Marathon "PaceBand" Data Field for Garmin (easily adjust to your time goal)
I have been looking for a solution to wanting to have a "pace band" setup without needing to write on my arm or have something else on my wrist. This could be the only thing you use, or in my case a backup if the GPS is off, I miss a split exactly with the "Race Screen" app, or anything else weird happens on race day for my split times. Trying to fix tech issues on race day, during the race, is not something I enjoy.
We have a computer strapped to our arm so it should be easy enough right? Not finding a solution, but finding a data field I could use to throw in some simple code, I came up with something I think people could find useful.
First you need to add this data field from Connect IQ
https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/fd690281-9c22-4fee-a81e-3b7f39aa67c5
Then, in the settings for the data field, there is a line for a formula. Essentially, this data field acts kind of like excel in that you can write custom formulas using the data the watch has access to. In this case I just use the lap count (If you use Km splits, you just need to add the splits out to that number of laps). Whether you auto-lap or manually lap at the marker, this will give you what your total time should be to hit your goal time as you physically cross the next marker (Not your GPS distance), just like the pace bands or charts on the pacers sign.
Below is the formula I created for my upcoming 3:30:00 goal.
ifs (lapcount lt 1, "8:01" , lapcount eq 1, "16:01" , lapcount eq 2, "24:02" , lapcount eq 3, "32:02" , lapcount eq 4, "40:03" , lapcount eq 5, "48:03" , lapcount eq 6, "56:04" , lapcount eq 7, "1:04:05" , lapcount eq 8, "1:12:05" , lapcount eq 9, "1:20:06" , lapcount eq 10, "1:28:06" , lapcount eq 11, "1:36:07" , lapcount eq 12, "1:44:07" , lapcount eq 13, "1:52:08" , lapcount eq 14, "2:00:09" , lapcount eq 15, "2:08:09" , lapcount eq 16, "2:16:10" , lapcount eq 17, "2:24:10" , lapcount eq 18, "2:32:11" , lapcount eq 19, "2:40:11" , lapcount eq 20, "2:48:12" , lapcount eq 21, "2:56:13" , lapcount eq 22, "3:04:13" , lapcount eq 23, "3:12:14" , lapcount eq 24, "3:20:14" , lapcount eq 25, "3:28:15" , 1 , "3:30:00")
If that's your goal too, just copy paste into the formula section in the data field settings.
If that's not exactly your goal, you can either manually change the times using a pace band calculator or pace pro to get the splits (also allows you to positive/negative split). The formula is set up so the first argument is (lapcount lt (less than) 1, "display time", lapcount eq (equals) 1, "display time"...and so on for each lap until you get to 26 (or 42 for Kms). The last argument (in this case "1,"3:30:00"") does not need the lap count but rather just 1 for "anything else" and your final time. Though, at that point in the race I don't think you care about much beyond get to the line.
The other option, which I've tested and has worked well for even splits, is to throw this prompt into ChatGpt. (changing to get some specific positive or negative split or changing to Km is possible but I haven't tested specific prompts). Just change 4:00:00 to whatever your goal time is.
"The following formula was created to display even mile splits for a 3:30:00 marathon. Could you modify this formula to display even mile splits for a 4:00:00 marathon? ifs (lapcount lt 1, "8:01" , lapcount eq 1, "16:01" , lapcount eq 2, "24:02" , lapcount eq 3, "32:02" , lapcount eq 4, "40:03" , lapcount eq 5, "48:03" , lapcount eq 6, "56:04" , lapcount eq 7, "1:04:05" , lapcount eq 8, "1:12:05" , lapcount eq 9, "1:20:06" , lapcount eq 10, "1:28:06" , lapcount eq 11, "1:36:07" , lapcount eq 12, "1:44:07" , lapcount eq 13, "1:52:08" , lapcount eq 14, "2:00:09" , lapcount eq 15, "2:08:09" , lapcount eq 16, "2:16:10" , lapcount eq 17, "2:24:10" , lapcount eq 18, "2:32:11" , lapcount eq 19, "2:40:11" , lapcount eq 20, "2:48:12" , lapcount eq 21, "2:56:13" , lapcount eq 22, "3:04:13" , lapcount eq 23, "3:12:14" , lapcount eq 24, "3:20:14" , lapcount eq 25, "3:28:15" , 1 , "3:30:00")"
It will spit out the formula with all the times changed so all you need to do is copy paste. (THIS is a good use of AI, unlike many other things we see here)
Let me know if you have any questions, ideas, or issues. I tested through every lap and it works perfectly so now I always have what my total time should be when I pass my next course marker with nothing extra on race day and as a good backup to other watch issues.
