I’ve got Junction -1 scheduled tomorrow and see it’s got some 15/15 bursts at the end. The issue is that these just don’t work for me - it may be my trainer setup (Tacx Vortex Smart - wheel on trainer), or that I simply hate 15/15 work since I feel like I’m constantly jumping back and forth between gears trying to hit target power in the burst or valley. I lose focus just trying to jump back and forth, get my cadence back, etc. all in 15 seconds. Spanish Needle was torture, so I pulled the plug and did VO2 max work for the same TSS.
So a question - since Junction is a mixed workout, I was looking to find something similar but with VO2 work in the later half of the ride. Any suggestions for workouts you like?
If you have a smart trainer in ERG mode, you don’t need to shift gears or focus on power. Your only focus should be maintaining consistent cadence and let the trainer do the rest. Your power will slowly increase and decrease as you go into and out of 15/15 intervals, don’t chase power numbers. Cadence only! I have a Kickr Snap (wheel on) and it works without issues on 15/15 workouts.
EDIT: I’ve changed your title to reflect your question.
Yes, in 15/15 workouts it will be hard to adjust cadence (and power) during work/rest because there’s just not enough time. Your power may be slightly under or over during parts of the interval, but don’t worry about it, it will all work out in the end. For instance, work intervals may be 105 cadence and rest is 101 cadence, but realistically you may only be at a lower cadence (and power for that matter) for a small portion of the actual 15 sec interval. You’re not looking to nail the power for every interval second, but rather the greater stress stimulus over the entire workout.
The more you work on these demanding intervals the better you’ll get at them, just don’t stress over being perfect on power numbers.