Which VDOT to use for OS - test number, or race number?
Several weeks ago I tested after the GF plan and my VDOT remained the same (47), even though my threshold runs were easier (some may recall the thread). I've since run a half marathon this past weekend, and the result shows my VDOT as being 51.
I'm curious which I should use for the OS.
(I don't intend to retest next week, at the start of the OS, because I'm going to be travelling M-W, and I just did a race that gives me a VDOT score. Plus, I pushed pretty good on this past half, and I'm still not quite recovered, so I want those extra few days of rest).
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(just wasn't sure whether it having been a half marathon vs 5k would make a difference)
Nothing necessarily odd, per se - but different circumstances from the original basis I got the 47 from. You're point about it being a big jump was what caused me hesitation.
It went something like this:
1) February 2012 half marathon race in 1:35 - VDOT 47
2) Get Faster plan August-September 2012, TP of 7:12 got noticibly easier to maintain. I thought it odd that my TP was the same pace as what I held during the Feb2012 race (~7:12), but it was what it was.
3) VDOT 5k test @ end of GF plan in 20:57 - VDOT 47
4) Half marathon on 10/21 in 1:29:24 - VDOT 51.
So the primary difference was that the test was a 5k (and a solo test), whereas the races were half marathons. There's also the chance that due to the half marathons having been 8 months apart, I may have actually been closer to a VDOT of 48 or maybe even 49 at the start of the GF plan (I didn't test at the start, just stayed with 47 because the TP runs initally felt 'comfortably hard' and my HR was commensurate with what I've come to expect from a threshold run workout). Plus the difference of carb loading and general preparation for a race vs a solo test, but I thought at the time I was adequately rested for the test. Perhaps not.
You're absolutely sure the course for the more recent HM was the correct length. E.g., you wore a GPS watch which confimed it?
My GPS distance was a tad short because it was still acquiring satellites when the gun went off, but the time on my watch was accurate, and was within a few seconds of the chip time. My Garmin always showed mileage of about x.85 miles as I passed each mile marker on course, and in the end my watch showed a distance of 12.98 miles - so 12.98 (tracked) + 0.15 (missed due to positioning delay)= very close to 13.1. Distance of Feb2012 race showed up as 13.2 miles.
The course changed slightly a couple years ago to move the start and end. Prior to that, it was certified and shows up as such on the USATF certified course list.
Both this past Sunday's and last February's half marathons are extremely flat, fast courses.
My immediate response would be to definitely your race number; at the least a shwag between 47-51 because if you tested 47 at the 5k test...and your HM result gave you a 51....your definitely higher than 47 and it may be that you just don't test well..........
CAVEAT: if you test was done indoors on a TM...and you are going to be doing most of your training/testing indoors on the TM....then you might want to consider sticking with the 47....as with training indoors on the Bike Trainer...Outdoor and Indoor vDot/Power may be lower for a variety of reasons....and the key factor is reproducibility/comparability............
In which case I would still swag the vDot slightly higher because you indicated the paces with 47 were getting easier...a sure sign you need to change the training stress.
Just a thought...