The Performance Manager Chart Thread
Team,
I'm pretty sure we've reached a critical mass of:
- TeamEN athletes training and racing with power and pace
- Athletes aggregating / tracking / maybe paying attention to this data across a range of online and software tools: Trainingpeaks, WKO+, Golden Cheetah, Strava, Garmin Connect, etc.
- ^These^ have become more and more connecting enabling you to upload you file to one place and POOF it shows up on multiple platforms.
- Most important, we have a very large cadre of smartypants peeps who've been tracking their stuff across many seasons with EN.
So the intent of this thread is to:
- Point you to resources to learn more about the Performance Manager Chart in WKO+ and Trainingpeaks.
- Consolidate discussions around the PMC
- Hopefully gather PMC-related data to help us improve as a Team. Specifically, we're interested in ideal CTL, ATL, and TSB numbers to achieve peak performances in long course triathlons.
Have no idea what the PMC, CTL, ATL, and TSB are?
Do not pass go before you have read these resources below:
Happy learning and thanks for participating!
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My thoughts and our collective observations on IF, TSS, the PMC, Acute and Chronic Training Load, Training Stress Balance and More...
"The more you do, the more you can do."
This is the premise of training with power, pace, measuring things, Training Stress Score, tracking stuff via the PMC, and our mantra of "Work is Speed Entering the Body."
Specifically, the more training you do (stacking up training stress day after day, week after week, month after month) the more...training you can do...and you get faster. Or, I guess you could say time X for distance Y becomes easier...because you've trained your body to be able to do more work.
So in the end it's all about accumulating Training Stress consistently over time. Your Training Stress Score if a function of two variables:
- The duration (volume, measured by time) of the session.
- The intensity of the session, quantified as Intensity Factor (IF) with is based on your threshold power (bike) or speed (run and swim)
However, the power-training world has made some very important observations regarding IF, TSS, and each sport over the years:
Within the Same Sport, not All TSS Points are Created Equal
This is to say that the whole Intensity Factor, Normalized Power, Training Stress Core universe of forumulas and whatnot isn't perfect:
- Hammer on your bike for ~75', as hard as you can, and accumulate 100 TSS.
- Now go for an easy bike ride, just JRA until you reach 100 TSS.
- If you've done ^this^ you know (because your legs will tell you) that these two rides are fundamentally different even though they have the same TSS score. I'll let you guess which ride is harder
And so within the same sport, TSS points accumulated at higher intensity factors (IFs) are more costly than the TSS formula describes. To put this in Ironman pacing terms (ie, how ^this^ stuff plays out on race day):
- A 285 TSS Ironman bike split ridden at an IF of ~.73-74 = you're good, you've done a good job of setting up your run.
- A 315 TSS Ironman bike split ridden at an IF of .68-69 = you're also good. But...
- A 315 TSS Ironman bike split ridden at an IF of .74-75 = you're fooked. Try again next year.
^This^ is just stuff that the power training world has learned over the years.
TSS Points are not 100% Equivalent between Sports
This should make intuitive sense to you:
- A 3hr ride at .70 IF = #X TSS
- A 3hr run at .70 IF = #X TSS
- But you know that a 3hr run is very, very different from a 3hr ride! The TSS formula just doesn't capture allllll of the consideration of weight bearing sport (run) vs a non-impact sport (bike).
- Likewise, a 100 TSS swim could have very little effect on your run the same day...or it might have a large effect if you're a poor swimmer with an aggressive kick, etc.
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Google says it's not yet available. I haven't been a WKO+ reseller for years so there will be no special EN price.
It was announced over a year ago. I suspect its not happening, that TP is going with a cloud-based subscription model as its business plan, instead of computer based software. My netbook PC, purchased solely for WKO+ and CompuTrainer, is still plugging away after five years. Pretty good for a $250 investment.
Some thoughts/idea's....
It's important NOT to get too wrapped up in the data numbers of the PMC , trying to make it do what you want it too, or worse yet, trying to match someone else , but rather to just do the work , accumulate "your" numbers over time , and find out "your" patterns...
There maybe some general guidelines or ranges of numbers but I have found NO direct correlation or magic numbers in my data.
The MOST important thing is to make sure your FTP , VDOT, Threshold , power/pace numbers for the SBR are up to date to get the most correct data in the PMC.
All TSS is NOT created equal...If you have a power meter for your bike those numbers are as good as you can get for measuring TSS as long as your FTP is set correctly...Its not a perfect system , specially for the run and swim there a many factors than can vary the real TSS like hills, wind, heat , humidity , waves, currents , salt water, wetsuit , swim toys etc... But its close enough to collect data and patterns !
I have 2 Years of Data. Listed below is the ATL, CTL, TSB the day before all HIM's
ATL CTL TSB NOTE's
6/22/13 81.6 121 +28.7 IMMT 70.3 6th place, great race
6/28/14 124.8 137.9 +1.5 TRI VT small local HIM 1st place great race
7/25/14 141.4 145.8 -3.9 Mascomaman small local HIM 2nd place great race
8/23/14 135.2 148.1 +6.2 REV3 OOB HIM 1st place great race
Same 2 years of Data... Listed below is the ATL, CTL, TSB the day before all IM's...... Also included are the extreme measures during BBW or BTW time periods...
DATE ATL CTL TSB DATE ATL CTL TSB NOTE's
5/17/13 131.6 146.9 -1.7 Peak Extremes 4/27/13 219.7 152.5 -67.2 IMTX 2nd place , 1st KQ , great race
10/11/13 96.1 121.4 +14.9 KONA executed at 95% of normal to save myself for IMFL in 3 weeks , very happy
11/1/13 109.8 121.6 -1.2 IMFL 2nd place , 2nd KQ , Best RACE of all via power/pace and PR's.
5/16/14 93.1 149.9 +48.3 Peak Extremes 4/13/14 236.2 171 -76.6 IMTX 3rd place , 3rd KQ , great race
9/27/14 86 150.3 +53.7 Peak Extremes 9/7/14 230.7 173.7 -57 IMCHOO 2nd place , 4th KQ , great race
10/8/14 103.4 144.2 +37.8 KONA worst IM to date(except IMCZ DNF).... big struggle
My take away on my own DATA.... CTL is the most important moving average... This is long term fitness built overtime via steady consistent work... The short term moving averages of the ATL and TSB are noise and they jump around way too easy.... I like to aim for many weeks of 800-1200 avg TSS and 150 a day is a good number for me....I think "MY" ideal PMC #'s FOR IM's are ATL in the range of 95-110 , CTL 125-145 , TSB 0-30.....I don't believe I can really extrapolate any meaning from the PMC #'s pre HIM's as I didn't use them as "A" races with proper tapers!
I think they are coming out with a Mac based software program. If memory serves, Scott Alexander said he went to a meeting where TP did a live demo of the Mac TP software app.
What I've been asking myself this last few days (entering week 19 of HIM race prepr for St.George in two weeks) is how to hack race prepr weeks 19 and 20 to taper without excessively dropping TSB.
Looking at the projected numbers I see my TSB climbing to fast and have planned a little extra work (short but intense) through Tuesday of race week to totally shut down two days prior to the race.
I think it's of HUGE importance that reader's of this thread understand the uniqueness of the chart to their OWN build. Basically, just because I CAN drive my TSB down to the depths of an all time EN low, doesn't mean that it was right for my body/engine/build/journey to do so. Doing so could potentially put yourself in a position for a great bounceback or, conversely, a hole that you can't get out of.
It takes a few seasons of using PMC to learn where one's own magic numbers lie. Warning Zones and Great Potential Zones.
Rich had a response in another thread recently that could be summed up by 'trust the plans, stick to the plans, they've worked'. That's pretty much how I use the PMC. I've had some tech difficulties with WKO+ recently and I'm not sweating it. I would love to be able to visualize the journey, but I know that if I'm sticking to the plans, then my stressors/recoveries/builds/tapers will all work out in the end.
2: regarding the tech difficulties with WKO+ (relevant here b/c I DO want to start seeing PMC again): Apparently, for me to have Garmin Express up and running smoothly with their drivers, I had to uninstall the ANT+ driver that was needed for WKO+ to find my garmin310xt. Garmin Express doesn't use ANT+ anymore and if it's installed (for WKO+) it confuses both apps.
So, presently, my data goes to TP (free version), Strava, and GarminConnect but not WKO+. Any ideas on how I can get my data into WKO+ so I can use the PMC? I'm going to the get the record for the All Time EN record for Negative TSB and I need PMC to do this.
I agree with the general comments so far from Tim n Chris about the need to get a fair amount of experience over time/several seasons or builds before trying to use PMC to be proactive about training. And, every build and every person is different. I'd like to review my own data, which I have since 2007, covering maybe 15 IMs and six KQs, but that will take time and mental energy, so not yet. Hopefully I'll be back with more detailed thoughts.
I'd also point folks to the podcast Coach P did with Jenn Edwards last August? covering her races @ CDA and Whistler. They put together and she followed a PMC based plan individualized for each sport which drove her training and produced good results. Excellent food for thought.
In the interest of not getting hopes up ... WKO 4+, for PC and Mac, was announced in Oct 2013. Dec 2013, Andrew Coggan appeared in videos for TP describing new metrics underlying the upgrade. In Apr 2014, a flurry of comments in a Slowtwitch thread indicated that works was more focused on mobile apps and the web-based program. Then, 4 days ago in same thread, this appeared: "It's still coming, there will be more news soon but I can't say more without getting in trouble
Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | CEP | ICEdot "
Draw your own conclusions.
At the outset I need to point out that I am no sports/training expert — all I bring to the table is a lifetime as a data analyst.
I have 3 main concerns with trying to use the PMC Chart to inform training decisions.
First, as Tim points out, TSS is just a model of your response to training stimulus, and that not all TSS are created equal. Think about how tired you would be from your best 60 min effort at a particular sport (eg cycling). By definition this is 100 TSS. Whereas 120 mins of cycling at an IF of 0.7 is also 100 TSS but that would be, IMO, an order of magnitude lower in impact on fatigue compared to the 60 mins bike TT.
Second, as I understand it, there is no real conceptual reason why the PMC single sport components should allowed to be aggregated and therefore become 'useful'. Here think does 100 TSS points from swimming really have a similar impact on cycling compared to 100 TSS from running? I don't think so! Even 100 TSS points from running, IMO, has a different impact on downstream cycling, compared to an additional 100 TSS points of cycling.
Third, the PMC uses 'average' time constants based somewhat on the literature (see here http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/the-science-of-the-performance-manager). 42 days is chosen for CTL and 7 days is chosen for ATL. These constants are, at the very least, specific to each person, as well as probably also influenced by the type of training (high vs lower intensity). Think how the PMC for particular sports appear to have different impacts between the OS, and on the other hand an IM build. Quite different relationships. Only if these constants are somehow fitted to the individual (and the flavour of the training) could you hope that the PMC had some predictive value.
FWIW, I use wko +3.0 for sbr. About the only thing I have noticed is that if my TSB is closing in on -50 then I am digging myself into a big hole — but I should already know that from the level of fatigue that I would be feeling.
I mostly do the wkos that the Coaches prescribe for us but if I am feeling a significant build up of fatigue, I cancel wkos until I feel I have recovered.
I've updated the first post in this thread with some additional, 10k feet thoughts, and have added instructions to post #2 for inserting a screenshot of more PMC into this thread.
More good stuff coming soon, thanks for helping me create this resource for the Team!
There was also dialogue about integrating Best Bike Split (founded by two of my local tri teammates, Ryan and Rich, who were also here that weekend for TPU), but not as much as one would hope, and that any integration would be later than the first 4.0 release.
Rich,
Retrieved most of my data (manually moved it from GarminConnect into WKO+)
I started this 2015 season back in October, unofficially. Did a couple of weeks of just consistent S/B/R. For some reason Oct files gave me a hard time so they are not included.
There are a few other 'multisport' files that didn't want to transfer, also. But, not enough or big enough to matter much.
This looks text book to me, correct me if I'm wrong. This is only bike and run.
Mid Nov to the end of December. Run Durability 2 and 3. Obviously some holiday flexibility.
Jan to very beginning of April, the most consistent/healthy/effective OS I've had in my 4-5 years with the team.
One week post OS that was only a couple of workouts b/c I was just crushed at work AND had a horrible chest cold that I was intent on shaking before the following week's BBW.
I think you can see the bump in the CTL just like you were looking for.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SFuG0KJuN8
It is sponsored by Training Peaks titled "Targeted TSS for Ironman Training" with Gordo Byrn and Alan Couzens. They repeated some of the same things ^^ about how all TSS are not created equal and how you need a lot of data over time to be able to spot trends and be able to look back at what levels resulted in overtraining, etc. But another thing I found interesting was how they have anecdotal evidence that a peak CTL (long-term daily average TSS training load) of > 140 two weeks before an IM has been what it has taken for their athletes to KQ. They back that up with a chart about 25 minutes in to the video that shows their athletes' highest CTL vs. their Ironman performance that reveals a very close relationship. Tim's numbers seem to validate their hypothesis.
They had another chart that correlated peak CTL numbers with IM finish times. A peak CTL of about 100 resulted in an IM finish time of about 11:13. Last year before IMAZ, my peak CTL was a little lower than 100 and I finished in 11:11.
I'd be interested in hearing from others about your peak CTL and your finishing times....especially those of you that KQ. Thanks.
My 2014 pre IM CTL peak numbers also seem to validate their hypothesis
IMLC: CTL peak 109 / 6th place
IMFL: CTL peak 152 /KQ 2nd place
IOW, all the data in the world won't help you know any better if you are ready than you know right now. This is because WKO won't track life stress, work stress, mental focus, compliance with pacing, nutrition, etc. Plus even if you can use technology to create the fitness and balance the recovery better than using our current system, there's no guarantee you'll still race well -- race courses everywhere are littered with fit, fast folks who F it up.
In my mind, Endurance Nation's role is to give you the workouts and support to create the training stress / peak / taper success. By working with RnP and the Team, you are saying, I trust you guys to guide me to build the engine I need to be ready on race day. We manage the inputs, you manage the recovery, etc, and the net is a PMC that will look good. Of course, you are welcome to jump into the co-pilots seat, and take the controls as it comes to managing your PMC, but as others have noted, you will need to do this for several "key race builds" before you have enough data to really be able to make some solid decisions. So start today, and by 2017 or 2018 you should have enough Ironman data to be proactive with your 2019 schedule. That's not what the technology guys want you to believe, but I have no stake in that game so I can call it like I see it.
I think there a ton of other metrics you could track that will yield a better performance for 95% of you (I believe this thread is for the 5% of the Team on the pointy end, and of those, you probably won't find that they use all data like this). Examples of stuff you should start tracking, before you buy WKO and dive into this include:
* Your current training -- definitely with HR, ideally with power and pace. Get strava or something and link it up. 90% of athletes don't actually know how much they ACTUALLY train and with technology being what it is, you have zero excuses.
* Your weight. Being a lean as possible, in a healthy way, is your best way to being faster.
* Hours slept a night, with an average target of 42 hours a week (aka ~7hrs/night). Sleep is your biggest recovery opportunity and stress reducer...super important.
* Your training nutrition. A sweat test + making sure all of your training calories follow your race plan in the final 12 weeks will make you massively prepared.
Once you have weight / sleep and training nutrition lined up, you can then start diving into your workouts. When do you feel good (across a week) and when don't you. How was that last long ride you did? Dive into it and see what you can learn from pacing, etc.
The data from your long rides (avg power, normalized power, avg heart rate) and your long runs (avg page, avg heart rate) will be massively relevant to your race day performance.
One of our Wicked Smart Members came back to me several years ago when I asked about peak / taper for a race and said, "Past performance is the best indicator of future performance." In other words, track what you do now. In other words, Coach, stop looking around for what others say is "Best"...look at what you, what your body, says is best..and do _that_. You will see patterns, what works and what doesn't work. Then, when you want to have a great race, look back and do that thing that worked last time, perhaps with a few modifications.
My dirty little secret? I don't really follow a serious plan until the last 8 to 10 weeks of training. But, I have EVERY "last 10 weeks of training" since 2010 saved...and I review, edit, and use that information to build my current plan...so my last 10 weeks keep getting sharper, better, smarter...and the best part it is it's a spreadsheet / low technology solution that anyone can do.
Now time to sit back to see if Coach Rich is going to strong arm me to entering 4 years of data into WKO...
s
I'm going to try an use this thread for its(one of its) stated purposes ... "Gather PMC-related data to help us improve as a team). I'll start by sharing my PMC from 2011. I'm posting the chart first, then comment in a fo9llowing post, for technical reasons related to my computer systems.
(I keep my PMC data on a funky netbook PC in WKO+, and I have great trouble using that "computer" for writing. Also, this allows me to have the chart on a separate screen while I comment on it.)
First, a brief primer. If terms are unfamiliar, go back to the first post in this thread, and bone up on TP/WKO+ power info per the links Rich suggests.On this PMC, X Axis is time: basically, 2011. Y axis shows both Training Stress Balance (Left scale, yellow) and Training Stress Scores per day (Right Axis, for CTL [blue] and ATL [purple]). NB: this chart does not include swims; I could go back and add each as a manual entry, but who has the time or patience for that? Maybe later, to demonstrate the value (or lack thereof).
First point: when creating a PMC, its important to not only set the date range, but also the starting values for CTL and ATL, as well as the # of days back the algorithm looks for TSS in each of those. In my case, I use the default 42 days for CTL and 7 days for ATL, and have the luxury of starting each from zero, as I was laid up following a bike accident from Sept 17 >> Dec 15 2010, doing absolutely NO training. So this chart represents someone coming entirely "off the couch" into a training year. You set these in the Options menu. upper right of the graph.
First month (January): I followed the OS plan religiously, and show a steady riser in CTL and ATL, with my TSB dropping down to -40 in the process. Learning: a steady rise is much better than plateaus, dips, or rapid rises in CTL. Those indicate an inconsistent training pattern and/or doing too much, too soon, both of which can lead to injury, burn out, and poor improvement.
February: The first two weeks, I went skiing, which (at least in 2011) has no TSS value, so TSB rises way up to +16, and CTL/ATL drop.
Feb/March/: Back on track with the OS, again showing a fairly steady rate of rise. Weekly TSS for the OS is usually (for me) 500+/- The end of March, I switched over the the IM plan for IM CDA end of June. I celebrated this milestone with a 5K race on March 26. You can see a little lull there indicating a little taper and rest afterwards, as well as the recommended "transition" week of relative recovery. ATL. ATL drops, CTL plateaus, and TSB moves up, but doesn;t crest zero.
April: The big bump up in CTL/ATL early April represents a four-day weekend in San Diego, when I rode 3 days and ran x 2. Steady IM training resumes, with weekly TSS around 800 at this point.
May: Here my training take another lull 5-15, when I do a half marathon (POURING RAIN!!!), and take two days off after, then travel to Colorado a few days later. You notice a sharp rise in ATL/CTL thru June 6th, with TSB dropping down to -72. This period is bracketed by Race Rehearsals at the start and finish if this three week volume pump.
June: I reach my CTL peak of 111 on June 5th (RR#2), making for an average rise of 5.3/week - well within the maximum range of 10 suggested by Friel. My workload drops precipitously, too soon in my opinion, as I attend a wedding on the "Lost Coast" of Northern California, with no bike, no swim, and little running for 5-6 days. By IM day, my TSB is up to +32, having been above - 16 for more than two weeks before race day, too long in my opinion. An important consideration here is how much swimming, running and cycling I was able to do in the six months prior to race day, compared to my usual annual totals: 100000/275000 meters, 1900/4700 mi, 445/1000 mi. So I was way deficient in swimming, a bit down cycling, and OK in running going into the race. I ended up with my slowest IM to that point, punctuated by a very demoralizing swim (for reasons less to do with training than water temp combined with residual injury from bike accident), and a weak bike. The fact that I finished at all was a great victory to me. But I was not done for the year.
July: I had deferred a much needed oral surgery to rebuild my jaw until after the race. That is reflected in the even higher TSB/dropping ATL+CTL in that month. I got back on the horse July 12th, and did a pair of Olys July 23 and 30th.
August/Sept/Oct: After that, there is a steady rise in CTL thru to November, as I prepped for IM AZ. Note the rate of rise is a little less steady than the previous build. First, a plateau about 8-20, as I travel to CO again, Then, a sudden bump as I do a fair amount of biking the first week there. Then another bump in mid Sept as I host an EN flavored camp at my house for about 8 folks. We have a very big bike weekend, not volume, but intensity, doing daily TTs up mountain roads. One final hiccup appears as ATL drops, TSB rises to +24, and CTL plateaus when I get a small bout of Plantar Fasciitis, and take 8 days off from running in an attempt to get my foot race capable within a month.
November: The race was Nov 20, so let's examine the last three weeks before that to see how things shake out. I do RR#r on Oct 27, and see my peak TSS of 135 shortly thereafter. TSB dips to -46. Over the next three weeks, a gradual taper produces a peak TSB of +56, a drop of CTL to 110 by race day. A blip representing the nearly 600 TSS I racked up biking and running, then a gradual drop to zero when I take a month apparently completely off (actually, I didn't enter any data in WKO+, but my other training logs claim I did something every day)
This is mostly just a data dump from what I consider a representative year (I wish I could also show 2008-10, but I do not have good power data from that time period). As an addendum, note that I did win my AG that year (KQ), with a CTL peak of 135 not including swimming. And despite the foot injury, I was able to have a respectable run, thanks to the training I had done prior to that time. Volume #s for the 4.5 months prior to this race, to compare to annual totals and CDA build above: 135,000m, 2500 mi, 365 mi. Demonstrating, I believe, the importance of race execution over pure fitness when it comes to finishing an IM run. But also demonstrating the value of swim and bike volume to race performance.
I am sure there are lots Of things to learn from these charts that I do not think of, so hopefully anyone who's read this far and has a interest can either ask, "What about ..." or share their own data and interpretation.
If people find this helpful, I can share in a similar manner 2012-2014, when things didn't go quite as well as this year. (Note I didn't say "happy" to share; this has taken over an hour to do.) There may be even more to learn from that sort of a chart. And, putting up current data - 2015 - before race day might help us learn how people use PMC on a daily basis to help guide their training. I agree 100% with Coach P on the need to track a multitude of metrics to know how to manage training. I value weight changes (along with hydration status as reflected by BF%), sleep amount and patterns, nutrition, and mood. I'm not as much of a data gook, though, so I don't formally track those things in a spread sheet, but I do notice a strong correlation between negative changes in them, and what's happening to the rate of rise of CTL, the absolute as well as relative level of TSB, which are essentially the same thing as knowing with some granularity what's happening to TSS/Day.
@Coach P: Agreed. And thanks for taking the time to comment. And as I focus on getting my body comp and nutrition nailed (as well as many other factors like race execution), I want to learn now as much about these metrics as I can so I'll know how to apply them when I reach the pointy end. (One of the main reason I'm still a member of EN.) And with a year and a half of training data in TP, I can now start to look for trends. I can also use the past data to predict the TSS of future workouts. And I would think this data would be great for the member who is right at the doorstep of the pointy-end who has proven he/she knows how to execute, in order for them to get over the hump. Good luck to you at Kona, too.
@Asst Coach Al: Great data and insights. I must have scrolled up and down 50 times as I read your comments and looked back at the graph. And your CTL doesn't even include swimming! I can't help but wonder what your CTL was with your swimming data included. And what an example of consistency. No wonder you're one of the top 3-5 in the world in your AG. Thanks (again) for sharing, teaching, and leading from the front. Speaking of "rate of rise" of CTL, the webinar recommended that on "load weeks" to increase the CTL by "CTL + 30TSS/d" and on recovery weeks, "CTL - 20TSS/d". How often do you insert recovery weeks? Good luck to you in Kona also.
Looking at my data, I have found that I taper too much before an IM due to travel time and don't get enough work in the week before the race. (I know itz a taper and decreasing volume is important while maintaining intensity--but I tend to get little done during the week of the race resulting in an increase in TSB higher than probably necessary.) Something to work on before future.
It's important to remember that this is still an "art" and not a "hard science".
@ Bob. Regarding recovery weeks - I tend to use days rather than weeks. I just ease off or stand down for 24-48 hours when my leading indicators are starting to wander of track: increased sleep/nap time, weight loss, irritability, BF% going up (indicating relative dehydration), TSB showing sudden drop. B.E (before EN), I followed plans which had a "recovery" week every 3-4 weeks; I found that was just too much down time for me, I did better personalizing it. The EN plans have some variation from week to week, with rare days off and the occasional test week serving for mandatory recovery.
If I can corral 30-60 minutes when I'm willing to do some "scut work"
, I may put in the swim data from that time period, at least the build before IM AZ that year. (I have it all in detail in another training diary). I want to use that build as a standard to measure how I'm doing this year.
I found the exercise of writing all that stuff down was very helpful to me. I had previously thought that my performance in AZ that fall came somewhat out of the blue, that I was not well trained enough after my accident to execute as well as I did. I learned that I did do some hard, consistent work, and was able to draw on it race day. It gives me renewed motivation to simply "do the work" for the upcoming IMs I have this year. Last few years, I have willing to slack off (well, relatively, for me) both in terms of not doing all the workouts, and not doing them to quality/volume/intensity standards. I learned in my races in 2012-2014 that the IM distance is too hard to take that approach; it's just not fun (again, for me) on race day to be less than 96% prepared (its impossible to be 100% - something always gets in the way).