Running workout targets: pace, heart rate, or power

Choose how IntervalCoach prescribes your run workouts, and what each mode needs set in Intervals.icu.

Written By Martijn Russchen

Last updated 15 days ago

IntervalCoach can prescribe your running workouts by pace, heart rate, or power. You pick which one under Settings β†’ Training β†’ Running Workout Targets.

Whichever you choose, IntervalCoach writes the targets as a percentage of your threshold (for example "78-87%"). For those percentages to turn into real numbers your watch can show, the matching threshold has to be set in your Intervals.icu profile.

What each mode needs in Intervals.icu

  • Heart rate (recommended for most runners) needs your LTHR or max HR. Great for trails and varied terrain, where pace jumps around with the hills, and for easy aerobic runs. If no HR threshold is set, IntervalCoach falls back to pace.
  • Pace needs a threshold pace (critical speed) in your Intervals.icu running settings. Best for flat road running. Without a threshold pace set, the pace targets cannot be calculated and come out empty (you may see blank values or "0 km").
  • Power needs a running FTP from a running power meter (Stryd, Garmin, and similar). Without it, targets show as 0Β w.

My targets look empty or wrong

This almost always means the threshold for your chosen mode is not set in Intervals.icu. Two quick fixes:

  • Set the matching threshold in Intervals.icu: threshold pace for pace mode, LTHR or max HR for heart rate, running FTP for power.
  • Or switch to a target you already have configured. Most runners are best served by Heart rate-based: go to Settings β†’ Training β†’ Running Workout Targets and pick it. As long as your LTHR is in Intervals.icu, you get clean heart-rate zones your watch can display right away.