TrainerRoad - STW approved sessions

Daft question maybe, but is there a simple way to get Trainer Road to sit on top of Windows Media Player when the latter is set to Full-screen? Obviously I set TR to sit on top and have it displayed horizontally, but if I maximise Media Player, I lose TR and when I toggle back to see TR, I lose Media Player in Full-screen.

Started TR in Dec with Sweet Spot Base Low Vol 1, but a cold kept me back a little. Now back on it and enjoying it. I am consistently ahead of my target power for now, so maybe I have carried over a little more base from spinning and night riding than I thought. I am also learning how to spin properly and be in the correct gear to maintain a decent RPM. I seem to happily spin at 80-90 RPm but have to be in a really low gear to spin 100 RPM.

Can't help with the Media Player question as I'm on a Mac. You don't say what your set-up is but could you get a second monitor and have MP on one and TR on the other?

The Obelisk workout I linked to earlier has on-screen hints on how to spin and avoid bouncing, it does require a bit of concentration at first to understand what forces are being applied and when. I found that it didn't take long to go from starting to bounce at 95rpm to not starting bouncing at nearly 120rpm, by "not long" I mean within the one session. The trick will be to repeat it over multiple sessions so that the muscle memory kicks in and I don't have to consciously think about it.

Regarding the on screen prompts. My first session on sweet spot base low 1 there were loads of prompts, having done session 2 and 3 I haven't seen any since. Are they just on random sessions or does every session have some, if so then I've somehow turned them off

I was thinking much the same about prompts - definitely makes sense to read through the session in advance so you k ow what you're meant to be doing (for example - big gear from a complete stop)

2 screen TR setup definitely has a place in my future!

You can filter the workouts to just those with instructions: on the "Workout Library" page scroll down, it's the next to last block of filter options.

How do you read through the session in advance? There's the general description but I haven't (yet) found a way to show the actual instructions without actually doing the workout.

I just mean that general description. The ones I've read so far all give a good idea what you should be doing during the different intervals

Be useful to know for me as well.

I've the app on my iPad and it just sits on the bed to the side of the bike, so if I'm not looking at it then I can miss prompts or hints as to what to do. On the TR forums there's a request for some form of beep/alarm so you know when a prompt is about to appear which would be useful. So long as I could hear it over the music 8)

Thanks Dunmail, I shall check out Obelisk and Birch. I can spin for short periods but just need to train myself out of mashing a bigger or harder gear, so i can survive longer rides on the road.

I could run TR on my phone, but I like the horizontal bar. It would be nice to lock it in place so you can have Media Player, Iplayer etc running in their full screen.

I know what you mean. I've hardly been out on the road this year - a mixture of ice and high winds hasn't been ideal. I do tend to mix it up on the roads, I'll head out and deliberately keep in a low gear and spin or conversely keep in the big ring for an entire ride to encourage power. It does help in the latter case if you know how long a hill goes on for and what it's rough profile is 8)

You'll have a "natural" cadence, though it actually seems to be the cadence you've accustomed yourself to rather than one that's hard wired in to your body. Find a section of road that you know and that you normally pedal in a big gear but drop down one gear and try and keep the same speed going. Practice is the only way you'll change things.

I could run TR on my phone, but I like the horizontal bar. It would be nice to lock it in place so you can have Media Player, Iplayer etc running in their full screen.

I can get Netflix running full screen no problem at all, will be to try other players and see if they cause more of an issue

LTHR help please.
Just done a 30 min LTHR test (within TR 20 min test):
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/1495780-20-Minute-Test
TR suggests new LTHR should be 166
but according to:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/joe-friel-s-quick-guide-to-setting-zones
It should be 175 for me. I presume thats the better one to take as this was a specific LTHR 30 min test i did?
Cheers
jon

Just started tr this week and its going ok. Low volume sweet spot after 8 min test earlier this week. Quick question. My session is pausing and restarting again immediatley. Am i getting drop out in the signal to the ant usb dongle.Run my garmin alongside and that is fine. Laptop is about 2" from top of front wheel so not miles from sensors. Thanks

It should be 175 for me. I presume thats the better one to take as this was a specific LTHR 30 min test i did?

Looking at that trace I'd say yours was somewhere around 173. It ramps up for the first 10 mins or so then flattens out a bit at around 173 to 175, then starts to ramp up again.

Well, my data finally found its way to Training Peaks. Turns out I average about 700 TSS a week / 7 hours.

Without commuting, is this good or bad?

Is there an easy way to get data from Strava to Training Peaks? Or does Strava premium give much the same info as a free Training Peaks account?

Quite a lot of intensity there Kryton if you are averaging 100TSS an hour. I do about 600 over about 9 hours at the moment.

Edit: does that include HR based TSS figures? They can be out by quite a bit.

700 is pretty damn high, especially for 7 hours, as 100 is equal to one hour at max. So that's every session at 100%.

7 hours for me would be around 500 to 550.

Be interested to see the spread of that TSS. There aren't many TR sessions with an IF of more than 1.

somewhere around 173

Apologies, 173 I refer to is FTHR. Look up the difference between that at LTHR which will be lower and can't actually be determined properly without a lab test. Though there are ways of estimating.

Ha Ha! A slip of the finger should be 500. Here's an excerpt from December bearing in mind I'm missing a ride in the middle week and a Sunday distance in the first week as I was ill with that chest infection:

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Just looking at the miles time etc i would say thats more than double the TSS than it should be, either that or mine is way under half what it should be 🙂

It feels suspiciously high. I'm using virtual power on TR and no power meter on anything that's a ride. All my settings are right.

Mr B, as far as I can see with quick search:
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/04/determining-your-lthr.html
FTHR is the Same as LTHR?
Anyways I understand it to be my HR I can hold for maybe 1/2 - 1 hr without going in the red.

Kryton
I have just migrated to TP and did a CP30min test, to get my LTHR so I can put more accurate HR zones in TP. Try this and you may get more accurate HrTSS scores. It won't take effect on old rides I think, unless you delete them and re-upload. But does make a big difference on your scores?
Hence why u need a power meter really 😉

Kryton, do you think the TSS for the rides without a PM are realistic? I always found the HR based TSS to be on the high side, probably because I hadn't set my HR zones properly. Ended up getting another PM in the end to make it all as consistent as possible.

FTHR is the Same as LTHR?

I think it can be an approximation but it's not the same.

Quick hijack - I've been following this thread with interest and am going to give trainerroad a go. However, my turbo is set up in the shed at the bottom of the garden which will be too far for me to get a decent wireless signal - once TR is set up and the workouts saved do you need an internet connection? I'm assuming not.....

No, you just need a connection to download the workouts, after that it's just a case of connecting roughly once a month to renew the key that lets you access the workouts.

Nice one, thanks for confirming.

Shortbread - no. You run the content from a local app although that needs to get the dat from the Internet when it loads, and later as it saves you workout. But between times you'll be fine.

Mr blobby, no idea but I'm working to the plans / as much as time allows I'm not using TSS to judge my effort or tiredness, and on that basis I'm not willing to throw £500-£1000 at the issue.

Kryton,
Just as curious as you so re-loaded old files after I updated more accurate HR zones. Its quite a difference. Bottom red is new updated TSS scores.
So if you really are interested in getting more accurate HrTSS scores for no money, do a 30 min test, & update HR zones in TP. Worth it for free 😉
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@jonno101, interesting thanks!

Indeed thanks. What's this 30 minute test?

It would seem obvious that you need the HR zones set up properly to get a decent TSShr value but it took me a while to realise! Interesting that a PowerCal seems to do it on the fly without setup, probably somehow just works out the zones as it goes.

Kryton, 30 min test is much like the 20 min test but 10 mins longer 🙂 Just meant to help establish your FTHR.

I've used training peaks for almost 3 years now. The first 2 were training to HR, the last year to power (but still wear hr strap). My TSS to power is lower than it was to HR (even though my HR zones were right). My recovery ride to power gives me TSS of around 13, using my HR strap but no power is 40. I think the TSS was originally set up for power & adapted for HR, so power is the most accurate TSS as long as zones are set right (set threshold too low & you'll get massive TSS compared to what it really is).

I think it's pretty useful data from training peaks in general, the performance management chart is good.

This 30 minute test, do you only use the average HR for the final 20?

Anyways, finished a lot stronger in my crit today so happy so far 🙂

Dgoab, that was my experience too. Reckon mixing HR TSS and power TSS can give some misleading figures. Best use one or the other if you can. Curiously I found the PowerCal TSS to be more reasonable than the TP TSShr.

Performance management chart is good stuff. The stuff on coupling and efficiency is really interesting too.

Well, I copied in my LT etc the night before last, and todays crit revealed a TSS of 119 - 35kph average over 51 mins is much more realistic.

I too had my first crit of the season and considering how ill I was from Nov to Dec did so much better than a year ago - hey TrainerRoad works!

Good to meet TiRed today also.

Still seems high,

This was an hours workout last week, windy, flat

Of course TSS is individual

Average watts was 273, max 672
Heart Rate Av 176, max 193

I guess all that matters is consistency of the data

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35kph over 52 minutes today gives me a hrTSS of 99.3

176 average HR and 188 max, no idea on power but it hurt a bit.

35kph over 52 minutes today gives me a hrTSS of 99.3

176 average HR and 188 max, no idea on power but it hurt a bit.

100 TSS is pretty much an hour at threshold so that actually sounds about right.

So, slacking by 0.7 then...

Average watts was 273, max 672
Heart Rate Av 176, max 193

Is there an option to get trainer road to show overall distance for easy session?

Jim, it'll be in the tcx file if you download that, but distance is pretty irrelevant for turbo sessions.