May 4, 2015 – Quantified Rowing

Conditions: Sunny, warm (55 to 60F), wind ssw at 5-8mph. This was a tail wind going down river and a head wind coming back.

Plan:

4×2500
500m rest
Pace: better than 2:15
rate: 26 or higher

Well, it didn’t quite work out as planned. There was a light but consistent headwind heading up river which made the boat feel quite heavy. That combined with a pair of sore legs from 21K in the boat on Saturday and 21K on the erg on Sunday provided a bit of a challenge to hitting my plan. I was having a bit of trouble keeping my rate up, especially into the headwind.

However, I was pretty happy with the rowing. I was working on rowing with less layback and that seemed to be working. I also focused on relaxing my shoulders during the last 500m of each piece. This was based on some feedback from Tom (“Stelph”) about me looking a bit hunched. I was feeling pretty fatigued by the time I was 2000m into each of the intervals, and concentrating on something different for the last section really helped me power through to the end. I found when I relaxed my shoulders during the drive that I was burying my oars less at the catch.

At the downwind end of the two straight parts, I was having a bit trouble staying clear of the minuscule bit of chop that was forming. When I rowed my cooldown with feet out, I really tried to get better press down and stay completely clear of the water. I don’t think it’s an issue of balance. I think carrying my oars close to the water is just a bad habit at this point.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace___|_Strks_|_Rate_|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0980_|_05:18_|_2:42.1_|_095___|_17.9_|_10.3_|_127___|_
01000_|_2500_|_10:47_|_2:09.3_|_275___|_25.5_|_09.1_|_163___|_tailwind
03500_|_0500_|_03:22_|_3:21.6_|_054___|_16.1_|_09.3_|_132___|_
04000_|_2500_|_11:18_|_2:15.5_|_287___|_25.4_|_08.7_|_170___|_headwind
06500_|_0500_|_03:15_|_3:15.0_|_057___|_17.5_|_08.8_|_143___|_
07000_|_2500_|_11:01_|_2:12.2_|_280___|_25.4_|_08.9_|_169___|_tailwind
09500_|_0500_|_03:28_|_3:28.1_|_059___|_17.0_|_08.5_|_137___|_
10000_|_2500_|_11:36_|_2:19.2_|_295___|_25.4_|_08.5_|_168___|_headwind
12500_|_1640_|_09:10_|_2:47.7_|_182___|_19.8_|_09.0_|_141___|_feet out

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00980_|_05:18_|_2:42.1_|_095___|_17.9_|_10.3_|_127___|_warmup
10000_|_44:41_|_2:14.1_|_1137__|_25.4_|_08.8_|_168___|_Main set
01500_|_10:05_|_3:21.6_|_170___|_16.9_|_08.8_|_137___|_rest meters
01640_|_09:10_|_2:47.7_|_182___|_19.8_|_09.0_|_141___|_cool down
14120_|_09:14_|_2:27.1_|_1584__|_22.9_|_08.9_|_157___|_Total

I used RIM again today. Here are example strokes from the last 30 seconds or so of each of the intervals.

First Interval, tail wind. Feeling fresh.