TrainingPeaks member profile: Brent Poulsen, Triathlete

In 1998, Brent Poulsen, then a grade 11 student at a local high school in Orillia Ontario, enrolled in a class called triathlon 101, not knowing that this class would ultimately change the rest of his life. The purpose of the class was to train for and compete in the Muskoka Sprint Triathlon at the end of the school year. As a well rounded and competitive athlete, Brent had natural talent running and cycling, however had not swum since taking swimming lessons as a child. After this invigorating triathlon class, and more importantly racing in his first triathlon, Brent was instantly addicted to the sport. In 2002, Brent captured the provincial junior triathlon title and was named to the age group National Team. With his mind set on competitive triathlons and in order to improve his swimming, Brent then attended Laurentian University and devoted the next four years to swimming with the Vees and learning from the famous Olympic swim coach Dr. Jeno Tihanyi. Brent graduated from Laurentian University in 2006 and moved to Texas in order to train in optimal conditions and pursue a business career.

More recently, in 2007, Brent finished 6^th overall at the World Aquathon Championships, 9^th Pro Male at Lubbock 70.3, and was a US Open Competitor. In 2008, Brent finished 7^th pro male at the Florida 70.3. Brent started using TrainingPeaks in 2008 when he joined the Lifesport coaching team. Training peaks is an ideal software which enables both Brent and his coach (Dan) to input and analyze data on Brent’s training to ensure specificity in all workouts. Although Brent and Dan are geographically miles apart for most of the season, the features provided by TrainingPeaks create a unity between athlete and coach that guarantee efficiency of training in order to improve the athlete’s performance. WKO software also facilitates the uploading of Brent’s training devices to TrainingPeaks in order to be further analyzed by his coach.

Not only is TrainingPeaks an excellent software to track and update workouts between athlete and coach, and to update training devices, it also allows the athlete to enter weekly goals and track daily personal characteristics. Weekly, Brent inputs new goals (visible to coach) which reflect the time of season in order to prepare for upcoming races and track the season to date. Daily, Brent inputs logistics such as hours of sleep, level of soreness and fatigue which may be key factors in the outcome of his daily training. In TrainingPeaks this data can be tracked, is extremely organize and easily managed. Also, TrainingPeaks is an extremely user friendly program. After hard workouts, and long days, Brent can easily upload his data and type brief comments that are saved and reviewed by Dan.

This season, Brent has just recently completed a six-week pro training camp with the Lifesport team in Hawaii and is ready to begin his season as a professional in the 70.3 triathlon distance. During this training camp, Brent finished 5^th male pro at the Lavaman Olympic distance triathlon. Although Brent was extremely fatigued from the training camp, many notable gains were seen in his performance. Brent’s goals this season are to become one of the best 70.3 distance athletes, and of course to have fun and enjoy the journey. Brent has a great bunch of sponsors to whom he is very grateful for including him: RacerMater, Lifesport Coaching, SLS Compression, Colonels Bikes, Orbea USA, Base Performance, and is always seeking other sponsors for the upcoming 2009-2010 season. Brent’s hard work, dedication and ultimately the accomplishment of his goals can be followed this upcoming season at www.brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com. Own it, and do not forget to update your TrainingPeaks!

Comments

[John Smith]

Check out these sites for his "real" placings...
http://www.theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=480&result_type=db
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp#hot_links