July 5 to Aug 14

August 15, 2020Leave a comment

Looks like July was the just about the most training that I have done in a month. 31 and 1/2 hours of training in 22 sessions. I did a fair amount of cycling in July, culminating in a hard 3 hour effort on July 31st. I also really nailed a head race piece.

Since the end of July, I have backed off, and shifted back into more of a base building question. At the end of July, it looks like I have reached a fitness peak in Strava at 95.

Since that time, I’ve shifted gears to ease up and focus on base building. I read a little bit of Maffetone, and although I am not convinced of his whole low carb, lifestyle thing, and the 180-age formula seems like chicanery, I definitely see merit in the idea of specifically training to increase one’s aerobic threshold. It is basically the same idea of lactate based training. If you stay below 2.0 mmol, then you can be pretty sure that you are not crossing over to burning more CHO at the expense of fat metabolism.

My challenge in doing this type of base training has always been that I push it too hard. So, the maffetone book convinced me to back way off on intensity and way up on duration. I don’t know what will happen with it, but I’ve got nothing but time and it sure is an easy way to train. And when it comes to OTW, focusing on technique has to be a good thing too.

So, I have been trying to keep all sessions above an hour and stay below UT2 heart rates (137). Additionally, I’ve been trying to extend my warmups as well.

Here’s a quick recap of the past 5 weeks.

July 5 – 50′ Stationary bike, Avg HR 131

July 6 – 70′ Coastal row up to Wellfleet harbor.

July 7 – Bike ride to rock harbor, 1:18:00, 34km, Avg HR 133

July 8 – Bike Ride – Wellfleet coast loop, 34km, 1:22, Avg HR 139

July 9 – Rest day

July 10 – 90′ steady state on Lake Quinsigamond

The last bit was tough!

July 11 – 60′ BikeErg – Hardish

July 12 – 90′ BikeErg – a little slower

July 13 – Rate Ladders on Quinsig

July 14 – rest day

July 15 – 60′ steady state on slides

July 16 – 60′ steady state on slides

July 17 – Wormtown Chase GPS Challenge

What a great day! I laid down a beautiful row. I steered well. Paced myself well and dug deep at the end. And I was fast!

The conditions were great. flat water and a very slight breeze from the south, which was a tail wind for the last two thirds of the challenge.

Here’s my course. Nice and tight around the islands. I went a bit to far west coming up to the narrows, but not bad.

Then from the Narrows to the finish was two nice straight lines.

I was unexpectedly fast, I think the fastest I have ever done a head race in a boat.

Workout Summary - media/d6476edfd2-20200717-120557o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09969|00:53:00.9|02:39.5|143.3|22.9|148.0|179.0|08.2
W-|05201|00:23:07.7|02:13.4|189.5|25.8|167.9|179.0|08.7
R-|04769|00:29:53.3|03:08.0|107.5|20.7|132.6|179.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|05201|23:07.7|02:13.4|189.5|25.8|167.9|179.0|08.7

July 18 – Drills

Back on Quinsig, but just taking it easy and doing drills on the 5s

July 19 – Randall Foil Test

You can read all about it here: https://analytics.rowsandall.com/2020/07/19/randall-foils-vs-smoothies/

It was a hard day rowing.

July 20 – 60′ BikeErg

July 21 – Just a walk

July 22 – 65km bike ride

Avg HR 136. 28.8 km/h. Tiring ride.

July 23 – rest day

July 24 – Coastal row – almost to Rock Harbor

The row back was into the wind and waves and a pretty tough slog.

July 25 – Exploring the marshes – 60′ coastal row

July 26 – bike ride on the rail trail, 32km, 80′

July 27 – rest day

July 28 – rest day

July 29 – bike ride – Wellfleet coastal loop

40km, 96 minutes, avg speed 28.1 kph, avg hr 147! (hard work)

July 30 – More exploration of the marsh

Headed out for a row up to Wellfleet Harbor, but the wind and waves were unpleasant, so I turned back and explored the swamp again.

July 31 – Mammoth bike ride

All the way to the end of the rail trail, and I pushed hard too.

77km, 3 hours

I was destroyed for the rest of the day.

Aug 1 – Rest day

Aug 2 – Fun in the swamp – 80′

Still windy, so it’s a lot more fun to scoot around sheltered water.

Aug 3 – 60′ MAF test on slides

So the MAF test is basically a cardiac drift test. You row up to a HR limit (130), and then bleed off power to stay at the limit.

Over time, you can repeat the test and see both the avg power and the % drop off. A key part is a lengthy warmup.

Today’s results: 150W. 26W drop off.

       Workout Summary - media/31860ffd50-20200803-142318o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|18062|01:23:20.0|02:18.4|143.5|17.7|122.9|131.0|12.2
W-|13531|00:59:50.0|02:12.7|149.9|17.9|127.4|131.0|12.6
R-|04536|00:23:30.0|02:35.4|127.4|17.3|111.6|131.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01173|05:00.0|02:07.9|168.3|18.7|119.0|125.0|12.5
02|01159|05:00.0|02:09.5|160.7|18.1|125.8|127.0|12.8
03|01151|05:00.0|02:10.3|158.9|18.3|126.7|128.0|12.6
04|01145|05:00.0|02:11.0|155.7|18.3|126.9|129.0|12.5
05|01143|05:00.0|02:11.3|151.9|18.1|128.3|131.0|12.6
06|01126|05:00.0|02:13.2|147.9|18.0|128.5|130.0|12.5
07|01119|05:00.0|02:14.0|144.7|17.7|128.5|130.0|12.6
08|01117|05:00.0|02:14.3|144.1|17.8|128.5|131.0|12.6
09|01115|05:00.0|02:14.5|142.8|17.3|128.9|131.0|12.9
10|01108|05:00.0|02:15.4|140.9|17.2|129.2|130.0|12.9
11|01106|05:00.0|02:15.6|140.2|17.3|129.0|130.0|12.8
12|01069|04:50.0|02:15.7|141.7|18.0|129.2|131.0|12.3

Aug 4 – rest day – Crazy Work schedule

Aug 5 – rest day – more crazy work schedule

Aug 6 – 45′ BikeErg MAF Test

Same plan, but now on a bike. I had less time, so a 15 minute warmup and a 45 minute test.

Workout Summary - media/df_20200806-113556.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|27672|01:00:03.2|01:05.1|158.2|68.2|122.5|138.0|06.8
W-|21232|00:45:03.2|01:03.7|168.1|69.7|127.4|138.0|06.8
R-|06443|00:15:00.0|01:09.8|128.3|63.5|107.7|138.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|02378|05:00.0|01:03.1|171.9|70.3|126.0|129.0|06.8
02|02376|05:00.0|01:03.1|173.1|70.4|128.0|138.0|06.8
03|02382|05:00.0|01:03.0|173.0|70.4|126.3|128.0|06.8
04|02323|05:00.0|01:04.6|161.6|68.9|128.3|130.0|06.7
05|02329|05:00.0|01:04.4|161.9|68.9|128.7|133.0|06.8
06|02333|05:00.0|01:04.3|163.5|69.1|126.5|130.0|06.8
07|02358|05:00.0|01:03.6|168.1|69.7|127.0|131.0|06.8
08|02356|05:00.0|01:03.7|168.1|69.7|127.8|129.0|06.8
09|02395|05:03.2|01:03.3|171.8|70.2|127.8|132.0|06.8

Average 172W, drop off 0W.

Aug 7 – 90′ Bike Erg – Sub UT2

Aug 8 – 4×20′ Sub-UT2 on slides

BoatCoach failed me today.

Aug 9 – Long Steady State (too hard)

As I launched, a friend from the club launched too. We rowed together and peer pressure pushed me faster than it should have. I was very worn out by the last 15 minutes.

Workout Summary - media/96a610e7d1-20200809-131602o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|17489|01:44:37.5|02:59.5|123.2|20.4|137.7|169.0|08.2
W-|15783|01:19:21.3|02:30.8|136.8|20.4|147.8|169.0|09.8
R-|01711|00:25:17.0|07:23.3|080.5|20.5|106.1|169.0|02.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01676|08:35.6|02:33.8|132.5|17.7|131.6|138.0|11.0
02|01513|07:32.1|02:29.4|145.4|20.0|142.6|151.0|10.0
03|05688|27:41.1|02:26.0|144.8|20.7|151.5|169.0|09.9
04|03606|18:51.9|02:37.0|130.1|19.7|150.4|156.0|09.7
05|00105|00:34.4|02:43.5|109.2|21.0|141.2|143.0|08.7
06|01667|08:28.2|02:32.4|122.8|21.7|151.2|161.0|09.1
07|00224|01:13.1|02:43.4|115.2|21.7|143.5|144.0|08.5
08|01305|06:24.9|02:27.5|143.0|22.7|148.7|169.0|08.9

Aug 10 – Drills on the fives

Definitely trying to taker the intensity down a notch.

Aug 11 – 70′ sub-ut2 BikeErg

Hot and Humid. Very slow.

Aug 12 – 90′ sub-ut2 BikeErg

Even hotter, humider and slower.

Aug 13 – Rest day

Aug 14 – 2 hours steady state on Quinsig

Just a wonderful morning to be rowing. Tried to keep it below ut2. Did OK until the last bit which was into a building head wind.

115 Days

July 5, 2020Leave a comment

I never thought it would last this long. But it has. Another week in the books. Most of it spent down on the cape. The weather has been mixed.

Sunday – June 28 – 100′ Coastal Row

The last bit from Wellfleet harbor to home was into a headwind and a bit of a chore

Monday – June 29 – 6 Darts Games

I woke up and it was foggy. No coastal today. Down to the dungeon for some Darts Games. No high scores, but good consistency.

14435,14485,14385,14700,14550,14600

Tuesday – 30 June – No Training

Stayed up too late, and felt like crap when I woke up. I went back to bed. And I just looked and I had worked out 15 straight days prior.

Wednesday – 1 July – 9 x (4′ @ r18, 1′ @ r30)

I like these bumps sessions. Get a bit of intensity in without killing myself or chasing splits. This session was made a bit interesting by the slides breaking in the middle of the session. In the slide, the rollers run on a plastic spline that goes over the metal frame. This spline split on what I guess would be the starboard bow side.

I had to pull the erg off the slides during one of the r18 sections.

Replacement parts are being ordered.

Other than the slide problem, the workout went well. I was happy to average 305W for the quick bits. It was very weird going from slides to static in the middle of this workout. It took a couple of minutes before it felt like the erg stopped moving.

        Workout Summary - media/d4adf504c9-20200701-144818o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10016|00:45:01.2|02:14.8|179.5|22.4|151.7|172.0|09.9
W-|10027|00:45:01.2|02:14.7|179.5|22.4|151.7|172.0|10.7
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|172.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00944|04:00.0|02:07.1|166.6|18.1|121.4|137.0|13.0
01|00284|01:00.0|01:45.6|294.9|28.7|144.2|151.0|09.9
02|00941|04:00.0|02:07.6|169.4|18.4|147.7|153.0|12.8
03|00288|01:00.0|01:44.0|311.8|31.4|152.9|161.0|09.2
04|00937|04:00.0|02:08.1|168.3|18.4|152.5|162.0|12.7
05|00290|01:00.0|01:43.3|312.6|31.9|153.4|164.0|09.1
06|00935|04:00.0|02:08.4|167.8|18.3|158.3|167.0|12.8
07|00290|01:00.0|01:43.6|312.0|31.9|157.6|165.0|09.1
08|00207|04:00.0|09:41.0|024.8|32.7|136.8|167.0|01.6
09|00274|01:00.0|01:49.5|297.1|34.0|128.6|151.0|08.1
10|00674|04:00.0|02:58.1|127.1|23.3|149.6|161.0|07.2
11|00293|01:00.0|01:42.5|321.2|29.9|156.7|166.0|09.8
12|00938|04:00.0|02:07.9|169.7|18.0|162.7|170.0|13.0
13|00288|01:00.0|01:44.3|307.9|28.7|160.0|168.0|10.0
14|00937|04:00.0|02:08.0|168.5|17.9|165.3|171.0|13.1
15|00288|01:00.0|01:44.1|300.6|29.4|162.8|170.0|09.8
16|00934|04:00.0|02:08.5|166.8|18.1|166.5|172.0|12.9
17|00287|01:01.2|01:46.6|300.9|30.2|165.5|172.0|09.3

Thursday – July 2 – 60 minute BikeErg

We drive back to Hopkinton on Wednesday afternoon. We needed to pick up mail, and take care of a few things around the house. Our plan was to head back to the cape on Thursday morning.

I wasn’t ambitious enough to head out to the lake, so I settled for a 60 minute BikeErg session, while watching the end of Ford v. Ferrari.

I guess the movie was a bit to exciting, I pushed my HR too high for the intended session.

        Workout Summary - media/df_20200702-142440.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|28737|01:00:27.0|01:03.1|175.1|71.1|155.2|169.1|06.7
W-|28740|01:00:27.0|01:03.1|175.1|71.1|155.2|169.1|06.7
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|169.1|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04745|10:00.0|01:03.2|170.5|70.4|153.4|157.7|06.7
01|04795|10:00.0|01:02.6|177.0|71.4|141.3|150.8|06.7
02|04841|10:00.0|01:02.0|181.9|72.1|151.6|157.8|06.7
03|04826|10:00.0|01:02.2|180.4|72.0|161.0|165.1|06.7
04|04801|10:00.0|01:02.5|177.9|71.7|165.2|169.1|06.7
05|04732|10:27.0|01:06.2|163.2|69.3|158.7|164.6|06.5

Friday – July 3 – 4 x 20′ / 2′ Steady State

Not a great session. Started with the intention of alternating r18/r20, but my HR started to go too high, so I settled at r18. Then it kept creeping up, so I upped the rate a bit. It was my first steady state session on a static erg in a looong time, so maybe that was it. It was also insanely humid.

        Workout Summary - media/bbfcc899e2-20200703-211114o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|19525|01:28:00.0|02:15.2|156.2|18.1|143.5|154.0|12.3
W-|18774|01:20:00.0|02:07.8|167.6|19.0|144.3|154.0|12.4
R-|00755|00:08:00.0|05:17.9|042.6|09.1|135.9|154.0|10.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04772|20:00.0|02:05.7|175.5|19.0|135.8|148.0|12.6
01|04696|20:00.0|02:07.8|167.9|18.4|144.8|151.0|12.7
02|04656|20:00.0|02:08.9|163.5|18.8|147.9|152.0|12.4
03|04650|20:00.0|02:09.0|163.3|19.7|148.7|154.0|11.8

Saturday – July 4 – 100′ Coastal Row

Fun row today! It was grey, and there was about a 5-10mph wind blowing from the NNE. The wind peaked while I was rowing into it (as it always does). I launched at about 11:30 and I turned north at 12:20

I launched at close to high tide and I hugged the coast of the island around to south. I had never really explored the tidal marsh on the south side of the island. Today, I rowed nearly as far as could and then back out along the south edge of the bay. Then I rowed down along the beach into Eastham. As I went, the chop was building and I was getting a bit of surfing them with the wind behind me.

I turned around at 50 minutes on the clock. I was heading just west of North and the wind was NNE. It felt much stronger now that I was heading into it. There were also a fair number of motor boats out. The seas were big and lumpy. The bigger ones were probably a bit bigger than 12 inches.

I am learning how to manage this a bit better. Stay patient. Lighten up on the pressure in each stroke. Rate up, and work on keeping the oars clear on recovery. You have to accept the fact that bigger waves will grab your blades, and unpredictable movements will mean that you take some bad strokes. The first 15 minutes of it were the toughest. After that, it seemed to get easier.

I turned at my favorite red buoy and headed for home. This was a new challenge with the seas on the beam. Finding the right rate was important.

The final turn, I was out of the chop and I rated up. It was really interesting, I could feel the depth of the water. When the water got shallow, I could feel the boat get heavy and watch the split slow down. Then when it got deep again, I could feel the boat get lighter and speed right up.

     Workout Summary - media/8bba9f9965-20200704-183555o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|16742|01:42:35.0|03:03.8|000.0|21.7|143.3|156.0|07.5
W-|16744|01:42:35.0|03:03.8|000.0|21.7|143.3|156.0|07.6
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|156.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04232|25:00.0|02:57.2|000.0|20.8|138.3|149.0|08.1
01|04545|25:00.0|02:45.0|000.0|19.6|143.9|149.0|09.3
02|05526|37:00.0|03:20.9|000.0|22.8|145.3|151.0|06.5
03|01338|09:00.0|03:21.8|000.0|23.1|144.2|149.0|06.4
04|01104|06:35.0|02:58.9|000.0|24.3|147.9|156.0|06.9

Tomorrow: More Coastal. Maybe the 4km out and back challenge.

Living my best pandemic

June 28, 20201 Comment

Maybe this sounds hokey, but I’ve been feeling very, very fortunate lately. Thank goodness, my job has not been affected by the downturn, and no on in my family has caught COVID-19. At this point, I have gotten used to working from home and improved my ability to use remote work tools, and I am enjoying the temporary respite from both commuting and business travel. For sure, I miss seeing my friends at work, and I worry about losing touch with my customers and business colleagues, but the change has meant that I get more sleep, get more exercise and spend more time with people I care about.

So, it’s been a good month for training.

In the past 27 days:

3 rest days, sessions for the last 12 days in a row (I’ve been doing easy bike rides instead of taking full rest days lately)
24 workouts
- 13 days flat water rowing
- 3 days coastal rowing
- 3 runs
- 2 erg sessions
- 3 rides on my new BikeErg

Training Diary

Sunday – June 7 – No Training

I worked on the stairs down on the cape and didn’t have time for a workout. Nice day in the sun though.

Monday – June 8 – 15K on Lake Quinsigamond.

I am cartopping to the lake. I get up around 6, launch around 6:45 and row until 8:00 or 8:30 depending on whether or not I have a meeting at 9.

The club I row with is being good and safe. Masks on the dock, social distancing, time slots for launching to keep the docks from getting crowded. And the lake is just wonderful to row on.

Today was just some steady state. Down to the south end, all the way up to the north end, then back past the boathouse to the narrows, then finally back to the boathouse. Working with a HR cap of about 150. There was a bit of a headwind going North.

       Workout Summary - media/0407a4c8a1-20200608-125553o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15033|01:22:42.3|02:45.0|132.6|20.4|133.6|151.0|08.9
W-|14070|01:12:11.8|02:33.9|142.4|20.5|136.7|151.0|09.5
R-|00967|00:10:30.9|05:26.2|065.3|19.8|112.3|151.0|07.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03268|16:26.5|02:31.0|133.4|19.3|126.8|141.0|10.3
02|05758|30:04.8|02:36.7|148.5|20.8|140.1|151.0|09.2
03|03579|17:58.9|02:30.7|136.7|20.3|138.8|146.0|09.8
04|01466|07:41.6|02:37.4|151.0|22.1|139.9|147.0|08.6

Tuesday – June 9 – 15km steady state

Just beautiful. Flat water. A few waterskiers, but I didn’t mind the brief stops for that.

       Workout Summary - media/ee32ce273d-20200609-123554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15020|01:21:27.1|02:42.7|133.4|21.0|135.9|154.0|08.8
W-|13893|01:09:05.2|02:29.2|150.0|20.3|140.5|154.0|09.9
R-|01131|00:12:22.2|05:28.2|041.2|24.9|109.7|154.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03194|15:48.1|02:28.4|147.4|19.5|132.8|143.0|10.3
02|05731|28:43.6|02:30.4|150.9|20.7|141.0|150.0|09.7
03|03562|17:39.1|02:28.7|148.9|20.0|145.3|154.0|10.1
04|01406|06:54.4|02:27.4|154.5|21.2|144.2|152.0|09.6

Wednesday – 10 June – Descent to Hell

This is a Push it / Don’t Pull it workout. It is decreasing length pieces from 6′ down to 30″ with 90″ rests. so, 6′, 5’30”, 5′, 4’30″…

It was brutal. I did pretty well through the first four, but then when I turned into the wind, I blew up in the fifth interval. From there, I hung in there OK.

This workout is a keeper. Definitely doing it again later.

        Workout Summary - media/658d149feb-20200610-123056o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|13546|01:14:30.4|02:45.0|137.4|22.8|152.4|175.0|08.0
W-|07995|00:36:26.4|02:16.7|189.7|25.6|159.4|175.0|08.6
R-|05561|00:38:05.1|03:25.4|087.4|20.3|145.7|175.0|04.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01328|06:02.5|02:16.5|178.8|23.5|151.3|160.0|09.4
02|01200|05:33.2|02:18.9|171.6|24.0|156.7|166.0|09.0
03|01110|05:00.0|02:15.1|188.0|25.0|163.1|173.0|08.9
04|00989|04:26.3|02:14.6|192.4|25.4|165.2|175.0|08.8
05|00212|00:59.8|02:20.7|186.8|25.1|151.1|161.0|08.5
06|00346|01:37.8|02:21.2|190.1|25.8|162.7|167.0|08.2
07|00736|03:22.8|02:17.7|194.5|26.0|165.9|174.0|08.4
08|00516|02:20.9|02:16.5|201.7|26.8|162.1|174.0|08.2
09|00499|02:20.6|02:20.8|189.7|26.9|162.4|172.0|07.9
10|00410|01:51.6|02:15.9|211.0|28.5|162.7|174.0|07.8
11|00294|01:21.8|02:19.2|201.7|28.6|155.1|167.0|07.5
12|00216|00:55.5|02:08.3|221.1|30.1|154.2|164.0|07.8
13|00137|00:33.6|02:02.6|255.2|31.9|148.8|158.0|07.7

Thursday – June 11 – No Training

I earned a day off.

Friday – June 12 – Charles River GPS Speed Order

Another go at the speed order. My goal this time was to steer a better line. I ended up going out too hard and blowing up in the middle.

But my line was beautiful! Here it is compared to Carlo Zezza, who rowed a really tight and short line. (I’m the brown line)

From the start around magazine beach, I’m looking really good. I drifted out just a hair too much at the end (I was worried about cutting too close to the Riverside docks). I decided to use the cambridge arches, vs the center arches going up the powerhouse stretch.

I took a good line into weeks and made the turn from there to Anderson really well. This is where I ran out of energy and really slowed down. After Anderson, it looks like I took a good straight line to the apex of the eliot turn. And I did a good job hugging the curve for last turn as well.

I shaved 190m off the distance rowed from the prior attempt. And even though I rowed more slowly, I cut 30 seconds off my time.

4773m / 22:38 / 2:22.3
4583m / 22:08 / 2:23.9

Maybe for the July challenge, I can put steering and fitness together for a good row!

Saturday – June 13 – 12k on Lake Quinsigamond with Randall Foils

I’ve embarked on an experiment to see if Randall Foils help me row faster. I’ll be writing up some impressions of the Randall Foils eventually on https://analytics.rowsandall.com/

But in order to give them a fair test, I need to learn how to row with them and make sure that I understand how they feel. This row was the first step to try do that. Just a steady state row in choppy conditions to try to figure out how they work.

       Workout Summary - media/7f555d2212-20200613-133055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12026|01:08:10.4|02:50.1|123.3|21.0|140.4|170.0|08.4
W-|11008|00:57:02.3|02:35.5|138.6|20.5|143.7|170.0|09.5
R-|01023|00:11:08.5|05:26.8|044.7|23.7|123.7|170.0|04.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01415|07:34.1|02:40.5|116.9|18.0|125.1|138.0|10.4
02|01925|09:53.4|02:34.1|130.9|19.1|137.7|145.0|10.2
03|05784|30:40.9|02:39.2|140.4|20.7|147.5|165.0|09.1
04|01884|08:53.9|02:21.7|159.7|23.4|153.0|170.0|09.1

Overall, I did not enjoy my first experience with the foils. They sure feel solid at the catch, but they increase the wind resistance of the oars, and smacking a wavetop with the foils was a pretty violent feeling. Also, they were a pain when coasting, and maneuvering. More to come.

Sunday – June 14 – No Training

We drove down to the cape on Saturday afternoon, and I slept in. I spent most of the day finishing up the stairs to the beach.

Monday – June 15 – 6 Darts Games

Just a nice easy base builder in the basement.

Tuesday - June 16 - Easy Coastal Row

Just a nice day for a row.

Wednesday – June 17 – Another longer coastal row

In this one, I went over into where the Herring River comes out into Wellfleet Harbor. Beautiful area over there.

No real useful data fro the row, because both crewnerd and the speedcoach managed to get mucked up. My phone was splashed seriously enough to think that I had swiped away from crewnerd. And I ran out of memory on the speedcoach during the row.

Thursday – June 18 – 7km run

I crossed the bridge and ran a loop around a woodsy neighborhood.

Friday – June 19 – Experimenting with foils

Pushed hard for about 2km, then took a break for about 1km, then finished hard.

        Workout Summary - media/c535caef77-20200619-120554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10712|00:58:38.1|02:44.2|133.3|21.7|147.2|182.0|08.4
W-|09723|00:47:31.7|02:26.6|154.4|21.9|152.7|182.0|09.4
R-|00994|00:11:06.7|05:35.2|043.0|20.8|123.5|182.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00185|00:58.4|02:37.9|128.4|18.7|112.1|123.0|10.2
02|03159|15:50.8|02:30.5|145.3|19.7|143.9|156.0|10.1
03|02114|10:01.0|02:22.1|171.2|23.9|157.4|168.0|08.8
04|02857|13:08.5|02:18.0|175.3|24.3|168.6|182.0|08.9 - Nice!
05|01408|07:33.0|02:40.9|118.1|20.4|142.6|153.0|09.2

Saturday – June 20 – Rate Ladders with Foils

Trying to work specific stroke rates with the foils. I think it works a bit better to try to row lighter and rate up.

Sunday – June 21 – 40 minute BikeErg

Unfortunately Boatcoach quit after 20 minutes. But it was lovely. Nice easy cross training session.

Monday – June 22 – Steady State

Still rowing with foils. This was supposed to be a nice easy steady state session, but as luck would have it, a sculler ended up right next to me as I pulled out from the dock, and his steady state pace was a bit quicker than mine. I just refused to let him go and pushed too hard.

I got to talk to him at the south end of the lake. Nice guy, student at University of Delaware. Getting back in shape in case there is rowing this fall.

       Workout Summary - media/f2e1dce094-20200622-122554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11848|01:08:44.6|02:54.1|121.9|20.1|143.7|166.0|08.6
W-|11293|00:56:39.9|02:30.5|141.2|19.5|150.3|166.0|10.2
R-|00559|00:12:05.0|10:48.9|031.5|23.0|112.3|166.0|03.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03533|17:10.2|02:25.8|144.5|19.0|148.0|163.0|10.8
02|05723|29:16.4|02:33.5|142.7|19.7|155.9|166.0|09.9
03|02037|10:13.3|02:30.5|131.4|19.8|138.3|162.0|10.0

There was a bit of wind blowing from North to South.

Tuesday – June 23 – Lake Quinsigamond Speed Order

When I rowed on Saturday, I met a nice guy from Western Mass who came to row the GPS Speed Order on the lake. He handily beat my team and my course standard score. I found that highly motivating. I decided to give the course another go.

I started with a nice long warmup to the south end of the lake, and then set off. There was a very light tail wind (about 2mph) and I was seeing splits between 2:15 and 2:20, which was encouraging. My HR was high, but I didn’t feel distressed. The last 2k was kind of difficult, but I would fiddle around with rate and pressure a little bit to try to distract myself.

I was very happy with the end result. No where near my competitor on raw time, but I edged him out on course standard score.

I also shaved nearly 30 seconds off my previous time. (22:37). Boom.

Wednesday – June 24 – 40 minute BikeErg

I like the bike erg! It’s a great change of pace and a good way to get some low intensity aerobic minutes in. I started watching Ford v. Ferrari, which was highly entertaining.

Thursday – June 25 – Steady State (without Foils)

It felt so good to row without foils! Still not sure if they make me faster. They certainly do not slow me down, but I do not like rowing with them.

Nice, reasonable speedy steady state session. I was able to keep on the fast side of 2:30 for most of it.

       Workout Summary - media/7a3eb7d12d-20200625-202055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11945|01:03:09.1|02:38.6|134.6|20.6|139.8|159.0|09.2
W-|10644|00:52:28.8|02:27.9|146.4|20.4|143.4|159.0|09.9
R-|01309|00:10:41.0|04:04.7|076.8|21.1|122.2|159.0|06.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00278|01:24.8|02:32.8|127.8|19.0|116.4|121.0|10.3
02|01974|09:34.9|02:25.7|149.8|20.4|136.4|147.0|10.1
03|00534|02:35.4|02:25.6|158.6|20.9|137.7|149.0|09.9
04|01306|06:27.5|02:28.3|145.2|20.5|138.5|147.0|09.9
05|04446|22:00.1|02:28.5|148.8|20.5|148.4|159.0|09.9
06|01891|09:21.6|02:28.5|137.6|20.3|147.8|153.0|10.0
07|00216|01:04.5|02:29.1|143.8|22.3|144.3|146.0|09.0

Friday – June 26 – 45 minute BikeErg

I had an 8 am meeting, so not enough time to go to the lake and get in a row. I slept in an extra half hour, and did a short session on the Bike. Watched more of Ford v Ferrari. Still really fun.

Saturday – June 27 – 80′ Coastal Row

It was warm and windy today. I thought it would be fun to go bash into some waves. I was right!

I launched at 12:15, so right as the wind was building up past 15mph. It peaked around 1pm when I was up near Wellfleet inner harbor, and moderated back down to 15 on the way back.

You can tell that the water is rough when the speedcoach starts having all those spikes on the stroke rate.

It was just past low tide when I launched, so I had to take a short leg to the northwest to stay clear of the shoals, then I turned SW and headed to the red buoy. The wind was blowing from the SSW, so on my port bow. The waves were very steep over the shallow water as I got close to the buoy, and I was filling the footwell every ten or so strokes. I opened the bailer and left it that way the rest of the row.

I turned at the buoy and had a downwind ride with the tide all the way to the harbor. The waves hissing and sizzling under the boat as I went. I turned into the harbor and grabbed a quick drink. I knew the next bit was going to be the tough part.

I headed back out, and as soon as I cleared the breakwater, I started getting slammed by 12 to 18 waves. They seem pretty big when your boat sits 3 inches above the water line. I pounded my way out and picked a point on the shore to focus on. I concentrated on just controlling my oars and reacting to the waves. I paid a lot of attention to my heart rate. With the waves and headwind, it was easy to push too hard.

The footwell was filled most of the time. By the time the bailer reduced the water level, another wave would run the length of the boat and fill it again.

Finally, I came into the lee of the Island and the water flattened out. The last bit of rowing on flat water was a nice change to adventure through the waves.

Great fun!

5/29 – 6/6 – Having some fun now

June 7, 2020June 7, 2020Leave a comment

Friday – 5/29 – rest day

I was murdered by the GPS Speed Order. I took the day off.

Saturday – 5/30 – beach run

This was a very hard slog. My HR was through the roof and I was incredibly slow. Halfway through, I was convinced that I was coming down with COVID-19, my lungs just didn’t seem to be working.

It was still a very nice day to be out though.

Sunday – 5/31 – 6 darts games

New high score! 14775! Higher HR drift though 5.7%

Monday – 6/1 – 5km run

Just a short run. Limited time before my first meeting. Kept it easy.

Tuesday – 6/2 – Lake Quinsigamond GPS Speed Order

Our club has been given permission to open, and we have developed our procedures to keep everyone safe. Singles and Doubles only. Doubles have to be people living in the same house. We have 10 minute windows for launching from the dock to keep people from congregating. Also, temp check, mandatory masks on the dock and sign in. I’m really pleased that the club is being this careful.

I have setup a GPS Speed Order on Lake Quinsigamond to try to lure some of my worcester rowing buddies to get out and do a little competing. The challenge is running all of June, and I wanted to get an early marker in.

So, I launched and headed down to the south end of the lake, doing a reasonable warmup on the way.

I turned around and planned to cover the course at r24, which seems to be about the limit of my fitness right now.

The row was pretty uneventful. I felt good up through the islands and past the narrows. I started to get kinda tired in the long span from the narrows to the bridge. About 500m short of the bridge, I got waked by a waterski boat, and managed to catch a nasty crab as I tried to row through it. It basically stopped me dead and it took a lot out of me to get back going.

The row from the bridge to the gazebo was endless, as it always is. In my mind, the gazebo is halfway, but actually it is much closer to the finish at the DRC docks. I counted strokes from the Gazebo to the finish and it was about 60.

You can explore my race by going here.

        Workout Summary - media/7f8779b0f6-20200602-142054o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11658|01:04:33.7|02:46.1|131.0|21.2|144.6|178.0|08.5
W-|04855|00:22:36.7|02:19.7|175.6|24.1|166.1|178.0|08.9
R-|06804|00:41:57.0|03:05.0|107.0|19.6|133.0|178.0|07.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|04855|22:36.7|02:19.7|175.6|24.1|166.1|178.0|08.9

So, a nice improvement on pace from the Charles River GPS Speed Order.

In terms of course, a much easier course to row than the Charles River GPS Speed Order, and I rowed it better. But there is still room for improvement.

I like my course from the start past the little island and toward Drake Island. But I held that course too long. As soon as I was on a line between Drake Island and the point of land with Smith Lane, I should have set my point right on that point. That would have put me on a straight line for the Narrows, and I would have avoided the s-curve.

Same deal after the Narrows.

I have been taught to take a couple of port strokes at the narrows to get out of the way of boats coming down lake to the Narrows. I think I took it way too far. I could have just taken a point to the Island off the beach and that would have taken me straight to the bridge.

I also did an s-turn thingy after the bridge.

I need to figure out a good point south of the bridge to pick up and focus on to keep from drifting to middle. By the map, it’s the last house before the little marina south of the bridge, but I don’t know exactly what that looks like.

It was another really fun row. Highly motivated to keep plugging. Fun to play with the results afterwards.

Wednesday – 6/3 – Steady State – Lake Quinsigamond

I wanted a nice long row, and that’s what I got.

There was a bit of a wind from the south which sped things up on the way up the lake and slowed me down on the way down.

I was having such a good time that I added a bit extra. Instead of just doing the normal 12K loop of the lake, I kept going back down to the narrows and back again.

        Workout Summary - media/a83f56f61b-20200603-133055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14871|01:19:48.6|02:41.0|130.9|19.6|141.4|155.0|09.5
W-|13938|01:10:27.4|02:31.6|140.0|19.3|144.2|155.0|10.2
R-|00938|00:09:21.6|04:59.4|062.2|21.7|119.9|155.0|07.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03420|17:21.8|02:32.3|140.5|18.9|137.1|146.0|10.4
02|05664|28:02.7|02:28.5|142.5|19.7|148.1|155.0|10.3
03|03554|18:28.1|02:35.9|136.9|19.5|146.3|153.0|09.9
04|01300|06:34.8|02:31.8|136.7|18.5|140.3|150.0|10.7

I am delighted to be back on the water.

Thursday – 6/4 – Drills on the 5s

Between the GPS speed order on Tuesday and the long session on Wednesday, I woke up sore and tired. I decided to do a technical session and keep it light.

So, I did 4 minutes of rowing at about r20, and then one minute of drills

On the square
Slow roll ups
Delayed Feather
Pause at body over
Open hands on recovery

I was really feeling the effort in the steady state sections and looked forward to the drills as a bit of a break. I think I have ramped up volume significantly and I was feeling it.

Friday – 6/5 – quick run

Well a short run, done slowly. I was planning to go rowing on Friday morning, but ended up staying up too late. So I scrubbed out of my launch window, and slept in instead. This might have been intelligently listening to my body, or just laziness.

I think I needed the sleep. I got up in time for my first meeting of the day and then at lunch time, I snuck out for a short run, just 2 miles around my neighborhood.

Saturday – 6/6 – 6 Darts Games

Down on the cape, but too windy for a coastal row. So, it was time for Darts! Chasing after high scores. My best is 14775. Today, I came close, but didn’t beat it. 3.98% drift.

After that, me and my son spent about 4 hours working on rebuilding our stairs down to the beach which have been destroyed for the third season in a row. Very sore and tired now.

Tomorrow: I think I will go for a run, or a coastal row, if the weather is nice.

Charles River GPS Speed order

June 7, 2020Leave a comment

The coolest thing I have been a part of are GPS Speed Orders. This is a case of taking a couple of great ideas and putting them together.

The first great idea was from Greg Benning, who reached out to find out if there was a way to setup on the water competitions to take the place of all those cancelled regattas. The second great idea came from Sander Roosendaal, who has been working on a capability called Virtual Racing as part of the rowsandall platform.

We batted the idea back and forth via email and came up with the idea of “GPS Speed Orders”. These would be free challenges open to all single scullers. You just row the course with some kind of GPS devices, like a smartphone, fitness watch or Speedcoach, and then upload your data. The software one rowsandall measures your time to do the course, and that you went through all the required “gates” through the course. Then it ranks all the competitors, just like a head race. You can learn all about it here.

Sander did a ton of coding and enhancements to make it easier and more fun. Seven folks did a dry run during the last week of May and it worked out great! Check out the results here.

Now we have open up two new events, which will run the whole month of June. The first is over the same course on the Charles River. The other challenge is out in Worcester on Lake Quinsigamond. Even more exciting, I’ve started to get inquiries about setting up challenges in other venues in Pennsylvania, Seekonk Massachusetts. Let me know if you want to run a challenge over the course of your favorite race.

Thursday – May 28 – Charles River GPS Speed Order

I was so excited (and nervous) about doing this, that I had trouble sleeping the night before, just like a race. Knowing that I was going to post my result, made me work really hard. I knew that I was not in the same league as the other people that were rowing, but I wanted to do as well as I could.

As it turned out, I was satisfied with my boat speed, but not so happy with my steering. I made a lot of mistakes in my line, and the race software is incredibly helpful at showing that.

I launched at CRI, which is nearly 8km upstream from the start line, so I tried to row nice and easy down to basin. It was still a pretty good distance for this early in the season and I was feeling fatigued by the time I got to the Dewolfe boathouse.

I lined up and got going. I decided to try to keep it to around a r24 and concentrate on not running into anything.

Here is the whole race, with my track compared to Greg Benning, the winning of the Challenge (also winner of the MGM1x at the HOCR).

So, let’s zoom in and look at the things that I did wrong, shall we? I am Red, Mr Benning is Green.

Mistake #1: Started too far out from the Dewolfe dock, and not hugging the cambridge side of the arch in the BU bridge. This allow GB to be setup right on the bank coming out of from under the bridge and following the tightest line. I eventually clued in and jogged to the bank. I managed to do the right thing for maybe 200 meters.

Mistake #2: The curve tightens halfway around Magazine Beach, and I didn’t sense it right away. I continued out wide and did a big loop away from the docks at the Riverside Boat Club. I should have been right up on it.

Mistake #3: Having swung too wide away fro the RBC docks, I over corrected and ended up heading for the cambridge side arch on the Cambridge St Bridge. That arch is fine, but onkly if you’ve taken a really tight line out from riverside. This was just a waste.

The rest of the power house stretch was not very offensive, but not really arrow straight either

The approach to the Week’s footbridge was also pretty good. Not as tight as GB’s, OK.

Mistake #4: Compound error. The first mistake was not turning quickly enough coming out of Week’s so that I ended up with a big s-turn on the way to Anderson. The other was playing it safe on the Anderson bridge. The normal river traffic pattern allows rowers to use the cambridge arch of this bridge and you can see that GB used it effectively to cut the corner. I on the other hand swung way out in the central arch and made a tough corner even worse.

The eliot turn was just a shambles.

Mistake #5: Instead of getting a good point to the apex of the turn coming out of the Anderson Bridge, I followed the cambridge bank and realized it quite late, so I was going wide into the turn. Which led into

Mistake #6: I over corrected to get the right line, but panicked that I was too far into the downstream lane and faded back to the outside. All the steering slowed me down and the outside arc added a lot of distance.

The Eliot bridge was OK. I like my line there.

Mistake #7: The correct line for the end of the course is to get as close as you can to the Belmont Hill School docks, and then hug the Cambridge bank. In the fog of oxygen deprivation I was experiencing, I totally missed to turn and swung way wide. Again, I added a huge amount of distance.

How much distance you ask? GB rowed 4670 meters. I rowed 4773 meters. That’s a cool thirty seconds of extra rowing. Of course he beat me by three full minutes, so steering is only part of the difference. The bigger factor is that he is a MUCH better rower than I am.

       Workout Summary - media/dbc08d619a-20200528-141554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15724|01:28:36.3|02:49.1|128.4|20.6|146.8|180.0|08.6
W-|04781|00:22:40.4|02:22.3|171.1|24.7|168.9|180.0|08.5
R-|10944|01:05:56.1|03:00.7|113.7|19.2|139.2|180.0|07.5
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|04781|22:40.4|02:22.3|171.1|24.7|168.9|180.0|08.5

/static/plots/dbc08d619a-20200528-141554.png

Another thing you can do is compare your results with other rowers. Here is a boat speed comparison of me, Greg Benning and Jeff Nelson. Jeff beat me by almost a minute.

You can see that GB has a huge boat speed differential, but Jeff and I were quite well matched. He 3.54m/s and me at 3.51m/s. The difference was that he managed to row the course in 4601 meters, versus my 4773 meters.

I was pretty tired by the time I finished. Rowing the 3 k back to CRI was a slog. But I was exhilarated. This was a blast. And I can’t wait to row it again, hopefully a few times to work on my steering.

First Coastal Row of the Season

June 7, 2020Leave a comment

Last post was on May 24th. Things have been pretty hectic since then.

Monday – May 25 – 6 Darts games

I love the dart game. It’s a great way to get good meters in at a low intensity and focus on something other than the measly watts I need to stick to in these workouts.

I also am always trying to beat the impossibly high scores that Sander manages to post. No luck yet. Todays scores were:

14510,14575,14525,14400,14375,14675

That last on was an all time high score for me. I was pretty pumped to keep all my scores above 14000.

I was also really happy with the Heart Rate drift, only 2.28%

Tuesday – May 26 – 2 x 30′ / 5′ with bumps (Coastal)

The weather report for Tuesday was looking really great, so I loaded up my boat the night before. The tide was a bit dicey. I needed to row before work and the tide was falling. Low tide was right around when I wanted to get back to the beach. I was hoping I would get stranded on my way back. (I didn’t)

To make things even more interesting, I decided to do the sprint workout from the Stuck At Home Rowing Club. I love this workout. Two 30 minute pieces at a nice lazy pace, but even 5 minutes, you do a hard minute at a higher rate. On the erg, I would aim for r30. In a coastal boat, I was going to play it by ear.

You can see the effect of the tidal currents in the pace map. The first three bumps were done on the way out to my favorite buoy. Then I turned north and rowed against the ebbing tide toward the inner harbor. Then I turned back south and rode the tide back toward the red buoy. Finally I turned and did 2 bumps going northeast, and then the last one heading back toward the beach.

That was really fun! Great conditions.

Wednesday – May 27 – Rest day

Busy work day, and I was due for a break. I had trained 10 days prior.

Back on the Water – Huzzah!

May 24, 20201 Comment

Another week on social isolation. I’m getting better at it. A few very exciting developments.

First, I retrieved my boat from winter storage, rigged it up and went for my first row of the season, not counting that amazing week in early March when we managed to get on the water three days (3/9, 3/10, 3/11) before the pandemic hit.

Second, I am working with Sander and some Boston based rowers to try to figure out a way to have some competitive fun with rowing when all regattas and events are cancelled. Take a look at the instructions for the first event.

Want Some Hot Singles Action? – The GPS Speed Orders

It will be a “Speed Order” challenge over the same course that the Head of the Charles follows. Through the miracle of GPS and rowsandall, people can run the course in their single anytime next week and upload their rowing data to compete.

I’m hoping that this will turn into a full season of challenges on the Charles, and spread to other venues. If anyone is interested in running a GPS Speed Order on your favorite course, get in touch and I’ll get you set up.

And it was a good week of training. I am enjoying running more than I expected, and I am now able to row for longer periods without a lot of shoulder pain.

Monday – 5/18 – 5.7km run on Lt Island

We decided to stay an extra day on the Cape and on Monday morning, I headed out for a slow run. Some parts of it were on the beach, and that was slow, hard work. Other parts of it were on sandy roads and I have no excuse, but I was still slow.

Tuesday – 5/19 – Quick row

It was an exciting morning. I headed out to the Lake and met Joe who let me in the boathouse and helped me load up my boat. I brought it home and only had enough time for a quick and easy row before my 8am meeting.

        Workout Summary - media/4eb43c721c-20200519-122216o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09670|00:42:00.0|02:10.3|165.3|18.9|129.7|140.0|12.2
W-|09461|00:40:00.0|02:06.8|171.3|19.2|130.3|140.0|12.3
R-|00210|00:02:00.0|04:45.7|045.6|11.9|119.0|140.0|08.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|09461|40:00.0|02:06.8|171.3|19.2|130.3|140.0|12.3

Wednesday – 5/20 – 45′ Bike / 2 dart games

Sticking to base work. Still limiting total rowing time. I was watching the movie John Wick, and I noticed that my HR was going way up when there was any kind of physical conflict in the movie.

Then down to the basement for a couple of dart games.

        Workout Summary - media/09b2b54c05-20200520-161816o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07468|00:33:09.4|02:13.2|159.3|18.4|143.3|151.0|12.3
W-|07441|00:31:51.4|02:08.4|165.2|19.0|144.0|151.0|12.3
R-|00028|00:01:18.0|23:32.0|013.9|02.0|125.8|151.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03813|16:20.0|02:08.5|164.7|18.6|143.4|151.0|12.5
01|03628|15:31.4|02:08.4|165.7|19.5|144.7|151.0|12.0

Getting better at keeping my effort down in the dart games and good results for these two 14375, and 14305. Still not challenging Sanders 14625 though.

Thursday – 5/21 – Fast (for me) run – 6.3km

This was basically the same course as I ran on May 8th at an average pace of 6:01. Today, I shaved that down to 5:57, but worked a bit harder. I had a really wonderful time, especially the last mile or so.

Friday – 5/22 – 12k on Lake Quinsigamond

It’s so exciting going for the first row of the year in my single. There’s an element of fear. Do I still remember how to row? Do I still remember how to get in an out of the boat? How cold is the water? And this year, I had the extra anxiety of wondering if my shoulder would be OK for carrying the boat and rowing.

I got to the lake right around 7am. I launched without any issue and headed down lake. I didn’t bother with a pick drill or anything, I just started rowing easy, and kept that up basically the whole outing. There was a bit of breeze blowing from the SW, which was only bothersome during the row back to the boathouse from the north end of the lake.

The good news. I remember how to row. The boat was setting well. To be honest about it, my shoulder is not great. But if I limited how far I extended to the catch, took the catch smoothly and lightened up my stroke a bit, I was able to row pain free.

There were a couple of waterskiers out and I got waked a bunch of times. I generally just stopped rowing for a few seconds to let the wakes pass. This early in the season, I didn’t really see the point in trying to finesse my way through the waves.

        Workout Summary - media/3d93653fd3-20200522-134050o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11673|01:05:42.5|02:48.9|125.3|20.4|138.9|156.0|08.7
W-|10124|00:52:25.4|02:35.3|134.5|19.7|142.0|156.0|09.8
R-|01558|00:13:18.0|04:16.0|089.1|23.2|126.8|156.0|03.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01201|06:13.8|02:35.6|135.1|18.1|133.8|143.0|10.6
02|00504|02:38.5|02:37.1|135.1|18.9|135.0|142.0|10.1
03|01003|05:10.3|02:34.7|138.8|19.1|143.1|149.0|10.2
04|00257|01:21.4|02:38.2|126.9|19.1|137.3|142.0|09.9
05|01981|10:16.7|02:35.7|131.3|19.3|138.1|148.0|10.0
06|01860|09:31.6|02:33.6|134.5|19.9|146.0|152.0|09.8
07|00452|02:22.3|02:37.3|124.9|20.3|141.8|146.0|09.4
08|01049|05:18.3|02:31.8|140.8|20.6|148.2|156.0|09.6
09|00933|04:52.4|02:36.7|132.3|20.7|141.8|151.0|09.2
10|00883|04:40.1|02:38.6|137.7|20.8|150.3|154.0|09.1

Saturday – 5/23 – 3 x 30’/2′ on slides

Down on the Cape. We drove down on Friday evening and lazed around Saturday morning. In the early afternoon, I headed down to the basement for some easy rowing. The goal was to do the full 90 minutes below a HR of 145. I needed to ease up on the pace a bit in the last 30 minutes to respect the cap. I also found it easier (and easier on my shoulder) to row at r20. With the higher rate, I tried to increase power just a few watts.

        Workout Summary - media/479e44f499-20200523-183516o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|22012|01:36:00.0|02:10.8|164.4|19.7|136.8|147.0|11.7
W-|21304|01:30:00.0|02:06.7|171.9|20.0|137.4|147.0|11.8
R-|00712|00:06:00.0|04:12.7|052.8|14.3|127.8|147.0|08.7
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|07126|30:00.0|02:06.3|173.3|20.1|129.1|137.0|11.8
01|07102|30:00.0|02:06.7|172.0|20.0|139.4|145.0|11.8
02|07076|30:00.0|02:07.2|170.3|20.0|143.7|147.0|11.8

Sunday – 5/24 – Run to Bob’s Sub and Cone

Still down on the cape. The weather was beautiful, but cool. Good for running. I stuck to the roads today, but running here just feels harder. Maybe it’s the little but steep ups and downs. But it was a nice run.

After I got home, I had showered and I was just looking out the window when I saw a young fox, just napping at the end of our walkway. I must have disturbed him when I snapped his picture through the screen.

And on it goes

May 18, 2020Leave a comment

Last posted on May 10th. Since then, nothing to exciting. I haven’t fallen off any roofs, or broken any bones this week, so that’s a plus.

I ended up taking two days off from training. No real reason, other than a limited desire to train.

Sunday – 5/10 – 2 x 30’/5′ With Bumps

A fun session. Row 4′ at r18 and 160W, then 1′ faster. The faster bits start r20, and go up by 2SPM in each one. So, a little bit of hard rowing with a lot of aerobic strokes.

Also a good chance to use rowsandall interval analysis

       Workout Summary - media/b9c94e1b23-20200510-201916o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15424|01:07:24.4|02:11.1|166.9|19.3|142.8|167.0|11.9
W-|14343|01:00:06.0|02:05.7|179.6|19.2|143.9|165.0|12.6
R-|01095|00:07:18.4|03:20.1|062.8|20.1|133.6|165.0|04.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00937|04:00.0|02:08.1|162.8|17.8|113.3|127.0|13.1
01|00236|01:00.0|02:07.3|175.6|19.2|129.4|131.0|12.3
02|00929|04:00.0|02:09.1|164.1|17.8|130.6|132.0|13.1
03|00248|01:00.0|02:01.1|199.0|21.4|136.8|141.0|11.6
04|00933|04:00.0|02:08.7|165.3|18.0|137.7|142.0|13.0
05|00259|01:00.0|01:55.8|225.3|23.8|141.1|148.0|10.9
06|00937|04:00.0|02:08.1|169.8|18.1|143.5|149.0|13.0
07|00271|01:00.0|01:50.8|249.8|25.9|146.0|153.0|10.5
08|00933|04:00.0|02:08.7|168.0|17.9|148.0|156.0|13.0
09|00276|01:00.0|01:48.5|263.8|27.4|148.7|156.0|10.1
10|00932|04:00.0|02:08.8|167.4|18.0|149.7|158.0|13.0
11|00282|01:00.0|01:46.5|283.9|29.3|150.9|159.0|09.6
12|00937|04:01.0|02:08.6|167.1|17.8|137.7|145.0|13.1
13|00239|01:00.0|02:05.8|181.4|19.6|145.9|147.0|12.2
14|00927|04:01.0|02:10.1|163.9|17.6|146.7|150.0|13.1
15|00253|01:00.0|01:58.7|204.7|22.0|146.8|151.0|11.5
16|00925|04:01.0|02:10.3|163.3|17.6|148.5|152.0|13.1
17|00260|01:00.0|01:55.3|226.7|23.7|150.1|155.0|11.0
18|00931|04:01.0|02:09.4|164.8|17.9|152.0|157.0|13.0
19|00266|01:00.0|01:52.8|241.2|25.4|152.8|159.0|10.5
20|00935|04:01.0|02:08.8|167.6|18.0|154.5|161.0|13.0
21|00272|01:00.0|01:50.1|261.2|27.6|154.2|160.0|09.9
22|00945|04:01.0|02:07.5|169.6|18.1|156.5|162.0|13.0
23|00282|01:00.0|01:46.5|289.9|29.9|158.0|165.0|09.4

Monday – 5/11 – 7.5km run

Tuesday – No Training

Wednesday – 5/13 – half and half

30′ stationary bike

2 dart games

Scores: 13840,14210

       Workout Summary - media/b10aaa2c46-20200513-121216o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07592|00:34:22.2|02:15.8|152.0|17.7|143.6|152.0|12.5
W-|07562|00:32:47.2|02:10.1|158.8|18.5|144.7|152.0|12.5
R-|00032|00:01:35.0|24:53.0|011.1|01.8|120.2|152.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03798|16:25.0|02:09.7|160.2|18.5|144.5|152.0|12.5
01|03764|16:22.2|02:10.5|157.5|18.5|144.9|151.0|12.4

Thursday – 5/14 – half and half

30′ on the bike

2 dart games – 14005, 14085 (I was not on my game at all!)

        Workout Summary - media/6e3758c812-20200514-122316o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07424|00:34:06.6|02:17.8|148.2|17.9|142.2|152.0|12.2
W-|07397|00:32:15.7|02:10.9|156.2|18.8|143.9|152.0|12.2
R-|00029|00:01:51.0|32:21.3|008.4|01.4|112.3|152.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03757|16:15.0|02:09.8|159.6|18.7|143.6|152.0|12.3
01|03640|16:00.7|02:12.0|152.7|18.9|144.2|150.0|12.0

Friday – 5/15 – 7.3km run

Down on the cape. Out and back on the road.

Saturday – 5/16 – No Training

I spend a couple hours fixing some shingles on the roof, and then the fencing around the house. Didn’t feel like training.

Sunday – 5/17 – 3 x 30′ / 2′ Steady State

I’ve been reading more about base training and I want to try to add more minutes at lower intensity.

        Workout Summary - media/11a6da4170-20200517-211416o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|21759|01:36:00.0|02:12.4|157.0|19.5|134.1|144.0|11.6
W-|20997|01:30:00.0|02:08.6|164.6|19.7|134.9|144.0|11.9
R-|00765|00:06:00.0|03:55.2|044.2|17.5|122.3|144.0|07.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|07003|30:00.0|02:08.5|164.5|19.1|128.6|140.0|12.2
01|06995|30:00.0|02:08.7|164.4|19.8|137.2|144.0|11.8
02|06999|30:00.0|02:08.6|164.8|20.0|138.9|144.0|11.7

Steady Diet of Steady State

May 10, 2020May 10, 2020Leave a comment

Since my last post, on Sunday, I’ve settled into a pretty reasonable routine.

The rowing that I did last Sunday was heartening because I was basically pain free for low intensity, although definitely not willing to push the intensity up.

Monday – 5/4 – 3 x 20’/2′ Steady state

Still down on the Cape. I pushed my luck a bit harder, by jumping back to an easy, but normal steady state session. Three 20 minute intervals, all at a target of 160W. I decided to let the stroke rate creep up a bit to limit the stroke pressure in the second and third interval.

       Workout Summary - media/fd448bed6b-20200504-115316o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14539|01:06:00.0|02:16.2|151.9|18.6|137.8|155.0|11.8
W-|13984|01:00:00.0|02:08.7|164.1|19.2|138.9|155.0|12.1
R-|00557|00:06:00.0|05:23.2|029.6|12.8|127.0|155.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04665|20:00.0|02:08.6|163.9|18.2|127.2|139.0|12.8
01|04667|20:00.0|02:08.6|164.9|19.7|140.9|149.0|11.8
02|04652|20:00.0|02:09.0|163.4|19.8|148.5|155.0|11.8

I think that might have been a bit too much for my shoulder. I was stiff and sore later Monday night and worse on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday – 5/5 – 6.4km run

I got new shoes. My old Nikes had lost all their springiness. Today was the first voyage of the new Brookes. I was slow, but expected to be.

Wednesday – 5/6 – 30′ Bike / 2 dart games

Watching Giada in Capri making italian food while I rode the bike.

Then I wandered down to the basement and played two dart games.

       Workout Summary - media/199d0c346e-20200506-124216o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07431|00:33:49.2|02:16.5|156.8|18.0|146.0|159.0|12.2
W-|07400|00:31:36.2|02:08.1|167.2|19.2|148.2|159.0|12.2
R-|00033|00:02:13.0|33:28.1|008.2|00.9|114.6|159.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03775|15:52.0|02:06.1|175.1|19.2|148.8|159.0|12.4
01|03625|15:44.2|02:10.2|159.2|19.2|147.6|152.0|12.0

Thursday – 5/7 – 30′ bike and 2 dart games

Sounds familiar? Get used to it. I think it will be my diet for a while.

Watched Giada again. And pushed the pace on the bike a bit more.

Then two more dart games. I’m slowly getting the hang of doing them easier. I scored really well in the first one 14275, which is not far from my all time best of 14485. The second one was much more of a challenge as I was trying to stick at 18 spm and keep it light.

        Workout Summary - media/afe45eb54c-20200507-193516o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07526|00:33:29.5|02:13.5|157.8|18.2|150.2|160.0|12.3
W-|07498|00:32:14.5|02:09.0|163.4|18.9|150.7|160.0|12.3
R-|00029|00:01:15.0|21:31.8|014.1|01.7|139.1|160.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03729|15:45.0|02:06.7|172.0|19.4|151.6|160.0|12.2
01|03769|16:29.5|02:11.3|155.2|18.4|149.8|154.0|12.4

Friday – 5/8 – 6.4km run

After I got back from my run on Tuesday, Strava helpfully pointed out that I had run the same course 3 years ago, and did it about 3 minutes faster. That provided a bit of motivation for me to push a little harder this morning. It was cold, about 45F, so I was in tights, hat, and fleece top. And my new sneakers!

I cut almost three minutes off my time.

Cool thing I just discovered. The rowsandall compare feature works for runs too!

I worked a lot harder too!

Saturday – 5/9 – 30′ bike and 2 dart games

Upped the resistance to 13, and that gave me an extra tenth mile.

Then two dart games. I was not in the groove today. 13910 and 13825.

        Workout Summary - media/937839d9b9-20200509-220216o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07700|00:34:51.2|02:15.8|150.7|17.5|149.1|158.0|12.6
W-|07673|00:33:27.2|02:10.8|156.6|18.1|149.9|158.0|12.6
R-|00027|00:01:24.0|25:45.1|010.4|01.7|129.2|158.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|03866|16:40.0|02:09.3|161.9|18.2|151.0|158.0|12.7
01|03807|16:47.2|02:12.3|151.4|18.0|148.8|153.0|12.6

Tomorrow: Probably more of the same bike/rower split.

Back to your regular programming

May 3, 2020Leave a comment

It’s May! Hopefully the weather will get better, and we’ll be able to row outside soon, This Friday, my wife packed up and headed down to the cape for the weekend.

We arrived Friday evening, and stopped to pick up a “hands free” pizza on the way.

Saturday – May 2 – 6km run

On Saturday, we lazed around and relaxed. In the afternoon, I decided to go for a run. I guess I should put quotes around “run”, since it was notably slow, but really enjoyable, I clambered down to the beach and ran around the island to north side. I just made it before the tide washed over the beach at the northwest corner. Running on sand was quite a challenge. It’s much softer sand than in Aruba.

After I turned at the northeast corner, I walked a bit, and then I was on harder packed sandy roads. I ran all the way to bridge on the causeway, then turned and ran down the main road on the island and all the way around to the little beach on the southwest corner. Then I turned into the wind and did the last slog home back on soft sand again.

It was a moderately hard workout, but not that long.

Sunday – 3 May – 3 x 15′ / 2′ steady state

It was 15 days ago when I took the fall off the ladder. The scrapes have healed, my elbow is mostly better. There is still something wrong with my thumb; it really does not like lateral pressure. My shoulder is OK, but still has limited range of motion.

I was thinking that it would be a good time to see whether the damage that I’ve done would keep me from rowing.

I dialed up 2000m for a warmup.

I started off with a pick drill. 20 strokes just arms. I felt a bit of a twinge from my elbow if I extended it completely. Well then, we will just use that as a reminder to keep soft arms. By the end of the 20 strokes, I was able to take them without any pain. Good.

Then arms and body. Now I became aware of a new limitation. If I indulged my bad habit of reaching too far at the catch, my shoulder would remind me not to do that. A few strokes and I managed to get into a groove that was working.

Then into full strokes. Now the final bit of coaching from my shoulder. Don’t take the catch too hard. It was as if Robby Manson was there telling me to hang and bang. If I hit the catch too hard, my shoulder would definitely twinge.

So, the end result is that my elbow and shoulder are conspiring to make me row better.

After 15 days off, the rest of the 2000m felt like a very long way to row, but I was doing well. Mostly pain free and maintaining reasonable power.

After I finished that, I decided to do another 45 minutes or so of easy rowing. So, 3 x15’/2′ at 160W. I let the stroke rate climb up from 18 to 20 over the three pieces to keep my strokes nice and light.

So, what to do now? I think I will stick to easy stuff on the erg for now and go running a couple of times a week for the more intense sessions. I don’t want to push it too fast. Mostly, I want to get stronger for the return of OTW, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve