General advice - Setting the “parameters”

General
1

Hi all,

I’ve downloaded and joined the team, and I’ve been playing around. Bit of background - not done a 70.3 Tri since 2019 (doing a 70.3 in September). Swimming and cycling I’ve not done for probably 6 months (first cycle day before yesterday). Running I was doing hard trail runs of up to about 18mikes, up till Christmas (work has been terrible since, so just the odd run here and there this year).

Initially, the app was throwing a wobbly - (paraphrasing) “you’re too unfit, lower the volume”. So I fiddled and forced setting the weekly hours till it said “low volume” (ended up being 3 min, 8 max).

The plan looks good, for where I am now, but I know in 4-6 weeks, I’ll want more than it’s asking for (in 4-6 weeks that is looking forward) to start pushing times down and effort up (longest run is 1 hour, christmas I was comfortable for up to 3-5 hours for example). Should I just let it adapt, or should I force up the hours? And am I forcing my hours too low already and giving myself a problem? (I.e. should I at-least push to 1hr 30, or more, on weekdays somehow?). I did my 2019 one with a shockingly poor amount of training, but was going to try get a decent time this time :rofl:!

I’ve had to be reasonably strict on a couple activities and days/times due to commitments (family/work), as follows. But some flex may be possible later down the line as we get closer. (Note: removed all rowing)

  • Monday: up to 2 hrs. Must include a swim.
  • Tuesday: up to 1 hr, no swim.
  • Wednesday: up to 1 hr, no swim.
  • Thursday: up to 1 hr, no swim.
  • Friday: up to 2 hrs. Must include a swim.
  • Saturday: Any amount of time and activity
  • Sunday: Any amount of time and activity

Final question, does it account for “hiking” and similar? I’m intending on a decent trek and overnight camp “fast packing” this weekend, probably 30-40 miles. Will it even consider this?

Thanks, love the app so far, bit of head scratching and fiddling to get it to do what I want (originally it was giving me 5 activities on one day straight away!). I Was with MOTTIV, fiddled with TP, and very nearly got TriDot with the Ironman entry, but prefer this overall from look, feel, and data - and I wanted something “smart” to adapt as I’m re-starting from a low base, but should hopefully get decently back where I have been previously with some muscle memory/commitment.

Phil

2 Likes
2

Phil, welcome! I also went with a bunch of training options over the years, self-coached (modified a template) to my first 70.3 in 2022 and then tried TP and 80/20, then did the TriDot “research” and frankly didn’t love it, and then found Athletica last year and that’s IT!

So, having had similar questions / process, here are a few thoughts:

  • When you start, the AI ingests your recent training and identifies the load you’ve been carrying, and is giving you the fitness / undertrained warnings based on that. But IF you can comfortably handle and fit in more than 3-8 hours, feel free to disregard the warning and put in the hours you can handle safely, based on your experience. (Don’t go nuts, and think “I used to do 15 hours a week” and put 15, when you’ve only done 9-11 recently…) Personally, I think the next option is likely better though…

  • which is to go with the 3-8 hours to get a few consistent weeks in, and in 4-6 weeks just go in and update the settings to increase hours. It’ll regenerate the plan, BUT it will now have your more accurate recent fitness due to consistently working with you during that time.

  • Yes, it will account for the hikes. They will show up as “Unplanned activity” but the total load will be measured, and you might see your plan for the next week reduced to ensure a safe ramp rate. For me the ramp rate is too conservative so I often push it, but they recently added a ramp rate setting! I’m super excited and plan to use it soon! (Don’t want to mess with my plan yet as I’m tapering for a race starting next week)

Hope that’s helpful, and good luck! Keep us posted, and if you have a trainer or stationary bike, consider joining the live HIIT sessions on Thursday mornings (USA central AM, afternoons/evening Europe)). The HIIT sessions usually show up in my plan on Wednesdays so I just drag and drop to swap whatever is on Thursday to Wednesday and put my HIIT session there.

3 Likes
3

Hi Kimberg,

Thanks for taking the tike to respond, that’s really helped out and confirmed I’m probably doing the right thing (option 2). My running fitness is decent, but my swimming and cycling has dropped a lot, so I’ll go for 4-6 weeks of base building, and start slowly peeling that number up based on feel from there!

Great to hear you’re tried a few and settle here. Been here for a few days and already a big fan of the platform. So looking forward to what it brings!

Trainer I don’t have (yet). This month is all about getting the bike fit better (finally committing to a professional bike fit) + power pedals. But I’ll bare that in mind and maybe join in a month or two, have the details here now :grimacing::+1:

Phil

1 Like
4

Don’t worry about not having a trainer. I do all my bike work outdoors and it hasn’t held me back. Just make sure to have HR, Power or both when doing workout sessions. Choose suitable roads for each session and you soon settle in..

My average weekly duration is quite high now, but it’s taken a while to progressively get here without injury or sickness.

image
image1620×359 22.5 KB

I can recommend the mobile app for seeing your scheduled plan. Only going into the web version when I want to change something or see my charts.

3 Likes
5

That’s great thanks Phil! States are looking good there, keep at it!

1 Like
6

Many great tips here already. Sounds like a great plan to shoot for a “starter” 4-6 weeks to get to the swing of things. Once you get the hand of consistent training, you may want to give a bit more leash and up the hours if possible. Happy to have a look at your plan if needed. Remember, looking forward now, the plan may seem very easy, but that’s the magic of adaptive training plans.. it learns what you’re capable of, and the weeks will change.

Any questions, let us know,
MJ

2 Likes