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Getting a coach, no power meter?

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Getting a coach, no power meter?

Old 07-22-10, 03:42 PM
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recon455
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Getting a coach, no power meter?

I am thinking about hiring a coach for next season, but I don't yet have a power meter? Is that even worth it nowadays? I don't want to feel like I am wasting money because my coach can't use all his/her skills and tools.
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Old 07-22-10, 04:03 PM
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A lot of the coaches around here seem to have a tiered pricing model for power-based vs. non-power-based training. I made more gains in the 8 months or so that I had a coach and no PM than in the month and a half or so that I had with both. I'd say the coaching is a more worthwhile use of the money than the gadget.
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Old 07-22-10, 05:23 PM
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Coaching w/o a PM worked for many years for many people. I agre with pretzelface, if you have to choose one, go with the coach.
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Old 07-22-10, 05:33 PM
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This is a big depends. I have had both - coaching with and without a power meter by different coaches. Both were successful. I suggest interviewing coaches and question them about their program. The key issue is that the coach is interested in your goals (not his), the program is tailored to you and you do the work. The measurement method is secondary. IMO, power meters are the best way to communicate with your coach and have he / she set training objectives and daily prescriptions to meet your goals. Currently I have power meters on my road and TT bikes but not my track bike. We use speed and lap time at the track recorded by my Garmin and uploaded to Training Peaks. Also, I provide a qualitative assessment of the training session based upon how I felt and perceived effort along with the power files. A power file does not tell the coach how you felt hitting those numbers.

Last edited by Hermes; 07-22-10 at 11:27 PM.
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Old 07-22-10, 07:51 PM
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Why chance it? Wired powertaps are all over the place for $350....and that also gets you a spare rear wheel, HR monitor and bike computer.
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Old 07-22-10, 07:58 PM
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Originally Posted by recon455
I am thinking about hiring a coach for next season, but I don't yet have a power meter? Is that even worth it nowadays? I don't want to feel like I am wasting money because my coach can't use all his/her skills and tools.
Sure, you don't need a power meter for coaching. The biggest benefit of coaching is keeping you motivated, providing direction, and holding you accountable. Power meter helps makes workouts less ambiguous but not necessary by any means.
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Old 07-22-10, 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Hermes
A power file does tell tell the coach how you felt hitting those numbers.
Assume you meant does not?

Btw, are you the guy leading the map my ride tdf competittion?
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Old 07-22-10, 08:37 PM
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My coach is $189 a month. I haven't seen many a whole lot cheaper. So even the cheapest coach is going to be $1200 a year or more.

Wired PT $659 complete.

Over time it seems penny wise pound foolish to spend significant dollars on a coach, and not have the data to take full advantage of that spend.
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Old 07-22-10, 09:35 PM
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Thanks for the advice everyone! I think I will check out different coaches, and see if I think a coach without power will be worth the performance.

Originally Posted by umd

Btw, are you the guy leading the map my ride tdf competittion?
When I checked that out, it didn't support Edge 500 files, or was I missing something? If that's the case, that whole competition is alienating everyone without a GPS, and everyone with the extremely popular 500.
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Old 07-22-10, 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted by recon455
When I checked that out, it didn't support Edge 500 files, or was I missing something? If that's the case, that whole competition is alienating everyone without a GPS, and everyone with the extremely popular 500.
I'm not sure, but you could always import to GTC and export a TCX file, right? I started late and was travelling a bunch, I've only uploaded rides for about half the stages and was sitting 13th last I looked

Edit: Just uploaded for today and there was an option for FIT files, that's the 500 right? Also an option to use the Garmin Communicator plugin.

Edit again: I hadn't uploaded for 2 days and slipped to 16th.

Last edited by umd; 07-22-10 at 09:46 PM.
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Old 07-22-10, 11:29 PM
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Originally Posted by umd
Assume you meant does not?

Btw, are you the guy leading the map my ride tdf competittion?
Thanks...fixed the error. No.
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Old 07-23-10, 07:18 AM
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coach > powermeter. any coach worth paying money to does not need a power file to help you improve. while the information provided in a power file simplifies the process because it minimizes the subjectiveness, it isnt necessary. the necessary component is communication from you to your coach on how things felt.
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Old 07-23-10, 09:16 AM
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Originally Posted by umd
I'm not sure, but you could always import to GTC and export a TCX file, right? I started late and was travelling a bunch, I've only uploaded rides for about half the stages and was sitting 13th last I looked

Edit: Just uploaded for today and there was an option for FIT files, that's the 500 right? Also an option to use the Garmin Communicator plugin.

Edit again: I hadn't uploaded for 2 days and slipped to 16th.
Huh, maybe they added it later.
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Old 07-23-10, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by MDcatV
coach > powermeter. any coach worth paying money to does not need a power file to help you improve. while the information provided in a power file simplifies the process because it minimizes the subjectiveness, it isnt necessary. the necessary component is communication from you to your coach on how things felt.
+1 A good coach knows what there doing and are used to training racers without power meter (power meters are pretty new to the general public.) My coach does a great job, and all he needs is my heart rate cadence and time. (he also only used heart rate, cadence and time for the past 6 years + hes an pro)
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