Finding and selecting a coach

[christian]

I had a horrible race yesterday. Really, really, horrible. Totally flat, extremely windy crit. What I learned is that being skinny(ish) doesn't help when you have a massive headwind -- only threshold power will do. And I was above threshold on the whole back straight. Needless to say, I couldn't keep that up for 40 minutes, so instead I got dropped and pulled. Booooo! Really disappointed.

Anyway, while I take my punishment in the form of 2x20s this week, I had two questions:

1) What approaches have you guys used in terms of finding and selecting a coach? Does having someone local really help?

2) I have a HRM, but not a power meter. How much will a powermeter help me communicate with a coach etc. I'm tempted to sell my Colnago and buy a powermeter for my Allez if it'll help. I'd rather be fast on a $1000 bike than slow on a $3000 bike.

and while we're at it, any comments on the following weekly schedule would be appreciated, too:

M) Rest
T) 10m WU, 2x20m Threshold, 10m CD
W) 1h30 ride
Th) 10m U then 15x 1x1 intervals or 30sec intervals, 10m CD
Fr) Rest
Sa) Race or ~19mph average/hilly group ride (40-45 miles)
Su) 1h30 ride

Thanks in advance.

[PJN]

I like local (or atleast quasi-local) and I like training with power.

The biggest thing in my mind is working with someone that you trust and that the communication is good in BOTH directions. Words and files. Doesn't need to be local to do this but can be harder if not.

Without trusting your coach and good communication you can't trust your program. If you can't trust your program you won't make it through the valleys to get to the peaks.

Training with power is nice. Sell your colnago and buy a cheap used PT or SRM and use the other cash from your sale to get a coach, pay for racing, pay for a training camp (or real deal rest) week or some good ass food.

[Todd Mosley]

I went with a guy that is relatively local - 2 hr drive away. Most consults are by phone so distance isn't a huge issue, but once or twice a year I go in for metabolic/VO2 testing. My coach has a doctorate in exercise science, he was coaching other guys on my team at the time and other local coaches had their own teams so I thought it would be a conflict of interest to have them coach me but field other racers against me, his rates were reasonable, so choosing him was a no-brainer for me. The power meter is a big help as it's the only way to track if your heart rate to power ratio is improving. I train at heart rate zones, not power zones, but power is the easiest way to measure the results of your effort because it takes out the variables of speed, road grade, wind, etc.

[JoB]

It's tough to give advice without knowing more - are you a Cat 1 or a 5, or what? Whatever it is, you are averaging about 7 hrs a week. It's tough to be competitive with that volume.

Any good coach will tell you that one race only is no reason to change anything. And no coach will turn you, my little skinny friend, into a 400W crit monster. Horses for courses.

That said, the first question I would ask you is about positioning in a pack. It sounds like you got behind the 8 ball from the start and it is tough to recover from there especially if it is windy.

The other recommendation I have is to find a Tue or Wed night smackdown/World champs ride... the cure that fixes all lactate threshold ills.

I think power meters are great for tracking your fitness, but YMMV.

I had a horrible race yesterday. Really, really, horrible. Totally flat, extremely windy crit. What I learned is that being skinny(ish) doesn't help when you have a massive headwind -- only threshold power will do. And I was above threshold on the whole back straight. Needless to say, I couldn't keep that up for 40 minutes, so instead I got dropped and pulled. Booooo! Really disappointed.

Anyway, while I take my punishment in the form of 2x20s this week, I had two questions:

1) What approaches have you guys used in terms of finding and selecting a coach? Does having someone local really help?

2) I have a HRM, but not a power meter. How much will a powermeter help me communicate with a coach etc. I'm tempted to sell my Colnago and buy a powermeter for my Allez if it'll help. I'd rather be fast on a $1000 bike than slow on a $3000 bike.

and while we're at it, any comments on the following weekly schedule would be appreciated, too:

M) Rest
T) 10m WU, 2x20m Threshold, 10m CD
W) 1h30 ride
Th) 10m U then 15x 1x1 intervals or 30sec intervals, 10m CD
Fr) Rest
Sa) Race or ~19mph average/hilly group ride (40-45 miles)
Su) 1h30 ride

Thanks in advance.

[Too Tall]

Joe is on the money and I'd also ask how well you were hiding during that race.
If you were very well prepared to race this season your coaches assignment looks fine. If I knew that this race mattered I'd nix the thurs. intervals in favor of a very aerobic low force suplesse sort of a ride followed by a rest day...but hey I DON'T know and it's unfair to pretend.

[Tom Officer]

I look at coaching as a lot more of an art form than a science. A good coach should be capable of understanding where a clients strengths and weaknesses are and how best to address them. Sometimes it requires a little more science with the training plan, other times it requires more psychology than anything else. There is so much to racing that goes beyond the numbers. I have several masters clients with better numbers than me, both in watts/kilo and total watts, yet a big difference in performance.

I've seen guys my same size expend 15-20% more power than me in the same race all because of positioning. I know how to conserve, find the right wheels, etc. I think being a good coach requires the exercise physiology knowledge and the practical race experience to address what the client needs.

[lala]

On your question about a coach being local ... unless you have a coach who lives in your apartment block, it is unlikely that your consultations will be face to face anyway.

I would choose a coach who you get along with and whose advice you respect. You can then work with them by email/telephone/skype or carrier pigeon.

good luck and remember, skinny dudes win more hilly races than they do flat and windy crits.

[christian]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice! Should say I don't have a coach now - just trying to ride my own program, based on Joe Friel's book and a simple schedule. The 7 hours per week thing is an obvious limiter; I could get it to 10 per week, but with a two year-old, a four year-old, a marathon running wife, that's probably about the most I can average. Feels like that is the biggest reason to get a coach - to help ensure that those hours are spent as productively as possible.

[Too Tall]

Thanks guys, appreciate the advice! Should say I don't have a coach now - just trying to ride my own program, based on Joe Friel's book and a simple schedule. The 7 hours per week thing is an obvious limiter; I could get it to 10 per week, but with a two year-old, a four year-old, a marathon running wife, that's probably about the most I can average. Feels like that is the biggest reason to get a coach - to help ensure that those hours are spent as productively as possible.

Your situation is a familiar one Christian. I've coached a boatload of masters who have very limited time on their hands. Honestly, sometimes it works and sometimes not. If you have exceptional talent and experience to back it up your chances are very good and everything degrades from there unfortunately. Also, the training required to be race ready on such few hrs. is, in brief, consists of very hard high quality workouts eg miserable. I'm going to close with this...what you find in these books is not wrong but it can be very misleading. Like Tom O. hints you need a coach because of what they know. The really good coaches do not punch out rubber stamp workouts.
Full disclosure...I am not looking to recruit you, my dance ticket is full until the end of this race season.

[zachateseverything]

On your question about a coach being local ... unless you have a coach who lives in your apartment block, it is unlikely that your consultations will be face to face anyway.

I would choose a coach who you get along with and whose advice you respect. You can then work with them by email/telephone/skype or carrier pigeon.

good luck and remember, skinny dudes win more hilly races than they do flat and windy crits.

This is the truth. I live about a half mile from my coach. Most of my consultations are still via phone or email. One nice thing about having a local coach though is that if they're still an active racer, they'll see you at the race and be able to provide feedback on some of the more subtle things like positioning or tactics, equipment choice, etc.