Abstract: Race-Dose: A Multiyear Implementation Study of a Coordination-Gated Programming Architecture in Tier 4 Collegiate Swimming
Preprint

Race-Dose is an expert-mediated, recovery-governed, coordination-gated architecture for developing race-specific performance durability in trained athletes competing in fixed-distance, technique-sensitive endurance events. It derives from a task-specific control-to-adaptation hypothesis: neural organization and motor-unit recruitment help determine which movement patterns and tissues receive training stress. The model introduces a future race solution through decomposed, recoverable components, then builds coverage, consolidation, expansion, and compression only while coordination and recovery remain within a bounded functional range. The architecture uses three decision axes, two gates, one competition feedback loop, and the last stable comparable dose as its default return state. The core logic was documented before implementation in 2022-23. This retrospective instrumental case analyzes 925 training-session records across 116 weeks, 219 qualifying sessions, 35 split profiles, group records, and a coach interview. The case supports prospective implementation, operational usability, adaptability, and performance compatibility, but not causal superiority, gate reliability, transportability, or a specific neural mechanism.

Keywords: motor learning; endurance performance; coaching decision-making; task specificity; swimming; training architecture