training advices. thoughts on coaching services (A1) vs online (sufferfest etc)

lizzylad84

just looking on feed back re coaching for next season. to sum up ive had a sh!t season, through lack of motivation, pre season illness and psychologically thinking i just can cut it in club spins.
to take things bak a bit, last august through october i regularly headed off quite happily on club spins and was well fit to keep up and complete rides, and even on occasion encouraging members that were struggling to keep going, done give up.
then i got two quite severe bouts of bronchitis over winter that knocked the stuffing out of me.
recently got back onto the saddle and have since gotten dropped on each club spin i went on (quite disheartening). ive been heading out with the same group (give or take a person or two) that i went with before christmas.
these experiences have made me focus on next year, and i plan on getting a good base built up over winter and properly focus on HR zones.
Ive given a bit of consideration to getting a structured coaching/training plan sorted to help with my goals for next yr (possible open racing/definatly club league) with a few tougher sportives thrown in for the craic (paris roubaix/etape d tour/ nove colle)

just wondering if anyone could provide feedback on any coaching experiences they have had, and perhaps recomend a particular coach (im dundalk based if thats any addition)

or alternatively, is sufferfest/training peaks the best way to go?

Taxuser1

there's a few things thrown in there. Irrespective of the level you're at, it's always good to have specific future targets. It's also good to have a zest for the winter ahead but from what you're saying, maybe take stock of where you are right now. Many cyclists will be heading into the winding down part of the race season before going back into winter spins after a period of rest and recovery, maybe even cross training before getting back to the bike. Sounds like you need a mental rest from the bike first and foremost to recharge the batteries. It's only August still and winter is a way away.

Once you've taken a break, look to your options. Before going to the unnecessary expense of private coaching or buying the videos used in programs such as Sufferfest, have you not got mentors in your club to speak to first ? Lads who are maybe at a higher grade than you, who have seen you in action and can advise or can tell where you went wrong over last year's winter?

You mentioned 2 bouts of bronchitis - was the first one related to your training/overtraining last year and maybe the second off the back of not giving yourself enough time to recover from the first? In your recovery time, get yourself checked out, see if there is anything underlying - asthma, allergies, before heading into the cold season with the goal of putting thousands of kms in or hours on the bike.

Having spoken to your mentors about specific current, medium and long term goals, then look to outside sources to help you with your specific goals. A coach can help tailor your training, as can the specific videos through Dig Deep and Sufferfest.

its a long winter and next season is miles away. Better to get yourself ready now over the next few months, get the body and head right, enjoy the downtime, and then make your targets in the New Year

AmberGold

[quote="lizzylad84;96541414""
]just looking on feed back re coaching for next season. to sum up ive had a sh!t season, through lack of motivation, pre season illness and psychologically thinking i just can cut it in club spins.
to take things bak a bit, last august through october i regularly headed off quite happily on club spins and was well fit to keep up and complete rides, and even on occasion encouraging members that were struggling to keep going, done give up.
then i got two quite severe bouts of bronchitis over winter that knocked the stuffing out of me."

Good advice from previous poster.

I could have written this, same story more or less. Had a reasonable base and was training well up until March, I then got two doses of bronchitis in quick succession. Unlike you I never really got back on until July so don't know if I'm going to be dropped or not.

I have never had a coaching session but I have used Trainerroad, Sufferfest and a quality turbo trainer. My thinking was that I'd work through some of the Trainerroad structured plans and if I hit a significantly high level of performance and couldn't improve any further I'd bring in the experts. Which I might add was never going to happen.

I'd give Trainerroad a shot for three or four months, if you stick to it with FTP tests every month the gains will be evident.