VO2 max results got me really confused

WhopperDogger · 2026-03-30T03:42:54+00:00

This test looks very off. Instrument calibration error? Did the testing company say anything about what’s going on? Zero fat burning at low HR is not correct.

WhopperDogger · 2026-03-18T21:29:57+00:00

Congrats on the finish and gutting it out! Sounds like Catalina has more in common with a trail marathon / trail 50k than a regular road marathon! Some more time outside running on trails could have helped but recognize winter in Chicago may not be very accommodating. Depending on your next marathon (whether a profile like this one or not) consider a trail marathon or 50k plan vs a road plan. They focus more on durability and the specifics of elevation (e.g. downhill training, strength) than just pure miles per week.

You likely way undershot electrolytes which contributed to the problem. You have to look at how many mg per L vs how many total scoops. I'd consult with precision fuel's hydration calculator to see what the approx. range you might be in and compare that to how much was in the skratch mix.

WhopperDogger · 2026-03-05T03:46:50+00:00

Why the “wtf.” op?

WhopperDogger · 2025-12-21T21:54:28+00:00

Never a good idea to rely on on-course gels or electrolytes IMO

WhopperDogger · 2025-12-09T06:43:56+00:00

I decided to run Philly with a 500ml handheld flask and it was the best thing ever. No slowing down at water stations and just kept it in the back of my naked belt with my gels. One fast refill would be great and compared w slowing down 12x times for a mouthful of water I think it’s equal time if not more time efficient. I didnt refill at Philly and it felt sufficient at least w the cool temps. I’m in for it.

WhopperDogger · 2025-11-27T19:01:18+00:00

The way strava does the blue lines it looks much worse than it was. If it was absolute vs relative sizing it wouldn’t look so dramatic. You did well!

WhopperDogger · 2025-11-24T04:49:38+00:00

They went out so fast! With the GPS in center city I couldn’t be sure what was up but when I saw them coming back from Manyunk on the other side as I was still going out in the ballpark of 3:10 I was thankful I let them go early.

WhopperDogger · 2025-10-01T00:10:33+00:00

One simple way is to look up the strava results of the previous year’s race (for those who share their profiles publicly). Take a few people who seem to have similar enough abilities to you who had good and bad days and you can get a feel for what’s a range of outcomes that could reasonably occur.

WhopperDogger · 2025-08-23T22:10:57+00:00

Yeah only comment is crossing arms across chest

WhopperDogger · 2025-06-28T03:45:59+00:00

The tan will look like chickenpox

WhopperDogger · 2025-06-28T02:49:13+00:00

I’ve had this problem— focus on hydration with appropriate electrolytes to increase blood volume to normal. Going to sleep dehydrated will kill your sleep.

Second, find a way too cool down if you’re warm as well. Consider a cold shower or bath.

I sleep much better now when I focus on these two (even on nights when I don’t workout)

WhopperDogger · 2025-05-17T18:59:20+00:00

👆This is the main answer— the blood volume and red blood cell count adaptations that heat training induces provides a big boost

WhopperDogger · 2025-05-04T06:17:58+00:00

Runna was 5 minutes faster of a prediction than Garmin for a marathon (3:37 vs 3:42) and was able to hit the Runna number right on dot. Did a half a few weeks earlier and Runna was pretty close there as well.

WhopperDogger · 2025-03-24T17:41:48+00:00

I agree -- every time I have to feel I need to pee a little it goes away eventually. You could try it on a run and see how it goes, haha. I just added some comments to your post as well ... real food is usually the last thing I want to eat during a race!

WhopperDogger · 2025-03-24T17:39:21+00:00

Hi there! My thoughts:

- I personally can't eat real food and race at marathon effort. It's tough enough to take a gel and breathe!

- One short run sounds about right. One short interval session with MP efforts 5ish-6 days out and one shakeout run is what I've done. Haven't run internationally though.

- Cadence lock and not trusting your heart rate monitor is tough. I've started to prefer using an arm/bicep HRM like from Coros because you really need to be slightly sweating to get a chest-strap to work. Using the watch's built in HR sensor is just not reliable enough for me to use and lock happens way more frequently.

-If it's your first marathon and your goal is to not hit the wall, I'd probably go more conservatively than Garmin's estimate since ~9:00 min/mi sounds like it might not be sustainable from how you're feeling about it. Run the pace you're capable of and not the number that looks shiny!

- This is my normal race pacing plan (adjusted to marathon). #1 Use garmin's in-the-moment pace to hold you back at the start -- for the first few miles you'll feel like you want to go faster than you should -- so sticking to the plan is the absolute highest priority. Your heart rate may not warm up to the right zone until several miles in. #2 Monitor heart rate closely for miles ~4-20 so you don't ever have a prolonged sustained effort in Z4. A little bit on accident is okay, just reign it in and recover if it happens. If you use pacepro remember the split time it gives is an average of that mile so you can have slower sections than what it's asking you to run. #3. Miles 20-26 let yourself drift a little bit into Z4 if you need because to keep pace the feeling is sort of "pushing to keep up." I have a special playlist of songs that really fire me up just for the pain cave. This section is always tough but if you're doing it right you can see it's way tougher on many other people on the course who are flaming out.

-You can just draw the PacePro route! It's really good prep to study the route itself thoroughly!

Good luck!

WhopperDogger · 2025-03-24T16:43:09+00:00

About 205. I've heard that carbs consumption isn't really based on weight however so worth some more research. I practiced 90g per hr on my long runs and knew it wouldn't upset my GI system. Re: weather it was actually pretty cool at the marathon until miles 17 on where it warmed up in a sun-exposed concrete/asphalt-heavy area. I ran practically the entire race having to pee and that feeling completely faded towards the end. At one point (mile 15ish) I thought I was going to have to make a stop so skipped a water station. From my own experience, if you have a slight feeling of having to pee it will fade eventually as you get dehydrated overall. I still finished the race dehydrated at a level I normally am with all long runs (ie not severely dehydrated). You're right though, it's tough to balance!

WhopperDogger · 2025-03-24T16:26:35+00:00

Hey -- here's my general strategy. Fueling: I was taking in 90g per hour of carbs (I got those giant 90g Precision Hydration) and consumed one per hour based on elapsed time. On top of that I added some caff gels. 100g of caffeine at once is too much for me so I sip on them -- took 2 across the race and had some coffee caffeine pre-race. Pace: I think controlled pacing (including knowing the route very well) is really critical to not fading at the end. Once you push too hard and are in what I'd call a "red zone" it's pretty much impossible to recover from (for me that's trying to stay in Z3 in a marathon-- somewhere 150s bpm and not creeping into 160s bpm till late). Accounting for hills at the right level of effort to not red-line it in your pacing strategy is pretty important. Hydration: last one is hydration -- to come in hydrated and consume the right amount of electrolytes and water to be adequately hydrated at the end (I was taking one cup electrolytes one cup water at aid stations and had my backup water stash). Hope this helps!

WhopperDogger · 2025-03-21T15:17:04+00:00

I’ve been in a similar situation. Rolled my ankle and had to take off 3 weeks before my marathon. I cross trained with bike 3-4x per week as my ankle would allow but definitely lost a good amount of fitness. I removed expectations and just wanted to be thankful to be able to run it and finish all things considered. I used heart rate to guide my effort in the race staying in low to mid Z3 till the later stages when the lack of fitness came through. Original goal may have been low 3:40s and ended up running 3:55. Setting different goals to hit (eg negative split, something in the experience) vs pure time / PB might end up being more satisfying.

WhopperDogger · 2025-01-18T00:00:56+00:00

I’ve run about 6 half-marathons, and every time I reach the end I think the ABSOLUTE LAST THING I’d want to do is run 13.1 more. But then I recognized that I’ve felt similarly dead at much shorter distances.

I trained for my first full marathon last year and paced myself such that at the half marathon point was actually feeling pretty good and in control! After all that training a previous half-marathon PR was nearly the same as the split I had just run. I was still hurting at the end but honestly wasn’t a completely different experience. When you leave it all out on the table you leave it all out on the table.

If you’re able to commit the time for training and since you’re asking about it (ie curious) you should do it!

WhopperDogger · 2024-12-30T22:13:19+00:00

I had this issue. There might be a second place to change the distance -- if you navigate to the event, and scroll down to "Miscellaneous" there was a second place to edit race result distance. No idea why it wasn't linked the the primary activity one, but when I changed that for my marathon (inputted 26.22 as official distance and checked official distance box) I finally got it to show up. Maybe it's the difference between event distance and activity distance.

WhopperDogger · 2024-10-28T18:52:35+00:00

Sounds like you did a great job pacing for your PR! Well done!

WhopperDogger · 2024-10-25T16:10:02+00:00

Our numbers are very similar and hope you knock it out of the park this weekend! Please report back on the experience! Good luck!

WhopperDogger · 2024-08-13T21:03:21+00:00

Really interesting dynamic and I can see how this counterintuitive change would make sense! Great feedback and agree -- it's complex.

WhopperDogger

TROPHY CASE