There’s a whole thread about this issue:
I agree with you, as do some others. The survey as it is now, is a problem IMO. It’s not meant to be how it feels (according to TR). It’s meant to be, how was the workout compared to what you or it was “expected” to be.
For example: I have been rating all of my VO2 max workouts as Very Hard. Rarely a Hard, but certainly no Moderate or Easy. Because VO2 max is hard to me. I know it’s going to be a tough workout going in. According to TR, I should be rating these as Moderate. Which sounds crazy. In no way or world would I ever consider a VO2 max workout Moderate. They’re always tough. So my VO2 max adaptations have been lower every time. Similar with Threshold and Over Unders. They are hard, and as such, I’ve never rated any of them as Moderate. So far, the only workouts that get Moderate are Z2 rides like Pettit.
So basically, unknowingly, I have been messing up the algorithm. Because I’ve been rating things based on RPE.