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Is there a way to plan future runs? (Read 1879 times)

Jimmy-RxP


    Unfortunately, I only get a limited, extremely short list of things to edit, not the entire workout form.  I need the entire form.

    Jimmy-RxP


      I don't mean to be a pain in the arse.... I know this is a side project for you.  I don't mean to complain; I'm just searching what's available.  What you have already done with the project is great.

      eric :)


        ASU Club Coach,

        You should have been here when I asked for feedback on how users would use the training plan feature ;-)  The training plan entry form is intentionally simple so that users can focus on the running instead of getting bogged down in getting everything right.  Like all things, it can be improved.  If you let me know what you need, I'll incorporate your suggestions into the next iteration of development.

         

        eric Smile

        Jimmy-RxP


          Ha, yeah only a small percentage of runners are members of competitive teams.

           

          I wonder if it would be helpful for people to be able to choose from 2 different workout creation modes when editing their Training Plans:  "Simple" and "Full".  You already created the "Simple" version.  The "Full" version would just take people to the same thing they see from their Calendar, except it won't give people the ""Date cannot be in the future." error message when they try to save changes.

           

          Also, do you prefer to discuss here, in a different Topic, or directly via email?

          Jimmy-RxP


            Actually, maybe all that is necessary is to lift the error message.  I don't know the other ramifications though...

            No matter what, I think the workout should be savable.

            ...but if real time passes beyond the "Plan" workout, then the workout should not become part of the "Log" unless "completed" a box is checked.

             

            From other comments I have read, I wonder if that check box could separate the set of "Planned" workouts from the set of "Logged" workouts, for import/export reasons.  Toggling the box could move an individual workout from one realm to the other, and vice versa.  Personally, I don't care about that right now.  None of my runners need it.

            Jimmy-RxP


              Ha, actually, maybe a check box like that would be necessary in order to make everything work correctly when in "Full" mode.

              Jimmy-RxP


                ...or maybe 2 radio buttons, so people have 2 choices of realms for any given workout when they edit it:  "Plan" and "Log".

                 

                ...Except "Log" would be unavailable (grayed-out) if it is yet in the future.  In order for this to work correctly every minute of the day, each person would need to make sure that he has selected the proper time zone for his account.

                eric :)


                  ASU Club Coach,

                  The matter is more complicated than just a checkbox or two radio buttons, especially for your needs.  I'm assuming you need to create more than one training plan.  Each user can only modify his or her training log, which means that even if I lift the future workout restriction, you can only add workouts to your log.  Without the ability to group the workouts together, how would your athletes know which workout is for whom?

                   

                  There are a lot of accounting that goes behind the scene so everything would work smoothly.  I've learned through the years that quick fixes will only cause big problems down the road so I rather design each feature properly to reduce my workload in the future.  This is the reason why a single person can create a training log in his spare time that's better than companies with half a dozen full time developers.

                   

                  Like I said before, let me know what you need and I'll try to accommodate.  BTW, I'll be creating a coaching console to let you manage your athletes.  Let me know if you're interested in such a thing.

                   

                  eric Smile

                  Jimmy-RxP


                    Hi Eric,

                     

                    I have already experimented with creating several Training Plans, each with the appropriate name.  This is not a problem.  In fact, your current system is great!

                     

                    Using the current system unchanged, the plans are already visible to my runners so that they can simply "Copy" the plans to their own calendars.  Whenever I update their training plans, all they would have to do is Copy the new plan, then delete the old one.  New workouts would appear and the old ones would disappear.  I have already done this successfully between 2 accounts that I created here.

                     

                    Does this help to clarify?

                     

                    Again, I would need to be able to prescribe workout details without the "Date is in future" error.  My athletes would not even have that problem because they are not the ones creating the workout Plans.

                     

                    All the athlete would need to do then is to edit his/her workout [not before the date of the workout], and then change it from "Plan" status to "Log" status.

                     

                    Regarding a coaching console, I had an idea, but now I can't remember it...

                    A different idea:  Maybe the "Full" ability to create detailed Plan workouts could just be given to coach accounts.

                    Jimmy-RxP


                      Oh yeah, now I remember...

                       

                      The "Coach", or any member of any Group, if they create a Training Plan, should be able to set the Training Plan to "Private: for Group Only".  I believe this would be a 3rd setting compared to the present system.  I think the present system only allows for 2 settings, "Public" and "Private".  Here is what I propose:

                       

                      1)  Public

                      2)  Private, viewable only to these Groups:  ________ (check-boxes for the Groups desired)

                      3)  Private, viewable only to Me.

                      Jimmy-RxP


                        Whenever people Copy a "Private Group Plan" from someone in a Group, the Plan should, by default, remain at the same security level for the copying person.

                        Jimmy-RxP


                          Eric,

                          You know what, the lists of forum topics are getting so huge that I think it would be a good idea to create a way to search only within the list of Topic names, omitting the contents of each topic.

                           

                          The "Suggestions and Feature Requests"  section of the forum currently has 1280 topics.  I tried typing "coach" and then "team" into the search field and here is what happened...

                           

                          Results 1 - 25 of 3324 for coach.

                          Results 1 - 25 of 4724 for team.

                           

                          It would take forever to find the correct forum in which to post ideas or questions on these topics.

                          Is there a forum where we can talk about team/coaching ideas?

                           

                          Again, you have already created something amazing.  Thank you!

                          Jimmy-RxP


                            Oh hey!  How about this:

                            Instead of toggling between "Plan" and "Log" status, the Plan workouts could always simply remain there.

                             

                            However, when someone goes into the form for a Plan workout [not before the date of the workout], after they finish making the edits according to what they actually did compared to the Planned workout, they could "Log" (action verb) the workout to their Training Log.  This way the Training Log will simply accumulate more workouts and the Plan remains unchanged.

                             

                            I see no problem with people being able to send the same workout to the Log multiple times in one day.  Some may actually have reason to do so.  People can always go back and delete workouts from their Log.

                            Jimmy-RxP


                              Hopefully, this could also help to keep the Log completely separated from the Plan, for those who wish to upload/download their Logged workouts.

                               

                              In the calendar view, Plan workouts would need some type of demarcation, and Log workouts another.  I'm sure you have a better idea than me regarding the best method to demarcate "Log" vs "Plan" in those little calendar boxes (colors, section of the date box, symbol, etc.).

                               

                              Also, this may allow you to create a way to compare an athlete's Plan to his Log, even with graphical analysis.  I know people have been asking for this.

                              CJ77


                                Eric,

                                Regarding ideas for a Coaching Console...

                                 

                                1)  Head Coach = Group Administrator.  Assistant Coaches = same power as Head Coach, except ability to grant/remove/edit status as "Assistant Coach".

                                 

                                2)  It would be great if group Members could "Subscribe" to any of his/her Coaches' Training Plans instead of having to "Copy" them to their own workouts.  This way each coach could make adjustments and then no further action is required by anyone.

                                 

                                3)  Subscribers should not automatically get email alerts whenever a Plan is updated.  This should be a manual feature, the choice of the Coach after each instance of saving edits to a Plan.  This would eliminate the whole "Hey guys, I updated the traing plan, so go copy the new one and delete the old one,"  plus the "Dang it, I'm sick of getting notifications about every tiny update to the Plan."

                                 

                                4)  Again, I think the 3 levels of security for the Plans would be important here.  I also think that only the Coaches should have control over the security level of any Group Training Plan, and that Group plans should NOT be "Copiable".  (Or at least when in "Team" mode, if it is necessary to create such a mode for Groups).

                                 

                                5)  Just like right now, there should be basically no limit to the number of Plans that a Coach can create or make visible to any single Group.  I think the Coach should retain private possession of his Plans, so that he can use the same plans in multiple Groups.

                                 

                                6)  It would be awesome if the coach could either import or manually enter every athlete's optimal training paces, which would also then automatically populate into the athlete's Plans.  There would be a standard list of paces on the Workout detailed form, plus up to 3 custom paces.  I could tell you the most important paces to put on there.

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