I actually think he makes a good point and agree with the article. When he states that your training will dictate your race results, he couldn't be more correct at least in my experience. I usually feel really good after a race and I don't think anyone would accuse me of not leaving it all out there, it's just if you are properly conditioned, you can go 100% for a race and have very few post race issues. I was amazed how quickly I recovered following IMAZ in regards to just feeling "normal". A year ago I ran a marathon in a less conditioned, less prepared state and REALLY suffered afterwards. I think that is the gist of what he is saying.

I have no doubt that with the longer distance events, his article would really ring home. Preperation and planning to bring you across the line in XX:XX amount of time and sticking to the plan should be proceeded by a nice recovery without too much shock.

But lets say that in the last 10k of the run @IMAZ, youre in a tight bunch with 4 others in your AG. The pace goes way north of the comfort zone of pace XX:XX. Perhaps even to the point of LT. If youre fighting for a Kona Slot, are you gonna back down? And will that not have a significant impact on how the few days after the race goes?

Same thing applies, prolly more so with a Sprint. I get off the bike within :30 of a group of my peers. I may train for 6:15 miles, but that goes out the window. Adding a race similation is going to make the hurt from that effort go away?

I cant remember, even going all the way back to high school XC, not hurting for a couple days. Is it just me?

No, I think you are correct that if we exceed even our most vigorous training effort for a prolonged amount of time, we will suffer the consequences, either the next day in the case of a Sprint or around mile 20 of an Ironman. So much of triathlon, especially long course, is you against the clock as opposed to immediatley competing against those around you, so the scenario you describe is infrequent.
Again, in general, by conditioning yourself to race through training can minimize the systtemic shock of the actual event. I've see a lot of athletes less prepared race fast but be completely trashed afterwards whereas I usually feel very good.

I think it's probably a lot easier to put your body into shock from shorter races with all things considered. Anyone who starts an Ironman is going to have tons of mileage under their belt already and won't be pushing as hard anyway since it's an Ironman. With shorter stuff, there are plenty of people who aren't in shape to do the race anyway, which is where the post-race soreness really hits home.

We do a fundraiser tri here on campus for the team at the beginning of the season, and it's really short. I finished in about 25 min, but my calves were locked up for about a week afterwards. I had been training plenty hard and had already done about half a dozen cycling races in the month leading up to that, but just the fact that it was the first real race effort of the season just kicked my butt. As far as training at race intensity goes, you'll never be able to mimic race situations in your training. It takes me 3 or 4 days usually to recover from an Oly, and if I were to do a workout that took that long to recover from, I'd never get anything done. I think that first-race shock every season is necessary for shorter racing distances to get your body accustomed to the stress. That's why I work "practice" races into my training schedule before an A race.

This is an interesting question, and one I've been thinking about the past few months.

I can identify more with TriGuy - I feel pretty hammered after every race. I look at these athletes who smile and wave at everyone as they finish their races and I wonder "How can they do that?" I've NEVER been able to even fake a smile near the finish of a race. I used to think athletes who felt good after a race just weren't "leaving it all out on the course," but now I just think they're in better shape than me.

Could very well be - I must admit, I rarely get a "runner's high" if I go beyond about 10 miles. A more appropriate term for me would be "runner's cry." :)