This weekend marks an important milestone in the Tri Peak Athlete / Winback Triathlon Performance & Recovery Pilot.

Before we begin building training load, monitoring recovery, and evaluating athlete readiness, we first need to understand one thing:

Where is each athlete starting?

That is the purpose of our Benchmark Testing Weekend.

From August 28–30, participating athletes will complete a structured series of baseline assessments designed to give us a clearer picture of current endurance performance, recovery status, training readiness, and objective physical capacity.

The goal is not to chase a personal record.

The goal is to establish a repeatable baseline that we can compare against later in the program.

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Why Benchmark Testing Matters

Triathlon performance is influenced by much more than swim, bike, and run speed.

Athletes are continuously balancing:

• Training load
• Recovery
• Sleep
• Stress
• Strength
• Mobility
• Nutrition
• Fatigue
• Readiness
• Work and family responsibilities

Two athletes can complete the same workout and respond very differently.

That is why our program is being designed around more than finish times.

Our working model is:

Training Load
↓
Recovery
↓
Readiness
↓
Objective Performance
↓
Next Training Demand
↓
Training Completion

The baseline gives us the reference point needed to begin understanding that process.

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What We Are Testing

Throughout Benchmark Testing Weekend, athletes will complete a combination of endurance, objective performance, mobility, and technology assessments.

Run Testing

The run benchmark will help establish key endurance markers that may include:

• Pace
• Heart rate
• Cadence
• Rating of perceived exertion
• Lactate / threshold-related performance
• Standardized benchmark performance

The objective is to create a repeatable reference point that can be compared later in the program.

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Swim Testing

The swim benchmark may include:

• CSS or standardized swim assessment
• Swim pace
• Heart rate when available
• Stroke rate
• Stroke count
• RPE
• Technique observations

This will allow us to evaluate how each athlete currently performs in the water before the larger training load begins.

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Bike Testing

Bike baseline testing may include:

• FTP or standardized threshold testing
• Power
• Watts per kilogram
• Heart rate
• Cadence
• RPE
• Training-zone development

Power-based cycling data can become especially valuable when combined with TrainingPeaks and wearable recovery metrics.

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Objective Performance Testing with Kinvent

Kinvent serves as an objective performance-testing partner within the pilot.

Functional testing may include:

• Peak force
• Relative strength
• Left-to-right asymmetry
• Isometric strength
• Balance
• Neuromuscular readiness
• Lower-extremity performance

The purpose is not simply to collect numbers.

The goal is to determine whether changes in strength and neuromuscular output align with changes in training load, recovery, and athlete readiness throughout the program.

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Garmin and Wearable Data

Wearable technology will play an important role in the pilot.

Athletes are being asked to verify and synchronize their Garmin and other required training technology.

Depending on device availability, data may include:

• Resting heart rate
• HRV
• Sleep
• Training readiness
• Heart rate during training
• Training load
• Recovery trends

Wearable data gives us something laboratory-style testing cannot:

A view of the athlete between testing sessions.

That allows us to monitor how the athlete responds across the full training week rather than only during a single appointment.

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TrainingPeaks as the Training Backbone

TrainingPeaks will serve as the primary training-management platform throughout the program.

We will be able to monitor variables such as:

• Planned training
• Completed training
• Weekly training hours
• TSS
• CTL
• ATL
• TSB
• Workout compliance
• Modified sessions
• Missed sessions

This creates an important distinction:

TrainingPeaks tells us what the athlete was asked to do and what they actually completed.

Garmin and wearable data help us understand how the athlete responded.

Athlete surveys help us understand how the athlete felt.

Objective testing helps us understand what the athlete could produce.

Together, those data layers provide a much more complete picture.

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Recovery and Readiness Monitoring

Throughout the program, athletes will also provide regular feedback regarding:

• Fatigue
• Soreness
• Leg heaviness
• Sleep
• Pain
• Perceived recovery
• Readiness
• Movement confidence
• Overall response to training

This is important because objective data and athlete perception do not always agree.

An athlete may report feeling great while wearable or performance data suggest something has changed.

Another athlete may feel fatigued while still performing well objectively.

Those differences are part of what we want to better understand.

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Winback Recovery and Performance Integration

The pilot is also designed to evaluate the operational integration of standardized Winback BACK4 Care+ protocols within an endurance-training environment.

The current framework separates two different weekly objectives:

Monday — Recovery Focus

A standardized recovery-oriented session following the weekend training load.

Friday — Performance Preparation

A standardized preparation session before the weekend’s highest training demands.

The objective is not to claim that Winback alone causes improvements in speed, recovery, or race performance.

Instead, the program is designed to evaluate recovery, readiness, training consistency, objective performance, and athlete experience within a structured endurance environment.

The current TECAR literature remains promising but also highlights limitations including small sample sizes, protocol variability, and the need for greater standardization in future research. That is one reason a structured, repeatable workflow is so important.

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Athlete Preparation Matters

To make baseline testing useful, athletes need to arrive in a consistent state.

Participants are being encouraged to:

• Prioritize rest before testing
• Avoid heavy training the day before
• Maintain normal hydration
• Eat familiar foods
• Avoid excessive caffeine
• Avoid experimenting with supplements or pre-workouts
• Prioritize sleep
• Arrive with all wearable technology charged and synchronized

For threshold and endurance testing, the goal is to minimize unnecessary variables such as fatigue, dehydration, or gastrointestinal distress.

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This Is Only the Beginning

Benchmark Testing Weekend is not the conclusion of the project.

It is the starting point.

Once baseline data are established, we can begin following the athlete through the upcoming training cycle and asking more meaningful questions.

How does increasing training load influence recovery?

How closely do HRV and resting heart rate align with athlete-reported readiness?

How does objective strength change over time?

When an athlete reports poor recovery, does the next workout suffer?

Which athletes tolerate increased training load most successfully?

And ultimately:

What can we learn about the individual athlete that helps us make better training and recovery decisions?

That is the larger purpose behind this initiative.

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Building a More Complete Athlete Picture

The long-term vision is not to depend on one score, one test, or one technology.

It is to connect the entire athlete journey.

Measure the Athlete.
Train the Athlete.
Support Recovery.
Prepare for the Next Demand.
Measure the Progress.

This weekend establishes the first reference point.

Now the real work begins.

Train Smarter. Recover Better. Perform Stronger.