Annual payment ICA members receive the 18-page e-book How to Create Profiles as a bonus for joining. On the left is one of the examples I use in the e-book to show how I piece together my profiles.
But I’m curious about how you all put together your own profiles. Do you sketch them out on paper first, like an architect? Or do you plan it out in a Word doc on a computer first? Or is it all in your mind and then you add your music? Do you use Class Builder and enter it directly into the program first?
Below is an example of my recent Tour de France profile for Stage 3. In this case, I even sketched the stage profile at the top so I could segment off where the songs would start. I like the pen on paper feeling; perhaps it harkens back to my days of being in art school? 😉
I look at the profile of the stage and watch the race, and/or look the profile again. I write down some specific incidents or the energy created during the race. I look at the profile again. I continue look at t he profile as I select the songs for each segments. I start the beginning, and select the songs for the end. The only difference from the real race is I always finish my class very strong regardless how the race ends. I start fill in the middle. I listen all the songs as I look at the profile and work on details such as speed, resistance, intensity, etc. I burn cd, import them to iTune on MP3 format so that I can get it in Mixmeister. Make any adjustment I need such as speed, cut off the area I don’t like, etc. I don’t do this all the time, but most of the times. I assemble my profiles in pc ultimately, but write down specific beats or intensity changes on the paper first and decide the details. Once I put them in my word, I listen and read the details of my profiles. By the time, I’m ready to teach the class, I know everything by the seconds. But, I’m totally exhausted. I often want to quit teaching because I spend too much time for the each class……
I used to create in a spreadsheet and have a sheet for each type of ride, size up to fit on a card and print. Now I create all my profiles using Class Builder. I don’t have a screen anymore, however, it gets me away from soggy paper and with the feature that I can swap out whole playlists, it has been my profile builder of choice for over a year.