TrainingPeaks member profile: Alex McDonald, triathlete, coach, and doctor

Alex McDonald was first introduced to the world of triathlon by his father, and then later encouraged by a friend to train for a sprint triathlon, which Alex completed on a mountain bike. “My father use to participate in local triathlon as well as marathons when I was a kid and I would often go with him and be his ‘support crew.’ I use to enjoy these races and I always thought that it might be fun to do a triathlon someday. When I was in my first year of med school a friend of mine asked me if I would train with him for a local sprint triathlon. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I of course agreed. A few weeks later I had done my first sprint tri on a mountain bike and was utterly hooked on the sport.”

One of his favorite aspects of the sport are the great people who are involved, although he admits that it is primarily the competition with himself that drives him. “There are many aspects that keep me involved in the sport, most notably the people. However, the biggest factor that keeps me hitting the pavement day after day is an internal drive to be the absolute best I can be. To push myself to the breaking point and see what happens. I am taking a break from my medical career while I am young to see where my true potential in the sport lives. After all, I can practice medicine for my years to come, yet I am only young once and don’t want to miss the opportunity to race and push myself mentally and physically with the best in the world.”

Alex is taking his training very seriously during his time off from his medical career. “Depending on the time of year I training anywhere from 20-30hrs a week and usually train solo for much of it. Because of my schedule it is often hard to coordinate with other athletes and even more difficult to synchronize the specific goal or purpose of the workouts and every workout does have a purpose. While training along I will sometimes listen to music, especially during challenging work sets or tempo intervals, however, I often like to be out training with just my thoughts and the natural world around me.”

In addition to training hard, Alex is training smart, taking the time to carefully analyze all of the data from his workouts. “I ride 5-6 days a week, 99% of the time solo, ranging anywhere from a 60min easy spin to a 6hr Ironman pace ride. However, I never ride without my Power Tap, it helps to keep me honest and consistent in my efforts. Additionally, I upload every power file to WKO as well as Training Peaks so that I have a perfect quantitative and qualitative record of my training as well as historical data to look back on. Using these tools helps Kurt Perham, my coach, and I to specifically design and track my training and fitness over the specific cycles throughout the year as well as over a season. I now have over 3 years of data that I can look back at and that is a very valuable resource.”

Not only does he track his cycling data, but Alex also uploads his running workouts. “I run 5-6 days a week, again mostly solo, as well and feel that frequency is very important when it comes to running. Again the workouts range from a 20min transition run to a 2:45 long run. I will often include pace or tempo work within a middle to long distance run. I never run without my Timex BodyLink, which is a combined, Heart Rate and GPS unit. Using this tool I can track my heart rate, as well as speed and distance, and, again, upload all the data, including a map of where I ran, to Training Peaks. A very valuable tool to say the least!”

Alex uses TrainingPeaks both for his own training and for coaching other athletes. “TrainingPeaks is an incredible tool. As an athlete I first began using it about 3 years ago and shortly there after began using it as a coach. My own coaching introduced me to the program when I first started working with him and I found it incredibly helpful to plan and keep track of the time, distance and type of training I was performing. However, and possibly more importantly, TrainingPeaks works as a communication tool between my coach and I. As and athlete and coach I use TrainingPeaks daily and find myself recommending it to everyone I know.”

This season is going pretty well so far for Alex. “With the help of TrainingPeaks, I know that I am certainly stronger, faster and leaner than last year. I began the season at California 70.3 in April and had a pretty good race - the incredibly competitive field made it a challenge, but I was happy with my execution and my fitness at that point in the season. I then did a few half Ironmen in May and things did not go exactly as planned, a flat tire, a poor swim and some other tactical mistakes yielded results which I was less than pleased with and I know that I did not race as well as I could have, however, I learned from each mistake. Although it may seem no different than racing as an age-grouper, the pro race is certainly different and requires a lot more tactical and calculated race day decisions. As an up and coming pro I am certainly still learning how best to utilize my every growing fitness on race day. I am an Ironman distance specialist and I enjoy the 70.3 distance, however, I am looking forward to really testing myself at Ironman Lake Placid in July.”

Alex enjoys the combination of his passion as an athlete with his career choice as a doctor. “As an MD and a professional athlete I have found the perfect intersection of my two passions. My education allows me to understand the details of exercise physiology, sports medicine and the human body in profound ways both as a athlete and coach. Conversely, my experience as an athlete helps me to better understand the human body as a physician. I am very fortunate to have the ability for my two unique perspectives to compliment one another so perfectly. I truly enjoying pushing myself and the athletes I coach to become the best they can be in a enjoyable and efficient manner.”

Alex M. McDonald, MD is a professional triathlete, coach and a member of the Timex Multisport Team. His interests lie in coaching endurance athletes, sports medicine and exercise physiology. He obtained his MD degree from the University of Vermont. Prior to medical school, Alex graduated from Connecticut College in 2003 with an emphasis on both the biological and social sciences. He currently lives and trains in Durham, NC.