First I have to explain the situation.
Had a week in Spain and took the opportunity for a couple of rides which put me on target as far as the training deficit is concerned, but “tired,” which I agree with. So a couple of days later and a lot of traveling my Xert training status is “Tired” but behind on my training deficit which I basically still agree with and yet the days recommendation was a 2hr “Song 2” workout.
Can somebody explain the logic of a 2 hour fairly strenuous workout just to bring my deficit back to the optimal? Needless to say, I only managed 60 minutes before throwing in the towel.
I will post a detailed explanation to my Onboarding topic soon but for now review the following and note that a deficit (or surplus) does not carry forward but represents pts below or above the Noon position on the Training Pacer needle at this point in time subject to change tomorrow. 
Episode I3 - Mastering Xert - Improve - The Adaptive Training Advisor (youtube.com)
Why does my training deficit and surplus change so quickly? – Xert (baronbiosys.com)
Also, day-of-the-week advice applies but that doesn’t mean you need to follow the same pattern this week. You can always ride what you prefer by choosing a more suitable workout for the day or changing Duration based on your schedule before reviewing the list of options.
XATA is never an exact prescription you must swallow but a range of possibilities that fit your goals and Filter settings for the day.
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Thanks @ridgerider2 . Been following the recommendations. Will revert back to following my gut feeling. However one thing I do react to is the mixture of tempo/threshold and VO2max in one and same workout. Not necessarily all in the same workout. Dr Stephen Seiler et al seem to suggest focusing on one zone and not mixing them in any one workout. Comments? 
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We don’t follow a “method” per se with Xert. Polarization only serves to describe how much intensity to prescribe and the level (number of easy days to number of high intensity days) establishes the maximum amount to intensity an athlete should do in order to recover and be ready for the next high intensity day.
There’s no training philosphy that underpins Xert. Xert takes a more purist approach by focusing on how much strain accumulates against 3 systems that are the core aspects of performance - low : TP/CP/FTP/aerobic, high : HIE/W’/anaerobic/glycolytic and peak : PP/neuromuscular/PCR/alactic. These are expressed per workout/ride as well as accumulating as training load over the course of a season in a exponentially-weighted moving average (the Banister impulse-response model). Each system requires recovery. Xert calculates and adds up all this information for you, shows it to you in workouts/rides and optimizes it in the new Forecast AI feature.
Sports scientists are just now beginning to fathom what Xert already does. Unfortunately the current tools at their disposal - CP/W’, TSS/PMC, Zones - are woefully lacking.
Btw, we are sponsoring a number of research projects that will benefit other researchers like Dr. Seiler and others.
Long winded answer that basically says mixing doesn’t really matter so long as you are applying the appropriate amount of strain on each of the 3 systems that helps you improve towards your goals.
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Thanks for your helpful reply @xertedbrain. I have to admit to an immense amount of frustration at present; not specifically Xert, but the way my body has reacted to covid and the vaccinations. Currently nothing seems to be working as it used to. So I’m just feeling my way in the dark to what works for me now. Xert is totally different to how I have trained previously and an enormous learning curve.
Sorry to hear about the health challenges. Training is hard enough to figure out when you’re healthy, let alone when things aren’t 100%.
You can experiment with sliding the Recovery Demands slider to the right to slow down and reduce the amount of intensity prescribed (both by XATA and XFAI). This is particularly useful if you’re not fully 100% but still would like to train and improve if possible. Since Xert’s training prescriptions are always based on what your current training loads are, you if you lose a week or more and see a reduction in fitness, it will automatically re-adjust to account for that and tune the training accordingly. Just make sure you’re not trying to bite off more than you can chew by picking a stretch goal or high improvement rate that will harder to reach and maintain.
Good luck and thanks for your interest in understanding more.
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Thanks Armando. I have in fact already moved the recovery slider too see if that helps.
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I have a lot of sympathy for your situaion as I am in a similar boat. Throw in visiting grandchildren (at opposite ends of the country) every 5/6 weeks and picking up their bugs and the bloody awful weather we’ve had here in the UK this last year it’s been impossible to build any consistancy and I seem to be just taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
One thing I have eventually learnt is that you are where you and trying to catch up quickly to where you think you should be is a recipe for disaster.
I hope things get better for you
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