Have you ever considered hiring an online running coach?
If you haven’t, you were either held back by the costs or didn’t see the benefit to your training and racing. But I will argue the costs of foregoing professional guidance weigh heavier – think stagnation, injury, and monotony. Running may be a simple sport but that doesn’t mean running training can be simplistic. That’s why elite athletes train with expert coaches.
And so can you.
Why an Online Running Coach?
I should have phrased this headline: “Why NOT an online running coach?” as there are indeed few arguments that speak against online coaching. The advent of GPS watches in tandem with software platforms like TrainingPeaks and FinalSurge makes quality coaching available to amateur runners at affordable fees.
Low-Cost Compared to In-Person
Depending on where you live, an in-person session with a coach costs you between $50 and $100 per hour. That can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars per month. And while there are certain advantages of working with a coach in person – such as technique training – the majority of a coach’s tasks can be done online for a fraction of the price.
Expertise that You Can’t Access Locally
What’s more, in today’s globalized world, you’re not confined by geography. You can connect with the world’s best coaches regardless of where you live. Cast your net wide, and you will find a coach matching your needs in terms of qualifications, experience, and coaching philosophy. But more on that later.
Individualized & Flexible Training
But isn’t a training plan good enough? It can be. However, there are certain advantages to having a coach individualize and analyze your training. There might be specific weaknesses you are unaware of or, on the flip side, specific innate strengths you haven’t capitalized on. You may also require more recovery time between hard sessions, or you may have past injuries requiring training adjustments. Whatever it is, an online running coach will bring out the best for your type of runner.
A constantly updated training plan is another significant advantage of working with a coach. A standard training plan is a bet on the future, assuming everything goes as planned – only to find out life gets in the way, as it most certainly will. An online running coach can intervene and keep you on track for your race goal.
Which Online Training Platform?
There are numerous online training logs to choose from, but the two platforms that stand out are Trainingpeaks and FinalSurge. Both are free in their very formidable basic versions and feature additional analytics for a small fee. Although these platforms differ in many aspects, they provide all the essential metrics for online coaching.
TrainingPeaks
The strength of TrainingPeaks is its extensive data analytics for runners and triathletes alike, but the learning curve here is naturally somewhat steeper. Once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy the plethora of metrics on your dashboard. Remember that many features are only available in the paid pro version.
FinalSurge
The advantage of FinalSurge is its ease of use, beautiful desktop interface, and well-equipped free version with an inexpensive upgrade to the pro version. As a runner, you get all the data you need, assuming your GPS watch records this data. If you haven’t used an online training log yet, FinalSurge is an excellent place to start.
Which GPS Running Watches?
You will need a GPS running watch to record and monitor your workouts. The most popular brands are Garmin, Apple Watch, Suunto, Polar, and Coros – all of which feature numerous models in different price ranges. What watch you ultimately decide on comes down to individual preference and the size of your wallet.
Essential Features
Every running watch should provide pace and heart rate. That’s all you need to follow an online-based training plan or the instructions from an online running coach. Those lower-end GPS watches are available from $250.
Optional Features
But if you are a nerd like me, you don’t stop there. Many higher-end GPS devices – like the Garmin Fenix series – have additional features such as cadence, ground contact time/balance, vertical oscillation, stride length, and vertical ratio. You can also track your sleep patterns, average resting heart rate, and heart rate variability to determine training readiness.
But I don’t regard any of that as a necessity. If you don’t act on the running dynamics data, it becomes useless, and as far as training readiness is concerned, you can as reliably listen to your body. Hence, from my point of view, a $800 premium smartwatch is certainly a nice thing to have, but it’s not a must-have to conduct proper training.
What to Look for in an Online Running Coach
As if it wasn’t already tricky enough to settle for the proper running watch, picking the right coach is even more of a challenge. Humans tend to be infinitely more complex than technical devices. Then again, it isn’t as consequential as picking your life partner. Most coaches charge on a monthly basis without long-term commitments. Therefore, you can move on quickly if the coach isn’t the right match for you. Nevertheless, here are four important factors to consider when selecting the right coach:
Qualifications
You wouldn’t visit a doctor without the necessary medical qualifications, and you shouldn’t hire a coach without a proper background in exercise science, either. A coach does have a significant influence on your health, after all. That doesn’t mean every coach needs a master’s degree in ‘Sports and Exercise Science’, but a coach should be certified by one the following institutions:
- National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)
- National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)
- American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
- American Council on Exercise (ACE)
The gold standard for improving athletes’ performance is the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA-CSCS) and the Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES).
Experience
But coaching isn’t only a science; it’s also an art. Only experience and real-world feedback from athletes of different abilities and backgrounds develop the necessary intuition to assign effective training programs. No two athletes are precisely the same, and a coach can only differentiate between the needs of different runner types after years of exposure.
Needless to say, a coach should also be an active, committed runner – or at least have a running background in the past – to empathize with your needs as a runner. In other words, a retired triathlete may not be your best option if you’re looking to improve your 5K race results.
Philosophy
All coaches respect – at least in a perfect world – the principles of exercise science, but their methodologies differ. Some coaches swear by high mileage, while others emphasize intensity. The same goes for training progression, from linear to non-linear to acyclic periodization. And while you should inquire about those things, it is more important to find out if your coach possesses the mental flexibility to adjust the training concept to you rather than you to the training concept.
Service
Coaching can range anywhere from $50 to $350 per month. For one, the differences in fees are reflective of the coach’s popularity, qualifications, and experience. But also watch out for the service that comes with your subscription. Is your training plan adjusted week-by-week, are our workouts monitored, and are coaching calls included? In short, you also pay for the level of attention you receive from a remote running coach.
Summary
- Geta GPS running watch with a heart rate monitor
- Create a free account on TrainingPeaks or FinalSurge
- Look out for a qualified and experienced coach
- Don’t box yourself in with long-term commitments
