I use a training plan in the winter and use train now 1-2x per week during the outdoor riding season when the weather or schedule doesn’t cooperate. Two main questions 1) is there a way to pre-schedule a train now ride for a day ahead to see what is upcoming? and 2) is there a way to set some type of riding discipline or goal so train now can better optimize vs a goal?
There have been other requests for TrainNow to include TrainTomorrow, or TrainInTwo days. It would be useful to be able to see what it would recommend for upcoming days. Another thing is that it’s only retrospective and recommends what you could do based on what you have been doing, but not what you should do based on the future. It’s doesn’t know about your plan and so doesn’t know anything about future objectives. It would be the ultimate adaptive/AI training tool if it took into account all previous activities, and recommended workouts or rides (TSS, IF, zone focus) a few days out.
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I’ve used TrainNow quite a bit this year.. and I would just go and build a plan based on your goal with 1 or 2 indoor workouts in there.
The workouts will adapt around you. They appear to now consider outdoor efforts to predict appropriate levels for future workouts.
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I’m with @spinnnout on this one.
Plan Builder is flexible enough that building a plan to follow is so often the best route forward, even if you’re only scheduling a few workouts a week with low adherence.
Your workouts will follow the discipline of your choosing and adapt along the way to ensure that what you’re getting today is the best for your goals.
@kosmo886, there are goal-based plan options now that cover a wide range of disciplines.
If you’re looking for a longer-term plan, you could place a “fake” A race at the end of your season with the discipline of your choosing to ensure that Plan Builder has a solid schedule for you to follow over the coming months.
Let me know if this helps and if you have any other questions about this moving forward. 
@eddiegrinwald I understand how the plans work as I follow them all winter. I don’t use a plan in the spring/summer given most of my rides are outdoors and I don’t have a great spot where I could ride outdoors and follow a structured ride. I like to ensure I keep some structure so strive for 1 indoor ride per week or possibly more if the weather is bad. What’s the best way to utilize plan building or train now in this scenario?
If you want your prescribed workouts to follow a specific discipline and respect a proper training periodization, I’d use Plan Builder to build out a plan, even if you’re only going to follow 1-2 workouts a week.
You can set your schedule to only include two workouts a week, and everything will work just fine if you only get to one of the two each week.
I’m assuming that you’ll want your indoor workouts to be something other than easy riding, and with two hard workouts on your schedule each week, you can take your pick as to which is calling you when you decide to hop on your trainer.
Alternatively, you could simply use TrainNow to generate a suitable workout for you at any given time, but as @spinnnout mentioned, those workouts won’t consider any specific discipline that you’re working towards, or consider training periodization. If you’re able to manage rest weeks on your own, then this shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’d rather have TR plan your rest weeks for you and want to focus on a specific discipline, then Plan Builder is a better option for the time being.
Ok, I guess i’ll try scheduling a plan with 2 hard workouts per week and either using those workouts or modifying with train now as desired. Sounds like this approach gives the most options and flexibility.
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Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions along the way! 