Garmin?

[Maxi80]

Hey friends.

Can you use couch to 5K in conjunction with a Garmin watch? Having a bulky phone jangling in my pocket doesn’t help.

Cheers

[Blackberrypie Graduate]

You could programme the intervals for each run into your garmin and just run with the watch, but I think I'd miss the encouragement of the coach along the way. I know some garmins allow you to download music so you could probably get the podcasts to download if you have one of those. A small clip-on MP3 player might do the job too with less bounce/irritation.

Alternatively you could think about getting something for your phone to travel along that holds it more securely - I have running leggings with a thigh pocket that the phone slips into nicely, others use belts or arm straps.

[Maxi80 in reply to Blackberrypie]

Hey.

Yeah I might just got a bum-bag! I’m only doing 90 second intervals so I probably don’t need a watch just yet anyway 🙈

[Blackberrypie Graduate in reply to Maxi80]

Definitely a cheaper option!

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

It depends a little on which Garmin. The newer ones (2019 onwards so x45 range) and the top end ones older than that can have the exact workout out on them and so C25K is easy to do in them. The slightly older ones at entry level can do most of the runs, where the run and walk intervals are constant, but the other runs can’t be set in the watch.

If you don’t already have a watch, the brand new this month Garmin Forerunner 45 Plus is an absolute bargain in terms of bang for your buck, and will do all you need for a long time.

[___FIAWB___ Graduate]

I use a Garmin Vivoactive 3 watch. I used the Garmin Connect website to build workouts corresponding to each of the C25K variations (some weeks require 3 different workouts, some weeks repeat the same workout). I then scheduled each of the workouts into the Garmin calendar, and synched them to my watch and iPhone. You even get reminded that a Workout is scheduled for that day (much harder to miss the run that way!). And when you want to select a workout it will automatically suggest the one scheduled for that day.

I included both the warm-up and cool-down walks in my workouts. That way I could select the workout and start it at the same time I start the C25K app on my phone, and then forget it until I stopped at the end of the cool-down. The only downside I could see of including the walks is that Garmin incorporates the walking into the distance and average pace/cadence, so you can't get clear numbers for only the running part of the workout. The watch vibrates on the wrist each time you get to the end of a segment which is useful. Alternative, is to leave the walks off the workout, and then start the (run only) workout when it is time to start running.

It's worth nothing that the timing of the segments in the C25K App is not perfect, so you may note a slight temporary discrepancy between where you are in the App and the vibrations on your wrist.

I do not have music capabilities on my Garmin watch, but I would assume if you had one of the Garmin watches that do support music playback then you could use the C25K podcasts and wireless earbuds on the watch rather than the C25K App on your phone.

Where do I put my iPhone? I have an iPhone XR, and if I slip it out of the case, then it fits perfectly into the back pocket of my running shorts that I bought from Decathlon. That pocket is in the middle at the base of the spine, and I never feel the phone (in fact I've sat in the car twice forgetting to take the phone out). So you could just find a pair with a similar pocket, or strap your phone to your arm as someone else suggested.