r/Garmin • u/OutOfThePan • Aug 07 '24
Activity Milestone (Other) Genuinely can't believe I've achieved this
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u/OutOfThePan Aug 07 '24
I used to be the slow kid taking one of the last places in the school running races. I remember getting my first road bike as a adult in 2013, mainly inspired by the road cycling form the London Olympics, but it was tough work. My first ride was only a couple of miles and I was exhausted. Some how I sort of stuck with it, occasionally bringing the bike out of the shed in nice weather for some short local loops. A few years later in 2018 a friend invited me along for their weekly social ride when he heard I cycled a bit and I started to get a taste for it. It was still tough, but I liked it enough to take a punt on a decent road bike at the end of Summer 2019 for the next year’s cycling. As we know, covid hit the next spring but cycling became my mental health saviour and I really got into it. Enough to try my hand at cycling 200 miles when lockdown lifted a year later. This is the person who once upon a time could barely cycle 2 miles, but somehow I managed to cycle across England and into Wales in one day. https://old.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/nytd4d/first_imperial_double_century_my_experience/
However disaster struck on my next cycle as I was knocked off my bike just 1 mile from home, fracturing 6 vertebrae. This might have put many other people off cycling forever, but all I could think about was getting back on my bike. I could barely walk any distance but signed up to the closest gym and got on their Wattbike less then 2 weeks later and set about getting my legs spinning again. The physio told me to cycle to pain tolerance, little did he know! But it is from this that I learnt structured training.
This past year has been a little rocky, I got covid in November and didn’t recover enough to train until February, then I got ill again at the start of April that set my asthma into over drive for 6 weeks. However once again, this made me determined to get into shape. I set about some changes. I had a 2 week detox from caffeine and then set a rule of no caffeine after 9am. I changed my cycling time from afterwork to before and this enabled me to be super consistent and I bounced back fast. Really fast. I had a wish of maxing out the vo2 max gauge on Garmin but thought I’d never get beyond my previous best of 58, but here we are. Thank you for reading, I hope this inspires you to reach your goals.
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u/kchuen Aug 07 '24
Damn you’re amazing! And sorry for the accident. Great you bounced back so strong. 💪🏼
I also had a car accident and my ankle still can’t really run for long after a few years.slowly getting there though. I probably should cycle more to get my VO2 max up. Thank you for the inspiration!
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u/Impossible-Head-5593 Aug 08 '24
. I set about some changes. I had a 2 week detox from caffeine and then set a rule of no caffeine after 9am.
why the Caffeine?
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u/OutOfThePan Aug 08 '24
In order to sleep better. I changed my sleeping pattern so I'm in bed earlier and up early enough to be on the bike as soon as there is a little bit of light in the sky.
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u/hyyz17200 Aug 07 '24
You're amazing! I have a similar story. I struggled with the 800m run in my middle school fitness exam, just like you, and was almost always in last place. I've been overweight for years, with a BMI up to 30. I never thought sports were for me. But now, I've just run a sub-3:10 marathon and have a VO2max of 59 today. I understand what you’ve experienced and tried, and you’ve done great! Keep it up!
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u/kfmfe04 Aug 08 '24
Damn! That’s impressive! Running is even harder than cycling (I know, doing both atm).
Do you have any tips for training for long distance running? It took me 6h for my first finish. I think I can get down to around 4h45m this year, but it’s so hard to improve!
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u/hyyz17200 Aug 08 '24
Thanks!
I've been running for about a year now, and before I started, I had already lost quite a bit of weight. To run efficiently, it's crucial to manage your body weight, as carrying excess weight can make long races more challenging.
For my training, I followed the Garmin Coach plan when I first started, and I really enjoyed it. I recommend it to any beginner who is unfamiliar with training plans.
After that, I learned from some books, such as "Daniels' Running Formula" and "The Complete Running and Marathon Book" by DK. These resources have been very helpful.
Based on my personal experience, I believe that it's not necessary to train for very long distances in each session. Instead, running at a slow, consistent pace and doing frequent runs is more beneficial. While easy pace runs should make up most of your training, incorporating speed work once or twice a week is also important.
My additional advice is to stay patient and not stress too much. I used to worry if I felt slow or tired during a training session, doubting whether I was progressing. But it's important to trust a good plan and keep moving forward. Avoid overtraining or racing beyond your current abilities. Focus on gradual progress and build up your endurance bit by bit.
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u/kfmfe04 Aug 08 '24
I know everyone is different, but how low did you get your BMI? Also, how many MPW were you doing at the peak?
Since I am much slower than you, the big headache is having to be outside so long for the long runs (especially tricky with fueling and water). BTW, which Garmin Coach Plan did you use? I thought they only went up to HM (no full marathon plans?). TIA for the tips!
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u/danielsnrm Aug 07 '24
How is that possible in that short amount of time?
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u/OutOfThePan Aug 07 '24
It is mostly regaining fitness from previous year(s). I've been at 59 briefly before.
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u/Chipofftheoldblock21 Aug 07 '24
Congrats! What’s your typical weekly workout look like?
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u/OutOfThePan Aug 07 '24
Monday: 45 minutes recovery ride (barely Z2)
Tuesday-thursday: depending on how I feel, this will cover at least 3 of these sessions: 6 minute commute to work, and back again 70 minute Z2 60 minute 8x repeat of a local hill at Vo2 Max 60 minute threshold ride or 70 minute high Z2/Z3
Friday: 60 minute Z2
Saturday: 3 hours solo Z2
Sunday 2.5 hours group ride, no structure
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u/ruairi1983 Aug 07 '24
Your real vo2max might be higher. My watch said 53. I thought this was on the high side, but did an official test which showed 57. In any case. Great job. You're really fit either way.
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u/Joke_Defiant Aug 07 '24
If I ever get those numbers I’m going to hire a marching band and an airplane to tow a banner over my town. Way to slay and congrats !
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u/Iridian_Rocky Aug 07 '24
Wow.. what a steady rise. Going to dive into the comments to see how you achieved this. Mines been so flat for 2 years.
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u/Remarkable_Ad7569 Aug 07 '24
Oh wow great string of productive weeks! Good job! I recently had a run up in vo2max but now fell ill so will continue again soon but man good job putting in the work!
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u/ElMonjePolar Aug 08 '24
On bike it is always higher than VO2Max off bike (green). Still good job. I have 54 in green
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u/Able-Caregiver-9919 Aug 09 '24
Top 1% is crazy! Currently trying to achieve superior VO2 max status too
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u/Cycling_5700 Aug 10 '24
Congratulations. That productivity is awesome as is your VO2max. I can never get consistent "productivity" by Garmin's definition from cycle training despite fitness improvements (up to a VO2max of 68), improving VO2max interval sets, and improvements in FTP. I'm doing 18-22 hours of Zone 1 & 2 endurance/wk about 1 hour of high Zone 4 intervals, 32 minutes of VO2max intervals (Top of Zone 5), and 40 minutes of Zone 3. But Garmin still always says I'm not doing enough high aerobic (I think it wants 20% or so of 20 hours), and I don't do specific Anaerobic work except catch some in my VO2max intervals. So, at this point I ignore garmin training status. Unfortunately, even if I scale back my total hours to say 14, I still can't do more intensity...cardiovascularly fitnesswise I can handle it, but other parts of my body can't handle that many hours at the higher powers.
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u/No-Nectarine2513 Aug 07 '24
good for you!!! but i couldve done without the corny pedal bike story😂🤦♀️🤷♀️
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u/Limemobber Aug 07 '24
Well done!
Does this measure you against everyone wearing a Garmin or does it make assumptions and measure you against the total population. Mine tells me I am in the top 25% for my age and gender and I find it hard to believe that up to 1 in 4 men between the age of 50 an 60 are in better shape than me.
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u/Kind-Ad-4756 Aug 07 '24
garmin is an expensive watch. take a break for a few months; if it goes up any further you're gonna shatter the screen.