Originally Posted by bac
Very good information! However, I have to slightly disagree with one point. I believe that you can get a reasonably accurate LT/HR. Really, those of us without power-meters, and/or access to a lab have no other measure than a HRM to guage LT. I know that LT and HR are not necessarily related, but for those of us without the funds, or time, I think it is still a good measurement tool.
while you may be able to get a reasonable measure of HR, it should never be stated. don't forget it varies widely depending on training. for e.g., if i race on two consecutive days, i can produce the same power (give or take one or two watts) both days, but the second day my HR can be ~ 10 b/min lower.
However, the main point is, some of the measures i listed need to be conducted in a lab, and aren't really that useful outside of the lab (e.g., the blood lactates ones), simply because, although they're highly correlated to actual endurance performance, they mainly work out at less than the maximal you can sustain for the time period. In other words, if you want to know your HR for a TT don't rely on LT/OBLA/MLSS/etc estimates, go and ride a TT (notwithstanding the fact that on consecutive race days they'll be different)
ric