Coach or Solo

I'm not coached, so I come at it with that perspective. I think a coach could definitely improve my performance and help me avoid mistakes. On the other hand, I am improving and am active. I'm not without support, however. I am a member of TC Multisports and attend Richfield Tri Masters in the Summer. I've had a running evaluation and will get a swim stroke evaluation at the YWCA. I do lots of my workouts with my wife so prioritize that over what any coach would tell me. My #1 goal is fun. So maybe I wouldn't be a great coaching client anyway. 

So enough about me, but I hope this gives you something to react against. Your choice should be based on needs and goals. What is the reason your season didn't have a lot of racing? Why are you increasing it so much? Does the increase mean a tougher training schedule and thus more chance of risk (a coach could help you minimize that risk)?

If your goal is to win something and you are the kind of person who puts feedback to good use AND you can afford a coach, I would definitely get a coach. If a coach is too much, consider something in between like getting evaluations, going to masters and online coaching. 

Good luck!

I have the same questions as Shaun - why did you not race in the previous years and what is your goal this year?  If you didn't race because you couldn't motivate yourself to train, or felt like you needed guidance, then definitely get a coach.

I used a coach for two seasons.  She motivated me to get the training in and my performance overall was much better.   In general I would definitely recommend the experience.  I started with her because I was going to do my first half iron, and I feel there is NO WAY I would have done the training or figured out my race plan (nutrition, etc) without her.  It was a really good race for me, so I appreciate that.   Not that i was fast, but finished feeling I had done everything to the best of my ability.

The ONLY downside was that I had to train a lot more   And writing that check was no fun - ha ha.  Also, there is less flexibility. I had to do some more back and forth when I needed a night off for some other commitment. 

I would suggest that, if you can afford it, you try it.  You shouldn't get into a contract, it should be month to month so you can drop if needed.  I found it took me about 3 weeks to get into the rhythm of the plan, there were growing pains both times I started.  I used the same coach for the two season, but took a break in-between.

Good luck!

very good feedback and questions so far.  so i wont re-ask those.  My question is what is your knowledge base as far as planning your own workout schedule and routine?  And/or how much desire/time do you have to research and plan your workouts. 

Another point to the questions previously asked.  I personally have been considering looking into a coach, because i feel i might have plateaued this past season.  So back to your background....

First let me start off by saying thank you for the quick and thorough responses!

Hmm...why I didn't race this season.  Well, I had pretty ambitious plans for this summer and was doing pretty well training wise throughout the winter then I went on vacation overseas at the beginning of March for 10 days and only trained once during then (and that was only a 7 mile or so outdoor run, the rest of the time the hotel gyms were either closed or non-existent).  Came back a few pounds heavier and got back into it again then ended up in Vegas for a weekend.  Again, fell off the band wagon.  Summer came along and all the races i wanted to do, I didn't feel in shape enough for so I didn't do any.  As for the present, I switched employers at the beginning of September and the training period for the new company is roughly 2 months long.  Fast forward to now, I've been in a hotel in St. Louis for the last 2 months, in class from 7:30am-5pm and in the books afterwards till around 11pm...rinse and repeat from September 10th to today.  Thankfully training is almost done and I'll be done on November 4th and headed back up north the same day.  My training throughout the year has just been yo-yo-ing without any real structure.  I'm increasing the races because well, I love to race and love to compete.  I have a 5 year competitive swimming background and miss the competitive aspect of it all.

I would love to win a race and I think I have the ability to but in all honesty, I'm not sure i see it happening with my schedule.  I'm an airline pilot for work which means 2-4 days a week away from home with limited access to a bike or pool.  I can run anywhere of course but it's just the dilemma I face.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'm more than welcome to hearing them.  I've been doing p90x for a while now with bands on the road just to stay in some form of shape.

Peteweb hit it on the head.  I don't feel I have the knowledge base to plot my own training plan and make it work with my schedule.  On the other hand, a coach would put a good pinch on the budget when you then consider a gym membership, race fees, supplements, etc etc.  There's a masters swim team not too far from where I live that I'm considering joining but really, that's about it.  Any ideas or suggestions?

Take this from an old geezer. Back in 80's and early 90's I don't think the "Paid Coach" was around when I did it. I was introduced to the sports by a running friend. I didn't know how to swim so I went to YMCA and watched swimmers and started swimming. I didn't have a bike so I went to store and bought an old 8-speed bike and went on the road with bunch of guys. I was already running races so no problem there.

My first triathlon, I almost drown but made it to the canoe and rested there before I could swim 1/2 miles to shore. Bike and run were no problems for me. I worked hard on those three sports with no real training plan. I re-assess my performance after each race and work on the weakness and it's usually swim. Quantity was always better than quality for me. The more you train the better you race.

After a few triathlons, I was experienced with the whole thing. The best part was that I had one hell of a fun time doing it with my friends. We were crazy back then. I was happy with my performance and time with whatever training time I can get since we were starting a family. I knew if I wanted to be better I have to put in lots more time into training. But family always win over my sports.

Looking back now, would I want a coach to help me with the sports? I would say no. Because I was able to know what to do with the sports. If I have questions on techniques or bike parts, I would ask my friends or other competitors. Was I happy with my performance? You kidding! I wanted to do much better. Would I wanted someone (Coach) to tell me how to get better? Sure. Paid Coach? It depends on my wallet. If I can afford it then yes to get me to achieve better.

So if you're starting out fresh, I would suggest get together with a group of people and start learning and having fun with them. Save your money for when you really want to podium and get a coach then. I mean after a few races and you assess your talent if you can get close to podium. If you don't have friends doing it, then join sports group. Now we have internet, you can get lots of info.

Good luck.

i think piece mealing together a plan with masters swim/ trainerroad bike and running with a BT plan can be very good.  with your schedule you will have to be a little flexible.  However if you run when away from home, then you can really train quite well.  You just might have to make some of your heaviest bike mileage weeks be weeks you are only away from home 2 days as opposed to 4 days.  Any BT plan will have mileage, you can just move around the days/workouts to fit your schedule.  just try to avoid really hard days back to back. 

and feel free to ask here about anything, just be ready for possibly more info then you ask for. 

Thanks again everyone.

I"m excited to be done with training at work, head back up to Minnesota, have some normalcy to life and start exercising again.  

Great insight XMan & Pete.  I think I'll hold off on a coach for now and just stick with the plans on BT, do a little more research and find ways to tailor this to my work & race schedule.  I'm also trying to throw quite a bit of weight training into the mix as well.

I hope my ambitious plans for 2013 bear fruit and hope more-so to see you all at a few races!

This was a really big thing for me and I definitely wasn't really expressing this in my comments.

YES, a person can certainly do this themselves.  BUT, it's much much easier to have someone else figure it out for you.  Also, I felt like a person who's job it is to put together a schedule is probably going to do better than me. I went for years figuring it out, completing races, and being as successful as I probably was going to be with the help of online training plans, asking questions on BT, etc.  But having a coach do the hard work, and I just plugged the workouts into my calendar - bliss (if you can afford it).

At the risk of knocking this thread way off topic... how much time are you guys spending planning your workouts?  Because for me it's pretty much zero, and I'm self-coached.  For example, if you were to ask me what workouts I have planned for say, November 20th, I would be able to tell you, "morning masters swim and a 30 minute run at lunch" with zero hesitation.  Why?  Because 11/20 is a Tuesday, and that's what I do every Tuesday.

For the average AG'er who's juggling training/racing around family/work/life in general, you don't need a plan, you need a routine.  99% of the battle is just getting out there, putting in the volume, and staying healthy enough to keep at it for years at a time.  The average triathlete spends way too much time and energy worrying about that last 1% to the detriment of the first and vastly more important 99%.

Matt - I have no idea what races you've done or how successful you are, possibly very successful.   But for me, when I had a reason that included:

2010-11-20	Living History Farms Cross Country Race (7 mile run)
2010-09-11	Burrito Union 5 Hour Triathlon
2010-08-29	Minneapolis Duathlon
2010-08-22	Muddy Buddy
2010-08-15	Lake Marion Triathlon (sprint)
2010-08-01	Waseca Triathlon (1/3 iron)
2010-07-18	Door County Triathlon Half Ironman
2010-06-12	Liberty Triathlon - Olympic Distance
2010-06-05	New Brighton Triathlon (sprint)
2010-05-30	MDRA Mississippi 10-Miler
2010-05-15	Oakdale Duathlon (relay, just the bike)
2010-05-09	Revolution 3 Olympic Distance Triathlon (relay just swim)
2010-04-25	Minnesota Ironman Bike Ride
2010-04-11	Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

I needed something more than swim and run on Tuesday, bike on Wednesday, etc.

I really don't mean to pick on you!  I am sure you're a very nice guy.  But there's a difference in how a person approaches their season.  Now that I just do "whatever" and have fun with it, no I don't need a coach.  But when I had goals that didn't necessary jive, it was a lot to figure out.

And if I decided to do a marathon or another distance I wasn't sure about, or to take things more seriously, I would definitely call the coach.

Steve and Emily -- If you feel that coaching helped you reach your goals, it probably did, I can't argue with that.  I have plenty of friends who pay their bills via coaching and I'm sure they do fine work.  But you guys came into it with a level of experience that allowed you to navigate around a big issue in the tri coaching world that can very easily bite someone who is a total noob.

The barriers to entry to become a new triathlon coach are so low that there is a ton of straight up crap out there.  Any bozo can throw up a website and start charging for training plans.  Wanna get USAT certified?  That can be done with a single weekend seminar.  An athlete with a couple of seasons under their belt and a network of fellow athletes from which to draw recommendations stands a pretty good chance of sorting through the clowns and hiring someone decent.  Someone completely new to triathlon is way more likely to get a bad one, at which point the best case scenario is that they're lighting money on fire and performing no better than they would otherwise.  The worst case scenario is that they're lighting money on fire while performing significantly worse than they would otherwise.

That why for someone in OP's situation I'm going to recommend self-coaching 100% of the time. Just get out there and wear out a bunch of goggles, tires and shoes.  Maybe at some point down the road it will become obvious that you need outside help.  Hopefully by then you'll be in a position to make an informed decision.  Until then, just establish a routine you can handle from now until eternity and gradually add volume and intensity as your fitness improves.  It doesn't have to be complicated.

That's right my friend. Get yer *ss out there and learn on your own or with friends and having fun.
Talking about training schedule. After 2 seasons I think I've got down my routine good and it fits my family schedule.
Run everyday with easy and hard day every other day. Long runs on weekends. Rest on Monday.
Swim on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and long on Saturday or Sunday.
Bike on trainer using trainerroad.com schedule. Everyday except Wednesday and Friday.
Using these routines, I can then plug in the distance and intensity for swim, bike, run.
Build up the volume 10% to 75% until the peak week and then taper for the race.

Only you know how your body really works. Coach doesn't unless s/he is you.
My training plan is too much? You're not me.  I'm crazy for old geezer and love my training.

this was your training this past summer?  you are more of a beast than i thought.  wow.  Or is this your IM training that you are heading into?  either way you are going to do well in IMWI......

Keep it up "old geezer"!!!!

Who did you use Steve?

Hey Pete. After two years of fun, I'm dialing it in on my training for more better performance and IMWI. Less races next summer and more time for training. I hope I can finish IMWI within 14 hours.

Maybe a coach can make this old body going from 8min pace in 1/2 Marry to 7min pace.
Yeah please....More warp speed Mr. Data.
There's so much you can do with what you were borned with.

I think I can simplify this:

When you've got as much as you can from yourself on your own, and you want to get still more, then get a coach.