Conditions: 55F, overcast with drizzle, wind North 3-6mph This was a head wind for the odd number intervals (downriver)
Plan:
- 12 x 500m
- 500m paddle rest plus time to turn around and take a drink. About 4 minutes between intervals
- rate: 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22
- pace: As fast as I can go without puking
- Technique: Focus on clean, early finishes. Minimize layback. Try to avoid opening my back early in the drive.
I started with King of the Mountain, and then a couple of sets of Top Quarter. Then arms only, arms and back. Then a bit of legs only and a 20 stroke burst at 24. Then a light paddle to get 1000m on the Speedcoach. Basically a very short warmup, only about 6 minutes. I figured it was OK because I was starting at r22 and would be completely warmed up by the time I got to the higher rate intervals.
The wind was light, but noticeable when I was rowing downriver. The boat just felt a bit heavier and a couple seconds slower on pace. I felt much more comfortable at all the rates than last time. Even the r32 was better, but still nothing to write home about.
I did a very similar workout on April 29th. That time I did 10×500, starting at r24 up to r32, and back down again. The conditions were a little bit better (less wind). Here is a graphical comparison of the paces that I was able to hold at the same rates for the two workouts.
Basically, 1 to 5 seconds faster for every rep. Boo-ya!
Tonight I am taking the red eye to London and then connecting to Munich. I spend Wednesday and Thursday in Germany and fly home on Thursday night. I will probably end up taking Wednesday off, maybe sneaking in an erg session on Thursday, and then rowing again on Friday. No more high intensity until the weekend.
