TrainingPeaks member profile: Josh Shields, triathlete

In search of a healthier lifestyle, Josh Shields turned to triathlon. "I wanted to have a new hobby that involved me becoming healthier and that also surrounded me with people who are of a healthier consciousness. "

His first race was anything but perfectly executed, and yet it helped him realize his potential for more. "I did my first race on my dad's old 32lb 10 speed and rode the bike portion with my tennis shoes. Even though I had a terrible swim I made up a good bit of ground on the bike and then even more on the run. I finished 80th overall out of 500 people: not too bad for 5 hours of training a week and one swim a week for 4 weeks before the race! So, I saw potential for me to be pretty competitive and I love the thrill of competition."

Josh was introduced to TrainingPeaks by his first and only coach back in 2007, and now uses the software on his own to evaluate his training and plan his racing schedule. "I use TrainingPeaks graph functions to evaluate my efforts. I use them to calculate the time I am spending in my heart rate zones. I know that before an A race I want X amount of time in zone 5, zone 4, etc. I can also see when I had a peak what exactly it took to get there and what type of taper I used to execute. Then I can mirror exactly the HR zones and pace zones that made me successful in the previous race. The training graphs also help me visually see when I am slacking and when I am more motivated. Now that I have been training with TrainingPeaks I can see that I am always more consistent November-April and more lax April-October. So I try and schedule my A races early in the year and try and hang on for the remainder."

This season, Josh was happy with his results. "I did well. I did two Half Ironmans: the first in Orlando, with a finish time of 4:49, and I did Cancun with a time good enough to qualify me for Clearwater in Cancun, Mexico. I decided to opt out of the race because the times were so close and I didn't feel I could improve that much in 3 weeks. I also finished second in my age group (missed first by 10 seconds) in one of the largest Olympic distance races in the country at St. Augustine's in Florida."

For the upcoming season, Josh has big plans. "This year I am trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, age groups world championships USAT in the Olympic distance in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Ironman 70.3 in Clearwater. I would like to start finishing in the top 3 overall next year."

Josh will continue using TrainingPeaks to manage his training, and encourages all athletes to do the same. "I couldn't imagine training without TrainingPeaks. It gives me an advantage. Without the information precisely charted I wouldn't know exactly what caused a great peak. I have been telling every athlete I know."