3x20 is okay (at 92 - 94%) once you get use to it even with 1 - 3 minutes between intervals.
Straight 60 minute SST for me today followed directly by 5.5 minutes at Threshold.
I’d say your HR for those efforts is higher than average but probably nothing to be alarmed about. Just means your FTP is a higher % of your pVO2max compared to average.
Had your cadence been something like 105-110, I’d say maybe slow it down a few ticks.
Funny you should post about this, i had 3x15min this morning and had similar experience.
Mine were 3x15min @ 91% w/5min rest between.
Interval 1: AvgHR154, Max 163, Pw:HR 7.72%, EF 1.69
Interval 2: AvgHR162, Max 168, Pw:HR 6.37%, EF 1.60
Interval 3: AvgHR 164 Max 170, Pw:HR 6.12%, EF 1.58
The weird part was RPE didn’t increase between sets, despite HR clearly climbing between them. I think in-ride fuelling had a lot to do with that as I basically took in 90g of carbs and ~350cal in the hour that the intervals took place. Did the remainder of the ride for 45min @z2 endurance pace on just water.
My most recent Eclipse workout was in September. The avg hr during the last interval was 138. That puts me @ ~97% of lthr. Mind you, that is not a scientifically tested lthr, just what I’ve observed during training. My cadence ranged from 88-93 across all three work blocks.
HR is so unique and individual and susceptible to outside influence. How was your sleep? Had you ingested caffeine? Coming down with a cold? Those are all things that can noticeably affect hr for a given workload.
Have you noticed a trend in your hr during different workouts? Normally during an ftp workout my hr is 141-144 if I’m doing an ftp workout and notice that it’s a lot higher than that I’ll likely back off and either switch workouts or skip the day assuming I either need more recovery or I’m about to get sick.
You absolutely bury yourself. I’ve seen this on ramp tests before and during crit races when implosion has occurred.
Usually followed by taste of blood in mouth and desire to vomit.
It’s a good number to know because you will notice it change at sea level vs. elevation, and similiar to a red line in a car is a good warning if you are getting close that the effort is not sustainable.
As the comment says above, ride hard or race and see what the top number is for HR and use that. I’ve found that as my fitness increases my max HR is higher than I thought it was initially (179 historically vs 184 hit this year).
But putting into context, hitting 145 on a SS interval when my max is 184, I might consider bumping my FTP if this was a recurring occurrence and not just one training session.