Partially Correct. I don't want the swim team and x-ctry team to be my primary practices. My freind who is ranked 1 in the state doesn't go to those, and we are at the same school, so I am sure there is a reason his coach isn't having him go. The problem is, I can't afford his coach.

I will do 8 races this year, starting in April and going till Oct

Thanks for the post sully800 and I appreciate your help , but apart from sport specific coaches, I am looking for a more 1 on 1 trainer/coach who can guide me.

I am looking for someone who does Tri's but on a more advanced level. I am not looking for a PRO coach or anything. Just someone who is serious about the sport just as much as I am, that can help me get where I want to go :D

Thanks

There is the Mad Dogs but it's way to big. Please keep responses limiting to coaching :X, Although appreciated, I know all this is out there :D

Thanks

Yeah bro, other than the guy who runs the local tri club and might be willing to let you in on some group sessions for fun, this quest for free coaching may be an uphill battle, but good luck

I do think you are missing an opportunity with the local tri club......join, show up, and watch......every group has a yoda.......someone that always seems to know what to do........this is almost never the one that offers the most advice.............it's the one who asked for the most advice

good luck

you could also find a local university with a tri team....the coach would already be paid and might be willing to let you into practices if it would'nt be an violation of some sort

I guess the only thing I don't understand is...you're getting a $5800 bike and can't afford to pay for a coach, granted the bike is a 1 time expense where coaching is ongoing and I've never dealt with 1 on 1 coaches, but I'd have to imagine they aren't as expensive as that piece of machinery. At least not initially.

Why not downgrade the bike selection a little (like 3k-4k range) and put the extra money toward getting some coaching help. Unless of course the Fuji is a deal/used, etc...

GL

Yeah, I think I would first see how far you can go with your swimming/track coaches. Don't forget that they're actually paid for what they do, so you will presumably be getting better coaching than you will get with a free tri coach. I realize that it won't be tri specific coaching, but I think you will get pretty far with that many coaches for the individual disciplines.

sweet deal on the bike...let me know when he decides to get rid of another one!

I'd say definately stick with your individual coaches...the majority of tri training is each of the individual legs separate, so specialized coaches for those areas would probably be better than any free services you'd get for tri coaching. When you do need to do bricks or something more tri-specific you can do pretty well by just seeking advice from local tri-clubs or on forums.

It looks like you are already pretty setup for success.

i'm with stewarba......what I wouldn't give to have the ability to go to a swim coach every morning........curse me for being to old for high school

"i never mean to insult a coach."
Then why are you insulting coaches by asking us to work for free?

Coaches need money. No matter how fast you are, you won't find someone who will coach you at the personalized level you are looking for for free. Elite coaches cost even more than a low level coach. Even the most elite athletes pay their support staff well. Follow tri-ac's advice and find a club and a mentor. Race and have fun. Join the big club - meet lots of people. The fast ones will probably knock you down a notch. Good. Let yourself be humbled by the retirees who can knock your socks off and learn from them. Have fun - that's really what its all about in the end. If you refuse to train with teams, you are most likely looking at a long lonely road to disappointment and burnout.

If you truly think you are prodigy material, you should be fast enough to be noticed without formal tri-specific coaching. How fast are you (numbers!) again? I don't know how fast you need to be to be prodigy material, but I know that the 'pushing 19 min' 5k off the bike you mentioned in your other thread won't cut it. I'm a girl, I'm not anywhere close to true elite level, running is not my strength, and I can run a low 20 min 5k off the bike.

If you want guidance, you need to get your talent identified and be invited to races, camps, etc... There is no all-seeing talent picking god out there. You have to put yourself out there to get noticed. Sometimes this means spending money... that's life.
Read this page:
http://www.usatriathlon.org/AthleteFocus/Junior.aspx
and contact this person for local information and to get you on the radar:
http://www.usat-florida.com/RADC.html

If you can't afford a coach, do what the rest of us mortals to: Get the Triathlete's Training Bible as has already been suggested to you in your other thread and make your own plan - just don't overdo it. Quality over quantity. You mentor in the big tri club *might* be willing to look over the plan for you if you don't insult them by presuming to be above the club. Take advantage of the opportunity. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a large active tri club nearby. If you really want the coach, get a job. No coach will have a 16 year old train 25-35 hpw, so you'll be able to work at least 10 hpw.

If you want to be truly serious about triathlon *right now*, I recommend against track and/or xc. You already have your running background and I'm guessing its your strength. Train your weakness as that's where you'll make the most gains. Track is in those months right before and at the beginning of tri season where you need to focus on tri specific training. XC is in those months at the end of your season where you need to peak then rest - even if you are an invincible 16 year old who deserves that world for free, you can't achieve a full peak 4x /year and you need at least a little downtime. Club swim team year round until you learn to swim well is the way to improve your swimming most economically - try to make some of those USS time cuts in the 500 and 1650 Hmmm?.

And yes, train with your paid hs coaches if you participate in hs sports. It is a huge insult not to unless you really are currently at jr national team level. However, I know someone on the junior national team and she trains with the school xc and swim teams. If you don't want to train with your hs teams, don't join them. You shouldn't spread yourself out too far and its more insulting and harmful to the rest of the team if you are 'on' the team but think yourself above training with them than if you give up your places on the teams to someone who is dedicated to the hs team even if they aren't quite as fast (yet).

Make sure to let us know how it goes. It may seem like reality is a little harsh, but that's life.

+2 to catwood

Looking for a "Full Time" coach for free? As everyone else here has stated, use your Cross Country and Swimming coaches. When you get involved in the teams at your high school, they will be more willing to help you through the off seasons. Your swimming coach should be able to get you into distance training shape (What tri distance are you planning to race? At 16, I would say Olympic distance is a bit too far--and don't even think about half or full ironman, there's a reason the age requirement is 18-- and will require more training than your body is physically capable of handling, especially to become elite, racing sub 1:55). As for your running workouts, train with your track team for intervals and weekend long runs. If you don't want to race, let your coach know and tell him your goals. I'm sure he'll be understanding and grateful to have another person on the track pushing the others who are racing on the weekends. On your recovery days after interval workouts you could hop in the bike instead of putting in a 6-7 mile easy run. At your age, I wouldn't recommend anything over 10-12 miles for your long runs.

If you have any specific questions on training for running or swimming or running, you can ask me. FYI, I ran D1 XC and track and my PRs are as folows, in case you're questioning my abilities or understanding:

5k: 14:42
10k: 30:19
500 yd freestyle, short course: 4:41
1650 yd freestyle, short course: 16:33

I'm now gearing up for an assault on my elite USAT card at Accenture Chicago (thank god the olympics are 2 weeks before, ruling out most of the top elites), and am struggling with my own training plans, so I'm not looking to give full-time training advice, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

a runner swimming these times is quite amazing...i was a 500 swimmer in college and was just under these times. i am very impressed.

Lets make thing's clear, as presumbly I came off on the wrong foot!

I guess what I am saying here is contradicting, but I do train with track coach right now, and obviously will start training with the swim team soon, starting next week. I'm not some hot headed 16 year old , looking to kick ass, I've been to MANY MANY races over the last year (18+ races) even having only done three, and I see the hard work it takes. The reason I am looking for a tri coach, (which I have gotten an email from someone here who is going to help me out, so thanks :D) is for the other side of things.

-Brick Workouts
-Balancing Swimming/Biking/Running
-Personal Mentor
-Nutrition
-etc

There are a lot of factors I could keep putting in, and yes I KNOW there are books lol, I own most of them, as well as many movies. I really appreciate all your constructive critiscism I guess I should have made myself more clear in the beginning. I was looking for someone to get personal with me, know personally diets, personal plans etc.

To UFTrigator - I was wondering if you would be willing to provide me with more info about what you do over at UF. Me living in eastlake, Florida, I will be looking for college plans as a Junior next year, and I really admire the UF team every race I see them at, especially the last one in Sand Key local to me. Does UF Offer Triathlon Scholorships as of now? Once in the school, what does it take to join the team. I know you guys are pretty serious which is cool. :D

By all means everyone, I really am not a dick in the normal real life world, and usually don't ask for handouts, but I think we all know this is a very expensive sport :D. No special favors, I was just asking kindly if there was someone to help me out, I knew I'd get alot of this though which is fine, because through your resposnes I have learned quite a bit, and definatly I need to swim more :D

Any idea's how to keep a room from getting smelly? I'm putting 2hrs on my bike trainer daily in my room lately, and the sweat produced (normally) is kinda gross. I have carpet in my room, its a new house, so its not bad now. But From what I hear over time the smell can grow into the carpet from the sweat. Do those mats work?

Eat plenty of mint leaves and peaches, that way when you pass gas it's like having a scented candle. See what great stuff you can learn from strangers on the internet?

No worries, I definatly made it sound like I hate sport specific coaches which is NOT the case lol.

AS a triathlon coach I often refer my athletes to track and swim teams (especially the young ones!!) It is not worth having a triathlon coach(expensive) develop and run all of your workouts. It would more depend on what your goals and distances are. At 16 you shouldn't be concerned with anything over the sprint and maybe the olymipic distances if you have years of endurance training under your belt.

Your main focus at the moment should be speed, and not developing endurance over long distances. Until you finish growing/developing.

A triathlon coach will help you focus your training, but most don't have the same level of sport specific technical know how. You are right that it would be good to have someone develop a training plan, but at your age, if you have some discipline, this may be all you need in conjunction with your other coaches. Very!! few triathletes have day to day contact with their coaches. only some at the highest levels, and even there most don't spend that much time with/talking to the coaches. Once again, this is a very personal thing.

I don't think you will find someone willing to put that much time into your training for no pay, but I am sure you could probably talk nicely and find someone to help develop a plan with you.

Good Luck

Best thing that you can do now is to get a good bike fit - hopefully there is a FIST certified fitter in your area - it is worth every penny (typically around $150 or so)