Hi i could not find similar topic so i would like to ask you some questions. I would like prepare for cross country races with distance between 25-90 km and elevation gain 1700-4000m. This races are quite strong interwals. My problem is my work, i am working 6/6 weeks shifts. At home i have smatr bike trainer but at work is available simple spin bike without power meter.
So my question is how i should plan my trainings for this races with Trainerroad ?
Planning problems - I wouldn’t deliberately plan problems, they tend to come all by themselves… 
With regards to your question - can you install power meter pedals on the work spin bike? Some people do that when travelling and using hotel gyns and so on. Then you could train with power both at work and at home. You wouldn’t have erg mode, but you could still follow the workout, same as using a dumb trainer.
If you can’t use power pedals, you could still do your spin bike sessions using TR’s “outdoor workouts”. This will give you interval targets that you can follow on a bike computer or a watch. Use the time you have at home with a smart trainer to develop your RPE - really learn how different power zones feel, so when you don’t have power, you can still hit the right zone. It will probably also help if you measure your heart rate for feedback of how hard you’re working.
2 Likes
One thing to consider is slightly re-arranging the sessions each week to suit your schedule.
Heart rate is a lagging indicator, and it is easier do sweet spot sessions by heart rate. With shorter over-threshold it is better to do these with power.
So if you look through the week’s scheduled sessions in the calendar, you can then re-arrange them (click and drag to a different day) so that you do the over-threshold intervals sessions at home on the smart trainer, and the sweet spot sessions with heart rate on the work trainer.
1 Like