Managing your data: power and duplicate files

There are two things to think of when considering managing your workout data:

1) you want to try and keep the power data consistent. and 2) you want to make sure you don't have duplicate files loading to Training Peaks.

---

Power meters

Keeping your data consistent means having the power data coming from the same source as much as possible. No two power meters measure wattage identically.

This applies to those of us that have both a smart trainer and power meter on their bike. It really comes down to how you pair your devices on something like Zwift. If you have a power meter this should always be paired as "power source", while the smart trainer is paired as "controllable".

The problem of power data management is also something to consider across bikes with different power meters. No two power meters read the same.

---

Data Files

Earlier this week you set up the various apps - Zwift, Garmin or Wahoo - to talk with Training Peaks. This enables us to use the structured workouts and auto upload our workout data to Training Peaks.

The one thing you now need to watch out for is getting duplicate files in Training Peaks. Notice the two files on the 8th in the image below.

This happens, for example, when you do your workout in Zwift and also record it on your head unit. If you have Zwift linked to Training Peaks so you can use the structured workouts and your head unit, say through Garmin Connect, also linked to Training Peaks you will now have two workout data files being uploaded to Training Peaks. You should delete one of these so that the training data isn't skewed.

That being said, which should you delete? The one limitation with riding on Zwift is you can't use the lap button to mark efforts in your data file.

This isn't an issue if you are always using a structured workout. In some cases though you will want to ride a course in Zwift without a structured workout running. Riding the route - say the Pretzel in Watopia - you might use the hills to do tempo and ride at endurance on the flats.

In this situation you want to record the workout on your head unit and hit the lap button to mark the various efforts in the ride. This allows you to look at each effort afterwards easily and see if you actually did the right effort.

Having done this you want to delete the Zwift file and keep the head unit file in Training Peaks.