Last night I loaded up the Training Center software that came with my Garmin Forerunner 305. The installation was quick and easy, taking well under 5 minutes. Once I loaded it up, I plugged my Forerunner into my computer using the USB cable that came with the unit. The software instantly found and connected to my device. I told it to download all of the data and I was on my way.
With the Forerunner Training Center software you can view the history of all your workouts. It was here that I realized that the Forerunner stores a lot more information than I had ever realized. When the map of yesterdays run displayed on the screen, there was about 70 or 80 little squares along the route. Clicking on one of these squares showed my pace and my heart rate at that particular time in the run.
A graph was also immediately displayed that showed my heart rate and my pace throughout the 22 minutes of my run. I could easily see where I was running and walking and how my heart rate moved up and down accordingly. I had the software overlay the Heart Rate Zones and could see what parts of my run were in the Fitness, Aerobic, and Anaerobic zones. I could add or remove lines to the graph indicating pace, elevation, etc.
The included map software on the Forerunner is very basic, so while I could see my route on the screen, there were no landmarks other than the nearby highways. However I installed Google Earth and then told the Forerunner to display my map using that software and then I could see my course in complete detail down to the sidewalk. The accuracy of the GPS was on display as I could see clearly on the map where I had crossed the street to get back on the sidewalk.
I saved the route I ran as a “Course”. After you store a course it is available forever, so when I run the same course tomorrow I can compare my times for the course overall or for any individual portion of that course.
You can also use the Training Center software to design your own customized workouts. This is one area I didn’t have time to play with yet. Right now I am just beginning with interval training so I can use the actual workouts built into the Forerunner without having to use the software. However I will start experimenting with that part of the software soon and will update this diary accordingly.
The Garmin Forerunner Training Center software seems to be a very powerful workout tracking tool. For tech nerds it can provide you with just about all of the information I could imagine anyone ever wanting and the ability to interface with Google Earth makes it even more powerful (and fun) to use.
