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Guide · running and triathlon, 2020 generation

A real plan for
your Forerunner 745.

The Forerunner 745 was Garmin's compact triathlon watch: full multisport with transitions, detailed training stats and on-watch music, in a small case. It is several generations old now and still perfectly capable of running a proper training week.

What your Forerunner 745 already gives you

What it doesn't do on its own

How to get a training plan onto your Forerunner 745

  1. Free option — Garmin Coach: Garmin Coach runs free road-running plans on the 745, and the multisport profiles handle race day. What is missing is anything that plans swim, bike and run as one week.
  2. Adaptive option — Custom Gains: connect your Garmin, tell the coach your goal in plain English, and it builds your week from your actual data and pushes each workout to your Forerunner 745 — adjusting when you miss days or your recovery is low.
Why this matters on the Forerunner 745: The 745 handles all three disciplines on race day but plans none of them beforehand. Custom Gains builds the whole week across swim, bike and run, bricks included, and sends each session to the watch.

Beginner setup checklist for the Forerunner 745

  1. Set your max heart rate (or let it estimate) so your zones are right.
  2. Wear it to sleep for a week so recovery metrics calibrate.
  3. Pick a goal and run mostly easy (Zone 2) to build a base.
  4. Connect a coach (Garmin Coach or Custom Gains) so workouts land on the watch.
  5. Check your recovery each morning — if it's low, take the easy day.

Ready to stop guessing?

Connect your Forerunner 745, chat with your coach, and get next week built for you — pushed straight to your watch.

See my Garmin plan — free
30 days free · code FOUNDING · cancel anytime

Useful free tools: heart rate zone calculator · race time predictor · overtraining check.

FAQ

Can the Garmin Forerunner 745 follow a training plan?

Yes. The Forerunner 745 can run free Garmin Coach plans, and adaptive coaching apps like Custom Gains push a goal-based plan to it that adjusts to your recovery.

Does the Forerunner 745 have Body Battery and recovery tracking?

Yes — the Forerunner 745 tracks Body Battery and sleep-based recovery. Custom Gains reads these and turns a low-recovery morning into an easy day instead of a hard one.

What's the best training plan app for the Forerunner 745?

For a free 5K/10K plan, Garmin Coach. For an adaptive, recovery-aware plan for any goal that's built for beginners, Custom Gains — free for 30 days with code FOUNDING.

How do I send workouts to my Forerunner 745?

Connect the watch in Garmin Connect, then a coach (Garmin Coach or Custom Gains) sends each scheduled workout to the Forerunner 745 automatically — you just press start.

Other Garmin watches

Garmin Enduro 3 · Garmin Epix Pro · Garmin Fenix 7 · Garmin Fenix 8 · Garmin Forerunner 165 · Garmin Forerunner 165 · Garmin Forerunner 255 · Garmin Forerunner 265 · Garmin Forerunner 55 · Garmin Forerunner 570 · Garmin Forerunner 955 · Garmin Forerunner 965 · Garmin Forerunner 970 · Garmin Instinct 2 · Garmin Instinct 3 · Garmin Venu 3 · Garmin Venu Sq 2 · Garmin fēnix 8 Pro · Garmin vívoactive 6. See every watch guide, or start with couch to 5K on a Garmin.

Weighing up your options? Garmin Coach vs Custom Gains · a Runna alternative that's Garmin-native.

Now pick your distance