they just need to be within 90 days of each other.
@oldandfast here is one I stumbled across, not even close to your workout but its 10 minutes of tempo, 5 min break, 2 x 4(3) min low z5
showing
- color coded 30-sec power
- dashed white line at 105% ftp
- blue line is relative vo2max
first 4-min interval was 107%, then 3-min rest, then second 4-min jobber was 109%
sorry, again it was above 105%, more significantly the higher surges driving up % vo2max (blue line) were from 30-sec power above 112% ftp. So not a great example, but closer to your 8x4(2) @ 105.
All that said, the vo2 kinetics show almost complete drop at 1-minute into the rest interval. So from a vo2 POV, dropping from 3-min to 2-min recoveries wouldn’t impact vo2 (it’s more about how hard you go, because that drives oxygen demand in muscles).
From a lactate point-of-view, well, we can’t feel lactate and I have no interest in lactate testing. However we can feel associated rise in acidic Ph in the legs. When pushing at 104-108% during a well paced 20-minute test, I don’t feel a burn in the legs until about 12-15 minutes into the effort. Just a swag on one of the fatigue mechanisms in the legs (leg Ph).