Spencer +2 at lower cadence

I just completed Spencer +2 as part of SSBII LV in ERG mode and really battled keeping my cadence up. The in-ride instructions say to aim for higher than 100 RPM but I could only maintain the 90s for the first minute or so of each interval before dropping into the 80s. For the final two intervals I was dipping into the mid-70s by the latter half of each interval. My question is should I have reduced the target power slightly so I could keep the cadence at 100+ for each interval, or is it better to hit the required power at a lower cadence?

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In general, the in text drills and recommendations are just that: recommendations. Try your best to follow the drills, but if you canā€™t follow the drill and meet your Target Power, prioritize the Target Power :+1:.

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I switch between two gears and have cadence around 82rpm for one and 86rpm for faster spinning. I start with the 82 which I know is a bit low for about 2 or 2 1/2 minutes for a three minute interval and a slightly faster spin to finish otherwise I get leg burnout. Very hard to sustain 90 plus RPM for me at 320 watts. As long as I meet my power targets Iā€™m happy

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Wish I would have read this earlier. I was wiped out by interval 5 and 6. Kept my cadence above 100 for the first 4 and I was on the struggle bus.

same i struggle to keep 100ā€¦ive worked hard to get my self selected cadence around 80ā€¦so i just push to 90 when it says 100ā€¦and 85 ish when he says 90ā€¦and so on

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Thatā€™s awesome you could do the intervals at 100rpm

I find I have to be above 100 to complete those intervals. When I drop down to 95 it feels much harder.

Just did Spencer +2 yesterday too, and I was the mayor of Struggle City. I too have to sit above 100rpm to make it easier and did that on the 6th interval (95rpm for the first 5, but legs were dying), but then my HR goes way up to my indoor max. Itā€™s a delicate balance between my legs vs my heart blowing up.

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Different strokes for different folks. I can do one or maybe two intervals at a lower cadence, but thereā€™s no way I could do an entire vo2 workout at a lower cadence. Once Iā€™m in my true vo2 range, I need to be above 100rpm or my legs will get cooked quickly.

I have had a lot of issues with VO2 intervals before. This is actually making me think that perhaps cadence was a factor.

I had been just spinning like a madmanā€¦well over 100rpm, in order to assure I kept power on target. Looking backā€¦this likely contributed to an unsustainable ā€˜drowningā€™ feeling I would always get at about 2min-2:30 into intervals.

Iā€™m hoping dialing things back slightly to somewhere around 90-100 will help with this.

Iā€™ve found that Erg mode ā€œencouragesā€ me to do higher cadence versus doing vo2 intervals outside.

Mixing up the cadence is a good way of getting through it if your legs burn out too early. Obviously the higher cadence gets higher heart rate which is kind of the purpose of these sessions but if going slightly lower gets it done, thatā€™s the way to go.