Hi, just built my first plan with athletica and have a test week beginning next Monday. First workout on the schedule is a MAF test. I’m 31 so 149 bpm is the target HR for the intervals. My max HR recorded on bike is 169 and 149 bpm is firmly where I’d expect my heart rate to be at in the beginning of a threshold effort before drift comes into effect. Wattage prescription in the workout wouldn’t get me anywhere near the 149 target either. So my question is should I ride for target HR, target wattage, RPE or what? Thanks!
Yeh I would probably use a percentage of your max HR. Depending on how well your base is trained I would use anywhere from 65-75% of max HR. I think you’re trying to put it around your LT1 and then loosely track how that inflection is progressing.
For instance I think my LT1 (based on HR tests not lactate) is around 69% for running and 66% for cycling. It’s painfully slow going ATM 
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You could evaluate whether deducting 5-10 beats off (180-age) would take you closer to your upper zone 2 target. Note bike HR vs. Run HR can be 5-10 beats lower due to less muscle mass is used in cycling vs. running.
BR,
MJ