Today I was in the midst of the second half of a build block and Dade+1 popped up.
I was doing well with targeted power range until I hit a pretty flat part in the road. All intervals 2:30 in length with 4-5min rest. I was in the 6th tough interval.
I maintained speed but my power dropped from 316 (bottom of target) to 295. No matter how fast I got the cadence up the watts barely budged.
I think this is sign of better fitness since at 295 I held the speed steady. Clicked down for faster spin and tried going into a harder gear, actually the whole way up.
When this happens which is better? Faster cadence or higher gear to hold power?
You were doing the first 5 intervals up an incline and hitting the power target. But then the road flattened out and your power dropped and you had trouble getting it back up?
If you do all of your training on climbs then some people say they have trouble hitting the same wattages on flats. Your inertia is different and you put out power slightly differently around the pedal stroke. I can’t say whether you should increase cadence or shift to a harder gear because theoretically and mathematically either would work to increase power. However, in practice you will have a usable cadence band and If you spin too fast you can no longer apply force to the pedals as efficiently and your power might fall.
So I guess the answer is: increase cadence until you start to hit the upper end of your cadence range and then shift to the next gear.