How do you use your Garmin at races?

So I assume you are wearing two watches?  Do you wear one on each wrist?

Btw, I will want it primarily for pace and distance on the run.

I have my garmin sitting in my helmet on multisport, and just hit lap to get it on T1, so no real time for swim but gets most of T1 and rest of the race.  Debating on using a 2nd watch for the swim which my wife uses.

Get the quick strap for the Garmin.  It has a mount for the bike and one for your wrist.   Here's what I do.  On race day, the wrist strap goes on the left arm, my watch goes on the right arm and my Garmin goes on my bike.  I use the watch for the swim.  Once I get on the bike, I start the Garmin (turn it on before you leave transition for the swim and pre-set it for auto multisport mode of bike, transition, run).  It does what you want for the bike (HR, speed, cadence, etc.) and as you cross the dismount line, hit the lap button (triggering auto multisport).  Do your T2 business and quick snap the Garmin off the bike and onto your wrist.  As you cross the run-out timer, hit lap again and you're in run mode on the Garmin.  When you finish, hit stop and you've got a pretty good idea of your bike/run times and you can look at your watch for your swim time.

I have used this method effectively for about a year and it only adds a few seconds to the transition.

Here's a link to a store selling the quick strap - http://www.rei.com/product/761149

and here's what it looks like.

What I have done in the past....

Wear my timex in the swim and leave the garmin, turned on, in my bike helmet.

I start the timex at the beginning of the swim, hit the lap button when I get into T1 and stop it leaving T1.  Meanwhile I put the Garmin on in T1 and hit start when I leave T1.

Sometime during the bike, I take note of the time on the first watch, and add that to the time on the Garmin to know my total time (in my head).  During a flat portion of the bike, I take the first watch off and put it in my Bento box for safe keeping.

What do I do now?  Forget about the garmin.  I just wear my timex from start to end to get times and HR.  The bike computer gives me pace on the bike, and I can calc pace for the run based on the mile markers or aid stations....

The only thing that the Garmin might provide is a more detailed map, profile, and HR breakdown.  2 of the 3 can be found on many mapping programs on the web.

I am not so great at calcing my pace on the fly on the run.  Also, aid stations and mile markers are not always in the right spot and this throws me off (esp on multi-lap courses where there is an out and back, one aid station often serves both sides).  Maybe as I get better I will not need it as a crutch, but I think that I will find it helpful in training and in races.

Yep, thats the only real reason I use the garmin, otherwise a HR monitor would be all I would need.

Training, I understand.  I always use my garmin and keep an eye on my pace.  More so my HR, and the resulting pace at a certain effort level.  I love my garmin.

But for a race, let me ask, why is it so important to know, to the second, your pace?  For an HIM, if I hit an aid station or mile marker within 30 seconds of 10 min, I know I'm on track.  for shorter races, I'm just going as fast as I can go, whatever that pace is.

Hills, wind, fatigue, all play a factor with pace anyway.  In a race, just hammer and let the pace be what it is...

I'm a numbers junky too, BUT, if you looked at your pace in a race and it seemed slow, so you pick it up a little, (if you had the energy TO pick it up), shouldn't you have done so anyway?  It's a race.  If you look like you are going too fast, would you actually force yourself to slow down in a race? - Maybe, if you decide you are going out too fast too soon, but I think your perception of effort would be a good indicator too.

I used a garmin for all of my races my first season.  I loved all the data it gave me.  But after a while, I realized I enjoyed races more when I kept things simple, and didn't keep staring at a watch or pace, etc...

Trust me, I understand.  But I like to think of it this way...  When you drive your car, you sort of just go.  You 'know' how fast you should be going without looking.  You don't stare at the spedometer every couple minutes, do you?  I bet I didn't look at mine driving to work ONCE today, and that's a 30 minute drive.

Other than the simple fact you know how fast your are going in a race at a given point - it's just data, what does it do for you?

But I love to crunch numbers while racing a lot.  Maybe it just gives me something to do.

I am still a fairly new racer ... just did my first HIM (Longhorn).  There were times when I thought I could pick it up, but I didn't because I didn't want to bonk but knowing my pace would have helped because I would have been able to say, ok you trained at a faster pace, so get moving!

Also, having a better knowledge of where I am in the course will help me know when to pick it up.  I am very much a second half runner.  I agree that long term it seems like a better training tool than racing tool.

And I don't think I looked at my speed on the way to work today either - except for school zones!

I only have a Polar F11 right now...but I start it at he gun, glance at it on the way out of the water, and keep it going for real race time and to see HR on bike and Run.  For the bike I have my cheapo bike computer and get my distance and speed there. For cadence I just count it out.

It would be nice to have pace for the run but right now I am using my HR and trying to keep my cadence at 88-90.  If I drop down to 85 or so I know I have slowed.

one watch keeps it simple...I don't think I could deal with two.

I don't think twice about puting the polar in the surf...it's under warranty so if it dies on me I would hope the company foots the bill for a replacement.

Here is what I do.  First I purchased the quick release.  Second, I take a baggie to my race.  Then follow the steps below.

1.) set up garmin in multisport mode
2.) put garmin in baggie
3.) place garmin under swim cap and hit start right before the gun
4.) upon exiting the water and removing swim cap grab garmin and hit lap button to enter transition mode
5.) snap garmin onto bike in T1
6.) hit lap button leaving T1 to enter bike mode.
7.) as I near transition I take garmin off bike and snap onto wrist
8.) hit lap button entering T2 to enter transition mode
9.) hit lap button leaving T2 to enter run mode
10.) hit lap button at finish line to enter multisport.

 This is what I do and it usually works perfect.  Just make sure you actually start the unit. 

Only get the quick-strap if you want to replace your garmin when it falls off your bike at 20mph. I've learned this the hard way. 

Oh, and when I was looking the pieces of what was left of my garmin, it most definately does NOT have an O-ring and should not be considered waterproof at all.