TrainingPeaks member profile: Ray Maker, triathlete

Before he had even swum a lap in the pool or gotten a road bike, Ray Maker decided to race in a half-Ironman that was less than 6 months away. "I had started running a couple years ago to complete a marathon with a friend.  After completing the marathon I was interested in trying out new sports and my friend had casually mentioned triathlon.  Around April I decided on trying to finish a half-Ironman race later that year, in September 2007  (although this was before I had completed my first laps in the pool or even gotten a road bike - I tend to do things backwards sometimes.)  But, after figuring out how to swim and bike I completed my first Sprint in July, first Olympic in August and then first Half-Ironman in September.  From there I’ve been hooked."

"I love the challenge of doing all three sports and how it’s a bit of an art form balancing them all.  I enjoy running the most and when triathlon season dies down in early fall I transition over to running races for the rest of the year.  I also love how friendly people are in the sport – everyone is always incredibly helpful and willing to share their stories or tips.  It’s a great community."

Ray started using TrainingPeaks when he decided to get a coach to help him train more efficiently. "I started using TrainingPeaks when I got a triathlon coach back in May.  It’s provided a great way to easily allow him to view all my workouts and track that over time.  I love that it’s easy to upload regardless of the device (Garmin or CompuTrainer) and I routinely use it to check back and verify what workouts I did when.  I used to use a spreadsheet to keep track of it all, but I’d often get lazy and forget to update it.  Now that I upload everything for the coach, I know I have a single – correct – source to check my workout history.  I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to track their workouts or share them with a coach."

Ray trains every day, using his Garmin and Computrainer to keep track of his workouts on TrainingPeaks. "I train seven days a week, with Mondays being a bit of an easier day in the pool.  During tri season I do two sessions on a bike trainer every week in addition to a long ride on Sundays.  And I also do about three runs a week, including a long run (usually a 20 miler) and a track workout.  And I swim about 3-4 times a week.  I have a coach who puts together all my training schedules, which I generally complete alone.  The one exception is running where I’ll complete virtually all of my runs with friends in a local running group.  I tend to go in phases with listening to music while training.  Sometimes I’m in a ‘no music’ mood, but I go back and forth if I get bored.  I religiously use my Garmin 305 and 705 to track all my workouts and upload them to Training peaks where my coach then analyzes them and gives me feedback on each workout.  I’ve also got a CompuTrainer for all my indoor training workouts, so I also get power information from that."

In just his second season of triathlon, Ray completed his first Ironman. "I couldn’t have asked for a better second year in triathlon (or running).  I had a great summer leading up to my first Ironman, with doing very well at Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 and just narrowly missing a spot for the Clearwater Championships.  In August I completed Ironman Canada (despite having a 6-year-old T-bone me on his bike during the last mile of the bike segment) and had a blast up there.  I’m signed for Ironman Canada 2009. In September I raced in the Nation’s Triathlon in Washington DC and took 3^rd place in my age group out of 215 people.  I was super-excited about that."

For the coming season, Ray hopes to qualify for one of the Ironman Championships, but mostly he just wants to keep having fun. "I’m looking this year to qualify for one of the Ironman Championships (70.3 or full Ironman), but that will take a good solid winter's worth of training. Most of all I just want to keep enjoying the sport and the training."

Happy training, Ray! Learn more about Ray on his blog.

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