The "I see no end in sight" is the answer to minimizing decline. Literally the guys who see no end in sight, keep up the lifestyle and they decline less thant the guys "who see the end". I "see the end" at least when it comes to triathlon, and even though I am some semblance of a training hero, my training is more exercise/activity lifestyle oriented, which is barely good enough for me to get to start lines in Olympics (where I can actually race) but half IM's are a "tour" because frankly I don't train like a "performer", I train like an "exerciser". Because of not pushing myself in anything but the pool (which I do often), I don't really visit the pain level required to be pointy end "with no end in sight". So I just show up at tris, and my superior swim volume and intensity, literally cruises me through the swim and most of the bike (by the way, you saw me in Snow Canyon in St. George 70.3WC when my tourist training was put to the test and there was no touring up the climb). That was a far cry from when you and I met on the bike at Kona 2006 close to Waikoloa village on the way back and I felt I was "racing" at double the distance.

I really think you have to "want to race" to have "no end in sight". That innate desire keeps some people like you from not declining as fast as your peers.

I am enjoying my new life as a masters swimmers because all my times are from my 50's. It's not like I have a 400IM time from my 30's nor a 1500m pool swim time, but it is just demoralizing limping through a 5km literally 40-50 percent slower than my early 30's, so I am not incentived to run hard to begin with and race times reflect this.