I think that run power options for multisport athletes would make TrainerRoad even better than it already is for multisport athletes!

Hey Bryce!

I'm preparing for Oceanside 70.3 on 4/4 and Victoria 70.3 5/31.

I'm on the 3rd week of Sweet Spot Base - High Volume I

My plan is the following:

Weeks 1-6: Sweet Spot Base - High Volume I

Weeks 7-12: Sweet Spot Base - High Volume II

Weeks 13-20: Sustained Power Build - High Volume (Oceanside Week 20)

Weeks 21-28: Specialty - Half Distance Tri - High Volume (Victoria Week 28)

Questions:

Does this look like an effective training plan?

Is there anything you would change?

Since the volume during the specialty phase is lower ~7hrs opposed to the ~10hrs during the Base and Build should I add an additional workout? If so any recommendations?

I've been increasing intensity by 1% each week. For example Week 1 is 100%, week 2 is 101%... I plan on doing this until a do a ramp test and then restarting, is that alright to do?


Thanks! I love trainer road and have a few friends that are now using it with me!

Sweet Spot Base I would be a good choice! It happens to be 6 weeks long, and it allows you some additional, cycling focused base before jumping into your multisport preparation :)

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Hey there! Thanks for reaching out :) I'll try to answer each of your questions one-by-one.


Q: Does this look like an effective training plan? Is there anything you would change?
A: Since you are preparing for a triathlon, you would likely be better off following the TrainerRoad triathlon plans all the way through. The cycling plans are built for those that are only cycling, and the TSS reflects that. If you plan to run and swim on top of a high volume TrainerRoad cycling plan, that is a recipe for burnout and overtraining.


I'd suggest following the Half Distance Base, Build, and Specialty leading up to your first event, then repeat the Specialty Phase between your first and second events. If you have additional time before starting the triathlon progression, you can add some Sweet Spot Base to fill that time.


Q: Since the volume during the specialty phase is lower ~7hrs opposed to the ~10hrs during the Base and Build, should I add an additional workout? If so any recommendations?
A: The TSS is likely too high in the HV Sweet Spot Base and HV Sustained Power Build phases. The TSS is more appropriate in the Specialty phase because it accounts for your other two disciplines and considers them when building your plan.


Q: I've been increasing intensity by 1% each week. For example Week 1 is 100%, week 2 is 101%... I plan on doing this until a do a ramp test and then restarting, is that alright to do?
A. If this feels sustainable, and you're not becoming fatigued, this is a fine approach. Listen to your body, and if you start to fail workouts, lower the intensity back to 100% until you feel ready to handle more.


Let me know if you have any further questions!

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Sounds Good !! Thanks!

Hey Bryce,

Just tried out the new Plan Builder-neat!

I've been doing SSBMV1 as prescribed. I just punched in my details for fun, and it came with:
Full distance base Mid for 12 weeks starting now, 8 weeks of full build, 8 weeks of full base, 3 weeks of Full build, 8 weeks of full distance specialty, and a recovery week.


Thoughts?

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

Hey Justin,

I'm glad you got the chance to check out the Plan Builder!

The Plan Builder represents an evolution of our recommended training structure, so while it does differ from my original recommendation, it is what Chad's latest recommendation would be. All of the logic is based on how Chad would approach each season of training, and he has reviewed each of the possible permuatations to make sure that it represents his official recommendation.

That being said, the Plan Builder is still in Beta, and we may make some changes as Product Managers review individual cases and make adjustments :)

Thanks for checking out the early access!

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Very cool. Well thanks! I will switch over shortly then. SSB has treated me well. 👍

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

Hi Bryce, I completed SSB1-Low Volume in 4 weeks, taking a 1hr workout from the next week and adding into current week so 4 rides per week. FTP went from 234 to 248. Still ran 10-15mpw concurrently. Didn’t take the recovery week as I felt ok.
Couple workouts now left in SSB2-Low Volume, will do the 3 recovery rides at the end and will have been completed in 5 total weeks, again, sometimes moving a workout from the next week into current week. Again, still running now avg 15-20mpw. Last 6 weeks, avg TSS is 277.
Plan is complete Full Distance Low Volume for mid august race so Base-Build-Specialty starting in February. Question is what to do between now and Full Base in February? Sustained power build? I could probably pull off Mid Volume plans, but rather play it safe with Low Volume to avoid burnout and just mentally being able to complete the plan as prescribed.

Hey there!

I would recommend giving our new Plan Builder a spin to set up your training leading up to your event. We've spent a lot of time with Chad to make this the best resource for setting up your training, and it will apply all the plans to your Calendar automatically.

It's still technically in Beta, but you can get early access here: https://forum.trainerroad.com/...an-builder/25201/449

Cheers!

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Yea I did give that a shot on Saturday night. Only thing is I don’t have pool access until mid January so I don’t want to start a “tri” plan until then. Just wondering what would bridge the gap until then, unless I start the full base and skip swims. Was looking for more cycling emphasis currently since I am not swimming and just keeping a run base/maintenance. Thanks Bryce.

In that case, go ahead and run through as many weeks of short power build as you can.

Coming in hot on the heels of SSB you should be more than ready for this phase, and taking the time to focus soley on your cycling allows you to make much more significant gains than when your efforts are split three ways.

If I were you, rather than compressing a Low Volume plan into fewer weeks, you could take a Mid-Volume plan and drop the Wednsday endurance workout. This would give you a more consistent training schedule, and would be a better use of your four rides/wk schedule. The fact that you didn't need the recovery week means that you could use a bit more training stimulus :)

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Sounds good. That's what I'll be doing then. Thanks for the quick answers, love Trainerroad.

Hello, I have two questions!
First, it seems that in program builder you cannot list a marathon as event but only cycling race or triathlon, is this correct?
Also, is it possible to upload file of running workout in trainer road so we can see all efforts/tss?
Thanks

Hey there!

At the moment, we have not yet spent development effort optimizing TrainerRoad to work for runners. We want to focus on perfecting one sport (cyling) before we really start to branch out and optimize for running, swimming, and multisport athletes.

This means that we do not have any plans for running-only events, and as a result you cannot add a running race to the Plan Builder since the Plan Builder wouldn't know what to do with it. You can add a manual "Marathon" titled running activity, but you cannot designate it as a race.

As for pulling in outdoor runs, this is something that we plan to do in the future, but have not scheduled for development quite yet. That being said, we have begun to backfill runs from Strava into our servers so that when resources free up to work on this project, we will have the data files we need to make it happen :)

Let me know if you have any questions!

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

Thanks a lot for your feed back!
I wanted to thanks TR since I absolutely love the training programs!
I beat my 15 years old Ironman PR twice last two years, thanks to structured workouts!
My recovery rides were never as easy as the one on TR and the intervals were not as hard as the one on TR!
The intensity of workout proposed based on my FTP and spot on and I struggle sometimes to finish the workout but I always complete it and feel happy with the accomplishment!
I am a way faster cyclist at 62 than I was at 45!
Unfortunately I am s slower runner ;)

Hey Russ, it seems that I uploaded two plans on my calendar since I see two same workouts everyday now in my calendar!
How do I remove the second one?
Thanks

There should be a small annotation on the first day of the training plan. Since you have two plans, there should be two annotations.

Click one of the annotations, and then click the "Delete" icon to delete the duplicate plan :)

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Get Faster with TrainerRoad

So I just started the final week of SSBase Mid-Volume and it seems to be a recovery week. If my next step is the Sustained Power Build Mid-Vol, do people usually take an extra recovery week or is what is prescribed in the plan enough of a break to get a good ramp test and start for the Build phase?

I usually take an extra week for rest, mentally and physically. I’m mid 40s I find that I need extra rest a little more often.

Hello, Bryce.
I was thinking about using the TrainerRoad app and a Tri plan for this upcoming season and I have two questions.
If I have a Kickr Snap and use my iPad currently to train, will I need anything additionally after I download the app, or will I need an ANT device?
My "A" race is 21 weeks away, what would be the best way to split the phases?

Thanks!
Mark

Bryce will be better on the equipment side. But Plan Builder will create you a plan for the 21 weeks until your race. Put in the A race first, and any B or C races you have. Then use Plan Builder to create the training plan. (Putting the races in first will have them remain in the calendar if you want to try creating another plan with different variables.)

Great! Thanks!

Mark

..whoops cut my reply thought off short...
What I was referring to was the suggested number of weeks in the Base, Build, and Specialty phases.

I haven't signed up or tried the builder yet, so if using the builder answers the question sorry for the confusion.

Mark

Plan builder will do the adjustments to the length of Base, Build, and Specialty for you. My A race is in mid-may and I before plan builder I was just going to do the race at the end of the Build phase. Plan Builder created a situation where I can get through all 3 phases -- just shortened ones of each.

PM me your information and I can send you a code for 30 days if you want one.