Garmin recovery time, VO2 max and race predictors

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Brunski Apr 2019 10:50am, 8 Apr 2019 1,444 posts	0 Brunski Up until now I've generally accepted the recovery times on Garmin as being pretty accurate (I have a chest HRM strap, my max HR is near enough correct - within a beat or 2, and it knows my age and weight). I ran the Rome marathon yesterday, kept the HR just under threshold until toward the end and gritted through the last few miles. Yes I've had harder runs from a HR perspective, but the general wear and tear of running 26.2 miles should surely account for a longer recovery time). I finished, let my HR drop, sat down and it said 21 hours recovery. 21 hours? Anyway I woke up this morning and surprise surprise I'm stiff, my muscles and joints ache, my feet have developed an odd cracking sound on every other step and although I could probably shuffle round a mile or 3 I wouldn't want to. I'm definitely not recovered. I also looked at the race predictors and my VO2 max (according to the watch) has gained another couple of points during the run, and now sits at 68, and my predicted marathon time is 2:26:40, I ran 2:53 in Rome FFS. Is the predictor accurate for anyone? Mines generally been 2 or more too high for my performances, but now it's way too high! I barely got into the 90% HR range at all in the marathon (just the last couple of miles really), as was concentrating on keeping HR a few beats below threshold until I was within touching distance of the end.
Oranj Apr 2019 1:37pm, 8 Apr 2019 1,506 posts	0 Oranj That recovery time is a bit random, I think it works it out from your heart rate variability. I did a steady easy trundle this morning and it was giving me 48 hours (I usually divide it by two but even that's a bit much given I expect to train again this evening). 21 hours for a marathon is at the other extreme! The VO2 max estimate doesn't seem too far off for me, and month-by-month I can see my fitness go up and down, but the race predictions it comes up with are pure fantasy
Sigh Apr 2019 2:15pm, 8 Apr 2019 3,605 posts	0 Sigh The recovery time predictor is not particularly accurate for me; it's only determined by HR load and not any other factor. I'll view it as a minimum (usually) but extend if there are other, non-HR factors to consider, e.g. how my legs feel after a longer-than-normal run even if all at easy HR.
westmoors Apr 2019 3:03pm, 8 Apr 2019 3,162 posts	0 westmoors My race predictions are waaaay offff. I couldn't achieve the times it says in my wildest dreams! As for the recovery time. I don't tend to pay much attention. Occasionally at club someone will say they can't do the session as they need x hours to recover from the warm up!
Brunski Apr 2019 3:17pm, 8 Apr 2019 1,445 posts	0 Brunski I took the VO2 max figures to be directly relatable to performance. In the past the shorter distances have been close(ish) to being achievable, but the longer distances were pure fantasy. Be good to hear if anyone hits the predictions across a range of distances, or are they generally always out?
FergusG Apr 2019 9:14pm, 8 Apr 2019 3,052 posts	0 FergusG I found the race predictor was quite close for shorter distances, but overly optimistic for marathons. It claimed I was capable of 2:45 (or thereabouts) when I was chasing my sub-3. Even though I knew it was nonsense, I used “I’m aerobically capable of 2:45” as a mantra to shake off the self sabotage doubts for sub-3.
Sigh Apr 2019 3:30pm, 9 Apr 2019 3,609 posts	0 Sigh I had a look at my race time predictions yesterday: here they are, with my "Garmin PB's" for comparison! 5k: Prediction 23:40 (PB 25:23) 10k: Prediction 49:07 (PB: 55:06) HM: Prediction 1:48:52 (PB: 2:11:45)
Velociraptor Apr 2019 3:49pm, 9 Apr 2019 41,224 posts	0 Velociraptor For the first time, I've got a Garmin that offers a VO2max estimate. It's currently telling me 49. My most recent race result, put into a calculator, gives me 42.06, and the charts in Daniels etc. also quote me numbers in the low forties. So it's a bit flattering. I haven't sought its opinion on recovery times and race paces yet.
HappyG(rrr) Apr 2019 3:52pm, 9 Apr 2019 31,142 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Lol. Mine says 50 and that my "fitness is that of an excellent 20 year old". I'm going to screen shot that and send it to my wife! G
azx Jun 2020 2:27pm, 8 Jun 2020 7 posts	0 azx Knew there must be a thread on this. I got a Garmin 945 a few weeks ago as I'm a bit of a gadget addict and need them to motivate me. I'm getting my fitness back but I'm way overweight still. The garmin keeps upping my estimated vo2 max and correspondingly 5k race prediction time. Currently it's predicting I can do a 5k in 24:30. I did a 5k time trial on Saturday on a 400m track in 26:55 and can safely say I couldn't have done any faster than that. I did the final 200m at a "sprint" and finished at a beat or so from my HR max. Average HR for the 5k was about 91% HR max. How can it be so far out? Am I complete pussy and should be running a 5k at 98% HR max? Garmin knows everything about me including weight and BMI as I sync that every day with a Withings scale.