For my coach here in Australia I pay $AUD15 a week. That is a programme written up and support from him over the phone and e-mail. I find having a coach a real help. It is a lot easier to follow a programme when someone else has written it up for you.

Hope that helps and all the best.

$150 a month sounds expensive to me but I am a cheapwad.

what do you get? a training plan - how about if you got questions can you call/email him. will he test you along the way. is there a commitment? I mean what after 2 or 3 months if you think it isn't a right match and you want to move on are you committed to him for a while? do your training philosphies match up? i.e you want to properly balance family, work and training and he wants you to win kona

I ended up signing up for the Program that tribro posted info on a couple of weeks ago. It ends up around $75-80 per month and seems like a good deal.

I started this season with a new, more expensive coach than the one I used last year. I'm paying about $145/month now where I was paying $100. This new monthly cost doesn't even count all the up front additional "club" fees that I had to pay to just be in the group that let me work with this guy. After 1.5 months I'm not sure what the extra $ is gaining me. Sure the workouts are good and challenging, but the level of interaction is less with the new coach. I "meet" with him by phone 1X/mo, but we don't meet for workouts unless I go to a "club" workout which I can't generally make. Whereas with the prior coach we met for workouts at least 1X/month and email and phone whenever needed. Plus I'm paying intangible "switching cost" of losing the rapport that the prior coach, which I think has impacted my training.

Anyway my advice is to think about what is most important to YOU. If it isn't important to have close access to this coach, and you can clearly match up what your goals are to what services he offers then this probably will work.

As for me I've learned my lesson...don't mess with something that doesn't need fixing. I'm most likely going to be switching back when my minimum commitment is fulfilled.

I think the cost can only be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In other words, if the going rate is $150/month, what percent of your disposal income does that $150 eat up?

I've worked with a multisport coach for several years...off and on. During that period, I've learned an amazing amount of information. He also lives in another state and when we can get together for some training time, I ALWAYS leave with tons of inspiration, some new skills and a new understanding of how hard I should be working when I'm on my own.

It's those one-on-one visits that I really value.

hak

Yeah, except when it really helps: then it is worth paying for. You can never be so good or so experienced that the right coach can't make you better.

Are you so knowledgeable that you can reach your full potential without any help or advice? I'm certainly not...

No of course not, everyone is always learning new things from more experienced people (in triathlon or in any other field).

My point is, alot of people out there are paying alot of money for training programs they could very easily write themselves with very little research (sources include internet, like these forums).

Unless your right up the top, training is not rocket science. Just getting up and going for a run 3 or 4 times a week will bring big improvements to that run split.

I guess though alot of people like the peace of mind a coach brings, with all those fancy "zones" and the way he lays out those training programs, he must know what he's doing... right?

Mark.

Are you guys serious? 150??? Geeeez. I pay my coach $50 a month and see him 2-5 times a week for team workouts. He writes my personalized schedule and allows for an hour meeting a month. Wow! I have a bargain!:D

trislo.com

You do have a great bargain...I can't imagine how your coach is earning a profit, but I guess that's not your problem!

I believe that's one advantage of living in a place like SLO where there are a ton of triathletes - competition among coaches would naturally allow you to find some really great deals nearby.