Look remote. Seems like you aren't getting a good return on your investment.

I get a lot of bang for the buck. Im faster, healthier and more productive.

We talk weekly, he adjusts as needed, he checks my Training Peaks frequently and sometimes I'll get a random message based on my data and feedback.

I get all that time back and mental stress from having to create, modify, maintain, etc, a training plan. That's priceless to me.

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Cheers, Ray

Check with Mike Plumb https://tripower.org/. He is very affordable. I've been with him a couple of seasons and went from solid MOP to consistently on the podium. Like you, I was using plans and reading books but was not getting anywhere. It is hard to put my finger on exactly what was different but Mike started giving me workouts that were just slightly different than the plans and the improvement was incredible.

For the price, Mike is incredibly responsive. I don't recall what the agreement is, but anytime I have a question or need to change the schedule he is there with a quick response. I'm not sure how closely he inspects each workout but he has proactively contacted me when it looked like a key workout did not go as planned.

... unless you are in Texas in the 45-49 AG. In that case don't contact Mike.

I don't doubt that you get value from your coach. I'm trying to understand how much zip code tax is included in my local coaches pricing. I pay significantly more for everything from tacos to plumbers to gas, etc.. where I live vs 50 miles away. I was trying to poll athletes to understand what service they get at what price point to help decide if I should go remote vs use a local coach.

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Better late than never.

ah ok. sorry about that. I'll expand. I initially started with a local coach. She was like $250 a month and thought I needed to go local since I would be close to her. Fail. She wasn't available very often and her plans were just (it feels) like they were pulled out of thin air. I saw no improvement and no rationale for the various combination of workouts. When I questioned it, instead of working with me to better understand my goals and my reservations with the schedule, she got offended and started quoting her credentials and time coaching. Bye Felicia. I then asked around and determined that you really don't need a local coach. I hired a coach out of state from me and we talk quite often and his plans feel (which they are) like they are truly engineered to reach my goals and to keep me happy and healthy. Best money ever spent. I pay for this coach a little over $2K a year.

Long story short. You don't need a local coach and there isn't a zip code tax when going remote. The tax you encounter will be with what the coach thinks their worth is.

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Cheers, Ray

I get 2 group swim workouts a week with my coach. 1 group track workout a week with the coach. Occasional other special coached workouts like bricks, long runs, race prep, etc. Of course the workout plan - constantly adjustable for schedule, life, training needs, etc. Unlimited contact, discussion, questions, phone calls, etc. Race planning and race debrief for every race. I do not think I should put the price in here, but it is very reasonable.

Eric Kenney is the coach, based in Boulder, CO. He has tons of experience with triathletes from 70+ year old amateurs to professionals, amateur and pro cyclists, etc.


https://ekendurancecoaching.com/

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Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

I pay £150 a month. For me the first big thing I feel I get from it is that my training is specified to my exact goals and the methods that I best respond to. So for example a hilly 70.3 in North Wales, my training was not generic 70.3 training but focused on the exact demands of the bike course and how I can get the most out of myself on it. The other thing is that I can shoot my coach a message about things I've got coming up in a particular week (e.g. exams = high stress and terrible sleep or volunteering at our campus crit = most of the day on my feet blowing a whistle every lap (circa every 2 mins) for an hour at a time each race) and my training for that week will adapt based on the other bits of my life that impact how well/what I can manage in training.
I also get a monthly report on progress focusing on what's been achieved that month, as well as my coach will model my races using things like BBS to help formulate the game plan for attacking it.
My coach is remote from me, but we do zoom catch ups to have proper conversations, alongside message contact/training peaks feedback. I also visit the area he's based in minimum once a year anyway and can have infrequent irl meet-ups that way anyway.

I should also say my coach is a bike coach; I get my swims through the Uni tri club/my own experience as an ex swimmer, and my runs through the club/myself as I know with the provision of the club plus my own experience I've got a lock on those disciplines, and it's a case of my coach and I collaborating to build the plan each week based off of the planned TSS/focus he suggests based off of the phase of the season and position within each phase, as well as the way the body feels week to week and how I've responded to the previous weeks training.

I had a coach in 2018. I was on coaching scholarship which meant that the coach took me pro bono. He did 3-4 scholarships every year. I donated several hundred dollars back to the scholarship fund after my year was up to help others have the same opportunity as I had. It was remote coaching because I was living in a small remote town where the only pool within 50 miles that was open year round was a 15 yard exercise pool with no lane lines. The closest running shoe store, bike shop, running club, tri club, master swim group, etc. were also 50+ miles away. So remote coaching was my only options since no tri coaches lived anywhere near me.

I was required to do the following:
1) send a data dump of all my training workouts and races from my first three years in the sport
2) get a heart rate monitor
3) get a bike trainer and speed cadence sensors
4) get a TrainerRoads Account and Join the closed/private Trainer Roads Team my coach managed
5) get a TrainingPeaks Account and send my coach the handle so he could add himself as my coach (I used a free TR account, that is all that was required)
6) send a list off all potential races for the following year
7) fill out like a 50 question survey that covered about every aspect of my life from sports injuries, to goals in the sports, to work life, to family life, etc.
8) send my schedule of when I worked, vacation plans, when I had time to train, if I had access to outdoor hills to train on, if I had access to a track to do speed workouts on, if I had access to Open Water, etc.

My coach did the following:
1) Geeked out and analyzed all the data from my first three year in the sport (with help of the the Training Peaks WKO4 Software, I'm sure)
2) Helped my find a bike trainer (i.e. insider information on what was worth paying money for what wasn't, what was good what was cheap, etc.)
3) Helped my find a heart rate monitor (this was easier than the bike trainer but I still had questions on what to get since I had/have a vintage GPM watch and didn't know if I needed something with HR in the pool/water and if so what would work etc. He eve advise on possible newer GPS watches should I want to update and get the new bells and whistles).
4) He did a total make over of my run training to address issues he saw in my race date (fading at the end of the run)
5) He taught me how to do a CCS swim test
6) He taught me how to do a FPT bike test
7) He taught me how to do a Lactate Threshold test
8) He taught me how to do Heart Rate Run Training
9) He Taught me how to do Power based Bike interval Training
10) He wrote/assigned all my workouts after reviewing all my training from the previous week and then loaded the new week of training on my TrainingPeaks calendar.
11) He had me send him a swim video and did a swim stroke analysis prescribing drills, etc. to correct the biggest problems
12) He prepared race plans for me including mental toughness and strategies for when things get thought, pacing which included HR ranges and hard limits, guidance on nutrition, etc.
13) I had unlimited communication with my coach and could always sent a text (preferred) or email, etc.

Well that was most of it. I got a few other perks like being included in group with other people that were coached by the same group where we could see each other's workouts and races and encourage each other in training and races, set training challenges for each other, and we had access to dozens of papers that our coach had created that covered lots of different training and racing aspects.

That level of coaching typically runs $250-$300 a month. So...it is not less that your local coaching group but depending on you choices with the local group a remote coach may be able to get to your goals quicker if he/she is a better match to your needs than a local coach. I have used things that I learned in my year of coaching every days since the end of the program 3-1/2 years ago. I built on what I learned and have continued to improve winning first over all at two USAT races and making the AG podium at the only National Championship that I have raced in.

This is a question I've asked myself many times, so I'm curious to see the responses.

I've always been wary of getting a coach because I'm not sure it's worth the money. It seems to me that the biggest single source of success in racing is consistency of training. You have to be able to train a lot, but also to be able to do it day in day out, month after month, year after year. You want some intensity and a lot of volume, especially as you get closer to your A race, but you have to find the balance between volume and consistency. Go too hard too often without enough rest and your plan won't be sustainable. My point is that the specific workouts or components of a training plan don't matter as much as we think they do; they matter only to the extent that they allow you to be consistent over a very long period of time. So what does a coach add beyond something like a TrainerRoad's plan, especially now that TR has adaptive training?

If you're someone who needs the external motivation and emotional support a coach provides, I definitely see a benefit. But as someone who does not struggle to spend long hours training alone, I'm just not sure a coach adds enough to justify the cost. I'm happy to be convinced otherwise.

Someone who can help me navigate maintaining my fitness while the ‘expert’ class and government shut down anything and everything, including outdoor activities, for 1 year+

You're right.

Someone like you should not pay for ongoing coaching, in my opinion, or if they do, they should do it from the perspective of a short-term learning experience on something like a 3-month coaching package. Just to pick the brains of the coach and see firsthand another method of doing things. I'd only recommend seeking that from one of the best coaches available. Not just anyone. Brian Stover, Brendan Housler, or any bigger names that have routinely developed folks into high-level AG'ers or pro's.

Another option that may not exist that you might benefit from, is a one-time consult with a highly skilled and experienced coach. Something like "you pay $$$ for them to look over years of your training data, a questionnaire, and then poke any holes in your current approach they can."

Then, you take their feedback and implement at your thoughtful discretion.

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Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub

I see several benefits:
1- I don't have to worry about setting up my weekly training plan, the coach does it, and a lot better than I could do it, to say the least;
2- I get feedback whenever I need to ask him anything, even though I don't really do this that often;
3- He's present in at least 4 training sessions per week (2 swims, 1 track, 1 s-b-r);
4- He and his assistants are usually present at the most important tri events in my state, so I get a lot of support that I wouldn't otherwise get if I'm competing.

Above all else, I have seen improvements in my times that I have never got when I self-coached, and I say that having myself a degree in Physical Education: it's really hard to put a price on someone else's years of experience coaching. I understand the idea that consistency is the most important aspect for a successful training journey, but what's usually missing in this concept is how one can reach it. Following a well designed training plan, and talking to your coach regularly to adjust things, will enable you to train injury-free and to fit any curveballs life may throw at you into your training schedule, and THAT will help you reach that consistency.

PS. Addendum to my prior reply here.


Been doing phone consults for a while but recently stopped due to personal bandwidth issues. Had what I think is good idea (we'll see!). Post one publicly, since a lot of folks are asking the same questions. Here's the first one I did that with. It's nutrition oriented, but the same could be done for training.

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Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub

100 % agree. A decent training plan off Training Peaks will do the job. It would be good to have someone to occasionally advise and tinker with your program, but not for $150-$200 a month.

I have a remote coach selected from four candidates about two years ago. My goal was to compete successfully at National Champs to qualify for Team USA and go to the World Champs. Every coaching candidate said the same thing after reviewing my previous (self-coached) training - you need more volume. I'm busy! But I now get workouts pushed to TP and I feel (mostly) compelled to do them - it was too easy for me to self-plan for 5-6 workouts per week and do 3 workouts because, you know, life. So the oversight of a coach gets me to 6 workouts per week. Then, my strategy was - hey, not so much volume, so all VO2 and threshold work. Now I'm doing an hour/weekday and more than that/weekend day, but lower intensity, mostly. How is that working out? I just returned from the WC (in Romania) after qualifying directly (no rolldown) at Nationals in 2021. I also qualified for 2023 WC a couple of months ago (also no rolldown). I don't think that these accomplishments would have been possible on my self-training plan. Coaching, to me, has been worth every penny - but I had a pretty specific goal in mind. FWIW, I don't think that there is a (too) restrictive limit on conversations with my coach. Mostly by text messaging, but by Zoom whenever necessary (about 1/month, more close to A races).

$300 per month. We text every day, adjust workouts as needed. He gets me through busy & stressful times with well adjusted plans.

As for results, got me from a top 30-50 overall guy in an IM to a KQ and top 5-10 overall (so far), with my eyes on doing much better than that this year.

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4

I pay 200$/month to increase my anxiety.

JK. Hopefully a sub 1h swim, a sub 4.30 bike and a sub 3h run in my next IM but more importantly a better understanding of what's important in everyday training and that I can in fact go to parties, focus on career and have other interests as long as I plan the week accordingly.

70€ a month for continous provision of 4-week-plans and unlimited access (phone, text, joint cafe rides). Has taken me from maybe 85th percentile to almost AG podium / reliable AG top10, incl. overall top10 run splits in weak 70.3 fields.

I get overall guidance and a well structured plan, especially the progressions on run mileage and speed / threshold workouts and a constant reminder to do more Z2 riding help me a lot. When it comes to race planning, pacing and fueling strategy I also get all the consulting that I need.

Beside that he's a certified PT, so even though that's not included in the rate I get priority when I need an appointment which is very valuable around here.

What sort of training related things do you need to talk about every day?

$100 for a rolling plan that isn't personalized, no coach contact and they don't check my comments on my uploaded workouts.
I quit after a few weeks :)

I had a plan from Matt Fitzgerald for my marathon in spring, I found it really good. Not coaching, but the plan was solid.

What I small world! I, too, use Mike Plumb and have for the past 10 years. Why? Because I wanted to combine my marathon and Ironman schedule, and I didn't want to think about it. He has done Kona and Boston and still races, so he knows his stuff. And he also owns a bike transport business and works on bikes.

I get a weekly email with my workouts or they are in Training Peaks. He has successfully gotten me through 12 Ironmans and on to Kona via legacy route. I stick with him because I can message him at any time, and I respect a coach who also still races.

For $300 a month I get from a local coach:

Unlimited contact
Bike fittings
Unlimited testing, LT, VO2max, blood lactate, etc
Group rides with the coach. Monthly but can be more if needed at no extra cost
Personal weekly plan and analysis. Plan gets adjusted weekly based on my numbers
Nutrition and diet plans

Basically I get everything including talking me off the ledge when my numbers look like crap. I'm at a point in my life where first, I can afford this, second time is valuable and my coach is my training brain. I don't have enough time in the day to plan and execute training and then make adjustments based on analysis of the training all the while wondering did I plan training correctly in the first place?

Can I plan training for anything from a 70.3 and shorter? Yes. A full IM? No way. I simply do not have the time.

I agree a TrainingPeaks plan or book plan can get you most of the way there, 90% in my mind. What a coach can provide is an objective view and feedback. It's hard to see what you are doing wrong when you are looking at your own training.

As a coach and athlete myself I know I perform better when I have my own coach but I just enjoy tinkering and writing my own workouts too much ;)

If I workout went well/poorly or well-but-left-me-ragged then he'll adjust the next days appropriately. Or if Lionel lost a tooth and flatted but still won we'll say "holy shit" via text.

Usually just a few lines of how things went, but sometimes it's more important. Mid week adjustments are key for me sometimes.

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Too old to go pro but doing it anyway
http://instagram.com/tgarvey4