The Training Crucible

It has taken me a year, but I have learned a new (and valuable) way to use my Garmin 205.
Plan my workouts for the week.


When I first got the watch I simply wanted to know my distance and time, which would give me my pace.  At the time any pace was good because I hadn't been running in about 10 years.  Now, as I try to improve my running I am looking for ways to get the most out the tools I am using.

Earlier this year I started creating some custom workouts that I could download to my watch, but I didn't realize that I could plan into the future with it.
Here's what you do:
1. Take one of the pre-programed or custom workouts from your workout tab in Garmin Training Center.
2. After you left-click on it, drag it to the date when you want to do the workout.
3. Sync your watch with the Garmin Training Center (Go to "File" and click "Send to device").
4. Now when your watch is on hit the mode button and go to "Training," next go to "Workouts" then "Advanced."  On the Advanced screen you can choose "Today's" or select from the list by going to "View All."

Knowing about this feature would have really helped last week when I selected the wrong workout on Thursday.  I was 10 minutes into the run before I realized that something was wrong. If had simply set up the training for each day all I would have needed to do would be to select "Today" and I would be set.
This is a really great feature to have, especially for those of us who are still half asleep when we head out for that early morning run!

The world of running changed for me a year ago on Father's Day.  First the back story:
At the beginning of 2009 I left my job as minister in Baton Rouge and began working at a Christian drug treatment center in Arkansas called Capstone. With the move I decided that I need to lose much of the weight that 4 years of catfish, crawfish boils, and other Southern Louisiana cuisine had added (not to mention the fact that during those 4 years I did 0 hours of exercises).
My 3 months in Arkansas I lost 15 pounds simply by changing my diet and working out about twice a week with Wii Fit.  Then Meg and the girls joined me here, we got our own house and decided that before we turned 30 we would run a marathon. The challenge was on. We started running, not really having a plan. A good friend of Meg's who was trying to qualify for Boston at the time (and was successful) recommended that we get Hal Higdon's book on Marathon training and then she showed us on of the greatest toys a runner can ever have: a Garmin.