For Those Who Blow Off (Gasp!) Testing...
I know there are some of you out there who blaspheme against the OS plan like I do and blow off testing and move your threshold targets/zones according to past performance and feel. BTW - for you faithful testers, don't hijack my thread and try to convince my why I should test. You have your religion and I have mine. 
Question for the heathens is...what do you do on "Test Week"? Repeat the week before? Skip to the following week? Take a rest week?
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I don't always test, and when I don't, I treat that week as a mini-recovery week. Or maybe I toss a race into that week, like a half marathon or sprint/oly tri. Either way, I'm doing less volume, but keeping some intensity going.
I don't always test...but when I don't....I drink Dos Equis : )
Jim,
Make sure you've read this:
Alternate Methods of Determining Functional Threshold Power (FTP)
Yes, have read that. Thanks for the link.
---Ann.
For the run, second what Al T. said. Run races for "testing". Otherwise the week of testing, intervals like the week before for running. Have my vdot where it needs to be so will not be testing to get it higher. But will be working bring it to longer distances.
I stick with the plan regarding bike testing though.
@Matt - I guess it's because I've rarely had a Bike test result that has been close to actual training numbers. I feel I'm not a great tester. One thing I won't do is test on the trainer - I've had some very poor results on the trainer (yes, have lots of fans, great air flow, hydrate, etc). I typically go by past performance and I can sense when I need an increase in my FTP or levels. Could this be off of what a real, *tested* FTP is, yeah, sure but by maybe a couple of watts at the most.
For Run testing, I have it in my head that 5Ks is where injuries happen. No joke, it's superstition I know but I fear the 5K not because of the cardio pain but because I'm paranoid about getting hurt. I have found that I can SWAG my vDot quite well and then carefully raise it over time. Could I get myself injured that way? Probably. But I'm pretty careful with my run intensity.
I'm with Jim on this. I don't think I test well either. I have a hard time staying focused on the trainer and I don't have any routes I can do a good outdoor test. I shoot for certain numbers during a ride and I have a pretty good idea of where I'm at and can SWAG my FTP after a couple weeks of riding and make some adjustments over time. I'm training for some early season 70.3's right now with a goal of averaging 235 watts during the races (which would SWAG my FTP ~ 280W). I just plan on riding 235W for my 50-60 mile rides until my fitness catches up. I averaged 225W for a 45 mile ride last weekend and felt okay afterward. It's not an exact science but I don't think my testing provided any better accuracy.
Running is sort of the same. I could give a flip about my top end 5K/10K speed and how that translates into a vDot. I gear my run training around a certain pace and work my sweet spot Z2/Z3 training. I care what I can run 13.1 miles at in regard to a mildly uncomfortable pace. The Z4/Z5 intensity thing has more or less been removed from my training regimen. The suffering is just not worth it... to me.
Heretical comments done!
While I agree with the first sentence, I'm on the other side of the intensity thing. I think a few hard/fast intervals, judiciously placed in the training program, will make me "faster" on IM race day. It may be because I do not use the word suffering; I view those intervals, and any hard effort in a race, as a feeling of power - something positive, not negative. The more powerful I make myself, the better I am able to handle the prolonged efforts, especially at then end of the race.
@Al - While the 5K test itself is something I don't do, I have to say that I view the Z4/Z5 work as core to improving run pace performance. My observation is that with just a handful of these workouts over a 4-6 week period an athlete can gain several VDOT levels.
@Bob - Z4/Z5 work is core to the EN philosophy of fast before far. How are you improving your overall distance run times without this component?
I concentrate most of my run training around a goal running pace. Let's say I want to run a 1:45 HIM (which is about an 8:00/mile pace). I have been doing a variation of Dave Scott's swing method where I will run intervals around that pace. For example, run .75 miles (or.5 miles) at 7:20 followed by .75 miles (or .5 miles) at 8:20. So the average pace will be faster than 8:00 because the swing is weighted more towards the faster interval. I'm certainly venturing into Z4 territory with the faster interval but it's shorter than most of the fast intervals in the EN plans. I'm still doing interval work just a different take on it. I feel more fresh doing the shorter intervals. My average run times are much faster than they were at this time last year.
I hate to test but I do it religiously simply because it has been an integral part of my improvement over the last 3 years with EN. From a guy who started with a sub-40 vDOT and is now approaching a 50+ vDot at age 45 on my next test in two weeks, I have a hard time making an argument against the Z4 protocol which, I feel in my case, has been the formula to drive my fitness north on a consistent basis while, at the same improving the bike and swim. It is obviously not the only way to improve, but it is what works for me..............
But that does not mean that I skip testing when my plan calls for it. There are four main things that argue for me to test when the plan calls for it. First, I am sold on the EN approach and am happy to take the advice. Secondly, it reassures me that my training zones are the appropriate ones for my current fintness. Thirdly, the tests are a good WKO. And fourth, it helps me work on my mental six pack — I figure if I want to be able to kick on in a race when I am suffering, I should practice that and testing is good pactice for me.
For the bike I stick with the program. The "alternative" methods like the 'gun to the head' test are just too subject to mental manipulation IMO. To me, the cornerstone of EN is race execution, as facilitated by knowing an accurate FTP and riding a target percentage of that FTP. Personally I am not experienced enough to deviate from the recipe, although I'm sure that over time I'll build that experience.
Amen