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Jordan Marchewka's Macro

Hey Coach,

Thanks for putting together my triathlon season roadmap.  I am impressed with the set up!  Couple questions I wanted to get your feedback on.

1)  Do I not swim until I start the short course plan in April?  Or should I just add in some swimming focusing on technique when I have time until then?  Swimming is my weakness right now. 

2) I have been researching power meters recently and came across the 4iiii for around $400.  Any thoughts on this?  I picked up a Felt S32 in the fall for around $1000 so I would feel a little weird having my power meter cost more than my bike!  On that note, will having an aluminum tri bike (with carbon fork) severely hinder my performance compared to others come race day?

Thanks and I just became an official EN member tonight.  No more trial! Picked up some nice EN gear as well.  

 

 

 

Comments


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 11 Feb 2015 09:30 PM

    Hey Coach,

    Thanks for putting together my triathlon season roadmap.  I am impressed with the set up!  Couple questions I wanted to get your feedback on.

    1)  Do I not swim until I start the short course plan in April?  Or should I just add in some swimming focusing on technique when I have time until then?  Swimming is my weakness right now. Here's a video of a Coach Chat I did on swimming in the OutSeason, my best explanation of how we approach swimming at this time of year. 

    2) I have been researching power meters recently and came across the 4iiii for around $400.  Any thoughts on this?  I picked up a Felt S32 in the fall for around $1000 so I would feel a little weird having my power meter cost more than my bike!  On that note, will having an aluminum tri bike (with carbon fork) severely hinder my performance compared to others come race day? If that's your budget I highly recommend you budget another $200-300 and get a used, proven, reliable powermeter. Powertap and Quarq are what I recommend. I've never heard of the 4iiii. The short answer is that's worth spending a little more to get a PM that's proven itself over years vs a budget, unknown system

    Thanks and I just became an official EN member tonight.  No more trial! Picked up some nice EN gear as well.  Welcome aboard!

     

     

     


  • I have been attending a triathlon class at the YMCA for about the past 6 weeks on Thursdays and it is actually a pretty intense workout. We usually do a workout similar to below.

    Run - Run 800m fast, 200 recovery, 600 fast, 200 recovery, 400 fast, 200 recovery (repeat for 30-40 minutes)
    Bike - 40 min bike with high intensity intervals
    Swim - Different drills - getting in around 1000 yards

    Does this class have any place in my outseason plan? The class will continue until April 1st or so. It seems to be accomplishing the increasing speed aspect of the outseason plan...but is a little different than the workouts prescribed. Is there a way to tweak my plan to incorporate this? Or should I just stick with the outseason plan prescribed and skip the class?
  • Also, I am having trouble ordering the "New Member Welcome Kit" ...says free but then when I add it to my cart it shows a cost of $84.48.

  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 15 Feb 2015 01:35 PM


    I have been attending a triathlon class at the YMCA for about the past 6 weeks on Thursdays and it is actually a pretty intense workout. We usually do a workout similar to below.



    Run - Run 800m fast, 200 recovery, 600 fast, 200 recovery, 400 fast, 200 recovery (repeat for 30-40 minutes)

    Bike - 40 min bike with high intensity intervals

    Swim - Different drills - getting in around 1000 yards



    Does this class have any place in my outseason plan? The class will continue until April 1st or so. It seems to be accomplishing the increasing speed aspect of the outseason plan...but is a little different than the workouts prescribed. Is there a way to tweak my plan to incorporate this? Or should I just stick with the outseason plan prescribed and skip the class?

    I'd say it depends on where April 1st is in relation to your first races of the season. This isn't a "bad" session, it's just different. And I'm sure it's fun, there's likely some great accountability involved, etc, all of which are valuable. 

    Maybe do a straight, by the book OS one week and then ^this^ the next week so you can compare? Bottomline is that this time of year we definitely see value in decreasing the solo, boring component of your training and it looks like this session goes a long way towards helping with that. 


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 15 Feb 2015 02:04 PM


    Also, I am having trouble ordering the "New Member Welcome Kit" ...says free but then when I add it to my cart it shows a cost of $84.48.

    Please ignore that. That's a surprise that we order and send to you. You weren't supposed to see that in the Store 

  • Just bought a Quarq Powermeter from a fellow Endurance Nation member.  I should have it set up and ready by next weekend.  Should I retest next weekend (as before I was using Heart Rate numbers)?  

    On an unrelated note, I am thinking about future goals and want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Right now I am signed up for IM Lou 2015 as my "A" race so I was thinking about running the Myrtle Beach Marathon about 16 weeks after IM Lou.  What are your thoughts on timing?  I was also thinking about the Houston Marathon but that is only 12 weeks after IM Lou.  

     


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 13 Mar 2015 03:08 PM

    Just bought a Quarq Powermeter from a fellow Endurance Nation member.  I should have it set up and ready by next weekend.  Should I retest next weekend (as before I was using Heart Rate numbers)?  

    On an unrelated note, I am thinking about future goals and want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  Right now I am signed up for IM Lou 2015 as my "A" race so I was thinking about running the Myrtle Beach Marathon about 16 weeks after IM Lou.  What are your thoughts on timing?  I was also thinking about the Houston Marathon but that is only 12 weeks after IM Lou.  

     

    Yes, would be a good idea to test as soon as possible so you can start dialing in your FTP and making sense of the numbers on the dial. 

    Recommend you pick a marathon that gives you the most time to recover your head after racing an IM. Many people underestimate the mental cost of training and racing an Ironman, jumping back into long events too quickly. So 16wk vs 12wks would help solve that problem for you. 

  • My out-season plan ends next week on the 13th and I am currently scheduled to run a 10k on April 18th.  Should I also look into finding a half-marathon to race on April 25th or May 2nd to gauge my out-season improvements or should the 10k be sufficient?

     


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 05 Apr 2015 01:50 PM

    My out-season plan ends next week on the 13th and I am currently scheduled to run a 10k on April 18th.  Should I also look into finding a half-marathon to race on April 25th or May 2nd to gauge my out-season improvements or should the 10k be sufficient?

     

    10k is fine, bonus if you could find a half marathon but not required. Good luck!

  • Hey Coach,

    Looking to plan for next year.  What are your thoughts on the plan below?

    January 17th - Houston Marathon (Hoping to Qualify for Boston)

    May/June Half Ironman - Possibly Raleigh 70.3

    July - Lake Placid

    October - Chicago Marathon


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 04 Aug 2015 08:07 AM

    Hey Coach,

    Looking to plan for next year.  What are your thoughts on the plan below?

    January 17th - Houston Marathon (Hoping to Qualify for Boston)

    May/June Half Ironman - Possibly Raleigh 70.3

    July - Lake Placid

    October - Chicago Marathon

    Raleigh, Placid, and Chicago are fine. However, please read this for some considerations of the impact of racing a January marathon. Read that and let me know what you think. 

  • I understand regarding the January marathon. Sounds best to skip it. I was planning on basically spending half my time training for running events and half for Tri's. If I am going to focus on Tri's, do you have any advice on a race besides LP as I am not sure that race fits my strengths? Or based on the info below, do you think it would be fine?

    8/9/15 - 1st HIM at Steelhead with a 48 min swim, 2:33 bike, and 1:35 run.

  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 09 Aug 2015 07:32 PM


    I understand regarding the January marathon. Sounds best to skip it. I was planning on basically spending half my time training for running events and half for Tri's. If I am going to focus on Tri's, do you have any advice on a race besides LP as I am not sure that race fits my strengths? Or based on the info below, do you think it would be fine?



    8/9/15 - 1st HIM at Steelhead with a 48 min swim, 2:33 bike, and 1:35 run.

    The Ironman for you to do is the one that works best with your personal, family, and life schedules, as well as travel costs as a function of geography (ie, fly vs drive). I would consider those before considering terrain, etc. For example, IMLP and IMLou are very different courses suiting different body types but the timing and locations of the races are also very different. That timing is more important that the terrain, if that makes sense. 

    That said, a June HIM (ie, Raleigh, Quassy) works well with IMLP so if you wanted to do LP, a June HIM works well with it. 

  • Hey Coach, just finished up IM Lou and trying to plan for next year (see Race Report http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/19847/Default.aspx)



    My tentative plan is below - let me know what you think.



    June 5 - Raleigh 70.3 (not signed up yet)



    July 10 - Clark Lake Sprint Triathlon (not signed up yet) - This is the only triathlon in my city so it would be nice to race but I understand if it is too close to LP



    July 24 - Lake Placid (Signed up) - Goal is to race for a sub 11 Time


    Sept. 25 - IM Chattanooga (Signed up) - I told my friend I would attempt to pace her for her first Ironman. She is in the 18-24 AG and I think she could podium with a 12:40-13 hour IM in that AG.

    This will be my 2nd year in triathlon and I also plan on doing several 5k/10k races as my town has a series of 8 races. I did all 8 this year and it seemed to work out well. Also, let me know if you think there are any good times within this schedule to do any sprints/olympics as I am looking to get more racing experience. 


  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 14 Oct 2015 09:00 AM


    Hey Coach, just finished up IM Lou and trying to plan for next year (see Race Report http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/19847/Default.aspx)



    My tentative plan is below - let me know what you think.



    June 5 - Raleigh 70.3 (not signed up yet)



    July 10 - Clark Lake Sprint Triathlon (not signed up yet) - This is the only triathlon in my city so it would be nice to race but I understand if it is too close to LP



    July 24 - Lake Placid (Signed up) - Goal is to race for a sub 11 Time


    Sept. 25 - IM Chattanooga (Signed up) - I told my friend I would attempt to pace her for her first Ironman. She is in the 18-24 AG and I think she could podium with a 12:40-13 hour IM in that AG.

    This will be my 2nd year in triathlon and I also plan on doing several 5k/10k races as my town has a series of 8 races. I did all 8 this year and it seemed to work out well. Also, let me know if you think there are any good times within this schedule to do any sprints/olympics as I am looking to get more racing experience. 

    Hey Jordan

    • Schedule looks good
    • That sprint on ~6/10 is ok, just be sure that the race has very little impact on the rest of your training that week.
    • Fine to race in May if you can find anything. Other than that, I don't really want you racing much after mid-June. That's prime IM training time.
    • Pacing someone at IMChat...man, I can't imagine racing someone else's race during and Ironman. I think that would be really tough to do on the IM run. Still, you know what you're getting yourself into so...

    Don't worry about the block from IMLP to IMChat. We'll figure that out when the time comes. 

    Good luck!

  • Hey Coach, I originally was planning on doing IM LP (racing) and IM Chatt (for fun with a friend), but now am planning on racing IM LP and IM NC in October. Does this change any of my plan before IM LP?

    Thanks!

  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 17 Feb 2016 11:03 AM


    Hey Coach, I originally was planning on doing IM LP (racing) and IM Chatt (for fun with a friend), but now am planning on racing IM LP and IM NC in October. Does this change any of my plan before IM LP?



    Thanks!

    Nope, no changes to what I have you doing before IMLP. We'll sort out NC vs Chatt after LP. 

  • What are your thoughts on racing a Sprint or Olympic May 22nd? It is 2 weeks before Raleigh 70.3 (B Race). Originally, I was looking to race May 15th but that race was cancelled .

  • Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 29 Feb 2016 09:25 AM


    What are your thoughts on racing a Sprint or Olympic May 22nd? It is 2 weeks before Raleigh 70.3 (B Race). Originally, I was looking to race May 15th but that race was cancelled .

    Since Raleigh is a B race for you, I don't have a problem with you doing this Oly (do the Oly) the weekend of your final RR. However, I still recommend you get in one RR before Raleigh so work it around this Oly...probably doing it the weekend before the race. Good luck!

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