Here’s another reason why the Garmin Forerunner 610 is such a great workout and training tool!
I came across this article on improving one’s lactate clearance rate. As you may all know, the buildup of lactic acid is the cause for muscle fatigue, so the goal is to train your body to run efficiently and facilitate the clearance of lactic acid. The lactate clearance workout lets you run at a “fast pace” to spike the production of lactic acid then you ease into your desired pace to train your body to flush out the lactic acid at that pace. I was eager to try out this workout.
I inputted the info into the Garmin Connect website, which is some personal portal where one can log and plan one’s individualized workout. Once I entered the info, I clicked on the link at the upper right to send the info to my Forerunner 610.
Now the fun begins!
I selected the workout on my watch and started my run. The screen changed to a two panel layout. The top half showed my pace and the bottom half showed the number of kilometers left. In one glance at my watch I can see if I am meeting my targeted pace and how many meters I still have to run. As I near the end of an interval, the watch alerts me by a series of “countdown” beeps, and then, at the start of the next interval, it would display the interval info—“Run 1.5 kilometers 7:00-7:30 pace”—so I don’t have to struggle and remember if I have to do a fast or slow interval. Plus, if I am running too fast or too slow, the watch vibrates and alerts me that I am off the pace. “Speed up” it would display; or “slow down.” I don’t even have to look at the watch—the vibration and the audible alerts me if I am off the pace and then it also alerts me if I am back at my desired pace!
If you couple this with a heart rate monitor, you can even tailor your workout based on your heart rate. You can run a fast interval until your heart rate reaches a certain level (like 80% of your maximum threshold) and then ease down until you reach your “resting” heart rate and then repeat. The watch will alert you as you meet your interval goals!
Great tool and it’s one purchase—albeit an expense one!—that I don’t regret.