After my IM this year I am going to get one for my next one. I will start looking for one in the spring.

I've used a swim coach some but done the rest on my own... I need to get better about a plan though. Like Beads, my training times make it hard for me to work with a regular group. Luckily there is another guy where I work that sometimes runs or bikes with me.

I looked very close to the coaching issue.
The money is surely better spend than on drugs or stuff... EPO would produce results, too, but you know, I don't want to end up like Nina Kraft. :D (I am joking about the EPO stuff! I do not use nor support performance enhancing drugs!!!)
You have a person you can talk to about your training, which in my opinion is a good thing. You do not have to worry about over-training, because there is somebody watching you schedule carefully and having a long-term plan. Right now I wake up and train what comes to my mind. Definitely not the best approach to training.
Coaches can cheer you up and motivate. And in a certain way you can blame them afterwards...
But I ended up finding no online coach with fees below the 35€ mark. And as a student even 5€ is a lot of money... So a coach is unvailable to me.
I read a lot of articles, too, but found out that I do not stick to my own plans. I create them, do the workouts for two to three days and then... Consistency is what I am lloking for the most if I hired a coach. He is the one taking care of me going out and train the sports quite unnecessary like swimming and running. (Sorry, I'll never say that again, it musn't become a mantra and set my mind like it was true.)
So in the end, I guess next season I'll post my plans in my blog every week and will have the folks coming around checking if I was on track.
Thanks for reading

Something that just came to my mind: I would not have too much trouble installing a plan for somebody else, but for me... I can't really decide what workout to add.
There is so much around: Base, fartlek, intervals, swim technique, strength, race pace. When to do what?
But if it was only one sport I'd be bored!

I've done all of the above!!! I read, ALOT. That helps. I've also joined a local Tri-club. It's great; there are weekly group rides, runs, and swims. We have a team meeting once a month to talk, etc. Plus, there are uniforms!! One of the biggest reasons i started doing tri's is i missed the competion in sports.

Also, i meet once a month with a coach. He's a personal trainer who was competitive in cycling, biathlons, & tri's. I sit down with him for about 2 hours, and we go over my training log, then plan for the next month. Very cool; highly recomend.

I checked out the prices that Ken provided on his link.
It is much more reasonable than in person coaching.
But, I still couldn't afford the $100 extra in my budget a month right now.

I think self coaching is good for now. I am an age grouper and I want to complete an IM.
I have the self discipline to motivate myself to do the training.
I will see how I do at IM just self coaching right now. If I do well I'll stick with it and if not I'll consider coaching.

Or, if I win the Mega Millions Lottery, then I'll get some coaches,
Normann Stadler, Peter Reid, Tim DeBoom, Lance Armstrong, Michael Phelps, etc...

Of course I'll invite you all to my new training complex too ;)

Outdoorgirl. I see you live in OC.
What about joining the LA Tri Club? I just read an article about them and it is one of the largest Tri clubs in the country. That might be a good way to learn / train with some really talented athletes. I checked out their website and there is 6 different club workouts posted for today alone. Don’t know what it cost to join, but might be worth checking into. latriclub.com.
- T

The only issue I have with LA tri club is that it is mostly based in Santa Monica (about an hour or more depending on traffic from OC). Although there are 6 things on the calendar for today, I think 2 are big, out of the area events, and the others are all Santa Monica area. Sometimes they make it to Long Beach, so then it's only about a 40 minute drive.

There is also the OC Tri Club . Their workouts haven't been posted lately though -- although it looks like there are some up today. So maybe they are using the website more again. It seems to be on and off.

Did you check out the OC Tri Club?

I'm not sure, but I think they do organized rides and runs as well. It's just not on their calendar.

Ok I am going to lend my opinion to this argument, as you can see from my signature line I am a certified coach so you can take this for what it is worth. Self-coaching is something that we all do at some point in our tri careers. The books are great and I certainly would advise that you read all that you can on the sport and related topics. Several books I use as references when I build plans for my athletes. That being said the biggest problems with self-coaching are 1) Objective self evaluation, 2) Generic plans that are not tailored to you the athlete, 3) The possibility of injury or overtraining by not recognizing the symptoms of each,4) The opportunity to have a coach to encourage you in difficult times and someone to answer your questions. I will expand on each of these topics:
Objective self-evaluation-It is human nature to do what we like and avoid what we don't like. The same holds true for training, if you don't like going to the track then chances are you aren't going to go and your run times will suffer as a result.
Generic Plans-Generic Plans are just that generic. They are not tailored to your needs nor do they address your strengths and limitations. Example-If you are a strong swimmer and a weak cyclist then you might need to swim only twice a week and cycle four times per week, but a generic plan would have you doing 3 and 3.
Overtraining and Injury-In my opinion as a coach my primary resposibility is to deliver you to the starting line of your event uninjured and trained but not overtrained. Both of these things can happen quite easily for someone not experienced in training for endurance events. A coach can monitor these things to make sure that you are not doing too much. Remember it is better to arrive 20% undertrained than 1% overtrained.
Having a coach to talk to- As a coach I don't profess to know everything, however I do have a wealth of knowledge that can be valuable to a new athlete or an experienced athlete. As a coach I have encountered many different situations and have had to address them.
Like I said before you can take this for what it is worth, but in my opinion a coach is money well spent to improve your performance.

Unfortunately, a coach is something that has to stay on the wish list for me.
Absolutely recognize the benefits of having a coach, but $$$.
For now, have to go with books and research.
I am probably harder on myself than any coach would be, especially when working on weaknesses.
The overtraining is the tough one to identify - working on that one...

If you check your resting hr each morning and it spikes up 5 or more beats for a few days in a row you could be over training. - Not scientific but a decent guide if you have nothing else. Also, if you are training with power and you see your power dropping over the same types of intervals you probably need a little rest.

Thanks - I'll try that with the HR.
I 99% of the time train on my own, so no one to watch me, but me.

And sometimes I do it for that lonely time.

My schedule is not my own. Between kids, work and the National Guard I don't make my schedule they do. I some times have to get creative with my workout schedule. So far so good but there's no way I could have a coach to set my schedule. It just wouldn't work.