Using the lap button during intervals

you just need to press LAP one to stop the current lap and start a new one. No need to fiddle with Start/Stop unless you are effectively stopping.

you just need to press LAP one to stop the current lap and start a new one. No need to fiddle with Start/Stop unless you are effectively stopping.

But I stop for a minute recovery before the next 800m. I don't want to be recording the recoveries as well.

Why not ? Regardless of the fact that active recovery is generally recommended, even if you stop there is still a benefit at seeing at how your HR tracks over the 1' period. As a side note, did you maybe mean the 610 ? I could stop then lap on my 610 but not on my 235.

Why not ? Regardless of the fact that active recovery is generally recommended, even if you stop there is still a benefit at seeing at how your HR tracks over the 1' period. As a side note, did you maybe mean the 610 ? I could stop then lap on my 610 but not on my 235.

I suppose it's what I'm used to doing with the 630. Depending on the type of session, we usually walk around for a minute or 90 secs before hitting the next 400 / 800 / 1200 or whatever we're doing. But I don't want the GPS to still be recording this. I only want to record the main session as the coach tells us when the recovery is over. Apart from anything else it messes up average pace - know it's not accurate but it's still useful to compare against similar previous workouts. On the 630 you just press start/stop when you cross the line then press the lap button before you press start/stop to go again to record the interval time. Then when I finish the activity I can then go into Garmin Connect Mobile and see all my interval times.

Apart from anything else it messes up average pace - know it's not accurate but it's still useful to compare against similar previous workouts.

To each his own, but I must say I just don't get it. If I run 400m, then rest (or do something that is not running) for some time, then run another 400m, rest, run 800m, rest, run another 800m, rest, run a third 800m, rest, run 400m, rest, then run a final 400m for a workout, I don't see how the value in the Avg Pace data field is at all meaningful, even if I can somehow make it not include any rest steps. The Lap Pace is what would let me compare how I'm doing, between one 400m split and another, or between the n[sup]th[/sup] 400m split today and what I expected from past workouts.

The only time I find Avg Pace meaningful is when I'm marking laps while running continuously, so that I can see from my Lap Pace my performance under different conditions (elevation grade, wind speed, grass vs bitumen, level of fatigue, etc. for a given stretch) while also getting an idea of how I fare over the entire course. As such, it's definitely not used in conjunction with stopping/resuming the timer.

On the 630 you just press start/stop when you cross the line then press the lap button before you press start/stop to go again to record the interval time.

That's interesting. I've been using my FR630 for over three months now, and I didn't realise that. Especially when the FR630 shares the effectively shares the same firmware file with the FR235 (which I also have, and is now used by my girlfriend), and marking laps while the timer is stopped could not be done on the FR235, as WEBVAN has pointed out above.

That said, my FR630 has always been running firmware v7.xx since I started using it, while I've deliberately kept the FR235 on firmware v5.40. WEBVAN, which version of firmware are you running on your FR235?

Not sure I get stopping the timer in intervals either as I often do active recovery and, even if I don't, if I keep the timer going I know exactly how long have rested for later analysis without having to write this down explicitly.

Wasn't aware of that with a 630. Sure you don't mean a 610? On a 630, pressing Lap when timer stopped should just take you back to the data pages and then to the resume/save if press lap again.

Anyway the Lap when stopped feature was brought into the 935 for exactly this purpose - i.e. for those who don't like recording their recoveries.

Run your interval, press Stop, go down to the Lap function and take a Lap, press Start again when the next interval starts.

Personally for track sessions I do Start when start first interval, manual lap at end of an interval, manual lap at start of next interval, repeat until end of last interval when press Stop.

I might add manual warm up and down laps if was away from a track and the warm up/down was effectively also getting there and back and without any "hanging about" after WU ends and the session proper starts and similar at end.

If I really need to work some sort of average, will do some maths say using Excel. But, to me, an average is meaningless unless all the intervals are the same distance.

Recording rest is key to comparing workouts.

For example: I'm doing 5 x 400m. Last week I did it with 60 seconds rest and averaged 7:00min/mi. This week I do the same workout except I have 180 seconds of rest and average 6:00min/mi.

When I look back a few months later it looks like I was MUCH faster a week later.

Record your rest, without it you just falsely elevate your overall workout pace. Yes, it looks great on Strava but that's about all it's useful for.

But like Tim said, you can scroll down after hitting stop and record a lap.

If I really need to work some sort of average, will do some maths say using Excel. But, to me, an average is meaningless unless all the intervals are the same distance.

If you are doing a workout of say, 16 x 400m, you'll cover roughly 4 miles not including recovery jogs. I have my laps set to 1 mile so I can still get a useful indicator of how I've paced myself over the course of the session by looking at the average pace for each of those 4 laps on Strava. Even if the pace information isn't very accurate (as it's on a track), it's still all relative. A better way is to go into Garmin Connect Mobile and look at individual split times.

T
That's interesting. I've been using my FR630 for over three months now, and I didn't realise that. Especially when the FR630 shares the effectively shares the same firmware file with the FR235 (which I also have, and is now used by my girlfriend), and marking laps while the timer is stopped could not be done on the FR235, as WEBVAN has pointed out above.

Yep, with the 630, if you start/stop at the start of the split then finish split and press start/stop again, before starting the next 400m (or whatever) you press lap button and it will give you the the split time, which can later viewed in Garmin Connect. It's how I've always done track sessions as I don't record recovery time. Like I said, we usually have a coach to tell us when to go again so we stick to the same recovery time between splits.

For 400s for me, just a mental note of if lap splits are in the ballpark does me.

I can usually get these within a few seconds of each on feel most of the time anyway.

Mile pace for 400 reps would always be somewhat flattering though. I might do that pace in a 1500 or mile race but certainly not for a 4 mile or say 5K race.