I realized that most of my PR’s below 20 minutes were from my ramp tests, and while it’s fun to see big numbers, I wanted to get a better idea of my real world outputs, i.e. workouts and races.
I unchecked Personal Records in all of my Ramp Tests and now get to see a little more variety in my power curve. I’m interested in what other people think of this—anyone else tried it?
Setting PRs is generally how I know that a ramp test was executed correctly. It captures a maximal effort, so why shouldn’t it be included in your power curve?
This is a good point. It may just be that your workouts and races aren’t fully testing the upper limits of your capabilities above your best power for 20 minutes. That’s fine, since we’re focused on other goals and training at different levels during those workouts, but the Ramp Test results are a reflection of your “real world” capabilities! And those PRs are going to be useful in a race situation, if you know how long you have to pace a sprint finish, for example.
@ErickVH and @larry Both totally valid points, they are real results and should be factored in to the equation if I’m thinking about what I’m capable of.
I think what it comes down to is they’ll always be there if I want to put them back in, but the ramp test isn’t as close of an approximation to a race as I’d like. It’s executed under controlled conditions, and it consists of one effort. If I’m looking at a race scenario, there will be more fatigue in the legs and more time on the bike. The workouts that now show up as my PR’s for the first 20 min of my power curve are closer to races—more than one effort, longer rides, etc.
The other part is that I’m just curious to see what else comes up. 
Fair point, and what you do with your Personal Records chart, Calendar, and all of TR is totally up to you!
I get it though, it’s always fun to see where some of your power bests come from, and the results can be quite surprising!
LIke that time I tried to chase down a car that pissed me off and got a sprint PR? 
Hahaha, nothing like a good dose of anger to motivate the legs. 
I do the same thing. I’d rather see my PRs from workouts and riding, not a test.
