Friday: 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest Steady State on the erg

Today, I had a doctor’s appointment at 11am, so I decided to work from home before that.  That made getting to the river for a real row a hassle, so again, I opted to do my steady state session on the erg.  It was a lovely fall morning, but it was a bit blustery, so I wasn’t to disappointed to miss the OTW.

The plan for today was a steady state endurance session.  The objective is to do the whole session with lactates below 2.0 mmol/l.  To test  that, I did a lactate test at the end of the 3rd interval, so after 60 minutes of rowing.

I am also sticking with the slow start plan.  It’s a relaxing way to start and I think it has a measurable impact on how well my HR plateaus, and results in lower lactate readings.

Last few of these sessions, I have been working at a 2:04 pace, and I’ve been reading around 2.0 for lactate readings, which is a bit higher than I really want.  I decided that if today was above 2.0, I would slow down the pace by a second.

But as it turns out, today’s lactate reading was a delightfully low 1.5mmol/l, and HR was equally low.

lactates 10-30

The other thing that I would like to think is going on is that the change that I made to reduce the intensity of my steady state rowing and ergs is actually having a beneficial effect on my endurance and reducing lactate levels.  There isn’t enough data to support that, but I think the trend is good.

Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 1.32.54 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 1.32.18 PM

Workout Summary – Oct 30, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_19284_|_80:00.0_|_02:04.5_|_181.6_|_18.1_|_133.3_|_ 63.3% _|_13.3_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01116_|_05:00.0_|_02:14.4_|_144.3_|_15.4_|_107.8_|_ 45.3% _|_14.5_|_09.4
02_|_01163_|_05:00.0_|_02:09.0_|_163.2_|_17.2_|_119.7_|_ 53.7% _|_13.5_|_09.5
03_|_02423_|_10:00.0_|_02:03.8_|_184.3_|_17.9_|_130.3_|_ 61.2% _|_13.5_|_10.3
04_|_04860_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_186.0_|_18.1_|_133.8_|_ 63.7% _|_13.4_|_10.3
05_|_04854_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.3_|_18.6_|_136.7_|_ 65.7% _|_13.1_|_10.0
06_|_04868_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.3_|_186.9_|_18.8_|_139.2_|_ 67.5% _|_13.0_|_10.0

While I rowed, I was listening to the Teaching Company audio course on “Turning Points in American History”.  I learned a bit about the King Philip War, the court case that laid the legal foundation for freedom of the press in colonial america, and the Boston Tea Party.  The time passed very enjoyably.

Tomorrow:  Head Race Simulation on Lake Quinsigamond.  Hard 5.5km.

Thursday: 10×3’/1′ rest on the erg

Weather forecast was for rain, wind, and chance of thunderstorms.  So, even though the temperature was back in the high 50s, I decided to stay inside on the erg.  I did the workout on slides.

The OTW plan was for 4 x ( 3 x 3′ / 1′ paddle) / 2′ turn.  This was adapted from an erg workout 15×3’/1′ rest, so I decided to do that.  The problem coming back to the erg is always figuring out a good pace.

Today I guesses wrong and paid the price.  I decided to try to hit 1:50 or better, and ended up faster than 1:49 through 10 intervals, but I was totally done by that point and HD’ed in the 11th interval.  Once that happened, I basically gave up on the workout.  Looking in my old notebook, I saw that my fastest ever for this workout was 1:48.5, so I was a bit too ambitious with my pacing.  1:52 would have been a much better choice.

10x3 Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 12.57.10 PM

I have trouble getting upset about this workout.  I did 30 minutes at head race pace and pushed it pretty hard.  I hate to bail on a workout, but trying to get 15 good reps in would have been an epic battle, probably without much additional training benefit.

Wednesday: 14K Steady State

Still pretty darn cold.  I wore Pogies through the first 3/4 of the workout.  I don’t like how sweaty my hands get, but it’s better than going numb.

Plan:

  1.  4 x ~2700m / 1′ rest
  2. rate: 18-20
  3. pace: 2:20 to 2:30
  4. HR cap: 150 (75% HRR)

Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 12.45.11 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 12.44.58 PM

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0880_|_04:54_|_2:47.2_|_094___|_19.2_|_09.4_|_114___|_w
00900_|_2100_|_10:18_|_2:27.1_|_198___|_19.2_|_10.6_|_137___|_downstream
03000_|_0200_|_01:09_|_2:53.0_|_021___|_18.2_|_09.5_|_127___|_couples of fours in my way
03200_|_0640_|_03:06_|_2:25.2_|_057___|_18.4_|_11.2_|_139___|_downstream
03840_|_0060_|_00:23_|_3:07.5_|_006___|_16.0_|_10.0_|_118___|_turn
03900_|_2860_|_13:54_|_2:25.8_|_266___|_19.1_|_10.8_|_146___|_upstream
06760_|_0120_|_00:41_|_2:50.0_|_011___|_16.2_|_10.9_|_142___|_turn
06880_|_2920_|_14:20_|_2:27.3_|_266___|_18.6_|_11.0_|_146___|_downstream
09800_|_0100_|_00:45_|_3:44.5_|_010___|_13.4_|_10.0_|_116___|_turn
09900_|_3900_|_19:18_|_2:28.4_|_367___|_19.0_|_10.6_|_147___|_upstream
13800_|_0100_|_00:40_|_3:22.5_|_011___|_16.3_|_09.1_|_145___|_cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00880_|_04:54_|_2:47.2_|_094___|_19.2_|_09.4_|_114___|_warmup
12420_|_00:55_|_2:27.1_|_1154___|_18.9_|_10.8_|_145___|_Main set
00480_|_02:57_|_3:04.8_|_048___|_16.2_|_10.0_|_127___|_rest meters
00100_|_00:40_|_3:22.5_|_011___|_16.3_|_09.1_|_145___|_cool down
13880_|_09:27_|_2:30.1_|_1307___|_18.8_|_10.6_|_142___|_Total

An uneventful, but hugely enjoyable row.  Trying very hard to work on really reaching for the catch, and to finish cleanly.  Also trying to be more disciplined about keeping my blades off the water on recovery.  It’s a challenge on mornings like Wednesday, when the water is so smooth, that touching it on recovery results in just a soft “hiss” or “sizzle” and does not disturb the run of the boat at all.