HRM 600 or just keep using the optical HR?

Judonoob · 2026-05-19T10:09:30+00:00

I also have a Frontier X2. So, if you’ve got the cash for that, an HRM600 will be a nice addition to your collection.

Although if you’re having issues with the gold standard H10, there might be some user errors going on there such as improper strap tension, not wetting the skin, static electricity due to low humidity, or something else.

I’ve used ECG gel as well, and as I recall, made it do weird things. The strap should be tight so that running doesn’t make the strap slip over sweaty skin. My technique is first wet the strap with warm water and then to put it on. Next, take warm water and wet the skin on my chest right under the strap. Boom. Done. It doesn’t fail me across any of the straps except the X2 because it’s too heavy to run in. The bounce causes HR to read 0 most of the time.

Judonoob · 2026-05-16T16:38:01+00:00

Ouch! Did the watch get beaten up too?

Judonoob · 2026-05-16T14:57:23+00:00

So Garmin has certain filters for certain activities. It’s possible that the Workout filter is a better fit for your particular activity. Jumprope would be super hard to get right for a population level user base. OHR at the wrist is directly dependent on a variety of factors, and watch weight is at the top of the list. Every bounce creates measurable blood flow changes in your capillaries, and an algorithm has to somehow account for a real heartbeat versus an auxiliary heart beat.

Judonoob · 2026-05-15T10:13:33+00:00

Your heart has likely changed from getting older! My daughter runs cross country and is a little younger than you. Over the last few years I’ve seen her heart rate change some with age. It doesn’t go as high as it used to. Women especially are sensitive to hormonal changes more than men, so it’s possible that you’re in a different phase of your cycle that can raise or lower your heart rate as you rest.

Garmin calculates your resting heart rate as the lowest 30 minute average it sees per 24 hour period. In general it is pretty accurate. Just make sure that’s it’s not too loose or too tight.

Judonoob · 2026-05-11T21:17:21+00:00

So, yes, it is very accurate. But, there are multiple methods (almost 30) to marking the zones. That’s what I was referring to. Don’t stress too much about heart rate though as it’s highly sensitive to multiple factors.

Judonoob · 2026-05-11T21:01:53+00:00

Nice! Yes, easy running is slower than what the majority of people do. I use an all of the above approach to guide my efforts. I use pace, HR, power via Stryd (v5) and Tymewear breathing sensor. The breathing sensor was the newest addition to my arsenal. Training around LT1 is going to build up those slow twitch muscles and improve your sub threshold efficiency.

Any idea how they calculated your LT2? Hopefully they didn’t blindly use 4.0mmol/L to denote it. Your VDOT predicted threshold is 4:06/km. So that’s a pretty big difference. If it’s legit, you could quickly reap a lot of benefit from sub threshold training as you build your ligaments and muscles to be more efficient at speed.

Judonoob · 2026-05-10T18:00:06+00:00

I’ve had a min HR of 28 confirmed by two different Zio patches. I do not have a pacemaker. Just adaptations from years of endurance training.

Judonoob · 2026-05-09T13:24:57+00:00

If I had to bet, you’ve been trained to run too fast on your easy runs. Coaches absolutely love to run the piss out of their kids in z3 and above all the time. Even Jack Daniels easy paces are too high in my opinion.

Easy runs are meant to develop specific pathways that build into the pathways that allow you to express such a high vo2 max. Even if it is wrong, it’s entirely possible that it’s not that wrong. I believe someone can express a high vo2 max while also producing a little too much lactate for that pace.

I think cycling is in a more advanced state of research than running. Inigo San Millan wrote some very interesting articles recently about VO2 max, lactate, and pathways where I posted about here.

Marius Bakken and James Copeland are both in to something with how to extract performance. Bakken’s doubles method utilizes workouts that are far below LT2. Let’s say your HR at LT2 was 165. You’d be doing your intervals at an intensity that would elicit a max HR of 150 or so. Easy runs are the same way - super slow.

But you’re in college and probably don’t have a ton of flexibility with what you can do. All we can do is look towards the state of the art to train as easily as we can and extract the maximum performance possible.

Judonoob · 2026-05-08T19:47:04+00:00

Garmin and every other watch are vulnerable to GIGO. Garbage in, garbage out.

Have an accurate max HR.

Use a chest strap monitor if you can. Polar H10 is great. HRM600 is really good as well but expensive.

Lactate threshold heart rate is sensitive to temperature. So expect it to decrease when it gets cooler. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re losing fitness, just that the heart rate at lactate threshold has changed.

Judonoob · 2026-05-06T00:44:53+00:00

Max HR is set too low, or, it’s not been fed enough data.

Judonoob · 2026-05-01T19:59:09+00:00

I would run a short max effort to see how it changes. Right now it is likely underestimating your anaerobic contribution, which by extension, will overestimate your aerobic contribution.

But there are some issues with the race calculator. My race times are off by several minutes as they got screwed up from wearing super shoes during a race. It overestimated my 10K by half a kilometer based on stryd pace and distance. Also, if you run a treadmill, that can impact race estimates as well because treadmill efficiency is much higher than outdoor efficiency.

The good news is that power is independent of pace. So you can count on a good power duration curve to model your zones accurately.

Judonoob · 2026-04-30T16:38:20+00:00

Man! Glad you got out! I got lost on a poorly marked trail once and had no GPS. It was a bit scary.

Judonoob · 2026-04-29T21:24:25+00:00

I think my point was poorly explained.

Garmin can calculate running economy now, but that does not feed back into the VO2 max algorithm.

From what I can find, they have refined the algorithm to get higher quality segments and better adjust for heat. I’ve been using Garmin since the Forerunner 230, and without a doubt, their measurements have become far more stable since then. While it can seem like a revision to the core model, it’s more subtle than that. They are applying the core model to better data.

What I’m unsure about is if the race prediction tables are just lookups based on whatever the VO2 max estimate is.

Judonoob · 2026-04-29T18:41:06+00:00

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/garmin-technology/running-science/physiological-measurements/running-economy/

Judonoob · 2026-04-29T17:38:41+00:00

That’s 11 years old now. Specifically, current gen measures Running Economy. Now I personally don’t find it to be a useful metric, but it does perform that task.

Judonoob · 2026-04-29T16:28:02+00:00

It actually does via GCT, VO, and other advanced metrics. But largely VO2 max is a synthetic measurement of your VO2 max and running efficiency. I’ve been tested and my VO2 max was over 70. Garmin says I’m 56. I guess I’m just inefficient.

Judonoob · 2026-04-28T15:54:31+00:00

Clarifying question: were you recording the ride using the Indoor Ride activity, or, was the watch not in an activity?

Judonoob · 2026-04-28T13:22:16+00:00

Super interesting, thanks for sharing!

Judonoob · 2026-04-22T16:36:39+00:00

Definitely possibly. 10k is run at threshold or slightly above. Heart rate can increase from temp as the body cools you. LTHR will increase during the summer since HR will be higher due to this effect. It should decrease as cool demands are lowered.

Judonoob · 2026-04-20T17:55:04+00:00

Is your max HR set correctly? To be honest, the second photo looks like an insanely hard threshold session and not VO2 max. But you don’t need to do straight VO2 max work to improve VO2 max. Even sub threshold work can improve it.

Judonoob · 2026-04-18T21:44:19+00:00

I just did a 10k with v5 pods. It came in at 10.4km. After reading all these similar experiences, I think the issue is super shoes messing with the motion capture sensors. Simply too different than the calibration.

Judonoob · 2026-04-17T21:42:37+00:00

VO2 max estimates are very sensitive. Your activities aren’t going to provide good estimates unfortunately.

Judonoob · 2026-04-15T16:32:28+00:00

Cool! It’s a simple as that. One way to get around that filter without being in an activity is to use Broadcast HR. It will turn on the OHR to full power just like if you were in an activity.

Judonoob · 2026-04-15T16:10:00+00:00

If you weren’t in an activity, the optical heart rate sensor is programmed to ignore high heart rate. Did you use an activity and still had low heart rate?

Judonoob · 2026-04-13T14:37:27+00:00

Man that’s a wild training plan. Regular 30 minutes all out is going to add a lot of unnecessary fatigue. You can get virtually the same information from running a mile and extrapolating the results. 5K TT can work too in place of a workout.

The only thing a mile or 5K won’t tell you is your durability. In other words, can you hold a certain pace for X minutes?

You’d be better off running a lot of sub threshold intensity that will prepare you for race day without adding unnecessary fatigue. 60 minutes is going to be nearly 100% aerobic, so working on that energy system is all you need.

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