levitation specialist
I was reading up on DC Rainmaker's site about running tips and I hadn't thought much about it but since I am finally racing a long race(26.2), I guess now it matters!
In a race, you know it will be measured slightly long if its a certified course, so letting the Garmin(or any GPS watch) auto lap is going to add up to a decent discrepancy in laps, and thus pacing, towards the end of the race.
Marathoners, do you auto lap or manual the whole race?
delicate flower
I auto-lap. I am not concerned at all about the miles being a little bit off from the course markers. 26.2 miles is 26.2 miles and a little variance between course markers and my Garmin laps won't change that. I run the race based on my Garmin mileage readings.
I've only had one race where the readings were off by any significant amount. It was a half marathon that measured 12.7 miles on my Garmin. I assume it got a little wonky since the race was 100% within a city (lot of tall buildings).
<3
Autolap. I have too much else to think about during a race than to bother with the lap button.
Agreed. In the crowded races, I don' t always see the mile markers so can't manual lap anyway.
I auto-lap mine. The only exception was for the IMM when I noticed I was considerably off (~.25 mi) after 5 miles because of the buildings. I just hit a manual lap at that marker to get back in sync. Otherwise, things are close enough for me.
I do turn off all beeps on my Garmin because I find it so annoying to add to the cascade of chirps from others around the markers. Instead, I prefer to do the mental math at each mile marker to figure out my pace/splits ... gives me something to do.
Train smart ... race smarter.
I manual lap because if I need to hit a certain pace/time per mile to reach my goal time, that goal time will be based on how the race marks the distance and not on my garmin. For example, if I relied on my garmin's autolap to look at my pace per mile as the race unfolds, I would have to pick a slightly faster pace to offset the garmin usually marking off the miles sooner than the race does...but it's hard to know how much faster I should pace based on an unknown discrepancy. It's easier for me to look at my lap pace or cumulative time when I hit the race's mile markers. Hope this made sense.
Overcoming sarcoidosis one step at a time...
Yeah, they are well marked on our local annual marathon course and the full is smaller people wise but I don't know if I want to try and remember to do something different on race day than I am used to in training, which was why I asked so early, so I can prepare. But the training runs I run now aren't marked, so I'd have to manually mark them(as in, remember) myself to get used to lapping manually.
Maybe I will just let it auto lap but turn off the beep and just do the vibrate option. I don't stare at my watch as I run BUT I have a habit of starting out races too quickly and then cramping up later, so it is more making sure I start out on pace and stay there and then maintaining even splits thereafter(best laid plans, right?!)
This. I always manual lap in HMs and marathons.
I've missed seeing mile markers, and figured it out pretty quickly. I just mentally divide by two at the next one.
I've been known to just let it autolap in 5ks and the few 10ks I've done, because I just don't pick up enough extra distance that it is especially important.
My wildly inconsistent PRs:
5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)
10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)
HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)
Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011)
I used auto lap in my race.
FYI: I posted a thread about this same thing on RW just b/f my marathon if you are interested -
http://forums.runnersworld.com/forums/runner-communities/beginners/garmin-autolap-manually-lap-during-race?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Runner%2520CommunitiesForum:608106477Discussion:bf2ee7b1-f237-478d-a82f-bd44f2b19c10Post:b3fcfb05-c706-4765-9a09-392567c041f3
Are we there, yet?
Auto lap - too many times I've missed mile markers. At least with auto lap I have a record to check for post race analysis. I do not rely on the Garmin splits and pace during the race. I still make note of the time at the mile markers and do some mental math. Even then the time seldom makes any difference as I race by perceived effort. I might crank it up a notch if it might make the difference between a SB or not.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Auto lap - too many times I've missed mile markers. At least with auto lap I have a record to check for post race analysis.[...]
George, what software do you use? I use SportTracks which can split up my runs into mile (as well as other distances) segments and give me times and paces for those segments...sort of a post hoc autolap. Do other logging programs that use GPS data not have this feature? Seems like a relatively easy thing to program.
Go figure
Trying to find some more hay to restock the barn
I always manual lap it. I may occasionally miss a marker, but it's not a big deal.
Yeah. So you miss a marker -- then you get a two-mile split instead of a mile split, so what?
What matters in the end is that you have to be aware that your Garmin will probably read long in the end, and if your time matters, you need to factor that in. The problem, of course, is that you don't really know just how long it will read. If the markers are accurate -- as they typically are in large marathons -- then you totally solve this problem by just using manual lap. (Or, like George, noting the time at the mile markers and doing the mental math.)
I really don't like to enter the last few miles of a marathon having a minute or more's uncertainty. That's night and day where PRs are concerned.