Program Your Garmin GPS For Interval & Speed Training

Did you know that you can use your Garmin GPS watch to coach you through interval training, fartlek runs, and speed work?
You may never have to do a treadmill run again!

Using Your Garmin GPS “Workout” Feature

Advanced Garmin GPS running watches are shipped with a “Workout” feature. “Workouts” are pre-programmed runs with specific patterns.
For example, let’s say you’re training for the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and your training calls for Cruise Intervals:

  • A 10-minute Warm-up
  • Then, 8 intervals of 1000 meters at a 10k pace, with 3-minute recovery runs in-between
  • Then, a 10-minute Cool-down

You could run this on a treadmill, if you wanted to; but, you could also run it outside using your Garmin. The trick is to program your workout into the watch in advance, then to let the watch manage your run for you.

What To Expect On Your Garmin “Workout” Run

When you run your workout using the Garmin “Workout” feature, there’s no guesswork about how fast you’re running; or how many intervals you have left to run.
You simply “start” your run like any other, then let the watch tell you what to do next. It will count down your Warm-up for you; tell you when to start your intervals (and your recoveries); and, when to begin your Cool-down.
The Garmin will even tell you whether you’re running your intervals at-pace, too slowly, or too quickly. You get the perfect interval training every time you run.

Step-By-Step Instructions For Setting Interval Runs On A Garmin 620

How to program your Garmin