As a coach who has been in this sport for decades, I’ve learned one lesson over and over again: there is no such thing as a perfect plan. Not in triathlon, not in training, not in life.
It’s an important reminder as we continue to see more athletes leaning on tools like Athletica AI. I’ve been using Athletica for almost two years now, both for my own training and in coaching, and I think it’s worth saying out loud: AI is not perfect. Coaches are not perfect. And athletes are not perfect either.
When we talk about Athletica, people sometimes point out bugs, inconsistencies, odd responses, or pacing suggestions that don’t always make sense. And that’s fair—AI is learning, adapting, and refining just like we are. But if we’re being honest, the same could be said about a human coach. I know in my own career there have been times where I didn’t give the perfect session, or where the way I read an athlete’s feedback might have been influenced by my own stress, lack of sleep, home life, mood, or even something I just heard on a podcast that made me rethink an approach.
I like to give my athletes the GPS analogy. If you use a GPS/AI to get you from point A:B ….. you get in your neighborhood and you know how to get home…. but what if you get to your driveway and the GPS says keep going? Do you pull into your own driveway or do you go past your own house just because the GPS says so. 
We will always pull in. The GPS/AI got us pretty close to home but then we take it from there.
We’re all human. We’re influenced by things around us every single day. Coaches can make programming mistakes or misread context. Athletes can misreport, overestimate, underestimate, or let life get in the way. And AI, no matter how advanced, can still miss nuance in ways that a person might catch.
So what’s the takeaway? Don’t expect perfection. Expect progress.
Athletica is an incredible tool. It gives structure, direction, and adaptability in a way that makes training accessible and smart. But it should never be measured against some impossible standard of “flawless.” Instead, it should be appreciated as part of the greater puzzle—just like a coach, just like an athlete, just like the training itself.
Just today I used the “Workout Reserve” on my Garmin during my bike ride as my only guide. The program called for an aerobic ride but I felt great and honesty just wanted to try something new. Once warmed up I did a “fun game” where I would deplete my WR by 15% and then recover till it added 5% back. My goal was to repeat this interval set till I hit -20% and then call it a day. It was fun , challenging, and educational. The AI even game me more of a pat on the back than a scolding.
At the end of the day, consistency matters far more than perfection. The best athletes are the ones who can show up, adapt when things don’t go exactly as planned, and stay grounded when little hiccups come up—whether from AI, from their coach, or from themselves.
Perfection doesn’t exist in this sport. Just my 2 cents for today. Thanks again to @Prof and team for all their hard work on this growing platform.