Ride to exhaustion or lower FTP% in ERG mode?

Training With Power
1

Hi Coaches!

I’m in week 3 of your CX Race and Recover plan and while today’s anaerobic intervals called for 60 secs., the best I could do was 45 secs. (and in some cases, 30 secs.) before I fell to pieces and ERG mode sent me into the dreaded Death Spiral.

My question is…should I ride those intervals to exhaustion (and into Death Spiral) or lower my FTP setting by 5-10% in ERG mode to the point where I can last the full 60 sec.?

Here is some additional info. - hopefully not TMI :stuck_out_tongue:
-I’m just south of 60 y-o,
-I’ve trained for and raced mostly XC w/ races lasting 2-2.5 hrs. for the last 15 years.
-I’m brand new to CX (Cat. 5, w/ 30 min. races) this year,
-I completed your 6 Weeks to CX Season plan just before I started this Race and Recover plan.

Look forward to hearing from you - Thanks!

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Simple answer: No erg mode for these workouts!

Using erg mode is basically saying 'here, we’ve found the exact watt you should do these efforts at. Unfortunately, that’s not how the body works! It may work OK for a complete-able workout like a sweet spot workout, but for higher intensity work, using erg mode is just begging to have failed workouts.

So, use some sort of free-ride mode, aim to hit the targets during the intervals but also listen to your body and back down slightly if you need to do that to finish the workout. The higher you get above FTP, the harder it is to prescribe workout intensity, so it helps to pay attention to how you feel.

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