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.

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.

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.