This is the first guest post on my site and is written by a very close friend of mine, Issa Abbasi (@IssaAhmadAbbasi), who is training for a marathon and eventually an Ironman. He recently made the jump from being self-coached to hiring a coach.

Self-Coaching

Pros

You can easily self coach yourself by pulling off a 5K, 10K, Half or Full Marathon training schedule off the internet. For Free.
To self coach successfully, you will need a lot of determination and dedication to your training plan
You need to be a self starter
It's easy to alter your training plan for your circumstances if you're self coaching. If it's raining today and you don't feel like running your scheduled run, you can cross train and run another day in the week

Cons

Despite the vast amount of reading you've done on running, you most likely aren't experienced enough to coach yourself. Even great coaches don't self coach themselves!
If you aren't determined and dedicated to training for a race, you won't get anywhere near your goal finishing time and worse, may injure yourself
You won't have someone who is experienced to turn to for added motivation, analysis of your progress, or general advice
You won't have someone to hold you accountable for your training regimen
It's easy to fall off your program if you're not a self starter

Having a Coach

Pros

· You have an experienced runner/triathlete guiding you through your training assuring you are on target to meet or exceed your goals
You have someone to help guide you to maintain proper form (running, swimming, biking)
Coaches are one of your biggest supporters; they want you to succeed beyond your wildest expectations and will keep you motivated throughout your journey
There's someone there to hold you accountable on a weekly basis of your journey
A good coach will be there to answer questions you have about your training and race strategies
You will receive feedback about how to constantly improve and maintain your performance from your coach(remember, their job is to see you get better and better at your sport!)
Someone else will plan your weekly training for you! All you have to do is execute what they plan

Cons

Coaching comes at a price. Be prepared to pay a decent monthly fee for the level of service you need in a coach
Be prepared to be critiqued. Not every coach is a constructive one and will thus give you a lot of "real talk". You'll need thick skin and to want to constantly improve to have a successful relationship with your coach.
You do whatever your coach says. They're the captain steering your ship towards your goal and it's best to only have one person steering it. If you don't like being told what to do, being coached isn't for you