Chris Farhood
f6dd9dfc27
Modular cycling-training skill: periodization logic, workout design, and research-backed protocols that companion an Intervals.icu MCP server (the server owns all data + computed metrics; the skill owns knowledge + reasoning). Structure: - SKILL.md router + README (companion-to-MCP architecture, install steps) - references/: durability, mtb-xco-demands, strength-for-cyclists, vo2max-intervals, periodization, data-confounds, citations - assets/: base + build plan templates, durability field-test protocol Every quantitative claim carries an inline citation; citations.md is the single source of truth with PMID/DOI, each verified against PubMed on 2026-07-20. Notable honesty flags baked in: - VO2 rep-length: running (Fleckenstein 2025) vs cycling (Ronnestad) conflict documented rather than asserted; cycling evidence favors short intervals. - 'Yu et al. 2025' (frequency > distribution) could not be found; not cited. - Under-researched doses (durability, taper TSB, CTL ramp) flagged 'track response'. - HR-confound doc forbids naive decoupling<5% / RHR+5 rules. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01TqrhBhC3GEcKyaw8RTk8G6
89 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
# cycling-training
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A modular **Claude skill** that provides periodization logic, workout design, research-backed
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protocols, and interpretation guidance for endurance and off-road cycling training — designed to
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**companion an Intervals.icu MCP server**, not replace it.
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## The companion-to-MCP architecture
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This skill deliberately holds **no data and no calculators**. It is the *reasoning* half of a
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two-part system:
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| Layer | Owns | Examples |
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|-------|------|----------|
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| **Intervals.icu MCP server** (data + computed metrics) | Fetching and computing everything numeric | activities, wellness, power curves, CTL / ATL / TSB, training-load ramp, zones, TSS, best efforts, streams |
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| **`cycling-training` skill** (knowledge + reasoning) | Deciding what the numbers *mean* and what to do next | periodization logic, workout design, research-backed protocols, interpretation of trends, confound-aware caveats |
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**The split is a hard rule.** If a script would only reproduce math the MCP API already returns
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(zones, TSS, load metrics, CTL/ATL/TSB), it is intentionally absent. Ask the MCP server for the
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number; ask this skill what to do about it.
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### How they work together (typical flow)
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1. **MCP** returns the data — e.g. `get_athlete_summary` (CTL/ATL/TSB), `get_wellness_data`
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(HRV, RHR, sleep), `get_athlete_power_curves`, `get_activities`.
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2. **Skill** supplies the reasoning — e.g. "TSB is −25 eight days out from an A-race; the taper
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doc says pull it toward −5 to +5 by race day," or "this VO2 session accumulated little time
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≥90% VO2max; the interval doc says lengthen the reps."
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3. **You (Claude)** combine them into a recommendation, always citing which layer supplied what.
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## Repository layout
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```
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cycling-training/
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├── SKILL.md # Router — loads the right reference doc by need
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├── README.md # This file
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├── references/
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│ ├── durability.md # Fatigue resistance as a trainable quality + field test
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│ ├── mtb-xco-demands.md # MTB/XCO demand profile; power governs, HR caveat
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│ ├── strength-for-cyclists.md # Heavy strength; masters rationale; from-zero ramp
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│ ├── vo2max-intervals.md # Maximizing time ≥90% VO2max; work:rest; rep length
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│ ├── periodization.md # Distribution philosophy; base/build/peak; CTL ramp; taper
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│ ├── data-confounds.md # HR reliability; power-governs; decoupling/RHR caveats
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│ └── citations.md # Master citation list with PMID/DOI — single source of truth
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└── assets/
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├── plan-template-base.md # Backward-mapped base mesocycle skeleton (3:1 / 2:1)
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├── plan-template-build.md # Build block: VO2 + durability + strength integration
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└── field-test-durability.md # The ~1,500 kJ → 1-min hill durability field test
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```
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## Installing as a Claude skill
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A Claude skill is a directory containing a `SKILL.md` with YAML frontmatter (`name` +
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`description`). To install:
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**Claude Code (project or personal):**
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```bash
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# Personal (available in every project):
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git clone <this-repo> ~/.claude/skills/cycling-training
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# Or project-scoped (checked in with a repo):
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git clone <this-repo> .claude/skills/cycling-training
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```
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Claude auto-discovers any `SKILL.md` under a `skills/` directory. The `description` field in the
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frontmatter is what Claude matches against to decide when to load the skill, so keep it intact.
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**Claude.ai / Claude Desktop:** upload or sync the folder as a skill per the current skills UI.
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Once installed, this skill loads automatically when you ask cycling-training questions, and it
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pairs with your connected Intervals.icu MCP server for the live data.
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## How to read the docs
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- **`SKILL.md` is a router, not a manual.** It points to the one reference doc that answers the
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question at hand. Load docs on demand; don't read them all up front.
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- **Every quantitative claim carries a citation** (author/year, with PMID/DOI in `citations.md`).
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This is deliberate: it lets future-you *verify* rather than trust.
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- **Where the mechanism is established but the optimal dose is not, the docs say so** — marked
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`⚠️ under-researched — track individual response`. Treat those as hypotheses to test on
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yourself, not settled protocol.
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## Scope & honesty notes
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- Content is written for **balanced road/TT and MTB** use; discipline-specific numbers are
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labelled and not over-transferred (small-n elite XCO data ≠ masters marathon reality).
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- This skill gives **general training-science reasoning, not individualized medical advice.**
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Nothing here overrides a physician, and readiness/overtraining calls should use the
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confound-aware logic in `references/data-confounds.md`, never naive single-number rules.
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