The online coach I’m currently working with for triathlon training, Melissa, is truly amazing. Thanks to the training programs she designs, my body—which had been plagued with injuries for years—has transformed as if it belongs to a completely different person.
There are countless training plans out in the world. Books, online programs, YouTube… Honestly, getting your hands on a training plan itself isn’t difficult at all. And with the recent advancements in GPS watches, heart-rate monitors, and various apps, it’s become easier than ever to quantify your fitness level and fatigue.
But—even so, there were still things I just couldn’t get right.
No matter how much data you have, deciding “Should I push myself harder right now, or should I rest?” is surprisingly difficult. When the numbers from your tools don’t match your own sense of how you feel, it’s often hard to know which one to trust.
This “delicate balance” is exactly the most difficult part.
To get stronger, you need to push yourself. But push too hard, and you get injured. Determining that thin “just right” line is something that—even with all the advances in AI and technology—still isn’t easy.
And this is where Melissa truly shines.
She looks at my training data and the short comments I write, and she always makes calm and accurate decisions. She balances the phases when I should push and the times when I should rest with incredible precision. It’s almost like magic.
When I was training on my own, I repeatedly injured myself: shoulder problems from swimming, knee issues from cycling, and pain whenever I ran. But after starting Melissa’s coaching, I’ve completely stopped getting injured during training. In fact, I’ve come to realize that even rest time is a crucial part of training that helps make the body stronger.
Through this experience, I’ve come to feel strongly:
No matter how far AI advances, no matter how much technology evolves, there are aspects of judgment and intuition that come only from human experience—things that simply cannot be replaced.
Humans aren’t machines. We don’t operate strictly according to numbers. That’s why having a professional coach—another human—who uses their own experience and intuition to support you is incredibly valuable.
Heart rate, speed, power, GPS data—these are all important pieces of information. But the human body and mind aren’t that simple. Subtle fatigue that doesn’t show up in data, a slight sense of discomfort, your mental state—only humans can really grasp these things.
AI is undoubtedly smart. But our bodies aren’t machines that behave perfectly according to logic. Even if all the numbers say everything is “fine,” you might actually be pushing too hard. And sometimes, even when the data says “you’re at your limit,” you might feel like you can still go further.
That’s when decisions based not only on data but also on experience and intuition become incredibly important.
Melissa doesn’t just look at my data; she reads my small comments, talks with me on the phone, understands how I’m feeling, and judges what I need at that moment. Whether it’s “time to push” or “time to rest,” she strikes that invisible balance perfectly.
I don’t think that’s something AI can ever fully replicate.
We’re not machines. Our minds and bodies change day by day, and they can’t be fully captured by data. That’s why the value of “a human seeing another human” will never disappear. If anything, as technology continues to advance, that value becomes even more pronounced.
In this age where technology makes us feel like we can do everything on our own, it’s more important than ever to appreciate the things only humans can do. That’s what this experience reminded me of.