No coach.  I did by learning as much as I could from the fellow forumites on here.  Honestly, their advice (or better yet experiences) are better than what a coach could tell you (IMO) and far less expensive.  I am not saying a coach is a bad idea, I just don't think it needs that much investment.

I suppose, though, that it also depends on your goal.  If you want to hit 50k in 6 hours, it depends on what you are starting with.  What are your recent times for races? Generally speaking short races do not translate to longer distances so if you have times for HMs or Full marathons, that might be a good starting point.

Maybe the most important part here is that you got the blister thing improved.  That is good to hear.  What ended up working for you?

I've been a coach and I've used a coach. There's a lot more to coaching than just providing a workout schedule. Even aside from making adjustments to the training based on feedback, there's the support and encouragement a coach should offer. When training for my first ultra, a 12-hour race, my coach helped me through the ups and downs of training providing encouragement and building confidence after a workout or race was discouraging. After a disastrous 6-hour race in late July when my confidence was at an all time low, he built me back up to where I believed I could even reach my stretch goal of 50 miles in my September race. I came close with 49.6 and only full laps were counted, so I possibly could have reached 50 if partial laps had been. The one drawback is that it was expensive, about $1300 for the initial evaluation, plan, and 6 months of coaching. I think his rates have gone up since. I thought it was well worth it. I've also never come close to that level of performance since while going back to being self-coached.

I've coached XC for many years but never had a coach of my own for running. Coaching can be very helpful if you have some form issues that you want / need to change.  As far as workout schedule, +1 to Blarg. Use him or look up options. Some runners NEED a daily schedule and some want flexibility. See what works for you.

Also video of yourself running can help you with kinesthetic sense to see what you actually look like form-wise versus what you think you look like.

Tap into a running group and ask a lot of questions. Runners like to talk about running, so no one will mind.

As far as the blisters, have you seen a Podiatrist to see if there are any foot issues exacerbating your condition?  Fellrnr has a nice sight of information and here is his link on Blisters.

1.)  Woo hoo!  Take that, torn labrum! 

2.)  I have never used a coach.  I agree with Jamie that people on the forums are almost just as good.  We have a lot of knowledgeable people who hang around here.  (Here being Trailer Trash here and also the main forums, B&B, etc.)   My "training plans" for ultras have always just been to build up to as many miles per week as possible, with a long run on the weekend.  I would try to get in a midweek medium-long run (10+ miles) and if you can manage a 20 miler on Saturday followed by a 10 miler on Sunday, you're golden.  For my first 50K, my longest run was 25 miles.  That was important for me mentally.

The second part of the equation is fueling.  Can you eat while running?  What kind of foods can you eat?  August could be really fucking hot, which makes electrolyte replacement more important.

3.)  I think we're pretty close to being around the same speed.  Knowing myself, a flattish 50K in 6 hours would be doable for me, but it would be on the challenging side.  My training would have to go well and things would need to align on race day.  A long time ago I did a 29 mile training run in 5:51, but that was moving time (Garmin was on auto-pause) and did not include my stops.  Again, August could throw a wrench in things by being miserable weather-wise, so you'd have to take that into account.  How long is the loop?  It's very, very tempting to stop a lot during timed races.

I have never used a coach. Running, to me, is an opportunity to just do what I want to do when I want to do it, freedom from structure. I am sure I could benefit from a coach, no doubt about that, and I do use a loose framework of structure when training for something long. Most of the time, things work out pretty well.

See that's exactly my thing.   But it makes for inconsistent running. Some higher weeks, some lower weeks, long stretches without a long run yada yada.    I think about having someone to give me something to follow so I don't just wander around aimlessly like I usually do into an attempt on a 30 miler.   :P

Mandy - yes August but it's a 7pm start time.   And the loop is 2.5 miles, some trail, some pavement.  Right on the ocean, too!

AT - interesting link on blisters.  And really interesting in that once I started to regularly wear compression socks, I ended up with something I was pretty sure was Morton's Neuroma.  

 

So from different people's answers, it seems that your overall goal for this, your personality, and your need (of lack thereof) for structure is the answer to coach or no coach.  If you need structure, need the motivation, need to hit a specific goal, then it seems coaching can really help.  Although looks like you will be shelling out some serious money  (I volunteer my services as a new running coach - 1/2 off special since I am new )

 

It doesn't sound like a coach would hurt, but it is not for everyone.  Be sure to let us know what you decide and how it's going.  Inquiring minds need to know!

lol  OK Coach Jamie, you're hired :P

I guess I don't have to make up my mind for a bit since it looks like a lot of folks do a 3 month training up to a race.   There's someone in my local group that coaches so I'll try to catch up with her and get some information on how it might work.