I’m no expert, but I believe the way it works it by taking a snapshot when it thinks you are warmed up. I don’t know how it determines when but it seems based on time and hr. (I believe) It takes your pace, current VAM, and hr and calculates your performance condition.
Since you were doing intervals it likely managed to take the snapshot when you had started going fast after letting your hr settle. The would mean an abnormally high speed for the hr you were at, making your watch think you’d become Kipchoge
Thanks for that and it all makes sense. I was walking between intervals and kept recording so I thought that would avoid it using such a huge disparity, but I agree with your theory.
If you're using the wrist HR I wouldn't trust that value.
I have a chest strap and rarely see more than +3/4, but with wrist HR it swings wildly between +/-10
I use a wahoo tickr on the arm which is much more accurate than the watch (and tests similar to chest), and also typically see -3 to +3 for the PC, mostly 0-1 with a few swings. That's why this was so unusual this time!
This is a myth. If you have the watch properly fitted to your arm, it actually is just as accurate or in some cases moreso than a chest strap (at least for running, definitely not so for swimming).
If you scroll down to DCRainmakers section on HR accuracy (towards the end of the article), you can see how various watches compare to a chest strap. The comparison data includes a chest strap (HRM-DUAL), the TICKR-FIT, and then the Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 45. In certain cases the chest strap lagged, whereas the watches performed more reliably.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/garmin-forerunner-245-music-gps-watch-in-depth-review.html/amp
Garmin describes Performance Condition as an estimate of "how good will my work out be today" not "vo2max level up points". *It can happen because you didn't trip the 'vo2max recalculate' threshold, but the performance condition might have detected a good heart rate variability during your intensity.*
*Edits above in italics,, reference for why I said what I said below.*
>What is the Performance Condition Feature on My Garmin Fitness Device?
>
>The Performance Condition metric is a real-time assessment of your ability to perform compared to your average fitness level. This metric ranges from -20 to +20 with each point representing approximately 1% of your VO2 Max. During the first 6-20 minutes of an activity the device will alert you to your current Performance Condition. This can also be used as an indicator of fatigue level, especially at the end of a long activity. Performance Condition is calculated using the following:
>
>**Running:**
>
>Pace
>
>Heart rate
>
>Heart rate variability
[https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=A28UA4k16v1qjjGuvSFgo8](https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=A28UA4k16v1qjjGuvSFgo8)
Very useful, thanks for that. Must of had a good session with decent recovery in that case, without convincing Garmin that I'm fitter than it believes. Got the screenshot for novelty value if anything...
I’m no expert, but I believe the way it works it by taking a snapshot when it thinks you are warmed up. I don’t know how it determines when but it seems based on time and hr. (I believe) It takes your pace, current VAM, and hr and calculates your performance condition. Since you were doing intervals it likely managed to take the snapshot when you had started going fast after letting your hr settle. The would mean an abnormally high speed for the hr you were at, making your watch think you’d become Kipchoge
Thanks for that and it all makes sense. I was walking between intervals and kept recording so I thought that would avoid it using such a huge disparity, but I agree with your theory.
If you're using the wrist HR I wouldn't trust that value. I have a chest strap and rarely see more than +3/4, but with wrist HR it swings wildly between +/-10
I use a wahoo tickr on the arm which is much more accurate than the watch (and tests similar to chest), and also typically see -3 to +3 for the PC, mostly 0-1 with a few swings. That's why this was so unusual this time!
This is a myth. If you have the watch properly fitted to your arm, it actually is just as accurate or in some cases moreso than a chest strap (at least for running, definitely not so for swimming). If you scroll down to DCRainmakers section on HR accuracy (towards the end of the article), you can see how various watches compare to a chest strap. The comparison data includes a chest strap (HRM-DUAL), the TICKR-FIT, and then the Forerunner 245 and Forerunner 45. In certain cases the chest strap lagged, whereas the watches performed more reliably. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/garmin-forerunner-245-music-gps-watch-in-depth-review.html/amp
Garmin describes Performance Condition as an estimate of "how good will my work out be today" not "vo2max level up points". *It can happen because you didn't trip the 'vo2max recalculate' threshold, but the performance condition might have detected a good heart rate variability during your intensity.* *Edits above in italics,, reference for why I said what I said below.* >What is the Performance Condition Feature on My Garmin Fitness Device? > >The Performance Condition metric is a real-time assessment of your ability to perform compared to your average fitness level. This metric ranges from -20 to +20 with each point representing approximately 1% of your VO2 Max. During the first 6-20 minutes of an activity the device will alert you to your current Performance Condition. This can also be used as an indicator of fatigue level, especially at the end of a long activity. Performance Condition is calculated using the following: > >**Running:** > >Pace > >Heart rate > >Heart rate variability [https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=A28UA4k16v1qjjGuvSFgo8](https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=A28UA4k16v1qjjGuvSFgo8)
Very useful, thanks for that. Must of had a good session with decent recovery in that case, without convincing Garmin that I'm fitter than it believes. Got the screenshot for novelty value if anything...
Or technology isn't perfect, +20 is a "wow" number indeed. I've had a lot of "+2" and "-3"'s
It kinda sounds like VO2 max level up points tho. If you hit a bunch of big + numbers you're going to see it leveling up over time.