Put me in coach

Everyone has their reasons for choosing to participant in races; health, competition, personal growth ….. whatever the reason, the fact of the matter is there is a need to get some guidance.  Personally I’ve never gone out and hired a coach, I’ve researched on my own and spent time working a plan that made sense for me.  I’ve spoken to many coaches, seen their training plans but never pulled the trigger on partnering up.  Each coach is unique, there is no coach that’s one size fits all and there certainly isn’t a one size fits all athlete.  Every athlete’s situation and circumstances are different, it’s this difference that should drive we athletes to spend time getting to know potential coaches and interviewing each other before jumping on board with whoever is popular, the cheapest or who most of your friends go with.  I wanted to provide some things to consider if you’re looking in to stepping up your results or looking for guidance hiring someone.

Group vs. coach; in my area where there is a local Ironman race there are an abundance of coaches and groups.  It’s important to distinguish between the two as a starting point of the selection process.  Training groups are just that, groups that use their size and number as a means to “never train alone”.  There are varying levels of groups from the informal group that maintains an email or Facebook list to keep all it’s members up to date with places, times and type of workouts that are occurring.  Often times the groups are organized to help people come and go as they need if they’ve built or using a training plan acquired outside a coach.  There are more organized groups that are normally associated with running/triathlon stores.  All members of the group pay the same price, get the same gear and discounts and also get the same training plan and schedule.  Your life and the other members of the group lives are all structured and laid out for you to follow.  These groups flourish with first timers whether its first time 5k runners or runners looking to step up to longer distances or even triathlons.  The groups have proven success with getting people to the finish line and helping those who may not be organized or motivated to research on their own, but they also bring in a team feeling of being a part of something larger.  Although the training plans are all the same the group organizer recognizes the varying ability of the athletes and have varying ways to handle that so all in the group may train at their preferred pace.  I feel these are ideal for those who are ‘first-timers’ with any race type; triathlon, 5k pick a race type.  The group and getting to know people adds accountability.  The structure helps build the habits of training more and there is normally access to “coaches” within these groups.  The experience and certifications of these group coaches may vary but in general it’s expected they add value by being there and answering questions regarding nutrition, pace or anything else you can think of.  The downside to these groups is in the structure and customization of the work outs.  If the group workouts all take place on Wednesdays and Sundays and one of those days will never work for your schedule, then you may not receive the full benefits of the group.  If these workouts are supported in some manner with hydration and nutrition on the workout routes and you have to miss one or some of the workouts, then there is a benefit that’s been paid for but not used.    Furthermore, if you really want to focus on getting a PR, your only option to do so is to work within the group and it’s structure.  For example, many running groups will have pacers running a specific pace for the training runs, if you’ve done races at an 11 min/mile pace and you want to get faster you’re only choice within the group is to force yourself to hang with a faster group.  This certainly may work but may not make the most sense.

Selecting a coach over a group – if you are someone who needs reassurance or wants to be more confident in a training plan’s ability to carry you to the finish, a coach may be a better option.  With coaching you have an individual that knows you, knows your goals and creates a specific plan custom to you.  There’s ongoing discussion and feedback between coach and athlete to continue to treat the training plan as a living/growing GPS navigation.  Any hiccups or detours and the two of you are right on it to continue to give you peace of mind and confidence you’re on the right track.  If you’re an experienced athlete who’s done races before and wants to focus on knocking out PR’s, a coach will normally suit you better than a group.

Selecting a coach – a coach isn’t a coach isn’t a coach. . .  As we do with buying new running shoes we should do with a coach.  Try it on, walk around a bit, get familiar with the nuances and take them for a test spin before purchasing.  If you’re going to work with a coach, you’re going to have an investment of money so choose wisely.  All coaches will provide a work out plan/schedule for you and that plan should be unique to you, your abilities and goals.  Coaches will have different processes to start whether it’s an interview to learn your finish times and quantity of races or to emphasize an evaluation of your form; gait analysis, stride, swim stroke and spinning technique- this type of coach helps find ways to make you more efficient and maximize your efforts.  All coaches will most likely have different systems in place that may operate like part of the group training mentioned above.  Organized and supported training runs or rides, and group meet ups are common examples.  This of course isn’t the case with a coach that is virtual or remote from afar.  The “virtual” coach is just as accessible as someone in your town, but there is no face-to-face component and will most likely focus on the plan itself.    All coaches will have certifications of some sort or a great deal of experience, they will likely differ slightly in how they put it all together typically based on their background and preferences.  For example some coaches are researching the benefits of high intensity training as it relates to endurance athletes.  These coaches focus on intense short burst weight lifting as a means to maximize the body’s ability to prepare for the beating and punishment of running a marathon.  This type of training may require less overall hours spent, but when there is a workout, the workouts are intended to have you operating at a vigorous level.  Other coaches may balk at the idea that short burst intense workouts make any sense for endurance athletes as they prefer a methodology that focuses on maximizing time running and little to no core or weight room work outs whatsoever.   

If you’re considering a coach or group, the best advice I could give is to ask lots of questions, forget what your friends are doing and talk with different coaches openly and honestly about your goals, your situation, how you best train and stay motivated, how they would describe the athlete that is most likely to flourish with their help, what their core philosophies are that they put in to their teaching, how they differ from other coaches and how they are the same.  If you’re taking the time and spending the money to train for an event that you’re considering hiring someone to help you get there, then do yourself a favor and don’t stop asking questions or make assumptions, the person you choose to hire will be a very important piece in your happiness as you prepare for your goal race.