Two distinct note surfaces on an activity, and what each is for.
An activity has two separate note surfaces. They are not duplicates: they store different things.
A single text field on the Activity record. It holds the workout description from the source FIT file (when the file carries one, like a Garmin workout description) or a short coach annotation if you typed one in.
Use for: the original workout intent, a one-line summary, or a short coach-side annotation that does not warrant a thread.
A chronological multi-message thread between the athlete and
the coach about this specific workout. Stored as
ActivityNote rows on activity.comment_thread.
Each ActivityNote has:
athlete or coach.Ordered oldest-first so the conversation reads top to bottom.
| Situation | Surface |
|---|---|
| FIT file workout description from a planned session | notes |
| One-line coach summary on a recent activity | notes |
| Athlete saying "felt great, breathing easy" | ActivityNote (athlete) |
| Coach replying "power looked clean, push pace on next one" | ActivityNote (coach) |
| Long debrief after a key workout | ActivityNote (coach) |
| Concerning observation that should appear elsewhere | CoachNote (see below) |
A CoachNote (see Writing coach notes)
is a structured coach record attached to an athlete, optionally
linked to an activity or race, with privacy gating, concerning
flags, and templates. CoachNotes are for structured
observations and prescriptions.
ActivityNote is for conversational back-and-forth about
one specific workout. Lower stakes, no privacy gating beyond
who can see the activity itself.
The two coexist: a workout can have a coach's structured note (in CoachNote) plus the athlete's "this felt rough" entry (in ActivityNote).
The comment thread is visible on the activity detail page
(/athlete/<public_id>/activity/<activity_id>/). New replies
sort to the bottom of the thread.
See also: Writing coach notes, Activity detail page.
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