Missed session: what the plan does, and what it never does
A missed session is not a failure, it is data. Your AI coach sees it in the weekly review, draws a decision from it and explains it. Here are the three cases it distinguishes, the only session it has you make up, and why it refuses to compress two sessions into one.
Last updated: 2026-09-19
The three cases
A missed easy run: nothing to make up, the week continues. A missed quality session: it is lost, not postponed; the next one is run as planned. A missed long run: it is the only one the coach has you make up, by shifting it three days at most, even if that means dropping the neighbouring easy run.
The rule comes from a simple observation: making up a quality session by sticking it next to the following one doubles the week's load and leads to injury. The plan prefers losing one session to losing three weeks.
What the weekly review decides
The coach compares planned and completed in your Garmin activities. One missed session in the week: decision "next week as is". Two missed sessions: "next week lightened", to restart smoothly. Three or more: the coach asks what happened before deciding.
The decision is shown with its reason. You can discuss it, but the coach never makes up two weeks in one.
Preventing rather than making up
Tell the coach your upcoming constraints, travel or a busy week: it moves sessions before, not after. A week announced as light is planned as an assimilation week, with no loss.
- Missed easy run: nothing. Missed quality: lost. Long run: made up within 3 days.
- Two missed sessions: next week lightened.
- Warn beforehand: sessions are moved, not lost.
A shortened session beats a missed session: 20 minutes of threshold instead of 30 keep the stimulus. The watch records what was done, the coach takes it into account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make up a VMA session the next day?
The coach advises against it: two quality sessions in two days double the risk. It proposes replacing it with an easy run and keeping the rhythm.
What happens if I miss a whole week?
The plan resumes where it stopped, with a lightened week, and the race date stays. If the race is too close, the coach proposes revising the goal.
Does the coach see that I missed a session?
Yes: it matches each session planned on Garmin against the completed activity. A planned session with no activity opposite is a missed session.
Let your assistant write your sessions
Running Workout connects Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini to your Garmin account through the official API. Nothing to install, and no Garmin password to hand over.
See the connection guide