Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Garmin Performance Condition Highly Suspect - what gives?

Former Member
Former Member over 7 years ago
5 month owner of F5. Last run was 8km distance, 1 of my 4 weekly runs. For first time my perception during and post run - was poles apart from the Garmin figures, compelling me to hit the Forums:

It was my best performance bar none in 5 months:

- Run delivered PB’s for 1 mile, 5km, and total distance 8km.
- LT THR auto updated to a faster pace 5.16 from 5.22 and 1 point higher bpm 159-160.
- Training Load Optimal exactly mid band.

However according to F5 :

- Performance Condition (PC) reported as zero at start dropping to -4 by end of run.
- Training Status dropped to Unproductive.
- Fitness level decreasing.

In run perception :

- During and post run I felt relaxed, unintentionally steadily increasing pace achieving an inadvertently good tempo run.
- I finished feeling I had more and could have continued to 10k at same pace had I not dug in in the final 1km.
- Ironically during this run I was focussing on relaxed form and breathing, not pace. Good news - it clearly pays off!

Question 1: PC: Is Garmin Performance Condition worth any consideration, after this experience, I feel PC adds no value at all - in fact worse is potentially inaccurate and irrelevant. My 3rd party indicators correctly indicate this run as a best all time performance?

Question 2: HR Zones: Is the performance condition too reliant on the fact that I was apparently in Z5 (it did not feel like that level of effort, more like Z4 working effort) for 70% of the run? That is counterintuitive to me, I would have thought it would register as a higher relative performance?

Question 3: F5 PC: Can I turn off the PC notification in F5, but maintain the data for post run to try to understand it?

Grateful for any comments/steers/opinions.

My end state here is to understand how to understand how PC and HR Zones, could help me eventually push harder for benefit - than I might ordinarily by feel on “race day”.

Ta

The run: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2514857679
Garmin Fenix 5 (APAC) SW Ver 7.1.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    You might get more and better answers posting this in the 935 forum since it's been discussed a lot there. I've read most of those threads but I don't have a watch, yet, with the full Firstbeat feature set but I do have a 735 that has Performance Condition.

    Here's a link to Firstbeat's basic description of Performance Condition. https://www.firstbeat.com/en/consumer-feature/real-time-performance/
    It's tied mainly to how you're performing relative to your current Vo2Max which is in turn tied to your HR. So if during a run your HR is higher for a given pace than it normally is you'll have a poorer PC score.

    The problem with this is that how much you slept the night before, how humid it is, and a bunch of other things can affect your HR but not necessarily your performance or how your feel. Like most of the Firstbeat features it's better to look at them as trends and not make too much from any one runs data.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 7 years ago
    R_Tellis

    Thanks for response and steer to post to 935 forum, I was considering this a GC issue but you are correct the Performance Condition is in watch (and not all watches) of course. Link is very useful Ta.

    You’re spot on with the wider variables. I’ve done a little diagnosis and caffeine is clearly another variable, a coffee in the hour pre run and I can pretty much guarantee GC will report low performance vs HR, I guess due to elevated HR.

    To keep it Garmin Connect focussed vice device specific:

    For others benefit, I find 3rd party apps (fed via GC) far more useful for the trend analysis you refer to, I find GC wanting in this area. As an example apps generally don’t cope effectively with an 80/20 training regime, as they are too focussed, in my view, on ‘real time’ performance indicators. Some 3rd party apps target trend analysis as their USP and are worth looking at. For me this validates GC as the essential data conduit if nothing else.

    As a stand alone I am finding GC of very limited use, and in danger of heading towards ill-implemented gimmicks more suitable for FitBit type users (steps, badges, social) rather than delivering meaningful trend analysis of actual sporting activity.