You are not alone, I had a business trip so skipped several days of training and yesterday I had to abort on Joyride.
Off days are real and hard!
@RKenmuir @Magnito I had a similar situation as well. I missed Primers yesterday due to work but was able to get in 15 minutes of yoga. I woke up very early this morning and then couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to get on the bike and do Primers in level mode to test my gearing for Full Frontal. First, I drank an entire bottle of cold water and had an energy waffle and let things settle. I finished 20 minutes of Primers - continuing to hydrate throughout with some added electrolytes and surprisingly felt very good so I ended the video and convinced myself that I was capable of starting Full Frontal.
I thought I was close to my numbers on NM both times but came away feeling that the gearing wasn’t quite right. However, after that I had what felt like my best MAP effort yet - staying at close to max HR the entire time. For the FTP test I also held a high HR - not as high as MAP but something that I knew I could pace with - staying very focused on the riders on the screen and not the clock. Then I geared wrong again for AC - too high this time and was completely spent at the 30 second mark and just could not hold it.
However, I am pleased - despite a schedule change and short rest, FTP was up +11 to 248 and MAP was up +3 to 293. I am taking those numbers and moving on to do a MAP block before settling in with a longer pre-season plan. Best of luck to both of you on Full Frontal!
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My post-TOS FF definitely didn’t go as planned. In fact, I couldn’t even finish despite feeling quite rested. Compared to my previous (and first ever) test on 18 Jan, my NM power was up 100 watts but my 5 minute power was down 18w. I had to stop 12 minutes into the FTP test because I was losing power and couldn’t get/keep my HR above Zone 3.
Going to blame this on the fact that I just got my first COVID-19 vaccination about 16 hours prior.
I imagine my body having an argument with itself: “Look, buddy, we just ramped up the immune system to 110% to deal with whatever it was we just found in your arm. We don’t have the excess energy to play your little FTP games right now. Trying to make sure you don’t die is more important than stroking your ego with new power numbers. So just chill for a couple more days, ok?”
Ok, fine…I’ll try again next week 
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Frustratingly I woke up with a 10% elevate RHR and a depressed HRV, but decided to ignore those signs and go for it anyway.
Should have known something was up when my HR was high in Z1 early in the warmup, but I went +52 on NM… Then could barely hold my HM 5m power (and peaked at 95% of my HR while doing so), and despite going out cautiously on the 20m I was riding under what I managed in Attacker two weeks ago and above LTHR!
I decided to abort rather than continue so I have enough energy to try again in the next day or two.
Takeaways:
- I shouldn’t ignore big spikes in RHR/HRV.
- I’d considered doing FF on Thursday which was scheduled as a day off but I felt amazing on, next ‘test week’ I’ll give myself the flexibility to do just that.
@frenata My very basic understanding of HRV is that it doesn’t work as well as a daily metric for athletes and is more helpful as a reference for weekly trends. For example, today I had minimal sleep, woke up early, did full frontal and then took my HRV reading and got an 8 out of 10. I was expecting a 1 or 2.
Maybe evaluate your hydration, fueling and also think about whether you prepared yourself mentally as well.
I trust RHR more than HRV. While it general for me it varies a few bpm, it’s rare for it to be this high on waking. Ditto elevated HR during the early portions of FF today. And 95+% of my MaxHR is something I did not expect during the 5m effort, that’s a level I generally only see in the last minute of a ramp test or during an AC effort. When I reached that point halfway through the 5m effort I knew I was in trouble.
It may not always be the case, but at least today, the measures of strain on waking did correlate with what seems like depressed aerobic capacity. That said, hydration/fueling/mental prep are also things to evaluate re: performance.
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Always the right decision to stop !! Another day and all that.
Interesting that one wee bit there. That’s what I expect in the 5min section. (97% of HRMax) and oddly, if I can’t get my HR up that high then I it’s usually telling me I’ve not rested/prepared enough.
It’s a jigsaw puzzle this stuff.
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Hitting 95% would have been okay if I’d hit it in the last minute – unfortunately I was there by the end of minute 2.
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Did my post-ToS FF this morning. I’d done the ToS at focused, and found it relatively easy, which led me to think that my prior 13-month old 4DP numbers were low. Couldn’t have been more wrong. Possibly down to a bad day, but I struggled from the start. I knew it was going to be a long workout when I struggled to spin up for sprints. Ended up down 10% or so across the board. FTP 239->221, MAP 285->261, AC 468->413, and NM 1269->1150. Apparently I haven’t been suffering enough.
I don’t know if this is the place to ask, but anyone have suggestions? I’ve never completed a structured training plan, and mostly I’m just looking for general improvement.
Also, how does “extra” riding fit with structured training? I don’t want to mess up my training, but I also don’t want to feel like I can’t put in a ride on a nice day.
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Heading to FF-land in a bit…wish me luck 
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Crush it!
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Well that was interesting but probably a fair reflection of where I am. FTP up and everything else down (I think MAP was too high after HM).
FTP up to 288 from 276
MAP down from 352 to 331
AC down to 391 from 423
NM down to 750 from 829
That being said, I have also dropped 22 pounds (about 11% of weight) since my last FF.
Felt FTP was very strong and rest not so much. Probably too much training - we’ll see how the Volcano plan goes starting Monday…
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Good effort @JSampson, nice to see numbers improving 
I am getting increasingly frustrated, as my neck seems only to get worse. Have little hope being able to do FF tomorrow even. Mental suffering!
I completed the FF today after doing the 2-week post-tour plan. Comparing pre-tour FF to today:
| Feb 12 | Mar 6 | Delta | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FTP | 258 | 260 | +2 (+<1%) |
| MAP | 310 | 324 | +14 (+4.5%) |
| AC | 441 | 428 | -13 (-2.9%) |
| NM | 1052 | 1015 | -37 (-3.5%) |
My MAP went up, but the other numbers were pretty much the same. I could have done better on both the AC and NM. I came out too hot on the 1-min effort and the last 30s just collapsed. And, the sprints, like real life, require some finesse on selecting the right gear and timing since they are only 7s long. Since this is only my second FF, I’m still learning how to do them.
Since I live in the mountains of Virginia, I’m starting the Advanced Mountainous/Hilly Gran Fondo on Monday, including the strength training, mental training, and yoga.
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Post TOS FF
NM -11
AC +36
MAP +2
FTP +7
LTHR <>
Went from repeated efforts to VO2 Max weakness.
Did this coming off a 2 day crushing sinus headache (not completely out of the woods yet). Slept 2 1/2 hours yesterday after Primers.
FTP effort felt better as an 80 rpm climb instead of the usual 95 rpm haul.
Overall I’m happy with the results.
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Thanks - I hope you find the cause. Maybe try some of the yoga and breathing exercises to see if they do anything to relieve the issue.
I completed FF today. I knew just into the 5 min portion I was not on my best: NM - Neutral; AC - Improved; MAP - lower ; FTP - lower than is believable. But I want to focus on the positives: 1) Experimented with gearing/levels/cadence during the 20 minute 2) My practice at 1 minute intervals paid off; I felt like I executed that part the best I have yet.
So, why did I not feel as ‘ON’ today?
Since ToS: 1) Accepted a new job 2) Accepted offer on house 3) Resign from my current job 4) My wife and I are trying to figure out how to move the family across the country.
Yep, really, all in the last two weeks.
I am looking forward to starting the Mountainous Gran Fondo Plan.
Congrats to all on Post Tour success and new numbers!
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Congratulations on the new job.
@mmonette For extra riding outside I generally try to eliminate a similar indoor workout (if you don’t have outdoor rides in your plan). You can just open the workout and check the box that the scheduled workout was completed. Unfortunately the app doesn’t have the ability to add or import outside rides at present. Keep in mind that the plan was designed with a certain balance and you don’t want to upset that balance by adding too much additional riding.