So my first week using Trainerroad is in the books and onto week 2.
The planning flexibility, calendar, support/podcasts is awesome. Exactly what I need to keep me focused and on track for the next 6 months to complete my first full IM. ERG mode on the kickr with Trainerroad is flawless and I’ve had no technical issues.
Rants:
The desktop app is slow. Opening it, loading a workout, trying to click anything in the app is just slow and lags.
I don’t understand the brick workouts from the calendar. The event shows a 20 min run despite the description being “Cumberland + 20 min run” - ok fine…but the detailed description says a 45 min bike before a 20 min run. So I look at the workout plans and there is no Cumberland 45 min bike workout. So I loaded the 1 hr 15 min Cumberland workout instead. Really confused. What am I missing?
I just finished Berryessa. My favorite workout thus far. 8x20’s at 200% with lots of recovery. My issue is that during these 200% efforts, my power is at ~400w and then the workout immediately drops to 60’ish watts for recovery - WTF? I know I may not be the smoothest pedaler, but making that drastic jump is just stupid. My legs feel like they’re going to rip the crank off and the app pauses the workout because it doesn’t sense any power to the pedals. Not sure if anyone has recommendations on how to keep things fluid. I would much rather the power never drop below 100w because anything below that threshold and it’s not enough resistance to do anything.
Week 1 was pretty tough despite prior conditioning leading up to this week. Asking someone to do 4 days in a row of cycling, which includes a 2.5hr ride, ramp test, and throw in a brick workout and a 80 min run and a 1x1500 swim portion is a pretty freakin tough schedule. I earned a “sore saddle” and blisters after those durations. Going from 1-1.5 hrs indoors to 2.5 teaches you new things
But in general, super happy and having fun with training. And please take my rants as constructive criticism. If anyone has any suggestions on how to better improve my experience, let me know.
It is syncing up training plans, calendar, completed workouts, etc., w/the mothership. To be fair, it’s not that slow. Start TR and then put your shoes on. By the time, you have your shoes on and adjusted, TR should be ready to go
This is probably a typo in the weekly tips. It should probably say “60min bike before a 20min run”. Why 60min? Well, 60min is the meat of the workout when you exclude warm-up and cool down.
Well, you should be seated. And you should notice the interval is about to end. So, it shouldn’t be that hard for you to be prepared for the sudden drop in resistance.
You will get used to the loading and rhythm of the plan. I did the high volume full last year, but did my own run and swim planning. Stick w/the plan. Believe in it. Make sure you’re getting adequate rest and nutrition. The gains will come!
Four days in a row seems odd, which plan are you on?
The standard Full Distance Base plans, Mid and High Volume, have cycling Tu,Th,Fr,Sa. Low volume only has three. When you add a plan the calendar feature allows you to distribute the sessions as you like
The best approach is to start with Low volume, then see if you really need the Mid. High volume - full distance especially - is something I wouldn’t ever recommend, you’re too hardcore for me if you can handle that one!
Pop into our IM thread when you get a chance and see how everyone else is doing - I’m suffering in the Speciality phase of Full Distance Mid Volume at the moment
Assuming you’re in erg mode, try it in a lower gear. Small ring and 4th biggest sprocket to keep the chain straight. If you’re in a high gear there’s a high degree of inertia, especially with a heavy flywheel, that means it’s hard to pedal at a low power after spinning it up.
Alternatively, turn off erg mode and just follow the instructions to do the sprints “all out”, whether that’s more or less than 200% of FTP.
I’m glad to hear that your initial experience with TrainerRoad has been a positive one!
Let’s see if we can sort our some of your issues.
May I ask what your computer setup is like?
They are fairly easy to meet, but our minimum system requirements are:
2.33GHz or faster x86-compatible processor, or Intel Atom™ 1.6GHz or faster processor for netbook class devices.
Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10. (Be aware: if you are on a Beta version of the Windows operating system, the TrainerRoad app may not function properly)
512MB of RAM (1GB recommended).
As @KickrLin mentioned, the first few times you use the app it is syncing all of your workouts, but beyond that, it should not lag significantly when opening workouts. If you have a lot of windows open, it may improve the app’s performance if you close out of unnecessary applications to help free up processing power.
I can look into this for you if you let me know what training plan you are talking about. It sounds like you are doing the full distance plans, but are you in the Base Phase? What volume?
To help prevent the app from pausing when the recovery valleys begin, I would recommend using an easier gear as @martinheadon mentioned. This will lower the inertia of the freewheel and help it to coast to meet the lower resistance demand more quickly. Try to use the small chainring and an intermediate ring in the back.
If this still doesn’t resolve your issue, you can disable “Pedal to Play/Pause” in your app settings. This will require you to manually start and stop your workout, but it will eliminate accidental pauses .
What volume are you using? We offer three different levels of volume to cater to athletes of all different fitness levels. If you feel that your current plan is a bit of a reach, we recommend starting with a lower volume and bumping up later when you feel that you can handle it
Let me know if you have any more questions, and welcome to TrainerRoad!!
Mac 2.2Ghz, OS X Yosemite - not the newest/fastest, but tons of storage available and nothing ever running in the background (minimal tabs/browser). even post ride, when i click “analyze ride” it just lags and i don’t know if it’s working or not so i let it do it’s thing for 10-15 seconds.
I’m doing the Full Distance Triathlon Base (Mid Volume 12 weeks). On Friday I have a “Tallac” bike workout (cool) and a brick workout as well. this time it says Cumberland + 20 min run and the description says 60 minutes (not 45 min), which makes more sense if i don’t consider the warm up/cool down. so maybe it was just in week 1.
I’m on a 1x at the moment (52t) and an intermediate ring in the back, but i will definitely disable the pedal to play/pause - great feature to be able to turn on/off.
You’re absolutely right, that is a mistake. I’ve let Support know and we will get that text corrected
As for the computer speed, you definitely meet the requirements. If you have all of your non-essential background apps closed down and the lag is still 10-15 seconds, you may want to reach out to our Support Team at support@trainerroad.com so that they can take a closer look.
Sorry to revive this old topic but I have a related question about the brick workouts.
I started a triathlon plan and I have a brick workout scheduled for next week.
Description: In line with the steady-state nature of a sprint triathlon’s bike leg, you’ll work steadily for 45 minutes on the bike before dismounting, transitioning quickly into your running gear and hoofing it at an Easy-Moderate pace, RPE6 for only 10 minutes of heavy-leg running experience. Try not to let that initial lack of coordination discourage you - it will pass before you know it.
My question is why isn’t the Pioneer bike workout scheduled on the calendar? And I can’t find a 45min version of Pioneer. Which one should I choose?
