I've basically worked with my coach year 'round since I hired him (~4 years now). I tone it down in the off season, but still communicate and upload workouts..........

That being said, I haven't gone full IM. I initally used him to improve my running and HM time and have moved forward to 70.3's...........

As a coach, most of my clients are for a season. Many return the the next season, but usually it is a January through September or October relationship. Over the holiday months many just work on maintenance or take a break from structured training, then we start back up again in January or February.

I've employed my coach for the last 3 years straight. He's always coaching me to my next goal. I've done 4 HIMs, 2 marathons, and countless shorter distance races with him. He's currently coaching me towards a BQ attempt at Chicago in a week and then another at the Louisiana Marathon in January. If I ever wanted to step up to a full IM, he would be able to make the plan seamless into what we have been doing.

Working with a coach long term helps you both maximize your potential because they get to know you, your strengths, and your weaknesses.

I've been self-coached up to this point. 3+ years doing triathlons. 2 HIMs (both finished right about 5:35). 3rd HIM coming in a few weeks. Following a trainerroad HIM plan this year. So I'm no threat to KQ and don't have any thoughts on that. And, at least at this point, I feel like I'll be one and done with the full distance (or at least not do another anytime soon) since I know it's a lot of work. I like the Olympic and HIM distances. In a way, I feel like if I'm looking at a one and done effort for IM I might as well go all in and get a coach. I can certainly continue the self-coach and probably do okay. I'm usually pretty good about keeping up with my training. But it'd be nice to have a coach structure a plan for me and analyze my workouts for me.

My Strongest athletes stay with me year around. The first ingredient to reaching your potential is consistency.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

Depends on your goals. If you are looking to finish and want someone to get you to the finish line, then 20 weeks will probably be fine for an ironman. But if you are looking to get faster and reach a certain goal (KQ or something) then that would be a long term plan and you might find yourself with the same coach for many years and the process to build will be year round process.

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SmartBikeTrainers.com || YouTube || My Twitter

The first ingredient to reaching your potential is consistency.

You don't need a coach to be consistent so what type of things do you work on during the "off season?"

I'll reply to this just because I agree with Rockdude... my best athletes are the ones that stay on year round.

As for off-season, that is dependent on each athlete obviously. Yes it requires some time away from specifics but its also a time to focus on re-balancing muscles (weight room.. gasps) and laying a foundation for the following year. Just because you get away from specifics doesn't mean you allow all of your fitness to leave. A lot of people view off-season as a time to get away and clear the mind... I would agree, clear your mind and come back motivated, but what you do in the off-season is what lays the foundation for what you do in the pre-season and what you're capable of when specifics come back around. Off-season is 1/4th of the year and should be treated as such... it isn't time to vanish, its time to do whats needed during that 1/4th of the year. There are a lot of things that can be done but again, it depends on the athlete, their life balance, their experience, their goals, etc etc etc.

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COROS Sports Science

I've been with my coach for 4 years now. Even on a 1 month break at the end of the year, he gets paid. Coaching to me is not something you stop when the season ends and start when the season starts. It's a year round commitment.

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yeah. my offseason needs to include strength training, more swimming, and definitely some bike ftp building. I'm just trying to sort out how to lay that out. This year I'm definitely planning on more offseason training than previously. I always continue offseason work it's just this year I want it to be more focused on doing things that will get me closer to my time goals for my IM next year. In past years, I usually do more running for a half marathon or 10ks, a little cycling, less swimming with no specific longer term goals. Of course, I don't want to overload my offseason with 15 hours of week of workouts but I want to do things with my IM in mind.

yeah. I don't have KQ dreams but would like to do a little better than just get to the finish line. I don't need to be the best or see a podium finish is determining my success or not (although podium finishes are nice) but I try to focus on pushing myself to improve. I had my first triathlon podium recently at an Olympic distance. I didn't know until the next day. I had left early before awards. But I was already happy with my times for the race before I knew I was 3rd in my AG. Something like KQ I know is a goal that would require more years of prep then I'm really interested in pursuing. The amount of long term focus and commitment for that level is not something I want to do. This year I knew of lot of my training has been testing different things out with consideration for applying towards an IM next year. I've applied more structure and volume to my training than I've done in the past.

There is a coach in my area who I'll probably talk to after HIM 70.3 NC coming up and if I started with her in November that would give me just about 11 months of coached training for my IM effort.

Until they ask for their trucker hat back.

Well played...

you can have your trucker hat back when you pry it from my cold dead hands.

I have my coach year round. Although right now, it is casual because my last race was Sunday. My coach told me not to race any road races for 6 weeks to recover. However there are lots of core work, mountain biking and trail running. Taking a break from swimming for a short bit. If you like your coach you will pay them year round. But it would depend on the coaching relationship you have. Try the coach and decide after your IM race if you want to stay the course. My coach also sticks "Date Nights" on my schedule. To remind me that I need a break and pay attention to family.

I'm on coach #4 over the 15 years I've been racing...all online or via phone w/email. I've been with the current one for a little over 2 years, and I keep him year-round. Once I found one I liked, I've decided to stick with him, and I'd argue my best improvements come in the off-season. Here are the things I've always looked for and never found at a reasonable price til now:

- He adjusts to my ever-changing schedule even when I'm deployed or away from home. I get a weekly plan, and there's normally a conversation during the week to list out any time limitations/injuries/illness/etc.
- I always know the goal I'm working toward, and if I don't, he'll explain it to me. That might be a race. It's also sometimes another metric if we're in a single-sport focused phase.
- After about a year, he started to recognize from my workout files details that I couldn't see such as signed of impending sickness based on HR vs power or just overall performance at times.
- He's realistic. When planning out a year of racing, he'll be honest that courses aren't suited to me even if I'm excited about a location. I've also finally given in that my fastest times happen when I listen to his direction instead of hammer away like an idiot.

To me, it's a stress relief to let someone else do the planning and to also come up with some variety or I keep doing the same thing over and over with an admitted inability to gauge when too much is too much.

If I was going to do a one-and-done, I'd probably go online and find a plan instead of pay a coach. Beware of the cost of some "coaching" plans that aren't much more than something pre-written with very little ability to adjust built in.

There it is!!!

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
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