I am thinking about getting a coach for next season and am curious if anyone has any recommendations in Chicago?
Not IN Chicago, but coach Craig Strong from Precision Multisport in Evanston is awesome. I’m currently not being coached by them but train frequently with his athletes and can honestly say they’re a very fast and serious bunch, yet super friendly and welcoming to all levels of athletes.
In April he puts on a training camp in Kentucky and organizes a yearly trip to some IM or 70.3 around the world. This year we’re doing Wildflower.
We also train frequently with the folks from CES (Chicago Endurance Sports) and they’re a cool group too, although in my opinion, more geared toward beginners.
Vision Quest would be my next choice. I know a coach there and would be happy to give you his info.
PM me if you want more info/details
Not IN Chicago, but coach Craig Strong from Precision Multisport in Evanston is awesome. I’m currently not being coached by them but train frequently with his athletes and can honestly say they’re a very fast and serious bunch, yet super friendly and welcoming to all levels of athletes.
In April he puts on a training camp in Kentucky and organizes a yearly trip to some IM or 70.3 around the world. This year we’re doing Wildflower.
PM me if you want more info/details.
+1 on Craig. I will be working with him this year. Very helpful and the training facility they have is sweet. I do all of my training alone but am excited to be able to work with others and from what I have heard from him and others everyone helps each other out and it is a great atmosphere to train in, if you want to train with others. If not, I am confident he will make me faster.
Welcome to the group! Look forward to having you join us during our group rides/runs.
I’m excited! Looking forward to the long rides being not so lonely.
Another “not right in chicago” recommendation, but I just met with Rick Lapinski at L3 Endurance out in Westmont. I’ll probably work with him starting in the spring.
You get weekly personalized training plans. He does group rides, track sessions and swims out in Hinsdale during the offseason, does swim coaching at Ohio St beach during the summer and actually sets up a camp in the summer where he takes you turn by turn through the WI IM bike course to prep you for that one.
He also just did 9:20:00 at Kona with a 15-20 min delay waiting on a replacement tire since he flatted and wrecked his rim, so it makes me feel like he knows what he is doing.
Edit: He’s doing a Kona Viewing event out at Urban Tri Gear this Saturday at 3pm if you are able to get out and meet him. They’re apparently going to raffle off some gear from his sponsors.
thanks for the info!
Rick is a great guy, I know him from one of his past group affiliations, not as a coached athlete. I always found him very down to earth, straightforward and genuinely helpful to other athletes.
Mary Bradbury. She helped fix Crowie’s swim stroke.
http://maryabradbury.wordpress.com/
Mary Bradbury. She helped fix Crowie’s swim stroke.
http://maryabradbury.wordpress.com/
Is Mary a full tri coach, or just swimming?
http://www.listoftriathlonblogs.com/p/blog-roll.html
i have this site that connect bloggers but many are tri-coaches… this page is specific to Chicago athletes and coaches… you could just go through and look for ones that say coaches to find options and learn a little about them… good luck!!!
Just to add another name to the bunch (if you are up in the northern 'burbs) - Marty Taylor @ Amphibian Multisport.
He worked through VisionQuest for a few years and is now setting up his own store / training facility in Libertyville. I have been using their training facilities for about a year now. 16 Computrainers, 4 treadmills, plus room for strength training. The big advantage that is coming is a 2-lane 25m pool that he will have onsite. They just got the final building permits to finish it. Hopefully it will be open by late January / early Feb. I think it will be ~$140 / month for full access to the training facilities, including the pool, ~$120 / month for just riding the CT. They also have 10 ride punch cards available.
Store should be open literally anyday.
Both a tri coach and a swim coach.
Another vote for Craig Strong at Precision. I’m not associated with the club (and I don’t know the other coaches at Precision), but have solicited advice from him on various training stuff, and he’s very knowledgeable. Also, he comes from a swimming background, and has many years of club coaching experience. He’s one of the best tri-coaches around Chicago who can take a good look at your swim stroke and give relevant feedback.
Mary (and her husband) do full coaching.
in addition to Mary, you might want to check out Jenny Harrison (http://jenharrison.com/) she’s pretty bad ass as well
.
Andy,
Have you checked out Endure It! for individual coaches or training? We have two locations (Naperville and Willowbrook) with Computrainer multi-ride stages, group training, group rides, runs, bike fit studios, track work, yoga, endless pool, full retail stores, TRX workouts, etc. etc. Check out the coach bios below, with 12 coaches on staff you might find what you’re looking for.
thanks everyone for the help! I have reached out to a bunch that were recommended.
Depends where you live, but when I lived there I was part of the Well-Fit and is right downtown. Nice training center, and a great group of people.
thanks again for the recommendation. I signed with him as well. Really nice guy and definitely knows how to train and race. Have a great season and I’ll probably run into you if you go with him as well.