Training strategies

I like many of the things I've read online about triathlete training from Rich Strauss, including this article about force and aerobic threshold in cycling.

"I tell athletes that the best position they can be in is to have a 3 hour ride date every Saturday from now until the end of time. That will set you up to do anything you want in this sport."

Then again, it's a little humbling when he defines "beginner" as a "14 hr+ Ironman finisher". There once were the days when finishing an Ironman was supposed to be the ultimate athletic accomplishment. Now, of course, we can be jaded when some 40,000-50,000 (wild-ass guess) people finish an iron-distance triathlon every year.