.....I'm sure more talking per week is going to help....


just a second....Is this my therapy forum?
:-)
Bluey

Please, post all your past results so we can compare to this year's results and decide if we should be charging you more...

The check is in the mail!

I am surprised that Slowtwich doesn't have a Triathlon Team where they get forum members to join especially since there are people all over the world on here.

I've had the pleasure of having Zach Ruble (professional triathlete) as my coach for the last 2 years going into my 3rd season/year with him. His results with his athletes speak for themself. He's readily available via email or phone if needed. He does not deliver a "canned" coaching plan, it is based solely on your performance and progression through your weeks. He is a seasoned triathlete with very good personal results and has coached many to PR's and Qualifications.

www.zachruble.com

I personally recommend him if you are coachable and willing to work. You won't be sorry.

BigZach's the man!!

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Mark M

You'd need 267 athletes to make $40,000 per year? Yikes! You forgot to carry the "1" on that calculation!

Born to Tri,

I would definitely look for someone who has coached several people through Ironman, if you are doing Iron this year or next. Ask them how many folks they have gotten through it and talk with a few of them. An Iron coach should have a good handle on the following:

1) A very detailed race execution plan - too many folks train 9+ months only to blow out the bike or the first 10 miles of the run. Walking is 15-18:00/mile and I've had friends walk 23 miles of an Ironman needlessly!

2) A very detailed nutrition plan - your nutrition is personal and should be something that helps you excel, not hold you back with gi issues, a very common complaint among Iron folk.

3) Your coach needs to be able to match YOUR schedule with a repeatable weekly schedule for each phase, not hand you a canned plan from the internet. I coach airline, military, and consultants who have crazy schedules. Their workout schedule has to fit their work and family schedules. So, your coach has to realize they can't just plug you into someone else's calendar.

4) Consistent, frequent, moderate workouts get you to the finish line, not crazy, "hard", or grueling workouts. Your coach should strive to find you a repeatable weekly schedule that challenges you at each phase.

Last thing I'll add for weaker swimmers is you might be better off hiring a swim coach instead of a tri coach. If you can get them rolled into one, then even better. My point is why hire an online tri coach when you could hire someone locally who will get your swim up to speed? Your $$ is better spent cutting 10-20:00 off your Ironman swim and getting on-deck coaching. In general, I try not to distance coach (on-line) weak swimmers because their $$ is better spent elsewhere. Not to mention, I'll get credited for their poor swimming, which I don't want.

Good luck!

Tre'

Thanks for the feedback. I talked to a local coach yesterday who I really liked. He does this on the side (he has another job), but seems to be very involved with his athletes (He only coaches a few at a time).

I definitely saw the benefit of going local as opposed to online, plus the shop has a few swim coaches that can help with my stroke. So I'm confident things will work out exceptionally well.

I appreciate everyone's feedback! Definitely been a (good) learning experience.

Local is usually better because they can pick up on visual and verbal clues. I coached one local for several weeks and he had some initial trouble. When I biked with him finally, I realized his fit was screwed up and he didn't take any nutrition the first hour of a hard bike ride! I saw everything that was affecting him and was able to clear it up on the spot. The dude got instant speed just from some very slight changes and wasn't feeling wrecked week after week.

As a coach my thoughts are to make sure that both of you have all lines of communication open and that the coach is able to do field tests and adapt the plan to make necessary changes for desired results. Contrary to most the written plan is only part of what a coach does. The athlete needs to feel a trust with their coach and be able to be honest about how they are feeling and responding to the program. Each athlete is truly a unique set of fingerprints and need to be treated as such. The coach needs to be able to focus the athlete and make the most of the athletes available training time. The coach also has to be objective to help the athlete not only maintain direction toward the goals but also ensure the athlete's safety and well being both physically and mentally. I have had several athletes come to me with injury and we addressed those issues first rather than struggle through poor training and racing only to risk more severe injury.
One of the big things that I hear from my athletes who have had other coaches is lack of communication or poor customer service. This develops a poor athlete coach relationship and the trust usually dwindles from there. A coach also needs to help assist the athlete with the other areas of the sport such as equipment research and advice.


Good Luck in your search









http://futrmultisport.com/