Since I have experience from cross country skiing in Norway I can give some insight on why it works.
First of all the sport has a culture of sharing knowledge among coaches, team and athletes. No one is talking about intellectual property on training program. It is common to talk about what you do, get input from other and to share successes. Most coaches want to educate their athletes so they can coach themselves. That is why many on the top level do not have a coach writing them a program, but the coach is more a person to discuss with, sparring partner.
The polarized model works. Just look at the results. Is it the only way, most likely not. But it works, it is simple, you do not need a lot of gadgets and it gives power to the athlete since they understand what and why they are doing specific things.
I think triathletes and triathlon coaches have a tendency to make things really difficult. You need a power meter, you need to log everything on your Garmin, you need to know your TSS, you need this, you need that. Well, has any of this improved the athletes, or giving the athletes a better understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. Or is it a job security for the coach.
Some times a triathlete is a person that is trying to find the most complex way between A and B, some times helped by a coach.
First of all the sport has a culture of sharing knowledge among coaches, team and athletes. No one is talking about intellectual property on training program. It is common to talk about what you do, get input from other and to share successes. Most coaches want to educate their athletes so they can coach themselves. That is why many on the top level do not have a coach writing them a program, but the coach is more a person to discuss with, sparring partner.
The polarized model works. Just look at the results. Is it the only way, most likely not. But it works, it is simple, you do not need a lot of gadgets and it gives power to the athlete since they understand what and why they are doing specific things.
I think triathletes and triathlon coaches have a tendency to make things really difficult. You need a power meter, you need to log everything on your Garmin, you need to know your TSS, you need this, you need that. Well, has any of this improved the athletes, or giving the athletes a better understanding of why they are doing what they are doing. Or is it a job security for the coach.
Some times a triathlete is a person that is trying to find the most complex way between A and B, some times helped by a coach.