How it works — OpenPacemaker

Strava & activity data

Your activities are your data feed

OpenPacemaker reads your Strava activities in real time — distance, pace, elapsed time, heart rate, elevation, cadence, and power where available. This raw data feeds every analysis, training load calculation, and coaching response.

But there's something just as important as the numbers: your workout title and description.

The coach reads your Strava title and description to understand the intent behind each session. "Easy 10k, kept it conversational" tells a very different story than "10.0 km". Include effort level, any niggles, or context — it becomes part of the coaching memory.

Good examples of descriptive titles:

Easy recovery jog — legs still heavy from Sunday
Tempo 3×2km @ HM pace, felt strong
Long run 26km — bonked at 22, nutrition off

Activities sync automatically whenever you finish a run on Strava. You can also trigger a manual sync with /sync.

Initial setup

Getting configured (~5 minutes)

Once you've connected Strava, run through these steps once to unlock the full coaching experience.

01

Sync your activity history Send /sync. This pulls up to 12 months of activities into the database so the coach has context from the start — not just your runs from today onwards.

02

Set your HR zones Send /setzones <resting_hr> <max_hr>. Zones are used to classify effort in every run and to compute training load (CTL/ATL/TSB). Without them, /breakdown, /load, and /analyse work in limited mode.
Example: /setzones 48 188

03

Run your athlete assessment Send /onboarding. The coach analyses your full history, asks about injuries and training preferences, then generates a personalised training plan in a single guided conversation. Takes about 5 minutes.

04

Add your personal bests If you have PBs from before your Strava history, tell the bot: /setpbs 5K in 17:30, 10K in 37:40, half marathon in 1:21. These feed into VDOT calculations and pace zone recommendations.

Day-to-day use

Example week with OpenPacemaker

Once configured, the bot fits into your routine naturally — morning briefings, post-run analysis, and a coach available whenever you need one.

Monday morning — check the week ahead

/today

Today — Week 6, Day 1
Easy aerobic run · 10 km · Z2 HR
Keep pace conversational. Focus on time on feet, not speed.

After a hard session — get instant analysis

/analyse

Tempo 8km — Analysis
Avg HR 168 bpm (Z4) · 4:12/km avg pace
✅ Effort matched plan · 72% time in target zone
⚠ Last 2km HR drifted to Z5 — consider splitting into 2×4km next week.
How did it feel? Rate effort 1–10.

Mid-week — ask anything in plain English

My left knee has been a bit sore after runs, should I be worried?

Based on your recent load (TSB -14, ATL rising), this might be early overreach. Your easy run Tuesday had avg HR 158 — that's Z3, not recovery pace.

Suggestion: swap Thursday's session for a true Z1 jog or rest. Want me to adjust the plan? Also log this with /wellness left knee 3 so I can track it.

Sunday — weekly check-in

/week

Week 6 vs Plan
Planned 52 km · Actual 47 km (90%)
Mon ✅ Tue ✅ Wed ⏭ skipped · Thu ✅ Fri – · Sat ✅
Good week overall. Skipped Wednesday — planned rest next week.

Tips

Getting the most out of the coach

Write Strava titles as if you're logging to a training diary. The more context, the better the analysis.

Rate your effort after hard sessions. When the bot asks for an RPE (1–10), answer it — this feeds the coaching memory and improves future plans.

Log niggles early. Use /wellness <body_part> <1–10> as soon as something feels off. The coach tracks these and factors them into load recommendations.

Ask follow-up questions. After /analyse, the conversation is open — ask "should I change next week?" or "what pace should I target for the race?"

You can delete all your data at any time by sending /delete confirm in the bot, or by revoking access in Strava settings.