Installing the Software
To install PC Coach, choose "Install" on the first screen of the CD browser. The PC Coach program will be loaded and a PC Coach icon will appear on your desktop. To start using PC Coach, double click on the desktop icon. The first time you start the program, it will ask you for a user name, and set up your user preferences.

Getting Started
PC Coach can be used alone as a logbook, or along with a training plan to schedule workouts for you.

If you have purchased a training plan (triathlon, cycling, running, etc.) and you wish to have the training plan create your workout schedule, click on the Training Plan icon to start your plan, (or go to "Tools-Training Plans- Start a Training plan" on the top menu). You will be asked several questions about your previous training experience, and your current goals. Once you have finished the interview, your calendar will automatically be loaded with one or more weeks of workouts. Before you start training with your plan, you should read the Training Plan Guide. To see the guide, go to "Help- Training Plan Books". You will see the Book listed there. By reading the training book, you will learn about the philosophy of the coach, and get valuable information about setting up and using the training plan.

This quick start guide gives you an overview about how to use this software to get the most out of your training experience. We recommend you print this small guide to keep beside you as a reference while you use PC Coach. There is a complete user's manual available under "Help - PC Coach Help Topics" on the top menu.

There are three major parts of PC Coach: the Calendar, the Workout View, and Reports. They work together to help you make a plan, stay with it, and track your progress along the way.

1. Set up your plan. The calendar view lets you plan and organize your training. If you are using a training plan, you start a plan, then the plan will ask you questions about your training preferences, and based on your answers, your PC Coach calendar will be filled with one or more weeks of workouts. If you do not wish to follow a training plan, you can set up your own workout schedule by double clicking on a day and selecting a workout to schedule. If you are being coached by a professional coach or personal trainer, you can have your workouts sent to you via the RCS feature, and they will appear on your PC Coach calendar. (Or, if you do not wish to plan ahead, and are using PC Coach only to log your workouts after you have completed them, wait until your workout is complete, then schedule the workout on your calendar and fill in the data all in one step.)
   
   
2. Follow your plan. Each workout view gives you precise instructions for performing each workout - including heart rate zones to keep you exercising at the proper intensity. The workout view also gives you a place to enter your workout data, so you'll be able to track your exercise data over time.
   
   
3. Analyze Your Progress. The graphing feature lets you analyze any data you have recorded. See how your mileage has increased over the past few weeks, and how your times have improved!