Question: do the custom training plans adapt to time off in calendar?
I haven’t found this to be the case, but I’m just checking in case I’ve missed something. My use case is that I’ve booked holiday/business trips in my calendar, and then when I put in my training plan, I’d really like it to adapt to the time off.
Currently it seems just to ignore it, i.e., just not put in training sessions. My preference would be to adapt around it to use time off as recovery weeks (or is that not a good idea)? E.g., I have time off in 6 weeks time, and rather than it to be in the middle of a 4 week block, I’d love the plan to adjust and put 2x 3 week blocks in instead.
Hey @iantravs,
When you add a “time off” note to your calendar you should be asked if you want Adaptive Training to adapt your plan to this scheduling adjustment.
It looks like you have travel plans for mid/late November that AT has worked around. Is this what you’re talking about?
We don’t assume that time away from TrainerRoad is always spent recovering, so we won’t automatically move rest weeks to where your time off lies. I know that I typically come back from vacation as tired if not more tired than when I left. 
You can manually manipulate the weeks in your calendar (check the link below), but it sounds like you want a more customizable approach to your time off, is that right?
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Thanks so much for the reply.
Yes, a more customizable approach would be amazing. I wasn’t sure how AT considers time off, but from your comments, I’m guessing it doesn’t consider it recovery!
My example is that AT has given me a training plan in 4 weeks blocks, but I have time off in 6 weeks, so my (uneducated!) thinking was it might be better to do 3-week blocks and aim for that 6th week as recovery. I’ll probably get a chance to do a couple of runs in that week, but no cycling. Or perhaps I’m thinking of recovery wrongly?
I’ve got quite a bit of time away next year due to work trips, so wanting to make the most of the time at home when I can cycle.
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That’s good feedback! I’ll pass those thoughts along to the rest of the team. 
Your example makes sense, but our blocks are typically four weeks (three weeks “on,” one week “off” or recovery), and this can actually vary quite a bit since each plan is custom to the user’s schedule.
When I think of recovery, it typically means keeping intensity low for the entire week. I’m thinking rides should have an IF of less than .75.
Runs are a great way to fill in time away from the bike, but just make sure that you’re treating running differently than cycling. Most of us cyclists have big engines, but small wheels when it comes to running. You’re usually taxing your musculoskeletal system much more while running which is exactly what you’re supposed to avoid stressing during rest weeks, so keep those runs very easy if you can.
If you’re a seasoned runner, you probably know all of this though!
Another option, if you’re not able to closely follow a training plan due to a busy schedule, is to use TrainNow as a way to fill in your time with whatever workout is best at any given moment. It’s a really handy tool! Check it out below if you’re not familiar.
Let me know if this helps and if you have other questions! 
Thanks again for the reply @eddiegrinwald.
Yeah, I took up running a bit more because of the amount of time I’ve been away. Cycling is key to both my physical health and mental well-being, so I want to carry on something while I have trips away. I can get out for a run in places where cycling is impossible.
Thinking about this problem though, I wondered about the RAG system that AT has for advising easy/rest days. One possible solution might look like the user highlighting days/weeks as Amber indicating that they have reduced capacity for training, and then Red to show that they can’t train at all. If AT planning could see that and then adapt the plan to make the most of the Green time, that would be amazing.
This is the one thing that makes it difficult for me to use the training plans at the moment. I want to make the use of time I have to train, but the plans will stick in a recovery week when I don’t really need it.
Yeah, I’ve grown to really love running myself. It’s so simple and I can fit it in almost anywhere, anytime.
If I understand things correctly, you’re looking for RLGL to recognize when you haven’t had much training stress (or high IF days) and assume that you’re well-rested because of that, then adapt your upcoming workouts to productive workouts.
Essentially you want your personal schedule to dictate where your rest weeks are, and not be tied to the prescribed structure of your plan. Is that right?
This could be really cool, but my only fear is that we do recommend that you follow a rest week at least every fourth week, so I wonder how that would work if you have three weeks “on” with productive workouts, then you follow a prescribed rest week, but find out you’re going to be taking time off the week after that… You’d essentially have a big chunk of time off there, and we wouldn’t really want to get in the habit of pushing that rest week out.
I feel like that could work really well on the other end of time off/rest weeks though – if it recognized you had taken enough unplanned time off and said, “Oh, okay. You’re well rested. I’ll adapt away your next recovery week and plan one three weeks from now.” 
that would be pretty cool.
Let me know if I’m understanding right and I’ll tack this on to the feedback I shared with the team earlier.
Thanks again!
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Ah, I’m not sure if I was very good with my description!
Hypothetical scenario: (on = training, off = recovery)
a) I add in time off (RED, no training) in 6 weeks time. AT looks at my training plan and decides whether to do a 6 week block (5 on, 1 off) to coincide with the week off, or 2x 3 week blocks (2 on, 1off), or maybe 3 weeks on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off. AT figures out what would be best fit with my schedule and current stage of training.
b) I add in time off (RED, no training) in 7 weeks time. AT decides to do a 4 week block (3 on, 1 off) and then a 3 week block (2 on, 1 off), or the other way round, depending on stage of plan.
These example scenarios I’ve done them in weeks, although there’s no reason that if you’re doing a shorter block than 4 weeks, that off/recovery has to be a whole week. If you’ve only trained 2 weeks, then could get away with 5 days recovery rather than a whole week. I remember Chad used to talk about this and doing schedules other than 7 day weeks ‘back in the day’. 
Does that make sense?
I’m envisioning that this could potentially work not just for RED (I can’t train at all), but also AMBER (decreased training) for when you know you’ve got a busy deadline at work, or the family are coming to stay etc.
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This all makes sense now. I like it.
I’ll pass this along!
Let me know if I can help get things set up in a way that works for you with what we currently have available. Don’t forget about TrainNow which is a good tool for unpredictable/busy/complex schedules!
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I have been hoping for this sort of thing for many years. I have been dissappointed that AT doesn’t adapt well to time off. I travel A LOT for work and it regularly messes with my training plan. I wish that there was an option for saying if time off is recovery or not. I usually travel for 4-8 days. I attempt to run when possible but I also try to cram in extra training right before leaving. The worse is when I return from a week of minimal training and TR wants to give me a recovery week. When this happens it is clear that AT is not very intelligent.
So if I could add a business trip to my calendar and indicate that it is recovery, then AT could properly adapt my plan. Most of the time I would expect to start a fresh training block. That seems like a simple thing to do. But currently I have to manually move all sorts of things around and do it myself, which is something I would think AT should be able to do.
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