Garmin Forerunner 205, Forerunner 305 Owner Manual

Owner’s Manual

Forerunner®

GPS-enabled trainer for runners

205/305

© 2006–2008 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

Garmin International, Inc.
1200 East 151st Street,
Olathe, Kansas 66062,
USA
Tel. [phone] or
[phone]
Fax [phone]

All rights reserved. Except as expressly
provided herein, no part of this manual
may be reproduced, copied, transmitted,
disseminated, downloaded or stored in
any storage medium, for any purpose
without the express prior written consent of
Garmin. Garmin hereby grants permission to
download a single copy of this manual onto a
hard drive or other electronic storage medium
to be viewed and to print one copy of this
manual or of any revision hereto, provided
that such electronic or printed copy of this
manual must contain the complete text of
this copyright notice and provided further that
any unauthorized commercial distribution of
this manual or any revision hereto is strictly
prohibited.

Information in this document is subject to
change without notice. Garmin reserves
the right to change or improve its products
and to make changes in the content without
obligation to notify any person or organization

July 2008 Part Number 190-00581-00 Rev. D Printed in Taiwan

Garmin (Europe) Ltd.
Liberty House,
Hounsdown Business Park,
Southampton, Hampshire, SO40
9RB UK
Tel. [phone] (outside the
UK) 0808 2380000 (within the UK)
Fax [phone]

of such changes or improvements. Visit
the Garmin Web site (www.garmin.com)
for current updates and supplemental
information concerning the use and operation
of this and other Garmin products.

Garmin®, Forerunner®, Garmin Training
Center®, Auto Pause®, Auto Lap®, and Virtual
Partner® are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or
its subsidiaries, registered in the USA and
other countries. GSC™ 10 and Multisport™ are
trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
These trademarks may not be used without
the express permission of Garmin.

Other trademarks and trade names are those
of their respective owners.

Garmin Corporation
No. 68, Jangshu 2nd
Road,
Shijr, Taipei County,
Taiwan
Tel. [phone]
Fax [phone]

Table of ConTenTs

Getting Started .................... 1

Charging the Battery ..................1

Acquiring Satellite Signals .........2

Using the Heart Rate Monitor ....3

Extending the Strap ...................5

Buttons .......................................6

Pages .........................................7

User Prole ................................8

Training ................................9

Alerts ..........................................9

Auto Pause® ............................13

Auto Lap® ................................ 14

Virtual Partner® .......................15

Workouts: Quick, Interval, and

Advanced .......................... 16

Courses ...................................24

Multi-sport Workouts ................ 28

History ............................... 31

About History Detail .................31

Viewing History ........................32

Deleting History .......................34

IntroductIon

Navigation ......................... 35

Viewing the Map ......................35

Marking Locations ....................36

Back to Start ............................39

Creating and Using Routes ......40

Viewing GPS Information .........42

Settings .............................43

General Settings ......................43

Data Recording ........................ 46

Changing Sport Settings .......... 48

Setting Pace/Speed Zones ......50

Setting Heart Rate Zones ........51

Appendix ........................... 53

Cleaning and Care ................... 53

Data Fields ...............................54

Heart Rate Information ............57

Tire Size and Circumference ...61

Garmin Training Center ...........62

Specications ...........................64

Important Product and Safety

Information ........................ 66

Index .................................. 74

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual i

IntroductIon

Contact Garmin

Contact Garmin Product Support
if you have any questions while
using your Forerunner In the
USA, go to www.garmin.com

/support, or contact Garmin USA

by phone at [phone] or
[phone].

In the UK, contact Garmin
(Europe) Ltd. by phone at 0808

2380000.

In Europe, go to www.garmin.com

/support and click Contact

Support for in-country support
information, or contact Garmin
(Europe) Ltd. by phone at +44 (0)

870.8501241.

ii Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

Product Registration

Help us better support you by
completing our online registration
today! Have the serial number
of your Forerunner handy and
connect to our Web site
(www.garmin.com). Look for the
Product Registration link on our
home page.

Use this area to record the serial
number (8-digit number located
on the back of the unit) in case
your Forerunner is lost, stolen, or
needs service. Be sure to keep
your original sales receipt in a
safe place or attach a photocopy
inside the manual.

Serial Number:

GettInG Started

GeTTinG sTarTed

Charging the Battery

Charge the Forerunner for three hours before using it. When the
battery is fully charged, the battery life is approximately 10 hours. To

avoid corrosion, be sure the Forerunner is completely dry before
charging or connecting to a personal computer.

To charge the Forerunner:

1. Snap the Forerunner into the
charging cradle.

2. Plug the small end of the AC
adapter into the mini-USB port
on the cradle. Plug the other end
into a standard wall outlet.

NOTE: The Forerunner will not charge outside the temperature range of
0°C–50°C (32°F–122°F).

You can also charge the Forerunner by connecting it to your personal
computer with the enclosed USB cable. However, you must install
Garmin Training Center before you connect to your computer. See page

62 to install Garmin Training Center.

mini-USB port

cradle

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 1

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Acquiring Satellite Signals

Before you begin using the
Forerunner, you must acquire
GPS satellite signals. To acquire
satellite signals, go outdoors
away from tall buildings and
trees. Acquiring satellite signals
may take 30–60 seconds.

To acquire satellites:

Go outdoors to an open area and
press the Power button to turn
on the Forerunner.

2 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

Wait while the Forerunner
searches for satellites. For best
reception, make sure the GPS
antenna is facing up. Stand still
in an open area, and do not
begin walking or running until
the Locating Satellites page
disappears.

GPS antenna is

located here.

After the Locating Satellites page
disappears, you can begin your
run or other activity.

To turn off GPS and use the
Forerunner indoors, see page 44.

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Using the Heart Rate Monitor

NOTE: The heart rate monitor works with the Forerunner 305 only.

Wear the heart rate monitor directly on your skin, just below your
breastplate. It should be snug enough to stay in place during your run.

To position the heart rate monitor:

1. Push one tab on the strap through the slot in the heart rate monitor.
Press the tab down.

sensors

2. Wet both sensors on the back of the heart rate monitor to create a
strong connection between your pulse and the transmitter.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 3

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3. Wrap the strap around your
chest and attach it to the
other side of the heart rate
monitor.

NOTE: The Garmin logo should be
right-side up.

Forerunner is trying to “pair” with
your heart rate monitor for the

rst time. After the Forerunner

pairs with your heart rate monitor,
you can go near other heart rate
monitors. For more information
on pairing and troubleshooting,

4. Turn on the Forerunner
and bring it within range (3
meters) of the heart rate
monitor.

The heart rate icon on the Timer
page changes from ashing to

see pages 59-60.

NOTE: If you have trouble with
erratic heart rate readings, position
the transmitter on your back instead
of your chest, or try applying
electrode gel.

constant when the Forerunner
begins receiving data.

Be sure to move away from other
heart rate monitors while the

4 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

Extending the Strap

If the Forerunner strap is not
long enough for your wrist, you
can replace it with the included
extension strap and pin removal
tool.

Pin removal tool

To add the extension strap:

1. Remove the short watch strap
(with the buckle). Use the pin
removal tool to pull one spring
bar back so that it clears
the edge of the case. Then
remove the strap.

GettInG Started

2. Install the extension strap.
Place one side of the spring
bar into one pinhole.

3. Compress the spring bar and
snap it into the other pinhole.

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Buttons

power

➊

• Press and hold to turn unit on/off.

• Press to turn backlight on/off.

mode

➋

• Press to view Timer or Main Menu.

• Press to exit a menu or page.

• Press and hold to change sports.

lap/reset

➌

• Press to create a new lap.

• Press and hold to reset the timer.

start/stop

➍

Press to start or stop the timer.

enter

➎

Press to select options and to acknowledge messages.

arrows

➏

• Press to highlight options.

• Press to scroll through menus and data elds.

NOTE: If the unit stops responding to button presses, press mode and
lap/reset simultaneously to reset the unit.

➌ ➍

➏➊
➎➋

6 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

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Pages

Press mode to switch between the Timer and the Main Menu.

Timer

Main Menu

mode

Battery

icon

Heart rate

icon

(305 only)

Shows what

sport you’re in

While viewing the Timer, press the arrows to view other Timer
pages. To scroll through these pages automatically, see page 45. To

change the data elds on these pages, see page 43.

Timer pages

Press and hold mode any time to change sports.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 7

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User Prole

The Forerunner uses information
that you enter about yourself to
calculate calorie consumption.

Set your user prole before

you begin using the Forerunner
to ensure that it is recording
accurate data.

To set your user prole:

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu.

Forerunner 305 only: When

you set your user prole for the
rst time, a Max HR message

appears. Select Yes to adjust
your maximum heart rate based

on your user prole.

Select the

arrows to

move left or

right within a

eld.

2. Select Settings > General >

User Prole.

3. Use the arrows and
enter to enter your gender,
birth date, and weight.

TIP: Press mode to exit a menu or
a page. Press mode repeatedly to
return to the Timer or Main Menu.

8 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

traInInG

TraininG

NOTE: Always consult your physician
before you begin or modify any
exercise program.

Use your Forerunner to set goals
and alerts, train with a Virtual
Partner™, program simple or
advanced workouts, and plan
courses based on existing runs.

Alerts

Use your Forerunner alerts
to train toward certain time,
distance, speed, and heart rate
goals. You can set separate alerts
in each sport mode.

NOTE: Alerts do not function
during quick, interval, or advanced
workouts.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 9

Time and Distance Alerts

Time and distance alerts are
useful for long runs when you
want to train for a certain amount
of time or distance.

When you reach your goal, the
Forerunner beeps and displays a
message.

To set a time or distance alert:

1. Press mode to access the
Main Menu. Select Training.

2. Select Training Options >
Alerts > Time/Dist Alert.

3. In the Time Alert eld, select
Once or Repeat.

traInInG

4. Enter a time in the Alert At

eld.

5. In the Distance Alert eld,
select Once or Repeat.

6. Enter a distance in the Alert

At eld.

TIP: Press mode repeatedly to exit.

Using Pace/Speed Alerts

Pace alerts (called speed alerts
in Biking or Other mode) notify
you if you exceed or drop below a

To set a pace/speed alert:

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu. Then select
Training.

2. Select Training Options >
Alerts > Pace (Speed) Alert.

3. In the Fast Pace Alert eld,
select a pace zone from the
menu or select Custom to
enter your own alert value.

4. Repeat for the Slow Pace
Alert.

certain pace.

The pace alert takes advantage
of pace zones, which are ranges
of pace that you can store in the
Forerunner. For more information,
or to set your pace/speed zones,
see page 50.

10 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

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Heart Rate Alerts

NOTE: Heart rate alerts are a feature
of the Forerunner 305 only.

The heart rate alert noties you if

your heart rate exceeds or drops

below a specic number of beats

2. Select Training Options >
Alerts > HR Alert.

3. In the Min HR Alert eld,
select a zone from the menu
or select Custom to specify
your own alert value.

per minute (bpm).

Heart rate alerts can also notify
you if your heart rate exceeds
or drops below a certain heart
rate zone—a range of beats

per minute. The ve commonly

accepted heart rate zones can
help you determine the intensity
of your workout. For more
information, or to set your heart
rate zones, see page 51.

4. Repeat for the Max HR Alert.
The maximum value allowed
is 235 bpm.

NOTE: When entering custom
heart rate values, you must set your
minimum and maximum alerts at

least ve bpm apart.

To set a heart rate alert:

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu. Then select
Training.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 11

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Using Cadence Alerts

NOTE: Cadence alerts are a feature
of the Forerunner 305 only and can
only be set in Biking mode.

Training with Cadence

Cadence is your rate of pedaling
or “spinning” measured by the
number of revolutions of the
crank arm per minute (rpm).

If you own an optional Garmin
cadence sensor (GSC™ 10), you
can use cadence alerts. The

cadence alert noties you if your

cadence exceeds or drops below

a specic number of revolutions

of the crank arm per minute
(rpm).

Setting a cadence alert is similar
to setting a heart rate alert. The
maximum cadence value allowed
is 255. Be sure to change to

There are two sensors on the
GSC 10: one for cadence and
one for speed. Cadence data
from the GSC 10 is always
recorded. The speed data from
the GSC 10 is only recorded and
used for distance calculation
when the GPS signal is weak or
the GPS is turned off.

For information about speed
zones, see page 50.

Biking mode when setting a
cadence alert.

For more information about
Garmin cadence sensors, visit

www.garmin.com.

12 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

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Auto Pause®

You can set the Forerunner to
pause the timer automatically
during your run when you stop
moving or when your pace
drops below a certain value.
This setting is helpful if your
path includes stop lights or other
places where you need to slow

To set Auto Pause:

1. Press mode to access the
Main Menu.

2. Select Training > Training
Options > Auto Pause.

3. In the Auto Timer Pause
eld, select When Stopped,
or select Custom Pace to
enter a value.

down or stop.

NOTE: Auto Pause does not
work during Interval or Advanced
workouts.

When you turn on Auto Pause,
the Forerunner tracks any

TIP: Press mode repeatedly to exit.

paused time as Rest Time and
any paused distance as Rest

Distance. To add these data elds

to a Timer page, see page 43.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 13

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Auto Lap®

You can use Auto Lap to start a
new lap automatically after you
have traveled a certain distance
or passed a certain point in your
run. This setting is helpful for
comparing your performance
over different parts of a run (each
mile/kilometer or a major hill, for
example).

NOTE: Auto Lap does not work
during interval or advanced workouts.

To set Auto Lap:

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu.

2. Select Training > Training
Options > Auto Lap.

3. In the Auto Lap Trigger eld,
select By Distance to specify
a value.

Auto Lap by distance

If you select By Position,

the Forerunner marks a lap
automatically each time you
pass certain places during
your run. Choose from the
following options:

Auto Lap by position

• Lap Press only–starts a new

lap each time you press the
lap button and each time you
pass that location again.

14 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

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• Start And Lap–starts a new
lap each time you pass the
starting point of your run,
each time you press the lap
button, and each time you
pass those locations again.

• Mark And Lap–starts a new

lap at a specic location you

mark before your run, each
time you press the lap button,
and each time you pass those
locations again.

If you select Mark And

Virtual Partner®

The Virtual Partner is a unique
tool designed to help you meet
your training goals. When turned
on, the Virtual Partner competes
with you automatically during
quick workouts and courses.
See the following pages to learn
more about quick workouts and
courses.

Virtual

Partner

You

Lap, go to the place where
you want to mark your

rst lap. Then select Mark
Position. When you pass

this place during your run, the
Forerunner laps automatically.

If you are ahead of the Virtual

Partner, the bottom eld

background is white. If you are
behind, the background is black,
as shown.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 15

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To see Virtual Partner data:

1. Set up a quick workout or
course.

2. Press start.

3. Press the arrows to
view all Timer pages.

To turn off Virtual Partner:

1. Press mode to access the
Main Menu.

2. Select Training > Training
Options > Virtual Partner.

3. In the Virtual Partner eld,
select Off.

16 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

Workouts: Quick, Interval, and Advanced

You can set up quick, interval,
or advanced workouts on the
Forerunner. If you set up an
advanced workout, you can save,
edit, and transfer it from your
computer to your Forerunner
using Garmin Training Center.
Quick and interval workouts
cannot be saved; they are
replaced each time you use them.

Quick Workouts

For quick workouts, you enter
your time, distance, or pace
goals, and the Forerunner
displays the Virtual Partner to
help you achieve them.

Distance & Time—enter how far
you want to go and how long it
should take.

traInInG

Time & Pace—enter how long
you want to work out and how
fast you want to go.

Distance & Pace—enter how far

5. Check the third eld to ensure

that the calculation seems
reasonable. If not, make

changes to the top two elds.

you want to go and how fast you
want to go.

NOTE: Alerts do not function during
quick workouts.

To set up a quick workout:

1. Press mode to access the
Main Menu.

2. Select Training > Workouts
> Quick Workouts.

3. Select the type of quick
workout you want to do.

4. Enter values in the top two

elds on the page. You can

select values from the list, or
select Custom to enter your

6. Select Done?.

7. Press start to begin your

workout.

Interval Workouts

For interval workouts, you enter
the time or distance you want to
run and the number of repetitions
you want to complete:

• Run a certain distance and
rest for a certain amount of
time.

own value.

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 17

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• Run for a certain distance
and rest for a certain
distance.

• Run for a certain amount of
time and rest for a certain
amount of time.

• Run for a certain amount of
time and rest for a certain
distance.

To create an interval workout:

4. Enter distance or time values

into the appropriate elds.

5. In the Reps eld, enter

number of times you want to
repeat each interval.

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu. Then select
Training.

2. Select Workouts > Interval.

3. Select an option from the
Interval Workout page
according to how you want to
set up intervals.

6. If you want to add an extra
lap for warm up and for cool
down, select Warmup &
Cooldown.

7. Select Done?.

8. Press start to begin your
workout.

18 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

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If you selected Warmup &
Cooldown, press lap at the end

of your warmup lap to start your

rst interval. At the end of your

last repetition, the Forerunner
automatically starts a cooldown

lap. When you are nished

cooling down, press lap to end
your workout.

As you approach the end of each
interval lap, an alarm sounds, and
a message appears, counting
down the time until a new lap
begins. To end any interval lap
early and go to the next interval,
press lap.

NOTE: Auto Pause, Auto Lap, and
Alerts do not function when you are
doing an interval workout.

Advanced Workouts

Your Forerunner allows you
to create and save advanced
workouts that include goals
for each workout step and
varied distances, times, and
rest laps. After you create and
save a workout, you can use
the Garmin Training Center
software to schedule the workout
for a particular day. Scheduling
allows you to save setup time by
planning workouts in advance
and storing them on your
Forerunner. For more information
about installing Garmin Training
Center, see page 62.

Creating Advanced Workouts

Garmin recommends that you use
Garmin Training Center to create
workouts and transfer them to
your Forerunner. However, you

Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual 19

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can create an advanced workout
directly on your Forerunner if

4. Select “1. Open No Target.”
Then select Edit Step.

you wish. Note that you cannot
use the Forerunner to schedule
workouts; you must use Garmin
Training Center.

NOTE: If you create a workout on
the Forerunner, be sure to transfer
it to Garmin Training Center. The
workout will be overwritten from the
Forerunner if you load workouts from
Garmin Training Center.

To create an advanced workout
using the Forerunner:

1. Press mode to access the

Main Menu. Then select
Training.

2. Select Workouts >
Advanced > <Create New>.

3. Enter a workout name in the

top eld.

20 Forerunner® 205/305 Owner’s Manual

5. In the Duration eld, select

how long you want the step to
last. If you select Open, you
can end the step during your
workout by pressing lap.

6. Below Duration, enter the

value where you want the
step to end.

7. In the Target eld, select your

goal during the step (speed,
heart rate, cadence, or none).

NOTE: Heart rate and cadence
targets are for the Forerunner 305
only.