Buying a training plan?

[wawa]

Contemplating saving myself some trouble and buying a training plan rather than continuing to make this up as a go along. 
The options are nearly literally endless.
Any tips on how to suss out a good plan vs. a crap one before you buy it?  Particular coaches/plan authors to look at on training peaks or elsewhere?

Alternatively I guess I could reach out to a local coach and get a custom plan, but I don't want to because if I tell an actual human what I'm trying to do vs where I'm now they're going to laugh at me.  Also it'll cost more.  So there's that.

[emilyj]

Here's my take. You've been doing all of this *waves arms at swim, ride, run* for a couple years. If you were new to all of it, or to riding in general, then I'd say sure, just buy a plan, it'll probably be fine. But you aren't new, you've got experience under your belt, and you're shooting for some really big stuff here. I didn't use a coach until Ironman, because at that point, I realized that cobbling plans together on my own wasn't going to cut it anymore. That was a race that was simply too big to handle on my own. If I were staring down a 200 mile ride...same thing.

If I were you, I'd get a coach at this point. I would lean toward the argument that a really good pre-built plan is going to cost almost as much, if not as much, as a coach.

Here's why I won't give up my coach at this point, even when I'm not doing an Ironman. My coach looks at me from week to week. He pinpoints where I'm having an issue and works with me on it. He can easily assess when I need to back off, and when he can push me a little more. We can talk about targets that he sets for me (he set a swim target the other week that I could. not. hit. I would have walked away pissed if it was a training plan. Instead, I got to talk through with him what the factors may have been and we adjusted for them.) And most importantly, I can tell him if I've got a super busy week, or some odd commitments that I don't normally have, and he can help me work around them. I have to travel for work during one of the huge training weeks for IM. He already knows, so he can start adjusting my schedule so I don't lose that entire week.

Basically, he's the critical and objective eye that I can't be for myself, or a pre-made plan can't be for me.

[moreace01]

I apologize, I don't know what you are trying to buy a training plan for, but here's my take.

I've joined groups for training and had success (half marathon, marathon) and also did not have success (HIM). I've hired two coaches to help me reach my marathon goal - the first coach directly contributed to my injury last year because she repeatedly did not listen to me (workouts were too hard with no recovery - which I told her numerous times, she ramped up mileage way too fast and didn't listen to the # of days I could train nor days of the week). She also had purchased a canned plan and stuck it in my training peaks (or final surge - I forget). How do I know this? After I fired her, the plan showed up every week in training peaks until the day of the race (which was over two months later). My second coach flaked out on me, which is ok cause I was already injured from previous coach. So, you can hire a coach but that won't necessarily be a slam dunk.

ANYWAY! Now that I'm done venting, I have purchased plans through McMillan twice. Had success with the first and am starting the second one now - it's just for a half marathon though. I was able to plugin my most recent race and then what my goal is and I think how many days a week I want to train and the runs are paced accordingly. We'll see how it goes.

If I was going to do a HIM again, I'd go with a totally different training group and ask a lot of questions about the training plan to see if it worked for me (the group I was with last time did not adaquately prepare me for the race). Maybe get a coach - it's just been hard for me to find a good one.

[gt7301b]

I have a ton of thoughts, but first of all if a coach laughs at you just move on to the next one.  

I haven't looked into a running coach cause Mr. GT is also a runner, coached a gazillion years of track/cross country, coaches some of our other running friends, and his BRF is also a coach.  I think I am in a unique positions with all my resources but sometimes I just don't want to listen to Mr. GT so it isn't all rainbows

That being said I did have a skating coach when I was skating regularly.  It was helpful to get the feedback and while I could do somethings on my own having a coach really helped meet my goals.  If it fits within the budget I would say give a coach a try and see how it works for you.

[al320]

I think it dependso n what youre training for, what your goals are and what your experience level is. I hired a coach because all of my marathons were within a few minutes of each other, regardless of training plan or mileage, etc. And now, unrelated to my coach, im coming back from injury and pretty much starting from scratch with my goals. If i just wanted to successfully run marathons at about my current pace,i never wouldve invested in a coach. Also, there are SO many plans out there for free, it would never occur to me to buy one.

[foundmylazybum]

If a coach laughs at you for the goal you are trying to achieve vs where you are now...

First off they might not be a good coach.

Second, they might be able to provide excellent feedback on the reality, timeline, strengths and weaknesses of your goal that you really need..instead of you just hacking away at it on your own.


Even the thought that the gap is wide suggests you need outside help, rather than just a plan.

[chw57]

So I’m going to be the odd one out who just cannot justify shelling out for a coach. I may be capable of better performances that I’ve put out but I’ve dropped my marathon from 4:41 to 3:25, gone sub-13 in an Ironman, and finished a tough 50-miler, and feel like I’ve generally gotten to know myself well enough as an athlete to do this on my own. Now, if I were trying to qualify for Kona or something, I might consider it, but for me, a big piece of the joy of training is learning more about the sport, listening to my body, and figuring out what works for me.

With that said, I absolutely think that if you want one, and have the budget for one, there’s no harm in looking around through local clubs and finding recommendations. That’s how people I know IRL have found theirs, although with mixed results.

As far as buying training plans, I’ve used books: Pfitz for marathons and Be Iron Fit for Ironman. I’m now using Fast-Track Triathlete

[sadlebred]

wawa Is this for your double century?

[wawa]

Feb 8, 2019 16:51:52 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

wawa Is this for your double century?

Yup. I am trying not to be negative after just 5 weeks of really training, but the gap of where I'm at to where I need to be to not get swept is just a giant chasm and I have so much work to do. I know how to work up to a certain level of straight endurance; I have no CLUE how to do it at a decent speed. Beyond what I've googled. And woo have I googled. Also maybe i just can't do both at once to the level I need here. I'm not sure. (In which case I do the double metric instead...but if i can do it, I want to)

[sadlebred]

www.trainingpeaks.com/coach-match/

How many hours/week do you want to train? Be realistic. If you have 9-10 that's fine. If you want to do 15 that's fine.

[sadlebred]

..and this. Looks like something that might work for you! It asks you exactly what you want to do:

www.trainingpeaks.com/training-plans/cycling/gran-fondo-century