Creating Custom Structured Workouts

Garmin and COROS watches let you load a structured workout: a list of steps, each with its own target. For a pacer, this can turn the race plan into a watch screen that shows the target for the current kilometre and buzzes when you drift outside it. Used well, it is a useful race-day aid. Used badly, it replaces the one thing you must always have: a plan you know by heart.

When you may use it#

The Pacer Support Guide is clear, and the CDPP follows the same rule:

On race day you may use it only if:

• you have tested it many times on your own test runs, outside the group sessions, and know exactly how to load and start it;
• you can keep pacing perfectly if it fails, because you know your average pace and your segment plan by heart; and
• your coach knows you are using it.

How to build it#

You can build the workout in the Garmin Connect or COROS app, or generate it from your split plan (the Split planner output can be used as the source). The structure is simple:

1. One step per kilometre. Step 1 is km 1, step 2 is km 2, and so on. The last step covers the final part (for example the last 0.195 km of a marathon or 0.0975 km of a half).
2. Set a target pace range for each step. Use the planned watch pace for that kilometre, plus and minus 3 s/km. Example: if km 8 is planned at 5:40 min/km, the range is 5:37–5:43 min/km.
3. Use the pace from your plan, not the raw official pace. Your coach has already built in a margin for GPS over-distance; the pace in your plan is the pace to run on your watch.
4. Turn on alerts so the watch vibrates or beeps when you leave the band.
5. Choose the lap trigger. Each step can end by distance (the watch moves on after 1 km of GPS distance) or by a manual lap press at the official marker. A manual press keeps the steps lined up with the course (see Lesson 5.2), but it needs the lap key switched on, so only choose it if your coach and team agreed this set-up.
6. Add short notes for important points, such as "water station" or "bridge – hold effort", if your watch supports step notes.
7. Sync and check on the watch. Open the workout on the watch and scroll through every step. Check that paces and distances are correct.

Using it in the race#

• Treat an alert as a question, not an order. Alerts use GPS pace, so they can fire wrongly between tall buildings or under bridges. Check lap pace and the next marker before changing anything.
• The ±3 s/km band is a safety net, not your aim. Your aim is still to run each segment within 1 s/km of target, as in training.
• Do not stare at the screen. Glance as you would with a normal data screen. Your runners need your attention.
• Know your fallback. If the workout stops or skips steps, end it calmly and switch to your normal data screen with average pace, lap pace and elapsed time.

Key takeaways#

• Structured workouts are never used in training; on race day they are an optional aid.
• Build one step per km with the planned watch pace ±3 s/km and alerts on.
• Choose a distance or manual-marker lap trigger, as agreed with your coach.
• Treat alerts with suspicion in bad GPS zones and confirm at the next marker.
• Always be able to pace the full race from memory if the watch fails.