I joined TR two weeks ago and I have a few problems. One of those is that I run a lot and even when go for a run, TR still keeps suggesting a hard interval workout instead of reducing the load. Next, when I added a running event to the calendar, it still didn’t do anything with a high-load workout scheduled for the same day. I train both cycling and running and I haven’t found any app for duathlons. So I use another app for running but was thinking that TR would be good for cycling workouts as it advertises itself as an adaptive app. But 2 weeks into the program and I am burnt out after both running and following all the cycling program. All my runs are visible in the TR calendar so it knows about them. But it does not seem to adapt. Am I doing something wrong here?
Welcome to the TR community!
It sounds like you’re putting in a lot of work with both cycling and running, so I’ll try to clarify how Adaptive Training (AT) interprets and adjusts for your training load.
Training Load and Recovery Days
I checked your TR Calendar, and I see a few “yellow days” popping up based on what Red Light Green Light is showing. However, I didn’t notice any “red days” on your Calendar, which would signal the need for a complete day off.
On yellow days, AT will suggest reducing volume/intensity. It looks like your yellow days mostly fall on rest days from cycling, and even though you’re running on those days, your runs don’t appear to be high-stress enough to trigger further adaptations. So, TR sees your training load as manageable and keeps your planned workouts unchanged.
Managing Fatigue
Of course, no software can fully replace your own sense of fatigue. If you’re feeling burnt out, especially from combining running and cycling, it can help to choose an easier cycling session using Workout Alternates. I also noticed you’re active nearly every day; taking one day completely off each week could make a big difference in helping you recover and avoid burnout.
Running Events and Scheduling
Because TR is primarily a cycling and triathlon app, your cycling plan takes priority by default. When you add non-cycling events like a running race, your plan will adapt after those activities are completed. If you have a running workout or race that’s especially important, you can ignore or delete the overlapping cycling workout from your Calendar. AT will still adapt future cycling sessions based on your updated training load.
Hope this helps, and feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions!
Thank you for your answers!
I come from the Garmin ecosystem where the adaptiveness of workout programs works a bit differently than in TR and hence I am confused.
When you start a cycling training plan with Garmin and:
- if you schedule a running event - Garmin will adapt and move your cycling sessions to another day as manually added events take priority (and you know what to expect from a given day),
- if you had an impromptu run or your scheduled run was longer or tougher than expected - Garmin will do the same, it will instantly reshuffle your cycling workouts,
- had a bad night and slept only 4 hours - Garmin will instantly reschedule your cycling workouts. No fiddling with your calendar is required at all.
Those 3 cases actually happened to me this week and my Garmin cycling plan that I started in parallel with TR (to compare) was perfectly adapting almost instantly to my life events. It is completely automatic. It does not even show you a preview of changes, it does apply them straight away so you don’t have to do anything.
TR, on the other hand, didn’t adapt at all. As you noticed I was running on my rest day from TR workouts, and TR didn’t respond to reshuffle the cycling workouts while Garmin did. I had a bad sleep last night and Garmin pushed my scheduled cycling workout from Sunday to Monday as it knew I also had a running race scheduled for Saturday morning. I attended the race but actually doubled my distance and instead of 5k, did 10k, will almost maximum effort. Garmin adapted instantly, and TR didn’t even care. No adaptations to the hard interval workout scheduled for the same day. I paid for TR to expect a higher quality program than Garmin (which is for free) and I am disappointed.
Also, the app itself is unstable. A few days ago it told me it had some adaptations for me. I clicked the preview button and it showed me… “0 out of 0” adaptations. Then I clicked the Reject button and the app crashed. Then restarted the app and clicked the Approve button. The app crashed again. That’s a bad user experience.
The app also displayed a message to me a few times after clicking the yellow triangle icon saying “This is a recommended endurance day to reduce intensity”. But where are the details of this endurance day/workout presented? It’s confusing and not intuitive to me, unfortunately. Please see this screenshot for context.
I will cancel my membership and ask for a refund as two weeks of struggling with the mentioned issues is enough to make me try another app or come back to using the Garmin plans.
Sorry to hear things weren’t working as expected – I will forward your feedback along to the rest of the TR team so we can work on improvements!
Your loss. As a former Garmin plan follower, I find TrainerRoad to be superior. Of course I’m not a runner, so maybe that’s why.
How far out is it? Sometimes TR doesn’t adjust training til you’re closer to the event.
I don’t have a clue (particularly since that comment was from over 2 years ago).
- Might be best to email support directly, especially if results are inconsistent in the current version.
Thanks @ZackeryWeimer - I am a hard case as I would describe myself as a hybrid athlete. I run, cycle, swim occasionally and do upper-body strength training. Just to keep the perfect balance between cardio, and strength training and also keep the proper proportions of muscle mass in my lower and upper body. I used to train cycling a LOT when I was a teenager and ended up with super strong and thick legs and… skinny hands and chest. It took me years to change that and be more balanced. TR is probably great for cyclists but I am waiting for an app in the future where you can specify what kind of sports you want to practice, what the percentage split is and that would guide you along the way with adaptive training alternating between sports. So there is an opportunity to grab by some developers. Many hybrid athletes, duathlon and triathlon people would love such an app. Currently, the only way to achieve something like this is to buy a plan from TrainingPeaks or… simply hire a coach.