I’m using a Race file from a 600k race I did last year and want to do again in April 2025. Race AI seems to be suggesting a Low XSS number that is unattainable, even if I had more than a year to train. Can I still follow the plan even though I would fall well short of the “required” Low XSS?! Thanks!
This is based off of a 600k race file that spanned over 30+ hours.
Hi Drew, thanks for sharing!
It looks like the Event Readiness is set to 1.0 (Excellent), which will require you to achieve a very high (5-star) training status to be able to handle that much XSS with the ‘Excellent’ event readiness score. You can adjust the readiness to 3.0 or maybe higher & try forecasting the training plan. While this won’t decrease the XSS estimated from your event, it will decrease the targeted Low Training Load in preparation for your event.
Cheers!
Hey Scott, thanks for the feedback!
I updated the Readiness to 4.1 and that did the trick, but does that mean I should be planning for a Poor race?!
I mean, I’m assuming that if I follow the plan as-is, I should be in even better shape this year than last!
Thanks again and let me know if there is anything else you suggest.
-Drew
Happy to help!
In an ideal world, everyone would achieve an Event Readiness of 1 for their races/events. However, most of us have other commitments in life that might prohibit achieving a 5-star training status in preparation for a 30 hour race!
This is why we created a range of values for Event Readiness, where the ER value represents how long Xert expects you to be Red Star/Very Tired status afterwards. In your case, Xert expects you to be red status for 4.1 days after your event. Decreasing your ER value (to 1.0) means that you’ll be back to ‘Fresh’ status sooner after your race, but that requires you to achieve a higher Training Load going into your event. It also means that you’ll likely have higher durability during your event. I elaborated on that a bit more in another forum thread, here: How Are You Using Xert’s Forecast AI Training Plans? - #15 by ManofSteele
TLDR: It’s pretty obvious when you think about it… to be better prepared for your event, you need to train more! 
Xert just tries to provide more specific values for how well-prepared a user might be.
Ahh, it’s all finally clicking now! Totally makes sense with regard to Readiness, as for me (or anyone?) to feel “fresh” the day after after a nonstop 600km/400mi race is not realistic. 
Glad to be back on Xert, as part of the fun is learning the system itself! 
I can appreciate how it might feel like there’s much to learn but I think in the end, it makes for a more involved experience than any other platform! You have so much control over your own training! 
