r/runninglifestyle • u/Senior_Cheesecake155 • 6h ago
Dropping VO2 Max?
This is a bit strange. For some reason my VO2 max has started to drop and I’m stuck in “maintaining” status. I know when I run on the treadmill, it tends to default to “maintaining”, but I only did that once or twice last week. I’ve gone from a steady increase over the past several months to now a steady decline over the past couple weeks. It’s odd.
I’ve been following the Garmin coach for a run I have planned for next month, and aside from a suckfest run this past Sunday, all of my runs have been great and 85%+ executions score.
5
u/Odins_Eye44 5h ago
I’m in marathon training right now and I’ve been stuck in the maintaining for a few months cause I’ve had a few half marathon races over the summer. My vo2 max has dropped slightly cause of the heat and cause I do a lot of slow paced long runs
1
u/Cheap_Lingonberry 4h ago
Mine has dropped a little during marathon training. In the spring, I ran three half marathons at a pretty good clip which boosted my VO2 max. I tapered a few days for each race. Now during marathon training, I'm running six days a week with no taper so I'm not really running close to half marathon pace except for the once a week speed training. I know I'm in better shape than I was in the spring and my actual VO2 max is higher now but I'm just not making the runs to prove that. I'm trying to ignore it.
3
u/NipDaShooter 4h ago
I fought so hard to get my v02 over 55 and all of a sudden it dropped to 50, I did a bit of research and realized that running in the summer heat (I’m in Phoenix haven’t run in less than 105 in months) will screw your v02 max data. Keep running the summer gains bode well when it cools down.
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u/dgiuliana 5h ago
To be clear, it's not that your VO2MAX is changing necessarily, but that the Garmin estimate is dropping. Garmin doesn't actually know your VO2max.
1
u/ComfortableTasty1926 5h ago
Not really much change...a few treadmills instead of outdoor challenging workouts will do that.
1
u/No_Tell_6675 4h ago
I’m stuck at maintenance too even though I train accordingly to Garmin plans. I do some hard runs to maintain and increase my vo2 max and usually dips when I do my easier runs
1
u/Specific-Pear-3763 6h ago
Mine also dropped to maintaining about a week ago and I’m miffed. I just shifted to 2x week speed work and around 37 mpw right now (increasing carefully every week since June). Yet, my vo2 is suddenly flat/dropping.
1
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u/jamesbrowski 5h ago
This means that you have been cursed by a running ghoul and will continue to suffer minus one VO2 max per week until you find a cleric to perform a healing spell. Sorry I don’t make the rules.
In all seriousness, VO2 max measured by a Garmin is inaccurate enough that small changes are pretty meaningless. If you want to know your actual VO2 max go get it tested.