Peter’s (Race) Pacer 19

Summary

Peter’s (Race) Pacer is a Garmin Connect IQ Data Field which resolves 2 issues for me when I’m running a race:

Before the race starts I want to see the current time of the day (well actually I want to see, how long till the race starts?)
When I pace races it used to be doing mental math all the way, now this is no longer necessary as you can fully depend on the average pace/speed, because this data field allows to correct the distance at the kilometer / mile marker by simply pressing the LAP button

While the data field’s primary intent is to race races, you can also use it to run laps around the track, just set the lap distance to 400 meters and press the lap button as you cross the line!…

Installation / Configuration

Install the Data Field on your watch by clicking download in the Connect IQ store
Customize the data field in the Android App or Garmin Express
- Manage Apps
- Select Peter’s (Race) Pacer
- Click on the button “…”
- Configure the settings and hit ok.
Configure your watch to use the data field:
- On the clock face click “Start button”
- Choose the Activity Profile for which you wish to install this data field for (eg Running)
- Press the down button
- Choose Activity Settings
- Choose Data Screens
- Choose “Screen 1” (or another screen)
- Layout: click Start button and click the down button until the layout shows only 1 field
- When 1 field is selected press the back button
- Choose field 1 (and click start button)
- Choose “Connect IQ”
- Select “Peter’s (Race) Pacer” from the list (hit start button)
- All done, hit back, back, back, back…

Usage

(All functionality of this datafield uses about 22k, which is way too much for the older Connect IQ devices (only have 16k memory there). To be able to run the field on older devices I’ve stripped items marked with (*cIQ2) from those devices to be able to run it within the 16k memory limit.)

Before starting the race an initial data screen is shown (*cIQ2), this screen shows you the following data:

Time of the day
Current heart rate (+ zone indication)
Configured Settings Summary (Change these settings in Garmin Express or in the Garmin Connect Android App)
- Target Pace / Target Speed / Target Finish Time
- Target Distance: 5k, 10k, 10 miles, half marathon, marathon or custom distance
- Lap Size in meter
  - 1 k = 1000 meter
  - 1 mile = 1609.304 meter
  - typical length of track = 400 meter
  - …
Battery Percentage Remaining
Gps Signal Strength Indication

When pressing the START button the race timer will start and a new data screen will be shown, this data screen will show you the following information:

top middle configurable field: current heart rate / average pace / average speed / perfect pace / perfect speed
left configurable field: average pace / average speed / current heart rate / perfect speed / perfect pace
middle configurable field: speed, smooth speed (5s average), smooth speed (10s average), pace, smooth pace (5s average), smooth pace (10s average)
time ahead / behind
race timer
(adjusted) distance covered (see adjusting distance explanation below)
estimated time of arrival

Perfect Pace / Perfect Speed
This field recalculates as you run and gives you the pace you need to run to arrive at the finish with 0 seconds behind / ahead (eg if you run a 10k race and want to arrive in 1 hour (avg pace=6:00min/km) and currently you’re at the 7k point in 41:30, which means you’re 30 seconds ahead, then the perfect pace will show the value 6:10 (min/km) as you can run the next 3k 10 seconds slower to still get in time at the finish line

Adjusting the race distance

In a race when you’re next to the race marker press the LAP button, the distance will now be corrected to the nearest lap position (eg 5.08 will correct to 5, 8.8 will correct to 9, …). After pressing the lap button the distance will be adjusted and all averages will be recalculated against this new distance figure.

When you miss a lap marker don’t worry: do not press LAP and go for the next lap marker.

When you press the LAP marker by mistake you can undo the (last) correction by pressing the LAP button again (within a 30 second window)

Note: Adjusting the distance by pressing the LAP button has no influence on the recorded distance. (When you come home and look on Garmin Connect the distance will be the recorded GPS distance). If you turned off auto-lap you will see where you pressed the lap button and which mile/kilometer marker corresponded with which GPS distance.

Recommendations

Test the data field on a training session so you’re used to the layout.
Have a second screen with a native data field configuration as a precaution.

Donations

The data field is fully functional without donating. Donations are optional but encouraged from from within the data field with a small encouragement text. If you find Peter’s (Race) Pacer useful and/or Peter’s (Race) Pacer helps you to achieve your goal you can show your appreciation by donating an amount (suggested donation: 5 euro) on my PayPal account

After donation you will receive a donation key on your paypal email address which which will remove the “Like it? Donate!” message from the data field. (this is a manual process, but normally you should receive a key within 24 hours).

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19 thoughts on “Peter’s (Race) Pacer”

Reply Frank Vieren Mar 8,2017 12:34

Great feature, but nevertheless due to GPS error I was mislead and almost missed my new PB on my latest marathon race.
Reply Frank Vieren Mar 8,2017 12:36

PS, it was not your implementation I used 🙁
Reply Peter Mar 8,2017 12:53

That’s why Peter’s (Race) Pacer is so great, it takes GPS errors completely out of the equation as you can sync your watch with the race distance at each mile/kilometer marker 🙂
Reply John Maton May 30,2017 06:14

Excellent. The synchronisation with KM markers is just what I had been looking for. Would love to donate, but PayPal requires that I set up an account with them – something that I will not do. Any other way to donate?
Reply Peter May 30,2017 07:16

hi John, glad you like my app!
Alan had a while ago a similar question, I made this page for him http://starttorun.info/about/ If you use this donation button you don’t need to create an account and you can directly use your credit card or visa.
- Reply John Maton May 30,2017 20:16
  
  Thanks for that – done!
Reply Espen Jun 14,2017 10:40

Thank you! This is what ive been looking for! I will test it today and during 10K race this weekend and donate.
I usually do it the “manual” way, Put datafield with LAPS, AVERAGE LAP and manual lap every KM. Then AVERAGE LAP will give me correct pace but I still need to calculate how far im behind etc.

I have a idea for a NEW app, and it should be pretty easy to build based on Peters Race Pacer.

Its a app for indoor track running (or running some other place you cant use GPS)

Example: In Oslo, Norway, we have a indoor track which is 546meters one lap.

Settings for the app should be like “How long is the track?”

Every time you run a track and press LAP it should calculate distance. DISNTACE = DISTANCE + 546m, or just like 546m * LAPS.

And one field for last pace. If you run a round in 2:11 it will be 4:00 pace (2:11 for 546meters = 4:00 pace). This is harder for people to calculate on the fly.

This app would also be pretty usefull for outdoor track running, Since the watch always know that a LAP press = 400m.

So the app is just like Petes Pacer WITHOUT GPS =)

Just an idea for a new app! =)
- Reply Peter Jun 14,2017 13:54
  
  added it to my todo list, no promises though as I can’t keep up: there’s more inflow than outflow 🙂
  
  good luck with your upcoming race. 😉
Reply Tomas Jun 19,2017 10:04

Peter’s (Race) Pacer totally saved me on the Copenhagen Marathon.

During the last couple of training runs prior to the race, my Fenix 5x had an issue with the GPS and repeatedly got both pace and distance (and GPS trace) wrong. So on race day I didn’t trust the expensive watch. But with Peter’s (race) Pacer I knew that I could get a reliable lap time every official 1km, and that allowed me to pace myself successfully and beat my PR by over 10 minutes.

Brilliant tool!
- Reply Peter Jun 19,2017 12:43
  
  Thanks for the kind words Tomas. And big congrats on beating your pr! Way To go!
Reply Harald Jul 25,2017 06:37

Hi Peter, thanks for implementing the idea of readjusting the distance run by pressing a button at the distance markers. I suggested this idea to Garmin about 2 years ago, with no reaction whatsoever. I have no ConnectIQ capable watch yet (“only” a FR620) but if I ever will, this app will be mine!

I also own a FR610 with a footpod, and followed fellrnr’s recommendation to calibrate the footpod, but still found it less accurate than the GPS distance measurement (pace round value).

Honestly, I sometimes do not believe the accuracy of the mile markers… I’ve seen GPS vs. mile markers off by more than 300 meters during a marathon, and yet the overall distance was accurate by less than than in the finish. Hmmm…
- Reply Peter Jul 25,2017 07:09
  
  hi Harald,
  I couldn’t miss the app anymore. 🙂
  I don’t know how I raced all those years before I wrote the app, well I do, it was doing a lot of math along the way… all way long. 🙂
  - Reply Harald Jul 26,2017 06:37
    
    By the way do you also adjust the pace reading according to the adjusted distance measurement? Say, if you hit the lap button after 950 meters (for a km), is the pace (average) corrected by -5%? If you do this again and again during a long run, the readjusted pace average should be quite precise, without having to calibrate a footpod or buying an expensive Stryd. Alternatively, since the app calculates the corrected distance anyway, the correction factor is a simple division. Both makes sense – for example if you run the NYCM, you change from Brooklyn which is quite open and GPS friendly, to downtown Manhattan, where GPS coverage isn’t so good and you tend to cut buildings 😉
    
    The screen could still display the GPS pace in one of the data fields if one so wishes.
    - Reply Peter Jul 26,2017 06:50
      
      all data (including pace, avg pace, eta, etc…) is recalculated on the fly based on the adjusted distance.
      - Reply Harald Jul 31,2017 09:57
        
        BTW any plans to integrate / display pace from footpod, like the “Foot Pod Pace” data field? Momentary pace from footpod plus distance correction by mile marker, that would be killer!
Reply Peter Jul 31,2017 10:58

For direct ant connections i don’t have enough memory left but if you pair the footpod with your watch it should already use that as the source for speed.
Reply raz Aug 4,2017 14:05

great app i just donated !!

Thx
Reply Harald Aug 12,2017 16:22

Hi Peter, it’s me again. I just ran a 10k race (Straßenlauf Dachau, https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1911456331) and the data field helped me control my pace just fine – but.

I had set auto lap to on, which may have confused the data field. I’ll switch it off next time. I must have missed this somewhere in the description. I used the Garmin footpod for instant pace, and the pace field was off by circa +10 sec all the time (between 3:55 and 4:10 min/km, where my overall average was 4:15). Instant pace was useless, but the “behind/ahead” field saved the race. Question: was the pace recalculation confused by auto lap? In some cases, auto lap counted a lap about 2 seconds before a km mark…

Anyway: Great work, Peter, and I’ll donate in a minute. (y)
- Reply Peter Aug 12,2017 18:34
  
  Hi harald,
  
  As long as the auto lapsize is equal to the lapsize set in the settings this should give no problem (on my own races I also set autolap on).
  I don’t influence the current pace, I just take over whatever value the connect iq framework passes on to me. But I’m sure you noticed that I offer other options for pace: avg pace, lap pace, smoothened pace, perhaps one of those will suit you better, the first two take the adjusted distance into account.
  Behind/Ahead field is also based on the adjusted distance, the behind/ahead field is the field I look at the most when I race and is one of the reasons I created the race pacer spinoff which I’ve named Peter’s Ahead Timer ( https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/5751dbc6-40ab-425a-8ca4-e3afdd10eddf ).
  … I know it’s a poorly chosen name (I couldn’t think of something better 🙂 )