My New Passion Project: A Triathlon Training App

I’ve learned a lot since I started triathlon – like when to pace yourself, how to wear a speedo with confidence, or that after a couple hours in the sun, an appetizing bike snack a banana does not make.

But more importantly – and more relevant – I’ve learned how to intelligently train for a race.

I got roped into the sport after losing a bet to a friend. My first race was an Ironman 70.3 and the training was grueling, even borderline depressing, for someone new to endurance sports like myself. Fortunately, I managed to finish the race and after breathing a deep sigh of relief I did what anyone else who spent the last 6 months overtrained and under rested would do – got bored and signed up for another race. It turns out there is a name for this phenomenon: “Post-Race Depression”. And so began my journey into the deep dark abyss that is triathlon.

What started out as a lousy bet – one that will require years of therapy to repair the relationship with my so called “friend” – turned into a full-blown obsession. Suddenly, I found myself learning everything I could to better my performance in the next race (of course then 2020 happened so idk when that will be but we’ll just gloss over that part). I read blog posts, watched catalogs of YouTube videos, and even resorted to reading books. Physical ones, made of paper. But don’t worry, Mother Earth and I are Gucci since I probably planted a whole forest with my Ecosia searches.

Anyway, on my path to enlightenment, I stumbled upon what I, a second-rate age-group triathlete, believe to be the future – data-driven triathlon training. The current norm of training preaches subjective judgement of workout difficulty and vague timeframes about training phases. While these heuristics have come from a wealth of experience, they are highly individualistic and vary from athlete to athlete, making it difficult for a novice like myself to decipher.

However, thanks to some very smart people who are ushering in a new era of triathlon training, it’s now possible to make objective decisions based on common metrics like power, pace, and heart rate. Using a data-driven approach, one could calculate their current level of fitness, create a strategic plan to target specific abilities, and forecast fitness and fatigue to arrive at a race in peak condition. This is all possible today with readily available equipment that most triathletes already own. And I’ll admit, the decisions aren’t perfect, but they are a huge leap forward and open the door for recreational athletes, like myself, to engage in effective training without a personal coach.

All this sounds great, but the problem lies in putting the methodology into practice. There are some products out there that are collecting this data, but they are targeted towards coaches or self-coached triathletes that are savvy enough to both comprehend the data and make adjustments to their plan. I’ve yet to find one that is targeted to those new to the sport of triathlon.

So I’ve decided to create my own.

And yes, there’s probably an unhealthy amount of hubris in that statement. I don’t claim to have a groundbreaking idea. But what I know is that the product I want, isn’t available. And if others find it useful too, then that’s a bonus.

Not to mention making apps is fun! “I’m making an app”. I don’t think I’ve been able to say that since college (Intellectual Property Agreements can be very destructive to creativity). In any case, I’ve spent the last 5+ years of my life devoted to macOS so I cannot wait to jump back into the world of iOS and see what’s new…and re-learn all the stuff I forgot.

Thanks for reading! ✌️

Duff