Hello. I’m a full time firefighter and have a bit of a different schedule than most other athletes. I’m on a “24 on / 48 off” schedule so it’s easier for me to try to schedule around a 3 day “cycle”. So think multiples of 3 (3,6, or 9 days at a time ) I don’t ride on the days that I’m on shift so I’ve decided to go with a 9 day “week” where I’m able to ride 6 days and rest 3 days. I usually do strength training at the firehouse and this also seems to be a good way to allow for recovery since I’m turning 50 in a couple months. I’m wondering what the best way to go about doing a 9 day “week” in trainer road. Currently, I’ve created a training plan base on a gran fondo in June and I just drag and drop the workouts on the calendar to fit my schedule. Is there a better way to do this? Will this affect the AI in a counter productive manner? Thanks any help would be appreciated.
Why not just repeat 3 on 1 off?
Hard
Easy
Medium
Off
Repeat
Or
Hard
Medium
Easy
Off
Repeat
The 3 day block is quite popular with several teams (see uno-x mobility) so implementing it for yourself seems reasonable.
Generally they go hard workout, medium workout, long easy z2.
You might have to play around with it a bit but if you structure it to do your hardest sessions on the day you are most recovered and then fit everything else around that you should be in a good place.
Hey there and welcome to the TR community!
The 3-day block as suggested above is a great idea – I also think dragging and dropping your workouts as needed to adjust your schedule works here.
It won’t have any negative effects on Adaptive Training, either. 
I’ll stick with my current training plan and just keep drag and dropping on the calendar. I wish there was a way to adjust the calendar to a different week cycle as opposed to the 7 day norm. Hopefully, this is a feature that could be implemented in the future. Doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult (from a programming standpoint) and considering that there are other that are doing it (from pro athletes to masters athletes to shift workers) … this would be a great benefit for that population. would also make an already great program even better and set it apart from others. Thanks for the help!
Fellow firefighter here. I’ve spent quite a bit of time trying to think of the best way to handle this scenario. The best I’ve come up with for me is a 2 on/ 1 “off” cycle.
The day before shift is when I do my intervals and it’s also my longer rides. Not ideal I know, but it’s the only day I can guarantee I come into it rested.
It might look something like a 1hr TR outside workout then 2 hrs of singletrack.
On my shift day, I do 1 hr Z2 and strength training.
On the day after shift, I leave it open and base it on how much sleep we get. If we sleep through the night, I might hit 2-4 hrs Z2. If we run all night, I’ll make it a rest day. If we run once or twice after midnight, I might do 1 hr Z2. I base it off how I feel that morning.