run activity was 'forgotten'.

After 30 minutes the DSW was finished, but it didn't stop! It began another cycle... Ca 30 seconds later I long-pressed the Up button and selected "Cancel Workout". The extra screen with "TOTAL TIME" was still present, but the Distance and other timers kept adding to what DSW had produced (except in the auto-lap screens where total Distance actually was displayed - first Run plus DSW plus post-DSW).

The pace-based Alert I had active in the Run session was cancelled by the DSW (as normal) and came back when I had stopped the DSW.

I'll do a separate post with screenshots from the Garmin Connect app so you can judge utility and aesthetics of this method. Personally I wouldn't botter with such a Run-Run activity - we still have to click around in the separate 'Legs' to access the data.

soptunna said:

I'll do a separate post with screenshots

First two constitute the Main page:

Yay, I earned a badge :-) Second two are from the Main Page of each 'Leg':

And then the two graphs over HR and Elevation in the separate Charts section:

I put the cursor at the time when the first DSW session ended. As seen by the continuation of the white line it took about 30 seconds before I could cancel the second instance of the same DSW...

Thank you.

When I press the back button, a lap is saved. Switching to another menu isn't possible.

You should long-press the back button to get to the watch face.

So, after 20 seconds, nothing happens. How long should I press?

I probably need to set up a hotkey. Which one should I choose?

Actually, on 965 you might have to first set the long-press of back key as a hotkey for "watch face".

Okay. That works. I can then switch from the activity to the main page and access the workout suggestion from the coach from there. However, I'm asked to stop the current workout before the coach can start. The result is the same as if I simply clicked Stop during the ongoing activity.

taikon-bi said:

However, I'm asked to stop the current workout before the coach can start.

I am truly sorry to hear that. Unless another FR955 user with an up to date Firmware installed also tries this out and shares the current situation I can only _speculate_ as to why:

1) Perhaps FR955 and FR965 differ in available memory ('RAM'), where not enough can be allocated on the FR965 for a structured Workout within the Multisport framework. Sounds a bit far-fetched, but remember that even though FR955 is almost a year older it does have a MIP screen, which possibly draws less on the resources. [Edit: the FR955 also has an older and less advanced/'snazzy' User Interface, which shuld free up resources].

2) Firmware 19.18 that I use is over a year old now. There has been a lot of extra or even changed functionality introduced in later versions (and a multitude of bugs). Perhaps Garmin decided to put a lid on this DSW can of worms instead of wasting more programming time there. I'm thinking specifically on the prompt to sync the watch in the middle of a Run to receive updated Suggestions, and the de facto Looping DSW.

3) It might also be that Garmin never intended this combination to work in the first place, and only recently have 'plugged the DSW hole'. I have gone through every conceivable option on the FR955 but find no way to start a regular structured Workout while already having a Run session active. The "Workouts" App is only accessible from the view after initially pushing the Start-Stop button and can not be added to the 'Home Screen' (above/below the Watch Face) or the Controls carousel.