Training plan tools
 

I am sure my questions are not new but with a quick search I couldn't find what I am looking for:

So here I am. Hitting 40, office job, family, 200lbs at 6'2" - you get the picture. Since I am planning to be around for several more decades it is time to get in shape again while having some fun with it. Golf alone won't do it. Running will for sure do further damage to my knees and I'd rather do that with skiing. Getting back into playing tennis turns out to be difficult because you need a partner and that can be difficult to coordinate with other committments. Hence, I refurbished my old road bike and mapped out a beautiful tour right where I live (two circular tours north and south from my house at about 12 miles each with light elevations).

My goals are:

- get in better shape
- lose 20-30 lbs
- eat healthier
- be able to particpate in a two stage event next year with a total of 192 miles

Other than the no-nonsense-just-do-it approach I noticed in other parts of my life that a good schedule and easy to use results tracking helps me to get things done.

Are there any good (free or cheap) online tracking tools that you guys would recommend that

-let you track your miles
-track aproximate use of calories
-track caloric intake
-track weight
-allow use and/or syncing with a BlackBerry
?

And: how can I figure out what my training heart rate on a 25m course should look like? (I don't have a monitor or anything yet - is there one that would work with a BlackBerry?)

Thanks

Fitday.com will do a lot of what you are looking for, although it is not cycling specific by any means. I would suggest getting a Garmon Forerunner 50 heart rate monitor for about $65 on Ebay. You may need an early battery change, and it may not have warranty, but saves money over retail (that's what I did, but I'm cheap). Using that, and a cycling computer, you can create your own log using a spreadsheet as follows:

Date
Route
Your weight
Distance (mi.)
Total time
Max heart rate
Average heart rate
Calories consumed

These would be the first column headings, and for each training session you could fill in an additional column. Or make these headings for the columns and make the rows the individual sessions.

You will have to use a formula to calculate calories consumed, and it will only be an estimate since the Forerunner 50 doesn't track any bike parameters such as distance, speed, cadence, etc. More advanced Garmon (or other brand) monitors will, however.

bikejournal.com
ProLogcycling.wikispaces.com

I use these two

www.pccoach.com and a downloading Polar HRM/cycling computer. Buy the PC Coach cycling training plan, too. No need for a Blackberry.