Another vote for manual lap, for the reasons for the reasons Groove and bhearn mention above.
Are we there, yet?
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.
I use the standard Garmin Training Center. It has all that, but during a race I pay attention to the physical mile markers and check my watch for time, then do some quick mental claculations to determine pace and projected finish time. Sometimes the mile markers are missing, not easily seen, or misplaced, so I always have auto lap on for post race analysis but don't pay any attention to it during the race unless I can't spot the mile markers.
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.
Beer-and-waffle Powered
I've never raced with my Garmin, only with a normal sports-watch. So I manual lap.
In the words of my late-coach : Just hang in there, relax... and at the end of a race anyone you see.....just pass them
Chief Unicorn Officer
Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54
YAYpril - B-Plus
Auto-lap. Mainly because of this:
I can't even remember to stop the Garmin post-race, let alone try to hit the button 26 times.
Also, I tend to zone out while racing and I would absolutely forget to look for mile markers.
Squidward Bike Rider
Autolap over here too...one less thing to worry about during a race.
Shakedown Street
I manual lap mine, in kilometers, for only races measured in miles. Just for the challenge.
I accepted some GPS variation a long time ago, as well as topo charts, etc. I am running, not surveying. Auto. No beep, no vibe either. The vibe scares the fuck out of me.
Started-5/12, RWOL refugee,5k-24:23 (1/12/13),10K-55:37(9/15/12),HM-1:52:59(3/24/13)
... I can't even remember to stop the Garmin post-race, let alone try to hit the button 26 times. Plus, I doubt if I even see 5 mile markers per race.
2 of my marathons were marked in metric. It was really annoying to hit the lap button 42.195 times, but the type-A runner inside me prefers to trust the marked course.
Now that I really think about it, I do not remember seeing one mile marker during my marathon. I was using auto lap, so it's not like I was looking for them, but - seriously - how do I not remember 1 out of 26 of them???? I do tend to look down at the ground when I run most of the time, so I'm sure that's why and there was so much business happening b/t the crowds, bands, water stations, etc., I guess I just didn't notice them. I am clearly not very perceptive, though.
/total aside
I always use auto lap, never even considered doing it manually. Of course I understand that my Garmin reading won't be perfect and I factor that into how I think about my pace. On the other hand, in my experience mile markers aren't that perfect either. I do a lot of small races and I'm pretty sure they often just put the sign up "pretty close" to where the split should be.
I've done a few half marathons marked in metric, and although I can think in KM well enough, I'm less familiar with my paces that way, so I appreciate seeing the splits in miles on my Garmin.
Auhugh!!
Manual lap, but I mark landmarks (tops of ridge, stream crossing, etc), not mile markers since miles don't correspond to anything. Actually, only one or two races I've done have had mile markers. If I'm using a gps, most software will put mile markers in afterward.
Auto lap. I have forgotten to press the lap button during races. I just assume the races will be slightly off and know my pace is somewhat 5-7 seconds off from the mile marker every time.
Damaris
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+1 to Groove and bhearn- manual lap. I would much rather go into the last miles knowing what pace I have to run for each remaining mile, rather than trying to estimate. I wanted to break 2:00 in the half this year, and I much preferred hitting my watch at each marker and seeing what I had *actually* run for that mile, as measured on the course, as opposed to having my Garmin autolap and tell me at, say, mile 9.8 that I had run 10 miles in however many minutes. The RD doesn't care what your garmin says-- the finish line is staying where it is, no matter how far your garmin says you've run.
#dowork
Autolap. I have too much else to think about during a race than to bother with the lap button.
^This. You know what your goal time is so check your watch at what time you hit markers is what i usually do. My last marathon was easy to figure out as 3:30 is 8:00 pace.
PR's - 5K - 20:15 (2013) | 10K - 45:14 (2011) | 13.1 - 1:34:40 (2013) | 26.2 - 3:40:40 (2014)
Up Next:
???
What exactly do a runner need to do to finish the race in exact time?
Which data fields do you set up un the race day?
Lets say my goal is to run a race at 10 min/mile on a flat road and I am planning to do even split for the race. And I hit lap button manually at every mile marker. I am following the lap pace in my watch and hit the lap button at 1st mile marker in the race. Due to whatever reason, it took 10:10 to finish first mile. Then do I run at 9:50 min/mile in second mile to make it 10:00 average pace by mile 2? And I keep adjusting my pace based on how my last lap go?