Are you on pace?
OnPace+ and OnPace (free) are Garmin Smartwatch data fields for runners that display how far ahead/behind you are your target pace in an easy-to-read data field that fits among your other data fields using the same styling.
| Feature | OnPace+ | OnPace (free) |
|---|---|---|
| Update continuously using elapsed distance | X | X |
| Override elapsed distance with the lap key | X | X |
| Metric and imperial units | X | X |
| Display time difference | X | X |
| Display distance difference | X | |
| Automatically read target pace from workout | X | |
| Graph of the data in Garmin Connect | X |
These are set using the Garmin Connect IQ mobile app.
1a. Distance unit
Choose between:
- Kilometers
- Miles
- Meters
- Feet
1b. Lap distance
Used together with Target pace (seconds per lap) to calculate how far ahead/behind you are your target pace. It is also the distance of each lap when using Override distance with lap key.
1c. Target pace (seconds per lap)
Your target time in seconds for running one Lap distance.
2a. Display time difference
Toggle on or off. If both this and Display distance difference are enabled, the displayed value will switch between the two every second.
2b. Display distance difference
Toggle on or off. If both this and Display time difference are enabled, the displayed value will switch between the two every second.
3a. Update continuously using elapsed distance
Toggle on or off. If enabled, the GPS is used to calculate the distance. Can be used with or without Override distance with lap key.
3b. Override distance with lap key
Toggle on or off. If enabled, you can tell the app how far you have run using the lap key, where one lap equals one Lap distance. Can be used with or without Update continuously using elapsed distance.
Note: Remember to disable your watch's auto-lap function if this setting is toggled on.
4a. Use workout pace
Toggle on or off. If enabled, the target pace set using settings 1a-c will be ignored during workouts. Instead, the target pace will be taken from the current workout step. The displayed value will remain constant during workout steps without a pace target.
4b. Reset on workout step
Toggle on or off. If enabled, the displayed value will reset to "-0:00" at the start of every workout step.
Distance unit, Lap distance and Target pace (seconds per lap) are used to set your target pace.
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
Distance unit |
Kilometers |
Lap distance |
1 |
Target pace (seconds per lap) |
300 |
You tell the app that your target is running 1 km in 300 seconds, meaning a target pace of 5:00/km.
Display time difference and Display distance difference don't affect the pace calculation, only what is displayed.
For day-to-day training you will usually want to enable Update continuously using elapsed distance and disable Override distance with lap key, but here are a few scenarios where each combination might be useful.
Update continuously using elapsed distance |
Override distance with lap key |
Useful for |
|---|---|---|
| on | off |
|
| off | on |
|
| on | on |
|
If using Override distance with lap key, remember to set the Lap distance equal to the distance between the course distance markers, and to turn your watch's auto-lap feature off.
Let’s say you have configured your target pace to be 5:00/km using the following settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
Distance unit |
Kilometers |
Lap distance |
1 |
Target pace (seconds per lap) |
300 |
You run what the watch says is 1100 meters in 4:50 and press the lap key because there was a "1 km" distance marker along the course. You then run another 500 meters (according to the watch) in 2:25.
Depending on your chosen combination of the other settings, the displayed value will be calculated differently.
Update continuously using elapsed distance |
Override distance with lap key |
Displayed value |
|---|---|---|
| on | off | Lap key presses are ignored. According to the watch we have run 1600 meters in 7:15. Since our target pace is 5:00/km our target time for this distance is 5:00 * 1.6 = 8:00, which means we are 0:45 ahead. During these 7:15 the field updates every second with how far ahead/behind we are in each moment and after 7:15 the app displays -0:45. |
| off | on | Elapsed distance is ignored and the app only updates when we press the lap key. For the first 4:50 the app doesn't know we have moved and displays -0:00. At 4:50 we press the lap key which tells the app that we have run 1 km. This is 0:10 faster than our target pace and the app therefore displays -0:10. It will keep displaying the same value for the next 2:25. |
| on | on | Using elapsed distance the app calculates that we run the first 1100 meters in 4:50. Since our target pace is 5:00/km our target time for this distance is 5:00 * 1.1 = 5:30, which means we are 0:40 ahead. During these 4:50 the field updates every second with how far ahead/behind we are in each moment and after 4:50 the app displays -0:40. When we press the lap key at 4:50 we tell the app that the actual distance we have run is 1 km, meaning we are actually only 0:10 ahead, and the app will update to display -0:10. After another 2:25 the app calculates that we have run a total of 1500 meters in 7:15, since it still counts the first lap to be 1 km. Since our target pace is 5:00/km our target time for this distance is 5:00 * 1.5 = 7:30, which means we are now 0:15 ahead. During these last 2:25 the field updates every second with how far ahead/behind we are in each moment and after 7:15 the app displays -0:15. |
| off | off | This is not a reasonable combination. |
Let’s say that your actual pace throughout this run was 4:50/km, the km marker was in the correct location, and the GPS measured the first 1 km consistently longer than it was. Then the different setting combinations would display the following values over time:
What you actually choose to use is up to you.
You can usually always have Use workout pace enabled.
Enable Reset on workout step for workouts consisting of intervals with rests in between, because then you are more interested in the quality of each individual interval than the workout pace as a whole. Disable Reset on workout step for endurance workouts without rests, where making up time lost in a previous workout step is something you want to keep track of. You also want to disable Reset on workout step if you are using the app to track an unevenly paced race (such as a negative split).
- Add the built-in data field showing the lap number next to this data field to easily see how many laps you have tracked.
- If you are aiming to run an unevenly paced race (such as with a negative split), you can build a workout for it with changing pace targets. Enable
Use workout paceand disableReset on workout stepand run the whole race as a workout. Remember to make the workout longer than the race itself; otherwise the app will display an incorrect value after the workout finishes. You also cannot useOverride distance with lap keyat the same time, since the lap key during workouts will switch to the next workout step.
- Some watches have an auto-lap function. If you have
Override distance with lap keyon, remember to turn off this function. - Some watches show a "Discard lap" button right after you press the lap key. The "Discard lap" action is not registered by the app (because this functionality is not available in the SDK) and if you press it the lap will still count. If you have
Override distance with lap keyon you should therefore never click the "Discard lap" button. If you still do it by accident, remember that the app still registered it.
- OnPace+ can be placed among your other fields, while Virtual Partner takes up a whole screen.
- Better visibility using colors.
- Function to override the distance using the lap key.
- Can be used during workouts.
- The data is shown in a graph in Garmin Connect.
The only drawback is that you need your phone to change your target pace with OnPace+, while you can change your Virtual Partner target pace directly on your watch.