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Garmin Coach – BUILD Phase Complete (Mar 17 – Apr 23)

The BUILD phase of the adaptive Garmin Coach 5K plan wrapped up on April 23, and it’s been a transformative stretch.

Summary

After a rocky BASE phase, I started BUILD with a mindset shift: train by effort, not pace. I stopped chasing numbers and focused on staying within proper heart rate zones — especially avoiding overcooking threshold workouts.

  • Threshold HR cap: 174–175 bpm, avoiding anything above 177.
  • March 20 marked the turning point — from then on, every tempo or threshold run was based on heart rate control.

Highlights

  • April 22 – Best threshold workout yet: 2x 19 min @ ~4:50/km, fully under control. Despite fatigue, I didn’t crack.
  • Base pace runs dropped into the high 5:40s/km with HR well below 150 — previously unthinkable.
  • VO2Max graph started to rise again after a long plateau.
  • HRV reached 130+ for the first time this year (peak: 134), and resting HR dropped to 40 bpm.

Physical Costs

  • Right-side groin tension reappeared, especially post-intense sessions (VO2max, threshold).
  • Ongoing core fatigue and hip flexor soreness — likely from calisthenics and hill segments.

Despite the high volume, I’m not burnt out — just aware. I’ve learned to listen to early signals (twinges, sleep quality, HR trends), and I adapted accordingly.

What’s Next

PEAK phase begins now. It’s time to sharpen, taper smart, and see if the old PB (5K in 21:57) can finally fall. The plan continues through May 28, with a mix of threshold, VO2max and base runs.

Let’s see what four weeks of peaking can do.