Readiness Protocol

• Owner: Coach Luca
• Last updated: 2026-04-10
• Purpose: Defines daily decision states, evidence handling, and action rules for the morning readiness assessment
• Gate: This protocol must be completed before the morning skill is finalized

Readiness check

The morning readiness assessment evaluates these factors in order:

1. Sleep — quantity and quality if known
2. Perceived freshness — subjective leg sensation, energy level, motivation
3. Illness or immune concern — any active symptoms, recent exposure, Hashimoto's flare indicators
4. Travel disruption — jet lag, schedule compression, sleep environment change
5. Non-training stress — life stress, emotional load, when surfaced by the athlete
6. Hashimoto's-specific watch items — thyroid symptoms, energy crashes, recovery pattern changes, medication context
7. Previous-day session outcome — was yesterday completed, modified, or skipped? How did the athlete respond?
8. Nutrition or hydration concerns — under-fueling, dehydration, missed meals, when materially relevant to the day

Decision States

Evidence Sources — Morning Read Order

Coach Luca reads the following sources each morning, in this order:

1. Inbound athlete messages since the prior evening note — direct check-in, complaints, questions, or context
2. Recovery specialist daily log or watch items — sleep data, HRV trends, fatigue flags, Hashimoto's alerts
3. Nutrition daily log — fueling concerns, hydration notes, pre-session nutrition guidance
4. Today's rolling 7-day entry — what is planned
5. Current 3-week block context — what this week is trying to accomplish
6. Previous evening note — yesterday's session outcome and any carried-forward concerns
7. Weather — conditions that affect session design, hydration, or safety

Decision Rules

Green

All of the following must be true:

• No negative signal from any readiness domain
• Previous-day session outcome is Confirmed completed or Confirmed modified — minor
• No active Hashimoto's concern from recovery specialist
• No illness symptom
• No travel disruption in the past 48 hours
• Athlete check-in (if available) does not raise concern

Action: Proceed with the planned session as written in the rolling 7-day file.

Amber

Any of the following triggers Amber:

• Sleep quality reported as poor or sleep quantity < 6 hours
• Athlete reports flat legs, low energy, or reduced motivation
• Previous-day session was Confirmed modified — significant or created higher-than-expected fatigue
• Mild illness symptom (e.g. sore throat, mild headache) without confirmed infection
• Travel within the past 48 hours with time zone change or disrupted sleep
• Non-training stress surfaced by the athlete as notable
• Hashimoto's indicator is borderline (e.g. slightly elevated resting HR, slow recovery pattern)
• Nutrition concern: under-fueling the previous day or missed pre-session meal

Action:

• Reduce the planned session intensity or duration
• Add a contingency option (e.g., "If legs do not come around in the first 20 minutes, convert to easy spin")
• Do not add intensity beyond what is in the 7-day file
• Note the Amber trigger in the morning athlete note

Red

Any of the following triggers Red:

• Active illness symptoms — fever, congestion, GI distress, body aches
• Athlete states they are sick or too fatigued to train
• Hashimoto's flare indicators — crash fatigue, unexplained weight change, thyroid symptoms
• Injury — new pain, aggravation of existing issue
• Severe sleep deprivation (< 4 hours or multiple consecutive poor nights)
• Recovery specialist issues an explicit Red flag
• Previous-day session was Confirmed not completed due to health or extreme fatigue

Action:

• Replace the planned session with rest, gentle mobility, or a very light recovery spin (< 30 min, Zone 1 only)
• State the reason clearly in the morning note
• Flag the situation to the recovery specialist for ongoing monitoring
• Do not schedule the missed session for the next day unless health clears

Unconfirmed

Unconfirmed applies when:

• No athlete check-in is available
• Recovery specialist has not provided a current daily log
• Previous-day session outcome is Unconfirmed (no TP data, no athlete report)
• Evidence exists but is contradictory or ambiguous

Action:

• Do not escalate load beyond the conservative end of the planned range
• Default to an easier session variant if multiple options exist
• State in the morning note: "Readiness is unconfirmed — keeping today conservative"
• Do not guess the athlete's state

Critical Rules

1. Missing data is not evidence of readiness. If the evidence is insufficient, the state is Unconfirmed, not Green.
2. Unconfirmed is a real state, not a temporary placeholder. It drives the day's decision and must not be upgraded without evidence.
3. The morning workflow may reduce or simplify a day, but may not increase load solely because the written plan shows a harder session. Load escalation requires Green readiness.
4. Hashimoto's is always a named domain. Even when no active concern exists, the morning assessment must note whether Hashimoto's watch items were checked.
5. When in doubt, simplify. A conservative day has low downside. A day that oversteps readiness can compound fatigue and trigger a Hashimoto's cascade.
6. The readiness state must be recorded in every morning note as one of: Green, Amber, Red, or Unconfirmed.

Readiness State Recording

The morning note must include a readiness line in the format:

Readiness: Green | Amber | Red | Unconfirmed

If Amber, Red, or Unconfirmed, the trigger(s) must be stated briefly:

Readiness: Amber — poor sleep (< 6 hours), mild leg fatigue reported

This provides a durable trail for the evening review and for weekly pattern analysis.

Specialist Input Expectations

• Recovery specialist: Expected to surface sleep quality, HRV trends, fatigue signals, and any Hashimoto's-specific alerts in their daily log or via a watch-items note that Coach Luca can read.
• Nutrition: Expected to note any fueling concerns from the prior day or any pre-session guidance relevant to the morning.
• Endurance specialist: May flag load-management concerns from the current training block, but is not a primary readiness input.
• Strength specialist: May flag DOMS or gym-related recovery needs.

If specialist logs are stale (from the prior evening rather than same-morning), the morning pass should note the staleness and factor it into the readiness classification. Stale specialist input alone does not trigger Unconfirmed, but it should reduce confidence in a Green classification when other evidence is marginal.

Special Day Types

Rest day

• Readiness assessment is still performed (it may reveal problems that carry into the next day)
• The readiness state is recorded as usual
• The morning note is reduced in scope but not skipped

Race day

• Readiness assessment is performed with race-day awareness
• Only Red should change race plans; Amber results in race-day contingency notes
• The primary morning message focuses on execution anchors, not training structure

Travel day

• Travel days automatically elevate readiness concern by one level (Green → assess carefully; Amber → likely Red)
• Session expectations should reflect travel constraints