Hello all, I reviewed the basic features of the Vivoactive HR watch a few weeks back and this overview will be specifically for running. A shot of the watch below from my deck. (You can change the watch face to your preference as there are quite a few)
Once you go for a run, you sync it with the GarminConnect app on your phone which takes a minute. The main screen will show 'My day' with various data displayed including your activities. (This run was cut short as I was running in light rain...)
You tap on the run and it will bring up the overview of the run including the GPS track on a map.
You can select the next tab to display the details of the run.
The next tab is your run 'splits'
The last tab is a graphical view of your data,
You can log in to the GarminConnect website and see the same data which may be easier to read. (Especially if you have a smaller phone screen) You can click on the arrow and a small dot will trace your route on the map.
You can hover your pointer over various areas of your run and see the elevation, pace, heart rate and cadence for that specific area. On the right side of the graphs is the average.
The activity watch costs around $200 which is not cheap, but if your an active person that cycles, runs, hikes, swims, etc... this may be a GPS watch worth looking into. It also tracks your daily steps, hours slept, floors climbed, calories burned and more.
You can also connect the GarminConnect app with Strava and look at your data there as well.
The overall build quality of the watch is good compared to a Fitbit ChargeHR. (Which I went through 2 of them in 1.5 years as the bezel that holds the charging wire broke)
Happy running!