Planned vs Actual: Link Activities to Your Training Plan Workouts
by The Next Race
The Gap Between Planning and Doing
Training plans are about intention. Activities are about execution. Until now, these two lived in separate worlds inside The Next Race. You could plan a tempo run for Thursday and import your Strava activity from Thursday, but there was no way to connect them.
That changes today with activity linking.
How It Works
Open any planned workout in your training plan. At the bottom, you'll see a Link Activity button. Tap it, and you'll see a list of your recent activities from around that date — within a 3-day window.
Select the matching activity, and three things happen:
- The workout is marked as completed automatically
- A planned-vs-actual comparison appears right in the workout detail view
- The activity stays in your library — linking doesn't move or duplicate it
Planned vs Actual
The comparison shows your key metrics side by side:
| Metric | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | 10.0 km | 10.3 km |
| Duration | 0:48:00 | 0:46:32 |
| Pace | 4:48 | 4:31 |
| Avg HR | 155 | 158 |
| Avg Power | — | 245 |
| Training Load | — | 87 |
At a glance, you can see whether you hit your targets, went harder than planned, or came up short. It's the fastest way to keep your training honest.
Unlinking
Changed your mind? Tap Unlink to remove the connection. The workout goes back to "Not completed," the comparison disappears, and the activity stays in your library untouched.
Each activity can only be linked to one workout at a time, so there's no confusion about which session matches which plan.
Where It Works
Activity linking is available on both the web app and the iOS app. The comparison view adapts to each platform — a clean table on web, a native card layout on mobile.
What's Next
This is the foundation for deeper training analysis. Linking opens the door to trend tracking, plan adherence scores, and coach feedback on actual performance versus intent. For now, it's a simple, visual answer to the question every athlete asks after a workout: Did I do what I was supposed to?