Morning all, I’m on a couple week break before starting my 2025 plan next week. I have 6 races on the calendar thus far but those are always subject to change (father of 3, sole bread winner, on an on…). I fired up a train now workout yesterday and without thinking much of it completed a Vo2 breakthrough workout. Now I’m worried that EVERY VO2 effort is going to be that tough or harder. Come mid week in the middle of a training plan when my legs are tired and the babies kept me up all night, that worries me a bit. Thoughts?
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I am in a similar phase of life and use the workout l feature a lot. For example, if I’m staring down the barrel of a 4x5 Vo2 and don’t have the horses that day, I will use an alternate for either an easier workout, or an interval structure that feels more palatable like a 6x3 or 30 30s lol
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If you’re tired, read “not recovered”, then you have no business doing hard VO2s.
Just push the VO2s back a day and/or do something else instead. 2 or 3 hrs at 60% of FTP is almost never not the answer. 
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Edit the ride to remove it from progression levels
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You can always pick an easier alternate workout or not do a hard Vo2max session if you sleep like crap.
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100% agree about moving the workout if needed. Life gets in the way sometimes.
Just want to add, since the OP was talking about
My understanding is that VO2 is supposed to be that tough. You should be going for sustainable max effort, not an arbitrary workout assigned number. It’s not something to do on erg. Some days that will be more power and some days less, but let your body make that decision based on what you can sustainably achieve during the workout.
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There is tough and then there is reduced rest in between intervals tough. TR will provide both. To answer the OP I think once you start using train now to do really hard workouts whenever you feel like it then you have to be okay either trying to stick with the progression they recommend and possibly failing a workout, or tuning down future workouts when your motivation/ preparation is not at the same level as your breakthrough performance.
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First off, congrats on tackling that Workout—seriously impressive work! 
It’s totally understandable to feel a bit intimidated after such a challenging workout, especially with everything you’re balancing. The good news is that your training plan is built to progress your fitness in a sustainable way, with difficulty that’s carefully adjusted over time—not every VO2 workout will feel like a breakthrough-level effort.
Your plan is also super flexible to accommodate life’s curveballs. If you need to move workouts around, don’t sweat it—that’s totally okay. And on days you’re unsure, giving a workout a try can often surprise you—you might handle it better than expected! If not, your plan will adapt to keep you on track.
You’re doing an amazing job managing it all, and consistency is what matters most. Keep up the great work, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more questions!