If your interest is to get better at biking, you don't really need a coach. TrainerRoad on it's own is pretty awesome and will have you in shape in no time! I used to have a triathlon coach with a well known group and personally don't see much difference between his trainer workouts vs TrainerRoad's. They were both tough and well worth the time invested in doing the workouts.

Also, one note, I wouldn't abandon your group / club rides and go soley to TR. I find the combination of the two to be ideal. The trainer work let's me build up during the week and then on the weekend I can join the group with a bit more confidence.


Though, since you mentioned "Now I want to take things more seriously and devote more time to it.", don't forget about the swimming side :-P! You swim first so there's a large advantage to being able to leave the swim not totally exhausted. That will help you bike well, which in turn will help you run well.

HI

THANKSfor your reply

i cant do group rides any more due to the nature of my job, so i thought the trainer would be ideal, based on what i read

as far as the swim goes, a lot of these coaches are offering structured workouts for the swim and video analysis.
and structured plans for the run

I recommend a smart trainer like the Wahoo Kickr or competing product.

+1 then for Trainer rides. My work is pretty crazy too and I really only get to ride outside maybe 1-2 a month now :-/.

TR works best w/ power & HR data. If you don't have a trainer or power meter yet, there's a few options. Some go the "smart trainer" route which has a power meter built-in and others go the traditional trainer route (just a mechanical device - no electronics) + power meter. For me, I went the later. I didn't know enough at the time and thought that even the traditional trainer was crazy expensive. I added the power meter later on. If I did it again, I'd still do the same. I like the simplicity of a normal trainer (I use a Cyclops Jet Fluid Pro).

For structured swim workouts, I use Tower 26's program from http://obstri.com/tower26/. That program is intense but super helpful too I've found.

i ordered tacx bushido smart trainer. works via bluetooth. uses power/watts

Mostly. The thing you have to watch out for is that following a training plan without supervision can lead to overtraining, since you're also swimming and running. So all you have to do is give yourself a little bit more slack and leniency on the bike trainer workouts if needed. If you are staying on the TrainerRoad schedule and feel like you are struggling and tired and can't keep up, then skip a few more workouts than you think you should. You can tell it was the right choice if you come back feeling energized and your numbers are way better. Then you'll realize it was worth skipping that workout.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

when you mentioned numbers

as an example, if your ftp improves, then it was worth it? is that kind of what you mean

Just hoping TR will update their sw to work with the Velotron so I can give this a try

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

That's a great comment! I started out in triathlon just 3 years ago now and that was my biggest mistake looking back. I kept chasing numbers without focus and it led to more races being skipped from injury than completed :-/!

By numbers, in my case, I was focused on trying to get X number of hours overall per week, N number of bike miles, etc., without considering my life stress - like how heavy more work / commute schedule was, whether or not work was going well, etc. Listen to your body and build up, including rest / relaxation as part of your weekly focus!

+1 for this advice

I followed TrainerRoad HIM plan last yeah without a coach and got really worn down. This year hired a coach for my first IM and it's worked out great. And along with looking at my workout data I get a lot of "how are you feeling?" Or "how did that feel?" questions from my coach. Making sure I don't get overtrained.

a simple advise.

if it s not clear what value you will get from hiring a said coach.... it s most likely not worthy. I never heard of a coach using trainer road as there structured program. Not that there is no value in trainer road program but your either coaching or your not.

keep it simple, look at what kind of results a coach is getting with a wide range of athletes. Results is what speak volume. trust that coach to lead you in the right process.

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

trainer road is just part of the plan. everything else is structured plus daily communication.
training stress and fatigue is also monitored

 video analysis of the swimming is also included