EN/Trainer Road OS Workout Announcement (aka The Q&A and Admin Thread)
UPDATE 1.8.2013 - Moving this t the top so folks see it:
To get access, please do the following:
- Sign-up for Trainer Road (PLEASE TRY AND USE YOUR REAL NAME)
- Follow this link to request access. A confirmation email will be sent within 12 hours.
- Follow the link included in the confirmation email.
- Choose the appropriate software download (Mac or PC).
- (If there are upgrades, please accept and install them)
- Launch the software and login into your account.
- Watch this video to see how you find your workouts.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
UPDATE 1.1.2013 - FYI ... Al Truscott has a post in the wiki about Trainer Road for newbies. Feel free to read or modify it if anything is wrong. It's intended for someone who is totaly new to Trainer Road, but not to trainers or EN.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hi Folks:
I am excited to announce that Endurance Nation has officially partnered with Trainer Road to bring your OutSeason workouts to their awesome trainer focused bike training software. This has been a long process and I owe many thanks to all the TeamEN members who helped get this out to the team.
So what is this? In short, we have added all of the 2012/2013 OS workouts into Trainer Road in a special TeamEN Members Only section for you to add some additional juju to your trainer rides. Only TeamEN members in good standing have access to these workouts.
If you are not familiar with Trainer Road, get all the details here. It is very cool and you can use their service with or without a power meter!
*** NOTE: To be approved for access to the members only area in Trainer Road, you need to be an member in good standing and have your name needs to show up on the official “Members” list in da haus. If it does not show up, send an email to Support@EnduranceNation.us to request to be added.
Full details on now to get access to the Trainer Road OS plans is noted at the bottom of this doco.
OVERVIEW and DETAILS (PLEASE READ):
Trainer Road is a bike trainer-based service to help enhance your Pain Cave juju. It is an optional enhancement to your OutSeason workouts and requires a computer and a minimal level of technical expertise. We have added all the 2012/2013 EN OS workouts into the Trainer Road platform so you can see your efforts in real-time on your computer. It is VERY cool. It is not mandatory you use this and it does not replace the TeamEN mojo in the OS Groups or anything else. This is simply an optional enhancement for your pain/pleasure.
Cost is $10 per month and currently there is no EN discount. Simply drink two less lattes a month. :-)
THIS IS A BETA PROGRAM
Trainer Road is a relatively new service and Endurance Nation is the inaugural tri team to do this level of integration with them. We have made every effort to make this as perfect as possible through testing, etc. However, since it is a beta program there may be some issues along the way. Please BE PATIENT as we work through anything that does arise.
SUPPORT
If you need support, we have a couple of avenues for you:
- For general questions, use this forum thread and ask away.
- For Trainer Road specific issues (i.e. computer won’t sync, software won’t launch, etc), please review their Forum area FAQ’s. If you can’t find what you are looking for, send an email to Support@TrainerRoad.com
- For OS workout specific issues (i.e. workout or description mistakes), please email John Stark @ ENRaceDirector@Gmail.com. Please include the workout name and four digit code and Description section in your email (see image below).
REQUEST ACCESS
We will start accepting folks into the Endurance Nation group on Trainer Road starting at 6:00 AM PST on Wednesday, January 2, 2013! However, feel free to put in your request anytime.
To get access, please do the following:
- Sign-up for Trainer Road (PLEASE TRY AND USE YOUR REAL NAME)
- Follow this link to request access. A confirmation email will be sent within 12 hours.
- Follow the link included in the confirmation email.
- Choose the appropriate software download (Mac or PC).
- (If there are upgrades, please accept and install them)
- Launch the software and login into your account.
- Watch this video to see how you find your workouts.
Now get busy!
Thanks and have a blast with this.
John Stark
EN Race Director and wearer of many EN hats
Comments
Again Johnny boy, you cease to amaze me, awesome as usual let's see this work!
Red 2 Go!
FYI ... I put a post in the wiki about Trainer Road for newbies. Feel free to read or modify it if anything is wrong. It's intended for someone who is totaly new to Trainer Road, but not to trainers or EN. I will add this info to it after I get added to The List, and have used it for a time or two to see what (if anything) people might need/want to know in addition to what John has already outlined.
Hi Folks:
Someone has sent an email to the TR guys asking for access to the EN workouts. Please read the first post in this thread and the section called REQUEST ACCESS.
Again, if you request access as noted below and your name is listed in the Members section (in nav bar above under Community) I will accept you and everyone else starting tomorrow, January 2nd, at 6:00 AM PST.
Thanks.
John
Thanks for the reminder, Al! I have added to the original post below as well.
All:
I have 38 requests for access so far. I was assuming 50 to start so we are close. Look for the acceptance emails tomorrow.
HUGE thanks to Peter Wick and Greg Babb for "fine tuning" the TR OS workouts and getting them ready for tomorrow.
John
No. It's not an app. It is full-blown software that needs to be installed on a PC or Mac (i.e. a machine with a hard drive).
John
Joel - Yes, you need to download the software via the link in your acceptance email to get the EN workouts. I just opened mine and I see the EN workouts and also the other TR workouts.
Rock on, brotha!
OK, just accepted everyone. We have 55 folks in our Endurance Nation group.
Gonna be fun to see how this unfolds over the next months as TR keeps adding functionality,
Now G-E-T B-U-S-Y!
John
P.S. I am ff to Lake Tahoe with my son and his buddy so will be out of pocket most of the day. Will answer any questions or accept more folks later tonight
.
A quick question after looking at the bike test workout.
If my current FTP loaded into TR is 228, shouldn't the target for the 20 minute test be around 240 rather than the current FTP loaded into the system (227)? Assuming FTP is defined as 95% of watts from a 20 min test? Or am I misunderstanding something?
The 5 minute test appears to be correct at 120% of FTP or 272 in this example.
Thanks, Scott
Al - I read your wiki but don't really understand what TR offers. Is there anything more than just graphics on a screen? Do the work-outs have visual backgrounds like CompuTrainer rides?
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am going to bring so much pain to my cave this Winter that my cave is going to take out a restraining order on me.
@ paul ... For me its an ease of use thing. I've been doing structured rides on a trainer since 06 (CT since 07). While there are no little metal men or spin scan graphs or course videos or elevation charts, there are lines to follow showing progression of HR, watts, cadence, and the targets for the workout, in additon to current numbers for those. The web-based software is much easier to set up and use than the 90s era RacerMate stuff. And if I get bored with the somewhat repetitiveEN workouts,TR has a bunch of stock workouts I can follow or modify. So I'm willing to pay $60/year (I don't use it May-Nov) for simplicity, user friendliness, and pre-programmed workouts which drive my CompuTrainer.
Other considerations:
if you've already got a system in place for trainer-based workouts, there's not really a strong incentive to switch. Unless you are lazy like me, and don't want to spend a lot of time with computer based fiddling.
They've got a 30 day money back no questions asked guarantee, what have you got to lose by giving it a try?
Hi Folks:
Nuff sed. 
Please, please, please DO NOT ask Coach Patrick, Coach Rich or the Trainer Road guys for access to the EN/Trainer Road program. We have a specific process noted at the bottom of the first post in this thread. There is a reason for it. Please review.
The next person to do any of the above I will personally channel Coach Rich and come to your home and kick you in the nutz.
Thanks for your cooperation.
John Stark
Hi Folks:
We just hit 75 folks in the group. wOOt! So far so good! Looks like folks aren't having any problems with the workuts.
Just a reminder that if you do have issues, please follow the support directions below.
Rock on,
John
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SUPPORT
If you need support, we have a couple of avenues for you:
Other than the nifty graphic showing you what's coming up, if I already have a PM and an easily visible trip computer mounted on my bike, what's the advantage of the TR system compared to just having my Garmin showing me cadence, power, etc like I normally do? (while running Netflix or whatever on the TV)
I get the advantages if you didn't have the PM
Thanks!
@ Jenks - I'll repeat what I told Paul: "They've got a 30 day money back no questions asked guarantee, what have you got to lose by giving it a try?" I was a sceptic last year when I first heard about it, but when offered a month for free as an EN tester, I said, why not? Despite having all the toys - CompuTrainer, PowerTap, Joule - already, I discovered that TR offered me an experience I didn;t even know I wanted. I got hooked, and have used it for the last two OSs.
This analogy may be a bit strained, but here goes: back in 1983, I plopped for a cut-rate 3 month subscriotion to The Economist, figuring I ought to see what all the fuss was about, and that I would find out I didn't need a snooty British newsmagazine every week @ $130/year (2012 current $). I dropped it after the trial, but found myself strangely bereft at missing not only the broad range of news and views, but also the quality of their writing. I re-upped, and am a faithful reader ever since. Same thing with TR - I initially thought it was unencessary geek excess when I first checked it out. Then I tried it out, and found it made my winter workouts a bit more expansive and ... interesting.
OK, that's the last plug I give them until I get a kickback.
@Al or anybody..... when in workout creator is there a way to link multiple workouts? Like take an OS wko for the template , add a prebuilt warmup to the front, then add a TR workout at the end???? Or even string a couple EN TR workouts together? Getting pretty good at modifying templates but cant figure that out!
Yeah, that'd be nice. If it exists, I haven't found it. TR has a suggestion button on the right side, and a support button on the left of their web pages. Let them know, they'll probably say they're working on it. Truth be told, I'm not going to use the TR EN workouts, as I like my own WU, and using a CompuTrainer, I'm stuck with whatever wattage (% of FTP, actually) the TR/EN OS wko has programmed in. So I just made an FTP and VO2 workout, and modify it each week as the intervals progress. But having the EN stuff all done is great for the time crunched person without a CT.
William, I've spent the last 14 or so months using TR along with a powertap, you are absolutely right that it doesn't give you anything you didn't already have with a PM + headunit.
That said for me having that additional carrot and a better view (IMHO) into the workout (what I just did and what's upcoming) has been invaluable, following along with the bars gives me something more concrete to shoot for. I still capture and log all the data with my Garmin but the TR view is great for me keeping me focused.
Yesterday was my first workout with the EN+TR combination and it was fabulous to have my EN workout sitting right in there for me, great work guys!
John, I am new to EN and new to TR. Will start my first EN OS tomorrow and just downloaded and installed TR. I do not have a power meter of any kind (yet) so am planning on using the virtual power function in TR (I am using a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer which is listed as one of the solid trainers for getting the virtual power number to work out right).
I just finished the 6 week bike focused training plane and am usng a Garmin 305 and 910 to target my training zones based on speed...i.e. I know based on plenty of trial and effort using this set up that at 19.5 MPH my heart rate is in zone 4.
Should I complete the bike test power protocol or the bike test heart rate protocol?
Thanks much, Doug