Conditions:  55F, overcast with drizzle, wind North 3-6mph This was a head wind for the odd number intervals (downriver)

Plan:

1. 12 x 500m
2. 500m paddle rest plus time to turn around and take a drink. About 4 minutes between intervals
3. rate: 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 32, 30, 28, 26, 24, 22
4. pace:  As fast as I can go without puking
5. 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.