I know commuting has been discussed multiple times in the past, but I feel with the latest AI updates it should be revisited. In short, how can I build the most efficient and effective commuting workout plan with TrainerRoad AI?
To make it more concrete (though I’m interested in the general principle) I’m planning to commute three times per week (Mon, Tue, Thu), about 45 mins each way with little to no interruptions such as traffic lights (therefore it’s possible to do structured workouts on the route). How should I set up the training plan to allow AI to optimally design workouts for me?
Do I have to set “hard” days myself (eg Mon morning, Tue evening and Thu morning), or can I leave it to AI? What else should I ideally specify to get the most out of the new AI capabilities?
For me, the best tools in dealing with a long commute in this version are the fatigue detection and AiFTP prediction.
Much depends on how efficient you want to be, how many extra rides you want to do, how much do you really feel like doing intervals on the commute, etc.
I work on an assumption that all commutes are zone 2 and the turbo is for intervals. I use plan builder to load in a bunch of rides, keeping two key indoor sessions, then delete the rest. I then create two Solo rides (with start times to help matching) and Copy them across each week. This is then all adapted based on fatigue detection and AiFTP prediction.
You could load a plan and retain Outdoor ride types, keeping 1 commute as easy and 1 as the session.
Interested to hear if there’s anything new in this space.
I used to commute like your proposed routine. I tried doing hard days on the commute. I tried doing hard day in between the commute. Then I tried commuting a full week, my rest week, and not riding between hard days.
I think the last option works best for getting faster, but you’ve got to ride really easy. Like the best rides were when my di2 failed and I had to coast a lot of the way
I’m in a bumpy suburban metropolis, your commute may be very different.
You can set your schedule when you build a plan with TR.
If you want your workouts to take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, you can set your schedule up that way and also set limits to how long you want your workouts to be on those days.
In the same line of thinking, there are still several weeks to go before I start commuting to the office. But normally, I hope to go 2 to 3 times a week with an average of 50 minutes each way (TSS averaging 40 to 50 each way). My route is a mix of bike paths, city roads with traffic and lights, and it requires me to cross a bridge and several overpasses for a total elevation gain of 103 meters (338 ft) Since the days I go to the office are not always the same, how should I build my plan? For now, I intend to have a plan with 4 workouts per week (3 hard) and let the AI adjust as I go. Do you have a better approach to suggest?
Yes, the plan is to commute three days per week (let’s say Mon, Tue, Thu) and, whenever possible, one indoor TR session on Sat. This would mean a total of 7 rides per week (2x on each of the three commuting days, plus the indoor ride on Sat). How should I set this up in the custom adaptive training plan builder to get the best output? Shall I set 4 workouts per week to start (on Mon, Tue, Thu, and Sat) and then add three solo rides on the commuting days for thew way back home? Or better start by setting 6 TR workouts and drag/drop them onto the commuting days? If so, should I stick to making three of them “hard” and the rest easy? Or perhaps build in some Norwegian style double threshold days where I ride hard on both the outbound and inbound commute one day?
Perhaps a better way to phrase my question: given the many different ways I could set up this schedule in the plan builder, which way is best to leverage the new AI capabilities? I feel like I don’t want to constrain the algorithm by narrowing down the types of rides too much and let AI decide what leads to the biggest improvement on the bike.
Thanks a lot for your help and also thanks to the others for their great suggestions!
You don’t need to (and shouldn’t) have TR rides scheduled every time you hop on the bike.
If you’re able to fit in one structured workout on each of the days that you commute, that’s great! Schedule workouts on those days, then, but it’s okay to simply ride home afterward without anything planned on your schedule.
I’d probably use your Saturday ride as a quality hard ride, which would leave Tuesdays open as an easier day. Then you have Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to recover before hard workouts on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I’d skip the double threshold for now.
In terms of building this schedule, we’ll still fill each day in with the right workout that respects your schedule, so you don’t have to worry about leveraging the AI. We’ll always use all of our tools to get you the best workouts based on your training and availability.
In your case, I’d just build out the schedule that you think fits most of your weeks, and if you need to drag and drop a workout from one day to the next based on your commuting schedule from time to time, that’s totally okay.
Your schedule isn’t set in stone and making small adjustments to ensure that you can knock out all your workouts with consistency and quality is what matters the most.
