Originally Posted by asgelle

You may want to consider what Alex Simmons had to say on the subject. Anaerobic adaptation
"Keep in mind that recovery from any effort or efforts, no matter how hard, is a wholly aerobic process. And that the higher your sustainable aerobic power (i.e. threshold), the less deep you go when you do "surge", and when pace settles back down the further below threshold you will be, meaning recovery of oxygen deficit and anaerobic reserves will happen more quickly, enabling you to sustain harder efforts more frequently and with shorter recovery times. Just 10W higher threshold can make a large difference in your recovery ability."

Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy

Wow, is that ever the truth! Since I have such a crappy VO2max, I've had to push really hard and keep pushing to keep up with the more talented. Now I don't have to worry so much about blowing up on attacks or surges because I can recover just a few beats below LT and do it again. Highly recommended to those with competitive tendencies. Lots of time right around LT. Formally I suppose that's over-unders, but it's a lot more fun with the kids on the road. As I've said many times, for me fitness = ability to repeat.

Another slightly odd thing for the OP: I've been doing more ass-in-the-grass squats and yesterday I attacked out of the saddle on a steep (on my single) which I've always had to ride in my granny before. When I sat down, I couldn't see anyone. It was one of those I-guess-that-worked kind of things.

I have the same experience as the OP every fall when I start hitting the weights again. Maybe I get in one full set of light squats before I quit out of wisdom because I know what that's going to feel like tomorrow.