Why DONT you have a coach? (please vote) (Page 2)

I have a friend of a friend who was training for her first marathon and had a coach (nothing wrong with that). She did not have any athletic background, new to running, etc. (nothing wrong with that). Her coach had her doing track speedwork when she was running maybe 20-30 mpw (nope). She's a 5+ marathoner... she doesn't need speedwork on the track. She needs volume and consistency for now.

I agree with this.  When people ask for help with their swimming on BT, one of the most common responses is to get lessons.  Hiring a tri coach is really just a bigger version of that.

Hmmmm.   I did IMAZ 2008 self coached in 12:45.   I did IM Canada last year coached in 13 flat.  I am prouder of the Canada finish.  My coach didn't motivate me to finish, I did.  I don't really understand that point of view.

I've paid for a coach in the past and received valuable information, training plans, assessments, etc. My situation (training time, injuries, race lengths, goals) has not changed materially, so I am essentially re-using the information I paid for when I had the coach. No sense in paying again for the same information/experience.

I used a coach when I had more complicated training needs and couldn't put together a useful plan on my own.  I hired her when I was gearing up to do my first half distance race and I really credit her for the good experience.  I especially learned a LOT about nutrition that really made the experience for me.  She definitely scaled it to my expectations and abilities but did also introduce me to speedwork, for instance, and pushed me much further than I even would have gone.    I was more targeted in my training and more motivated knowing she was paying attention.

This year I am taking a more laid back approach and with stock training plans I can get where I need to go safely.  I have reached a personal plateau and know what I would need to do to make progress and am not really interested.  If I wanted to try that again, I'd definitely go back to a coach.

Similar to the lines of what Marc posted earlier, I don't think I would get a coach unless I started getting closer to my true potential and needed someone to help me find those small improvements over the competition.

Right now I'm doing pretty well by just training on my own and abosorbing most of the free knowledge available.  I am still learning things this way and I still have low hanging fruit in some ares.  Could I do it faster with a good coach, possibly...but most coaches out there wouldn't fit my criteria anyway as far as what kind of power analysis I would like for the bike.  Especially since half or more of my season is usually spent bike racing.

The other reason I would consider a coach is if I took another shot at IM.  I think in that case, I really need someone to help build me a plan that will get my fitness up, but also keep me from burning myself out.  I think I overdid it in my first attempt, and because IM is a huge investment for me (requires a minimum of 3000 miles of travel and at least a 4 night stay...likely 6 nights to make it worth my while), getting a coach for my next IM is a strong possibility to help ensure the race meets my expectations.

Disagree. Learning to swim is learning a skill.

I suspect the coaches would tell you that coaching is a skill too.  

So I do have a coach, but for many years I didn't have a personal one because I had lots of group coaches.

I am in a masters swim club, so I have access to the coaches there. I ride at the velodrome where there are coached training sessions. I joined a run club, so there were coaches there too. (Now I don't run though) So I guess that was a good reason for me not to have a personal coach. But now I have specific goals that I appreciate having a coach put together a plan for, so that everything works together.

I still have the masters swim coaches, as well as the velodrome coach and I go to classes at the gym, so there are trainers/coaches there. However my personal coach puts it all together and tells me what I should be doing when.

So I didn't vote as to why I don't have a coach because I do, but just wanted to provide this feedback about why I didn't have a coach for many years.

I put expense, which is a part of it. The other part is that my goals are such that a coach would be a waste of time as well as money. If my goals were such that imporvement and FOP were a part of it, then I'd certainly invest in one.

I do not have a coach.  

I don't feel most people need a coach.  If you want one, good on you.  This is a hobby for most everyone, and paying for a coach makes it "too serious".  This is just my opinion.  There are people who need a coach, and people who want a coach, but most do not.  For those who participate in Ironman, I can understand the need for help and direction, but that is a very small portion of our sport.

Yeah if I had a coach that caused drama like that I would fire them.
My (only) experience with a coach was the opposite of all these situations you presented.
A friend's wedding came up that I traveled to - coach re-arranged the schedule so it all worked out, got my long run in on the boardwalk looking at the ocean.
After I asked, he recommended an ART specialist because they took my insurance. I never went, he never brought it up again.
I was definitely his BOP athlete, but never "felt" that way.

I think it's on the individual (athlete) if they accept that level of drama - especially when paying that kind of money. 

This is complicated for me.

Our club has a coach and so I let his workouts dictate a lot of the quality stuff that I do but everything else is on my own. I bounce things off of him every now and again and he suggests races and whatnot but I don't pay him and therefore don't consider him "my" coach.

If he were "my" coach and I were paying him I would be very, very picky. I don't feel I have any issues with motivation or the ability to push myself to hit certain paces. I also have worked hard to have a really good idea of how my body responds to different training stimulus and what a pace "feels" like.

For me, the coach would more be used for structuring my macro/micro cycles and picking races that accomplish specific goals. And with that being said, how much would that cost and would it be worth it? Maybe a coach would have more to offer me than that, but I'm not really sure?