3×20’/1′ at Crossfit Carbon in Vernon Hills, IL

April 7, 2015April 7, 20155 Comments

No lactate test today, and plenty of noise on the HR data, but a delightful workout. I was going to row at 187W, up just a little from Sunday’s row, but it felt so easy, and my HR was happily low, so I went with 193-ish.

As I have found at every single Crossfit box that I have visited, these folks were friendly, and the ergs were meticulously maintained. There was a beginner class going on while I rowed and three experts (all women) doing a fiendish looking WOD that involved clean and jerks, rowing and kipping pull ups. I was thoroughly intimidated, but the time passed extremely quickly with so much going on around me.

Tomorrow: I will head back to Crossfit Carbon. Most likely I will make an attempt at the CTC.

4×20′ – Amazing difference

April 6, 20151 Comment

I had intended to take today off, but then I remembered that I was taking off for Chicago first thing Monday morning and would probably not have time for a workout. Of course, by then it was 6 at night and I had consumed a big easter lunch, along with beer, wine and other spirits. I didn’t feel too full, so I thought an easy session would be OK.

Besides, I was interested to see what happened.

Well, it was stunningly easy. I had to work hard to slow down to 185W, and when I did, my HR just ticked along, barely teetering along the bottom UT2 range through the second half of the 20 minutes. And the lactate test was similarly low –> 1.7mmol/l

Output
Workout Summary – Apr 05, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04869_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.2_|_187.0_|_19.0_|_131.6_|_ 62.1% _|_12.8_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01222_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.8_|_189.1_|_19.0_|_119.4_|_ 53.5% _|_12.9_|_10.0
02_|_01220_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.0_|_188.1_|_19.4_|_135.5_|_ 64.9% _|_12.6_|_09.7
03_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.4_|_18.8_|_136.3_|_ 65.5% _|_12.9_|_09.9
04_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.5_|_18.6_|_135.1_|_ 64.6% _|_13.1_|_10.0

So, after that happy result, I dialed in a 63′ minute rowpro session, with 21 minute splits. That way, I can row 20 minutes, take my 1 minute rest, and then start up a new 20 minutes with a new split so I can watch the avg watts. It makes it a lot easier to hit the 185W target. The rest of the session was exactly the same. Easy and anything, and my HR never really rose much.

Output
Workout Summary – Apr 05, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_15027_|_63:00.0_|_02:05.8_|_175.9_|_18.7_|_138.6_|_ 67.1% _|_12.8_|_09.4
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_04857_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_185.7_|_19.1_|_135.7_|_ 65.0% _|_12.7_|_09.7
02_|_00102_|_01:00.0_|_04:53.9_|_013.8_|_09.0_|_127.2_|_ 59.0% _|_11.3_|_01.5
03_|_04859_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_185.9_|_18.8_|_139.9_|_ 68.0% _|_12.9_|_09.9
04_|_00107_|_01:00.0_|_04:39.4_|_016.1_|_11.0_|_128.1_|_ 59.6% _|_09.8_|_01.5
05_|_05101_|_21:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_185.8_|_18.9_|_140.7_|_ 68.5% _|_12.8_|_09.8

So is this a new workout secret? Have a couple beers and a big slice of lemon meringue pie a couple hours before each workout? Perhaps I can start a new trend?

Tomorrow: Off to Chicago. Looking for a rowing machine somewhere near Buffalo Grove.

Saturday: 5K Hard – Season Best

April 4, 2015April 4, 20152 Comments

This morning I headed out to the boathouse in Worcester to meet up with some of the folks from my club. There are serious deliberations going on to merge the masters sculling club and masters sweep club. There is ample history making the process delicate. But it would be great if we could combine forces and get more boats out on the water every day.

A bit later, after I got home, I headed off to the erg to do my weekly hard distance row. I started off with my normal 20′ steady state piece, with a lactate test. My heart rate was delightfully low, and I felt fantastic. I also did a great job holding 185W after the first 5 minutes. But my lactate reading was a 2.2. I was expecting something closer to 1.5. Weird. Maybe it was a bad measurement. Who knows.

186.7W, 19.0SPM, 137.1BPM, 2.2mmol/l

Output
Workout Summary – Apr 04, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04866_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.3_|_186.7_|_19.0_|_131.8_|_ 62.3% _|_12.8_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01225_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.5_|_19.6_|_122.0_|_ 55.3% _|_12.5_|_09.7
02_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.5_|_18.8_|_133.1_|_ 63.2% _|_12.9_|_09.9
03_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.5_|_18.6_|_135.5_|_ 64.9% _|_13.1_|_10.0
04_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.5_|_18.8_|_137.1_|_ 66.0% _|_12.9_|_09.9

Then I freshed up a bit, and setup my 5K. My target pace was 1:48. Honestly, I wanted to be a bit faster than that, since I held a 1:48 for the 6K last weekend. the other objective was to try to keep the rate up. I wanted to hold 28spm for this session.

It was a tough row, but not as bad as the 6K. I managed a 17:49.6, which makes this the second fastest 5K I have ever done, about 3 seconds off my PB from last year. I didn’t check the number before, but even if I had, I’m not sure I could have sprinted early enough to shave another 4 seconds off my time. In any case, I am THRILLED to be that close to my time from last year. I was in my best shape ever last season, and I finally feel like I am on the track toward those kinds of times.

In terms of rate, I had a bit of a sag in the middle, but averaged about 27.5. So, I still need to work on it. I feel very sluggish trying to rate up when I am not on slides now. I guess that’s a good trade off if my OTW rowing improves.

Output
Workout Summary – Apr 04, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_17:49.6_|_01:47.0_|_286.0_|_27.5_|_168.8_|_ 88.5% _|_10.2_|_10.4
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_03:32.6_|_01:46.3_|_291.5_|_27.4_|_148.4_|_ 74.0% _|_10.3_|_10.6
02_|_01000_|_03:33.1_|_01:46.6_|_289.2_|_27.6_|_167.3_|_ 87.4% _|_10.2_|_10.5
03_|_01000_|_03:35.8_|_01:47.9_|_278.6_|_27.0_|_171.6_|_ 90.5% _|_10.3_|_10.3
04_|_01000_|_03:34.1_|_01:47.1_|_285.3_|_28.0_|_176.7_|_ 94.1% _|_10.0_|_10.2
05_|_01000_|_03:34.0_|_01:47.0_|_285.6_|_27.8_|_179.8_|_ 96.3% _|_10.1_|_10.3

I was pretty much destroyed at the end.

I did a long 5K cooldown. Starting at 2:00 pace and slowing down by 5 seconds after each 1K. By the time I finished, my HR was below UT2 range and I felt much better.

Tomorrow: rest day!

Friday PM: First Row of the Season – 10K in my fluid

April 4, 20153 Comments

I finished my last meeting of the day around 3pm and decided to get my boat and all my stuff together and head out for the first row of the season. No training objective other than to see how things felt and enjoy a nice warm afternoon.

One purpose was to get my boat moved onto it’s rack, down in Newton. I setup my boat, got the rigger back on, put on the speedcoach, put my iphone on it’s new mount and launched without any fuss.

First I headed up stream to my old boathouse and to get the feel of rowing again. I was a bit tentative for the first dozen or so strokes, but I quickly noticed that my balance was good. I was keeping one or both blades off the water right away. I also noticed that I was easily keeping my recovery sequenced right, with my legs all the way down until my arms were extended and my back leaning forward. I also didn’t feel like I was rushing into the catch. I need to take some video and get RIM set up to make sure that I am not deluding myself, but I think spending the winter on slides was a very good thing.

It will take a bit of time to get my on the water pacing right. I was pushing the pace too hard and my HR shows it. I need to just relax a bit and ease up on the pressure to get a good UT2/UT1 rhythm going. Anyway, it is all good. I’m back on the water and I think I am going to row better than I was last season.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0760_|_04:44_|_3:06.6_|_077___|_16.3_|_09.9_|_099___|_warmup
00780_|_1420_|_06:49_|_2:24.0_|_137___|_20.1_|_10.4_|_157___|_downwind
02420_|_2340_|_11:23_|_2:26.0_|_222___|_19.5_|_10.5_|_161___|_downwind
04760_|_0380_|_01:35_|_2:04.3_|_040___|_25.4_|_09.5_|_173___|_sprint
05160_|_3000_|_15:30_|_2:35.1_|_302___|_19.5_|_09.9_|_162___|_upwind
08160_|_1920_|_10:40_|_2:46.7_|_203___|_19.0_|_09.5_|_154___|_cooldown

It was a bit of an adventure trying to carry my boat over a giant snowbank to get it to it’s rack. But now it is safe and sound and I can get out and row now!

20′ + 30′ steady state

April 3, 20152 Comments

Pressed for time this morning. So, I could only fit in a 20 minute lactate test and 30 minutes more.

Off slides today, at home. It felt like a tough slog. Again, i had trouble toning the power down to 185W.

186.7W, AvgHR 145.1, r17.8, Lactate: 1.9

The next 30 minutes, I was far more disciplined about sticking to 185W.

If my afternoon works out OK, I am going to try to sneak out for a row! Tomorrow, is spring cleanup day at the boathouse and a first row on Quinsig. Apparently, there is about 1.5km of rowable water accessible from our dock, even though there is still about 5km of ice at both ends of the lake

HR and Lactate – Workload effects and when to test.

April 2, 20152 Comments

I’ve been taking close to daily lactate readings for the past month and a half. In addition to thoroughly perforating my ring finger and keeping Nova Pharmaceuticals in business, this has both baffled and entertained me as I tried to understand how to best implement a polarized training plan using lactate measurements to manage steady state intensity.

I’ve previously posted this scatter plot of lactate readings*

Which shows essentially no correlation between HR and lactate. Over the past couple of weeks, I thought I was starting to see some relationship between lactate and HR readings and the day of the week, so it was time to bust out excel and see what i could find.

I follow a reasonably consistent workout schedule.

Sunday: Usually rest, but last month I was doing 10K just to bank the meters for a C2 challenge. Definitely the lightest trainning day in any case
Monday: ~80′ of steady state at target training power
Tuesday: ~80′ of steady state at target training power
Wednesday: 20′ lactate test at target power, and then an intense interval session
Thursday: ~80′ of steady state at target training power
Friday: ~80′ of steady state at target training power
Saturday: 20′ lactate test at target power, then a middle distance threshold workout (10K,30min, 6K, 5K)

Another thing to note: Saturday and Sunday sessions are at home on a static erg, during the week, most days are on slides. The airflow and temperature at home are better too.

Here’s the HR and lactate data sliced by day of the week.

First things first. Thee is still a lot of variation in the data when analyzed by day of the week. But looking at the data for lactate you can see a repeatable variation by days of the week. The effect is less pronounced with HR, but interestingly, it is shows a different day to day change.

So, starting with Sunday. I am on a static erg, in a cool environment, in addition to that, I am coming off a hard workout the day before. Both HR and lactate are low. Average HR is reasonably consistent for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

So, what’s deal with Wednesday? I theorize that by Wednesday my lactates are low and my HR is high because I of the accumulated workload on Monday and Tuesday, so I have less glycogen available to create lactate. Since my Wednesday workout is shorter but more intense, it actually ends up being fewer overall meters (and calories) than a steady state session. This means that I actually have more glycogen available on Thursday morning for steady state, so, lactates are up a bit.

It’s all quite confusing, but I think it makes sense to use a consistent. specific session during the week to set training power, and if you believe that the most important consideration for setting the optimal training power is to make sure that it consistently yields less than 2.0mmol/l in all sessions, that the session you use to test power setting should be one where you are well fueled and rested. For me that’s Monday.

* Note: Lactate and heart rate readings are taken at the end of a 20′ steady state piece at constant power. Lactate readings are taken at the conclusion of the piece. HR is the average HR for the last 5 minutes of the piece. Power is changed on a weekly basis (or sometime more frequently) to attempt to maintain lactate levels between 1.5 and 2.0 for all steady state rows.

4×20′ / 1′ r – Not quite slow enough

April 2, 20152 Comments

Intended to drop power to 185W, but settled at 187W. Tried to hold the rate at 18 for the first 20 minutes.

20′, r18, 186.9W, AvgHR: 142.9, Lactate: 1.6

No problems with those numbers. Pushed on at 187W and was fine through the next 2 20′ pieces. In the last piece, I kind of did a slow motion crash into the wall. My HR started to run away from me and I felt a much higher level of fatigue. So, after about 10 minutes of trying to hold 187, I slowed down to about 180W and essentially paddled it out. HR stayed stubbornly high though.

Tomorrow: Same thing, but at 185W

Waterfall – 3K / 2.5K / 2K, 5′ rest – dug deep for this one

April 1, 20151 Comment

This workout is one of the wolverine plan classics. Also included in the Pete Plan. Pacing for me is usually a bit slower than the other long interval sessions. I figured that since I did a 6K at 1:48 pace last Saturday, that 1:48 would be a safe pick for pacing on this workout. Turns out it was a bit more of a stretch than I expected.

I started out with a 20′ steady state piece, to warmup and take a lactate reading. I was aiming at 185W but the first half got away from me a little bit and I found myself aat an avg of 190W with 10 minutes to go, so I stuck to 185W like glue the rest of the way. So, the lactate is probably more in line with 185W than the average shown here.

20′, Avg Power: 187.3W, AvgHR: 147.1, Lactate: 1.6mmol/l

Then into the real workout. I was feeling a bit uncomfortable since I forgot my seat pad at home. Now that I am doing a better job at rocking my hips over on recovery, I have a very annoying, and sometime painful bump as I rotate over my sitz bones. The pad takes care of it well, but without the pad it is like walking with a pebble in your shoe.

Nevertheless, there were intervals to be done and I was just the guy to do them. My general strategy in these long intervals is to count strokes the strokes in each 1000m portion of the interval. Off slides, this is usually just under 100 strokes. On slides, my distance per stroke is a bit under 10, and the number of strokes per 1000m is usually between 104 and 110, depending on pace and fatigue.

The first interval went just fine. Start fast, bleed off pace during the first 500m, then try to hold 1:48 through the next 500m, allow things to drift to 1:49 during the middle 1000m, and then try to pull it back a touch during the last 1000m. I felt OK, but my HR was a bit higher than I would have hoped.

I did a slow 750m during the 5 minute rest, had a drink and setup for the 2500m. This was really hard. I was deeply into the red by halfway through and I was rowing with my eyes closed and trying to hang on to 1:49s. My average had climbed up to about 1:48.3 or 4. Then I lucked out. With less than 1000m to go, Seven Nations Army, by the White Stripes started up in my head phones. Turns out, the beat is nearly perfect for about 30 or 31 SPM. By hitting the down beats hard, I started pulling 1:47s, then 1:46s. The average pace clicked over from 1:48.0 to 1:47.9 just as I was pulling my last stroke.

The 750 during the rest felt very short and I was not looking forward to the 2K. Turns out it went fine. No crisis. HR was pretty much railed with 1 or 2 beats of my MaxHR, but I was able to stick to 1:48s through the middle 1000m, and push a little bit harder in the last 500m to get a faster last.

Avg pace; 1:47.8 – Happy with that.

Last year, I did this one at an avg pace of 1:46.4, so I have a ways to go before I am back to that kind of shape.

Tomorrow: 4×20/1′ Steady state – 185W

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Month: April 2015