
This was a weird one.
My Garmin Forerunner 255 has an option called Suggested Workout where it will…suggest a workout when you start an activity. I have this set to on, because I’m curious what the machine thinks I should be doing. I always dismiss it and run my usual 5K, but this morning, I decided to follow the suggested workout:
8.5 km/h for 35 minutes
This works out to an average pace of just over 7 minutes/km, which is significantly slower than my usual pace.
I started out a few hours later than usual, to hopefully avoid showers in the morning. That part worked, as it was actually mostly sunny for the run itself, but fortunately still with temperatures in the mid-teens.
As I started, I noted that the workout has its own display rather than the one I usually see, showing three things:
Current pace
Countdown timer
Distance
This was different, but OK. The countdown made it seem a little exciting. Only 30 minutes to go! Only ten minutes! Only 5!
But remember where I said 7 minutes/km is much slower than my usual pace? The first km, the watch kept scolding me: TOO FAST. It will let you get above the desired pace for a bit, but if you stay a certain level above the acceptable range for too long, you get the warning. When you drop back into the accepted range, the watch lets you know you have done this, then goes back to the regular countdown view.
Trying to maintain the same speed is hard. Trying to do it when on a trail that constantly twists, turns and dips adds to the challenge. Trying to do it when it’s so much slower than your usual pace is…aggravating.
But I persevered and for most of the rest of the way, the TOO FAST alarms didn’t pop up very often. When I got to the final km–where I usually apply the gas a bit–the warnings began popping up, and for the last 30 seconds or so I just ignored everything and ran.
When the countdown reached zero, I was told the workout was concluded, but the run keeps going after that until you end it. I ran just a bit farther to hit 5K and stopped.
I got a grade for my effort: 88%, which it deemed Good. If I had hewed closer to 8.5 km/h I would have rated higher. I was then asked to rate two aspects of the run:
- The effort. I chose Light. I pondered briefly on Moderate, but Light was right, because I had to force myself repeatedly to run slower.
- How I felt. I chose Strong, because the challenge was in not going too fast.
As you can see by the stats below, they are quite a bit outside the norm. My pace is 6:53/km (TOO FAST), which is over a minute slower than my previous run (5:46) and my BPM was a mere 141. No issues experienced on the run, of course, though I did have to dodge some glass on the trail around the 3K mark. Not sure what was up with that.
Overall, an interesting experiment, but one I am not eager to try again.

Stats:
Run 934
Average pace: 6:53/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:17 a.m.
Distance: 5.0 km
Time: 34:25
Weather: Partly sunny
Temp: 15-17°C
Humidity: 83-76%
Wind: light to moderate
BPM: 141
Weight: 167.2
Total distance to date: 6,505 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (100/210/310)
Music: Lifes Rich Pageant, R.E.M.