I’m training for the Crusher and I don’t use a power meter on my gravel bike. Can I substitute HR zones for power? If so, how?
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Absolutely!
All our plans are zone based - sweet spot watts or sweet spot heart rate. Either set your threshold heart rate in trainingpeaks and use that or use your ‘FasCat Zones Worksheet’ found in the field test workout on the 2nd day of your plan, I think.
Good luck Crushin’!
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Awesome. So it looks like I just do the 20-minute field test and once it’s uploaded to TrainingPeaks you guys will determine my HR zones so I know the “sweet spot?”
Is my comment correct, that you guys will determine my HR zones based off my 2-minute field test? Then, in the workout details, where it tells me to spend a certain amount of time at Zone 4, what would I do for HR? Something like 160 BPM?
Almost - you will do the analysis yourself per these instructions - its super simple per this thread Setting Up Training Zones
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I will be getting a power meter soon but for now I have to rely on heart rate. When I started your training plans about 7 weeks ago my heart rate would easily be in the 180s for a zone 4/5 effort, now anything over 173 is that same effort. Do you have to reset heart rate zones just like power zones with threshold tests?? Or is something wrong with my heart rate?? Thanks!
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If you started out the training super fresh without a lot of training before hand your heart rate can be elevated. Once training for a while it will settle. Heart rate has a few more variables. Also fatigue can lead to it be lower. So at the end of a hard block it won’t come up as fast or high.
But I would just lower your heart rate FTP a bit to match up with perceived exertion. Sounds like it’s pretty consistent now and you have a better idea of what zones your heart rate falls in.
Once you get your power meter you’ll really know
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So this is helpful for determining threshold power, but not threshold HR. Is my threshold HR my 20 minute average in the test? Also, In my workouts, all the zones are based on power output. How do I translate that to HR? If my 20-minute average during the test was 170, what is my sweet spot. For example, for my first workout I’m supposed to do two 20-minute sweet spot intervals. It gives me the wattage, but not the HR.
They give a fascat zones worksheet on the 20m test day as an attachment. You input your power or hr from the test and it spits out our power or hr zones based on the test. See Franks post at the top. 
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Take the average heart rate for the last 15 minutes of the 20 minute test. Then plug that into the FasCat spreadsheet.
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Hmm… Maybe that’s the problem. I can’t find an attachment for the FasCat worksheet. It’s not on the 20-minute test day as an attachment (at least as far as I can tell–but I could be missing something totally obvious). Could somebody just put the attachment here so I can download it and upload my info? Also, one last question, Training Peaks gave me a threshhold HR of 162, per my 20-minute test. But my average HR during the 20-minute test was 170. Which number should I use when I get the worksheet?
Thanks for the info, but I can’t find the worksheet as an attachment on the 20-minute test day. Could you share it with me?
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I have tried that, but there’s nothing there. Instead, when I click on the paperclip icon, it asks me to attach a file from my computer. Also, I’ll note that the test for the Crusher training plan is titled “Threshold Field Test” so maybe you are looking at a different program. 
Tied to upload but ain’t a picture file. 
can send in the fb group if you want?
See if this Google Drive link works for the FasCat Zones Worksheet
https://drive.google.com/open?id=15jtEmKM3U-Ih0DCjolOTy0JqTNzqeGzb
Hmm… It said I need permission, which I sent a request for. But if that doesn’t work, please just send to gregorysnowosborne@gmail.com
Resent as local file
I emailed to you. So you should have it now.