Just had a week off to go snowboarding, which coincided with week 3 of the build phase I was in. This past week I did the recovery week as scheduled. Today AIFTPD tells me I’ve lost 9 watts, which basically eradicates all my winter gains and puts me back to where I was at the start of October last year. Hate the ramp test so going with AIFTP but seems a bit harsh. Hoping it doesn’t take another 5 months to get it back!
You could always just reject the update and see how the next few workouts go!
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Good point. Have already accepted it but I guess I could manually increase my FTP if the next few workouts feel easy 
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You will be back in no time, and be better for it.
Don’t stress
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You can do any of the other FTP tests if you want to and don’t like the Ramp Test. TR still has the 1x 20 minute as well as 2x 8 minute tests. There are also versions of the Kolie Moore tests. So you have many options beyond the Ramp Test or just accepting the AIFTPD.
Outside of that, how does that drop correspond with your actual feelings? Were you struggling to complete workouts and having higher ratings on those workouts? Essentially, does that estimated FTP drop follow with your expectations on recent workouts?
If it differs, it may be in your interest to test above. That or be aware of your feelings and efforts in pending workouts if you continue with your reduced AIFTPD and consider what may be the real case for you.
AIFTPD is very nice when it works, but there can be a range of reasons that it may give imperfect results. Without more info, we can’t do more than guess, but I suggest some review of your recent efforts to determine if it is correct or not.
In general, I don’t see losing 9W after 2 weeks off as being terribly significant, but we need some context.h…9w with a 200w FTP is much different than 9w with a 300w FTP.
Was working off 289w, now at 280. In the great scheme of things I guess 9w is not a lot but considering how much work I put in over nearly 5 months to get that 9w is seems pretty harsh to lose it after 1 week off of training followed by an easy week.
It is 3% down…I wouldn’t sweat that in the slightest. Again, within the context of basically two weeks off, that seems entirely reasonable.
As suggested above, you can manually update your FTP back to 289 and just see how it goes for your next few workouts.
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I felt good in the last week of training before I went away and wasn’t struggling with my workouts, although the week before that I only completed half of each of that weeks workouts due to a back niggle. Perhaps this is the reason.
That is VERY notable, IMO. Depending on how you answered what I imagine were “Struggle” surveys, TR may have determined that you were working “too hard”. So, the specific answers to those workouts along with pending adaptations it applied may well be at the core of the AIFTPD result.
Point being that a wider look at things sheds some useful light on what it gave you for an FTP. May be wrong in the grand scheme, but I can sure see a drop more likely based on what you just shared.
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9 watts / 3% is noise or day to day variation. Don’t worry about it. You’ll bounce back fast.
When you detrain, you quickly loose blood plasma volume. The good news is that it’s the first thing that comes back with training.
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See how your next Threshold workout feels in terms of RPE and your hart rate in previous threshold workouts. OR switch to resistance mode for those sections and see how you do holding 290 instead of 280 (or whatever it calls for).
You’ll know quickly if its sutainable or not
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dropping workouts and taking a week off will impact you coming back. @AJS914 gave the technical reason above, in my experience simply doing an easy week with some intervals and it all comes back after 3 or 4 days (and I’m a slow responder). I can feel it, and I can clearly see it in my power-to-HR data. But if you rely on some computer algorithm with a 4 week resets schedule, then its a little of live by the sword, die by the sword. What I would suggest is similar to @jreinfeld above, coming back from a week off I take it easy for 3 or 4 days, and then everything is back to normal.
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