First off, congrats on an amazing time with minimal training. However, you do realize that you had 4 years of pretty good conditioning building into 2017? =)
At the end of the day, everyone's experience and everyone's body handles training differently (and consequently race differently).
IM is a long day for every one relatively. With that said, there are that many more variables that come into play than just how much time and how effective the training is.
Though there may be some common guidelines, I don't think there's really a set rule or advice anyone can give that is a one size fits all for this distance.
That's why some times doing a race is in fact training as well.
In short, I completely agree with you in that IM training can be done without an insane amount of time invested. However, that will vary from person to person and depend on their goals.
At the end of the day, everyone's experience and everyone's body handles training differently (and consequently race differently).
IM is a long day for every one relatively. With that said, there are that many more variables that come into play than just how much time and how effective the training is.
Though there may be some common guidelines, I don't think there's really a set rule or advice anyone can give that is a one size fits all for this distance.
That's why some times doing a race is in fact training as well.
In short, I completely agree with you in that IM training can be done without an insane amount of time invested. However, that will vary from person to person and depend on their goals.