Seven things I love about TrainerRoad

I started using TrainerRoad to power by bike training one month ago. Here are seven reasons I will never bike train with out it:

1. Time efficient: I have two small kids, a busy job and a loving (and very understanding) wife who I also want to spend some time with. I also have to squeeze in run and swim training. It is not an option for me to go for countless long rides, leave the family behind for 3-4 hours or head out and not know when I return. I need my training to be snappy, efficient and within a defined period. With TrainerRoad I hop on my bike in my study and know I am riding for 60, 75, 90 or 120 minutes. My wife knows also and can plan around it. And when I ride I don’t have to stop for traffic lights, worry about weather or get stuck chatting at the coffee shop.
2. Safety: I’m not a life long rider and my bike confidence is not great. My hometown of Melbourne in Australia is not particularly bike friendly. While I know I need to ride on the road to improve my handling, I love the safety that comes from training on the trainer and not having to worry as much.
3. Variety: The prepared plans are a thing of beauty. It’s like having a cycling coach for less than $10 a month. I can do high intensity/low volume or low intensity/high volume and I know what order to do it in to maximise the return and not damage my body. Every workout comes with a TSS score and an Intensity Factor (IF) rating so I know in advance how hard each workout will be, meaning if I’ve done a hard run session I might opt for a lower intensity ride, or vice versa.
4. Ease of use: I have a Computrainer, a Garmin 310XT and a Garmin cadence and speed sensor. I install the software, plug in the Computrainer and my ANT+ dongle and off I go. It’s just a case of logging on, choosing session and ride.
5. User interface: The interface is clean, clear and crisp. It tells me how long I’ve ridden, how long to go on each set, my power, target power, heart rate and cadence. And a nice graphical representation for good measure. In addition, I love changing between full screen for a focused session or the horizontal option which places the data in a bar along the bottom of the screen while I watch a movie or YouTube clips on the rest of the screen. Nothing better than a long ride with re-runs of past Tour de France’s or Ironman World Championships!
6. Data recording and history: Like most triathletes, I’m a numbers geek. I love my data and analysing every aspect. TrainerRoad lets me review all past rides from the program, website or app. And it allows me to easily transfer the data across to Training Peaks. What more could you ask for?!
7. It works: In just one month I have seen increases in power, speed and cadence. It gets me riding more often and improving my results. I used to be happy with an average speed of 30k/hr – in my most recent rides I am now averaging more than 37 k/hr! For my half-ironman race, this equates improving from a 3:00 ride to 2:25! Now it’s no given that will be the end result on race day, but this improvement is repeating itself and I have TrainerRoad to thank for that!

Hitting the training road with TrainerRoad

It’s a sad reality that my training log is a large reflection of this blog; lots of good intentions, some real headway and commitment in swimming, a passion and love of running with some strength training thrown in for good measure. But for triathlon that leaves one very large hole. That whole thing about riding a bike – for 90km in my main race this season!

I’ve known about this absence for a while and started gaining hope when I could reclaim my study to become a pain cave once my son was old enough to move into his actual bedroom upstairs. This was boosted further with the addition of a new bike. But that alone wasn’t going to be enough. I needed to train and get some miles in the legs.

That said I was reluctant to spend hours out on the road, away from the family. Like the rest of my training it needed to be efficient, cost effective and best use of time. As such I was delighted when the crew at TrainerRoad offered me a three month trial to test out their system.

Now let’s be honest; at $10 a month or $99 a year, it certainly meets the cost effective side of my aims. Another benefit of the system is that I know exactly how long I am going to ride, and know I am getting in quality sessions with specific benefits, without the hindrance of weather, traffic, stoplights or the distraction of the cycling crew at the coffee shop…if I have a one hour session scheduled it will take one hour exactly! And finally for the time I am riding, I’m just in the study – meaning I can be home alone with the kids and if they wake from a nap or need me all I have to do is stop and get off, meaning my wife can go out and I can still train – as Charlie Sheen would say, ‘Winning’.

My TrainerRoad half-Ironman training program

I’m going to outline my journey and experience of TrainerRoad as I prepare for my half-iron distance race in February throughout the blog, I hope it provides some insights and inspiration.

The registration and set up process was extremely simple and I was up and running within minutes. The software immediately recognised my Computrainer and also picked up my Garmin with the ANT+ sensor conveying my heart rate and cadence. From there it was into the sessions.

I’m not a technical cyclist and while I can develop a competitive running plan, I just don’t have the knowledge or experience to know what is going to make me a better cyclist. Which is why I love the fact that TrainerRoad comes with heaps of pre-loaded plans – including three specifically for half-Ironman races with various levels.

Once I was up and running the first session I needed to do was an FTP test, or functional threshold power – basically how hard can I push myself without blowing up.

Based on my rides on the Computrainer I’d estimated that my FTP was somewhere around 150-160 watts, however I’d never really done any power meter training before and this was just a very rough estimate. It turned out to be fairly accurate though. I chose the 20min FTP test, which actually takes an hour to complete by the time you have a dedicated warm up and then a 20 minute straight set to push yourself and hold for as long as you can.

The results of my 20 minute FTP test – a low number but a starting point!

I was a bit nervous at the start and held myself back probably more than I should have, finishing with an overall FTP of 168 watts, however my second half held an average of 186 compared to 166 for the first half. The software then updated to base all my training of this new FTP number and to create the training zones for me.

From there it really becomes a case of follow the numbers and commands. I’ve done two further sessions so far and I love the fact that everything is set for you, the resistance adjusts meaning you can’t slacken off and the software provides instructions on screen to talk you through the whole process.

There’s heaps of other features that I haven’t explored yet either, but looking forward to starting to build some time in the saddle and strength in the legs without having to leave the pain cave!

A new bike – Cervelo P2

For a blog about a discreet triathlete, there sure has been a lot of posts about running and swimming – pretty sure that in order to finish my races though I also need to ride.

Through a combination of lack of cycling enthusiasm, skill and time, along with the fact that cycling was the most inflexible leg to accommodate with small children my riding has been neglected in the build up to tri season. That has all changed now – nothing like a new bike to spike the interest and regain the passion!

I owned a 12 year old Cervelo road bike that still did the job but was getting a bit long in the tooth and wasn’t set up to tri friendly, even with a set of aero bars installed. So when the change of model/new year release sales came out a few weeks back I discovered a 2014 Cervelo P2 brand new for a really good price. It happened to coincide with when my work bonus was getting paid but I was still unsure of spending significant coin, but thankfully my wife encouraged me saying I was due to buy something for myself having used my previous bonuses on the family and house.

The P2 is schmick. I love the aero bars, love the look, love the feel. My big challenge now is building the engine to power the machine! Given time and safety concerns I’ve opted to set it up predominantly in my pain cave, on a Computrainer and most likely will get Trainer Road so that I have some specific sets to complete.

Yesterday I pushed out 40km for my first real ride of any length on the new stallion and realised that while I would say I am bike fit, I am far from bike strong. I need to do a lot of interval work, a lot of leg work and get used to the feeling of hurt and discomfort as I push the barriers on the bike. My two rides so far have both been around 140watts on the Computrainer power meter so my challenge is to raise that significantly. I don’t know if it’s possible but I’d love to get it up to 200 watts.

Challenge accepted. At least I have a beautiful bike on which to get better. 🙂