About Drew Hartman
Ironman Wisconsin 2008
I have been a professional computer application developer for nearly 30-years.
My first BIG application was a DOS based Inventory/Quoting system for a Tool
& Die/Plastics company in Northern Wisconsin, which relied on the system to
keep track of what parts were in stock and what had been shipped. It evolved
over a 7-year period until the company outgrew its use and required more
integrated accounting. This company is now a multi-million dollar corporation
and I can proudly say I played a significant role in its initial growth.
Since 1994, I have been an application developer for a major insurance company
based out of Bloomington, IL. The company has allowed me to not only grow in
the field of software development, but has also given me the flexibility to
pursue my other passion, triathlon and other endurance sports.
I participated in my first triathlon in 1998. It was a local sprint and I had
no clue what the sport was about other than knowing I had to get wet, pedal a
bike, and try to run my way home to the finish line. I do not have a high
school/college background in any of the three disciplines. I played basketball
in high school, but was a decent runner when it came to practice drills that
required endurance. I just didn't know what it was like to run for 5-miles
straight.
In 2000, I took triathlon a little more serious and eventually built my way up
to the Ironman distance in 2001, finishing respectively at Ironman Florida. By
2005 I felt I was reaching my limits and felt I needed to get some help. I
hired a coach for a year and he introduced me to a new mindset for what it takes
to get to Kona. He got me to the hurdles; I just needed to get over them. Near the end of his coaching I purchased a CompuTrainer™. What a
terrific piece of equipment! I trained on it a couple times a week and did the
rest of my riding outside. What I found was when I was outside I applied all of
what I was learning from the CompuTrainer™ rides. The only problem was I didn't
get ALL the data I wanted. There was tons of data with no great way to analyze it. I
wanted more and seeing that I have some technical computer skills I started building up an application, which is now known as
PerfPRO Studio. After a few revisions and some added functionality I felt it
was ready to be shared with the rest of the CompuTrainer™ community and it this
point there are now hundreds of athletes seeing the benefits of my software.
Indoor training has become a necessity in my training as well as many other athletes. Just when you think
you have reached your limit, bang, you push through another wall. Before these tools I can say, without a
doubt, I felt I could not get any better as a cyclist. At least not without
hiring a coach and quitting my job! With the help of these tools I think I have
many years of improvement left and that's extremely exciting!