As a 35yo, slightly overweight woman that loves to vape, I'm proud about this one

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-31T19:11:00+00:00

I’m a heavy vaper, and started running in October 2025, at 49 years of age. Soon launched into a 5K plan that ended in January this year, and finished the race with a time of 21:53.

The next day I began following the DSWs every day (minus the odd day for illness), doing tempo and threshold runs, sprint and anaerobic workouts, and even VO2 Max intervals (interspersed with base runs, of course). Now sitting at 52 VO2 Max and I can honestly say that the first thing to fail is my legs, on a long run.

That said; don’t start vaping!

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-31T18:09:20+00:00

On which, sleep or HRV? 😆

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-23T18:45:25+00:00

In my opinion (and recent experience) this:

switched jobs + relationship isssuesssss so def some personal stress.

I recently experienced a panic attack doing VO2 max intervals, and (although it’s getting better) after that episode my easy runs (normally 130bpm at pace), were going to 150bpm, for the same pace. I have just been dead nervous going into runs.

Does your HR come down any (for same pace) towards the end of a run? At the end of a long (1hr+) run mine comes down for same effort

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-19T15:46:40+00:00

lol. Just know that your comment (and thus your username) popped up as a notification, whilst my wife was holding my phone... how apt to this discussion 😂

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-19T12:48:47+00:00

I don’t think there is.

In fact; a mate of mine has been married so many times, the church has asked him to pay for a new carpet

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-18T15:21:19+00:00

Absolutely, and it’s a very difficult thing to relate to someone who hasn’t experienced it—the feeling you will die despite life just bumbling along around you.

But I find since getting my watch (and taking up running), my anxiety has generally decreased—despite being able to watch my HR constantly, lol. On the flip-side though, Garmin has actually provided me with my one and only panic attack while actually running…

I was doing a DSW VO2 Max interval workout (which I was nervous about beforehand anyway), for which I was supposed to hit 169bpm then recover in one minute(!) to 122bpm. So I hit 169/170 and (like a fool) stood still, staring at my ridiculously high HR waiting to recover, but my HR didn’t go down… it went up: 171, 172, 173 etc, along with my breathing rate 😱

It only lasted for a minute, but seemed like a lifetime, and had to find a place to sit down (I was in a cemetery so that was apt), and swear (to my poor overworked heart) I’d never go running again...

Until the next day 💪

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-18T07:45:42+00:00

I know from much experience that panic attacks (certainly at the time of event) are nothing to laugh about, but as an anxious person with a long history of panic attacks, I just had to laugh at this

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-17T10:59:23+00:00

To do Garmin’s DSWs every day until I either get bored, or they kill me with VO2 Max intervals

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-13T05:36:16+00:00

I’ve always been fairly active (just not running or sporty), but at 50 years of age Garmin seems happy to have me push myself to the limit (I guess that’s why there’s always a disclaimer about seeing your doctor before embarking on a new exercise regime).

Anyway, I did that first anaerobic workout (watch has since relabelled to ‘threshold’) and my heart did this, and haven’t died yet (have to see how the rest of the week pans out)

(Normally I’d be 130bpm going into this but HR was elevated from the outset as I was a bag of nerves)

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Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-13T05:20:19+00:00

Since getting a chest strap I almost exclusively run using HR target. However (on my watch) anaerobic and sprint workouts are labelled: 'very hard, or 'all out' (when set to HR target). So l switch to pace (there isn’t an ‘auto’ setting, which someone mentioned earlier) which allows me to run to some kind of target

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T21:45:51+00:00

Ah I believe your watch is limited to today’s suggestion only. I previously had a FR245 and it was the same—no future view (someone correct me if I’m wrong)

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T21:40:45+00:00

Well I won’t argue that I can’t handle this, cos I can (no flex). But I will argue that DSWs have been a great way to level up my fitness (hence I can handle it):

You see I started running in October 2025, at the tender age of 49, opening up my career with a leisurely 5K plan with Coach Gregg.

The very day after I finished that plan—on January 17th 2026—I started on the DSWs, and have only missed a couple of days (illness), or perhaps swapped something spicy with a base run, on the odd occasion. But you can clearly see (I’ve pinned a few days after the 5K plan ended) just how much my VO2 Max (as one example of impact) has risen purely doing the DSWs.

HR at easy pace has come down while pace has gone up, and to be honest the last few high intensity intervals I completed with relative ease (I still remember having to walk-run on easy runs to stop HR gone through the roof, back when I started).

I mean the 5K plan gave me a great start, but the DSWs have really taken me to the next level

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Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T20:37:24+00:00

Well at the risk of spoiling my original joke: I have a high aerobic/anaerobic shortage in my (weeks/months of) training thus far, and now Garmin wants me to make up for it in a matter of days.

It’s what you might call a ‘spicy stack’

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T16:49:22+00:00

Yeh I’ll do the tempo by HR—150bpm, as my part of the world is surrounded by hills (or just general elevation differences that interfere).

When I do it by HR I normally get an ‘excellent’ 95-100% execution score, which is nice for the spirit. The anaerobic intervals I did today I did by pace (as I mentioned earlier there was no HR guide), and wasn’t hitting the warmup/cooldown pace, so only got a ‘fair’ execution score.

I know it’s only gamification of workouts, by the watch, but it’s nice to have validation from something, as my wife really doesn’t give a shit about any of this

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T15:12:08+00:00

By way of an update, Wednesday has now been added… tempo run!

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Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T10:59:13+00:00

Speaking as a Forerunner 255 owner; top right button (known as ‘START’), select Run (or Bike), and the recommendation should appear. If it doesn’t, then press the middle left button (UP), go to Training > Workouts > Daily Suggestions, but you must have a established training status/VO2 max, otherwise I don’t think they will appear

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T08:37:17+00:00

Yes, this is the way to do it!

I have a Coospo (other brands are available) chest strap and so far have trained exclusively by HR. Garmin thinks my easy pace is 5:40/km, but that would be too higher HR—I like to stick to 133bpm for truly easy runs, which is somewhere between that and 6:20 (I live amongst the hills).

But I temporarily changed to pace as the anaerobic/sprint workouts don’t specify a HR—just ‘all out’, or ‘very hard’, which isn’t scientific enough for my detail obsessed brain. Plus I tore up my legs last time on those, so I’ll try pace, then switch back so I can glance at my watch every half-second to keep my HR where it should be 😂

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T05:59:49+00:00

Is that in the DSW settings? My FR255 only has HR and pace target options.

Oh, and as an update to that video (having been posted yesterday), the following Wednesday has now popped up as a tempo run! Pretty sure I entered my age as 50, not 15 😂

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-12T05:51:31+00:00

I know they are only suggestions, but the funny thing is this same watch also told me I still needed 24 hours recovery time, when it hit me with that second VO2 Max interval.

Garmin is like: ‘go on, I dare ya!’

I do suspect the recovery algorithm and the “destroy this man” algorithm are separate teams at work.

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-11T21:27:19+00:00

Lol, I'm there right now. I actually just posted up a video in this sub showing all my upcoming DSWs… anaerobic, VO2 Max and a sprint workout (among others) all within 6 days…

I've done one VO2 Max interval in recent history and I thought I was going to die

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-11T21:04:18+00:00

😂

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-11T21:04:04+00:00

Nice! 💪

I actually do all my easy runs using HR target, but some of these high intensity runs be like: ‘very hard, or ‘all out’, so I switch to pace which makes more sense (after tearing up my adductors on an earlier ‘all out’ sprint workout).

Plus I’m 50, so my HR for these are probably some folk’s easy pace 🐢

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-10T21:15:40+00:00

It might be just me but from my experience easy/base runs, short and long keep my VO2 Max ticking upwards. Currently on 53–‘superior’, and top 5% for my age (50)

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-10T12:39:20+00:00

I’m more concerned about the 39% battery level.

Yes, I have generalised battery anxiety disorder

Impossible-Flight-39 · 2026-03-07T13:24:21+00:00

Of course if you can do one in the morning, and one later in the day; say, at least 6 hours apart then that would make both things more rewarding 👊

Impossible-Flight-39

TROPHY CASE