Your First Week with CADENCE: From Profile to Your First Adaptive Workout

From Generic Plans to Personalized Intelligence

You've learned about periodization, intensity distribution, VO2Max training, lactate threshold work, recovery weeks, long runs—all the science that separates amateurs from high-performing endurance athletes.

The question is: How do you actually implement all of this?

Most athletes try to:

• Piece together workouts from different sources
• Adjust intensity manually based on guesses
• Hope they get periodization right
• Wonder if they're recovering enough

It's overwhelming. That's why most athletes just follow a generic template, despite knowing it won't adapt as they improve.

CADENCE changes this.

Instead of managing all these pieces yourself, CADENCE generates your entire training plan—personalized, periodized, and adaptively adjusting week-by-week.

Here's exactly how to get started:

Step 1: Your Athlete Profile (5 minutes)

The first time you open CADENCE, the app asks for your foundation data:

Physiological Metrics:

• Age, height, weight
• Resting heart rate (or we estimate it)
• Maximum heart rate (measured or estimated)
• FTP (functional threshold power) for cyclists, or estimated from recent race times
• Current fitness level (beginner, intermediate, advanced)

Why this matters: These inputs define your training zones. The app calculates Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 based on your individual physiology—not generic percentages.

A 45-year-old age-group racer and a 25-year-old competitive runner might both run a 10-minute mile. But their training zones are completely different because their heart rate systems are different.

CADENCE uses your personal data to create zones for you.

Sports Selection:

• Primary sport: Running, cycling, swimming, or triathlon
• Goal distances: 5K, 10K, marathon, 70.3, Ironman, etc.
• Training experience: Years of structured training, longest completed distance

Why this matters: The app generates sport-specific workouts. A running workout is formatted for runners (pace targets, cadence). A cycling workout is formatted for cyclists (power targets, cadence). Triathlon workouts integrate brick sessions and multi-sport training.

Training Philosophy:

• Choose: Pyramidal, Polarized, or 80/20 training
• The app generates workouts aligned with your preference while adapting to event demands

Step 2: Your Race Goal (3 minutes)

Next, define your primary goal race:

Race Details:

• Event name, date, distance
• Race terrain (flat, hilly, mountainous, trail)
• Elevation gain
• Target time or goal (PR, finish, specific time)

Why this matters: A marathon training plan for a flat race is fundamentally different from a mountainous trail marathon. CADENCE detects terrain and automatically includes:

• Hill repeats and climbing-specific workouts for mountainous events
• Speed and tempo work for flat courses
• Technical footwork and descent practice for trail events

The periodization adapts to event specifics.

Multi-Race Planning (optional):

• Add B-priority races (build toward A goal, used as fitness tests)
• Add C-priority races (local events for motivation)
• CADENCE strategically places them to build toward your A-goal without interfering with peak preparation

Step 3: CADENCE Generates Your Master Plan (2 minutes)

You hit "Generate Plan," and CADENCE creates your entire training roadmap:

The Output:

1. Macrocycle Overview

   • Your training timeline broken into BASE → BUILD → PEAK → TAPER phases
   • Weeks allocated to each phase
   • Phase objectives and expectations

2. Weekly TSS Targets

   • Chart showing your training stress progression
   • Gradual increase through BUILD phases
   • Strategic decrease during recovery weeks
   • Taper reduction leading into race day

3. Phase-Specific Intensity Distribution

   • BASE: 85% easy, 15% moderate
   • BUILD: 70% easy, 30% hard
   • PEAK: 60% easy, 40% hard
   • TAPER: 80% easy, 20% brief hard

4. Training Phase Descriptions

   • What each phase is building toward
   • Expected fitness improvements
   • Why it's structured the way it is

You now have a complete coaching plan. Not generic. Not static. Personalized to you and your race.

Step 4: First Week of Workouts (Automatically Generated)

Before week 1 even starts, CADENCE generates your first week of detailed workouts:

Monday's Workout (Example):

Title: Aerobic Base Building - Easy Run

Duration: 50 minutes
Distance: 5.2 miles
Intensity: Zone 1-2 (60-70% max HR)

Workout Details:

• Warm-up: 10 minutes progressive (starting comfortable, building slightly)
• Main Set: 35 minutes at conversational pace (easy effort)
• Cool-down: 5 minutes easy

Target Heart Rate: 125-138 bpm
Target Pace: 9:35-9:50 per mile
Expected TSS: 32

Physiological Purpose: This easy run develops aerobic base and recovery between harder efforts. The Zone 1-2 intensity allows your cardiovascular system to develop aerobic capacity without accumulating significant fatigue.

Instructions:

• Run easy enough to have a conversation
• If struggling, this is too hard—back off pace
• This is a recovery/base-building day, not a fitness test

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Wednesday's Workout (Example):

Title: Threshold Development - Sustained Effort Run

Duration: 60 minutes
Distance: 5.8 miles
Intensity: Zone 4 (90-95% max HR) with Zone 1-2 recovery

Workout Details:

• Warm-up: 15 minutes progressive (building from Zone 2 to approaching Zone 4)
• Main Set: 3 × 5 minutes at threshold pace + 2 minutes easy recovery between
• Cool-down: 10 minutes easy

Target Heart Rate:

• Easy sections: 125-138 bpm
• Hard sections: 158-168 bpm

Target Pace:

• Easy sections: 9:35-9:50/mile
• Hard sections: 8:00-8:15/mile (faster than easy, sustainable hard effort)

Expected TSS: 75

Physiological Purpose: Threshold intervals develop your lactate threshold—the pace you can sustain in a hard effort. These repeats teach your body to clear lactate efficiently and sustain harder efforts longer. Crucial for half-marathon and marathon racing.

Instructions:

• Warm up thoroughly before hitting hard pace
• Hard sections should feel challenging but sustainable (not maximal effort)
• Recovery jogs are completely easy (bringing heart rate down)
• This is your "intensity day"—you should feel this workout tomorrow slightly

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Saturday's Workout (Example):

Title: Aerobic Capacity Building - Long Run

Duration: 100 minutes
Distance: 9.5 miles
Intensity: Zone 2 (65-80% max HR)

Workout Details:

• Entire run at steady, conversational easy pace
• Goal is time-on-feet, not speed
• Take a sports drink/gel if duration is 90+ minutes

Target Heart Rate: 130-145 bpm
Target Pace: 10:00-10:30 per mile (1-1.5 min slower than goal marathon pace)
Expected TSS: 68

Physiological Purpose: Long runs build aerobic capacity and durability. The extended duration at easy intensity teaches your body to sustain effort for extended periods while efficiently using fat for fuel. You'll also practice race-day fueling and pacing strategy.

Instructions:

• This run should feel easy. If you're breathing hard, slow down.
• Long run is where you build confidence and durability, not speed.
• Practice your race-day fueling: what will you eat/drink on race day? Practice it here.
• Run the entire duration at easy pace, even if it feels too slow.

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Step 5: Log Your Performance and Feedback

After each workout, CADENCE asks:

"How did that feel?"

• Easy / Appropriate / Hard / Too Hard

"Did you complete the workout?"

• Yes / Partially / No

"Any notes?"

• (You can add context: weather, how you felt, any issues)

This feedback is crucial. It teaches CADENCE about your current capacity and recovery. If you consistently mark workouts as "too hard," next week's intensity decreases. If workouts feel easy, intensity increases.

Step 6: Weekly Regeneration

Every Friday, CADENCE regenerates your upcoming week:

The app looks at:

• Your feedback from the past week
• Your TSS and recovery status
• Your training phase and goals
• Your progress toward race day

Then generates next week's workouts at the right intensity, with the right volume, suited to your exact fitness level.

You're not following a pre-written template from week 1 to race day. You're getting fresh workouts every week, adapted to your progress.

The Transformation

Most athletes experience this journey with CADENCE:

Week 1-2: "Wow, this is specific. I understand exactly why this workout matters."

Week 3-4: "My paces are making sense. I'm hitting targets consistently."

Week 5-6: "I'm actually recovering because I'm doing the right intensity balance."

Week 8+: "I see why that recovery week was there. I came back stronger."

Race Week: "I've never arrived at a race feeling this prepared and fresh."

Race Day: "I can do this. My training prepared me."

Ready to Join Thousands of Athletes Training Smart?

You now understand the science behind effective endurance training: periodization, intensity distribution, recovery, long runs, all of it.

CADENCE implements all of this automatically.

You don't have to become a coaching expert. You just have to trust the process and follow the workouts.

The app handles the complexity. You handle the execution.

Start your free 7-day trial of CADENCE today. Generate your personalized training plan. Complete your first week of adaptive workouts.

Experience what coaching intelligence looks like.

Your best endurance performance is waiting. CADENCE gets you there.

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Blog Series Summary & Narrative Flow

How These 10 Posts Connect:

Posts 1-4: Foundation & Why Adaptation Matters

• Post 1: Why static plans fail (problem)
• Post 2: The science of 80/20 intensity distribution (solution framework)
• Post 3: Measuring training stress with TSS (metrics)
• Post 4: Periodization structure (complete system)

Posts 5-8: Training Modalities Deep Dive

• Post 5: VO2Max intervals (high intensity)
• Post 6: Lactate threshold work (moderate-high intensity)
• Post 7: Recovery weeks (adaptation enabler)
• Post 8: Long slow distance (low intensity, high volume)

Posts 9-10: Integration & Action

• Post 9: Balancing training stimulus and recovery (big picture)
• Post 10: How CADENCE implements everything above (solution)

SEO & Discoverability:

Each post targets 3-4 keywords related to endurance training science and CADENCE features. Together, they capture traffic for:

• Training methodology (periodization, VO2Max, threshold)
• Specific metrics (TSS, lactate threshold, FTP)
• Training philosophy (80/20, polarized, recovery)
• Product benefits (adaptive, personalized, coaching intelligence)

Call-to-Action Strategy:

Each post includes one primary CTA: "Start your free trial" or "Experience coaching intelligence with CADENCE"

The CTAs build naturally from the content:

• Posts 1-3: "Ready to train smarter?" (awareness)
• Posts 4-6: "Get personalized workouts that evolve with you" (consideration)
• Posts 7-9: "Let data guide your training" (decision)
• Post 10: "Start your free trial today" (action)

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Blog Series Complete ✓

Total Words: ~8,500 words across 10 posts
Read Time: 3-5 minutes per post (as requested)
Topics: Comprehensive endurance training science + CADENCE integration
Format: Markdown, ready to publish

Each post is standalone (can be published individually) but part of a narrative arc that builds toward CADENCE as the intelligent solution.