I’ll keep replying to myself, it went well the first time around.
I did some training since my tests in Dec 2019:
Basically 4 weeks of 3 times a week some longer tempo/SS at 85%->90% of threshold. One easier week afterwards (although I did some running on the 1st and 2nd of Feb). Back at it with 5 weeks consisting of 1 short VO2Max interval + 2 SS sessions 85-94% of threshold. The last weekend was easy and I did some testing this week.
The ramp test saw me improve to 296 W (+7 W compared to Dec). Not much but I hit my max heart rate and stopped when I felt like suffocating (loud wheezing). I continued with the 30 min aerobic test so that the protocol would be same like last time. I averaged 263 watts with average 149 bpm (81.8% of max) and tried to reproduce the cadence from last time (not dropping too much). Improvement of 15 watts, not bad!
Moreover, I persuaded myself to do a longer ftp test two days later - Kolie Moore’s ftp test. Did 307 W for 40 minutes. Have I kept it down a little (the last 5 minutes) I could have continued to 45 minutes but probably not much more. I didn’t think I could do 40 min with average 300 W but in retrospect the first ten minutes was too low probably. But most importantly this test showed me what is my problem and muscle endurance isn’t it (after this solid block of training). I had to lower my cadence at two occasions because my breathing became very laboured. Legs were okish even towards the end at a higher wattage. Overall, I liked the test a lot and although legs were tired afterwards, the longer SS sessions during the block were worse. It is also a confidence booster for more difficult workouts!
Whatever my garmin edge says about my VO2Max being in the 1st percentile it just simply isn’t good enough. I plan to proceed by adding more Z2 work and upping the volume. My training camp got cancelled but it is getting warmer outside.
Sorry for the very long post. Hopefully someone will find it useful and won’t be afraid to try this approach himself.