Friday was NOT a training day. Up at 3:45 to catch a 5:15 flight out of Austin, then straight to work for afternoon meetings. I finally finished up in the office around 7pm and headed home
Saturday was looking good though. You can see the conditions. Sunny, Cool (in the 40s) and basically no wind. Absolutely beautiful.
Plan:
- Steady state, want to be on the water for at least 90 minutes.
- Some 1 minute intervals at different rates to capture side video
- Use Rowing in Motion so I can see boat acceleration with the video
- Keep working on the top quarter drill during all turn arounds
So, here’s an overall picture of the workout. At first the HR sensor was acting up. It settled down after 20 minutes or so. The first 3500m was downriver to the dam, just warming up and enjoying myself. Then I turned around, did my second top quarter drill and rowed back to the bridge.
Then I started my 1 minute pieces. Starting at r18, I would row with full pressure for a minute then take a minute or more if I needed to get around a curve or turn. I built all the way up to r32. I turned around between the r24 and r26 pieces and did another top quarter drill.
The last r32 piece took me almost back to the dam, so I paddled to the end and saw a couple of guys in a reallt nice empacher double. They are regulars on this stretch of river. One of them own a house right on the cove. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to keep your boat in your own back yard and row whenever you feel the whim!
Any way, I chatted we them for a few minutes and then did my top quarter drill. It was nervous making doing in front of other people! I’m glad I didn’t flip or anything. They invited me to depart before them and I did. They started to chase me. Well, we all know what happens when some one comes after you, right. Yep. I tried to hold my rate between 20 and 22 so that it would look nonchalant from a distance, but I put everything I had into each stroke and I slowly put more and more distance between me and them. I basically rowed all the way to the guys house. By the time I got there, about 10 minutes later, I had put a couple of minutes of distance on them. But the heart shows how much work it was!
By then I was pretty cooked, so I relaxed a bit and rowed back to the dam, trying to slow down when my HR got above 160. Then a long row home. I started at r16 trying to do some slow motion practice, and let the rate creep up to r18. The last 1K I rowed with square blades.
Quantified Rowing 
I guess they weren’t really chasing you when they were in a double and you outrowed them.
I have been thinking about the house on the lake. There is one great house with a private dock on our lake. I guess I would miss the social life of the rowing club a bit so I would end up having to go to the club to get that. Yesterday I was chatting with our club’s lightweith men’s pair that gets to represent the Czech Republic at the World Cup in Bled next week.
Whenever the “second house” dream starts, I always remind myself how much I hate to do house, car, garden maintenance work, and how much I dislike to stay at home waiting for handymen or gardeners … and how much they charge … the dream is quickly over. The less stuff you own, the fewer worries.
Sorry for this long comment. I guess I got carried away.
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I think it would be great if it was your only house. A second house is twice the worries. I agree about the social aspect of the club.
I really wish I was in a more active rowing club. It would certainly make racing a lot easier and more fun.
As for out rowing the double, I’m certain that I was the only boat in the race. They were just out for a nice row in the sunshine. But it’s funny how having someone behind me makes me row much harder. The distances change so slowly.
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Where is the video you promised? Ugly and all!
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It’s cooking. I’ll be posting it with the RIM curves in a few minutes.
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Ah, just as my chicken tajine then. Will look later. Have to pack for a business trip now … 😦
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Let me know when the video is up. I see something on Google+ but I don’t know if that is the real one. How do you do 2:03 @ 20spm?
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Those are the real videos. The pace always seems a bit too fast when I process the RIM data into dash ware. The pace also bounced around a fair amount with current and wind effects.
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