Well, I thought about doing a steady state session and I probably should have, but it seemed kind of boring and I didn’t have a ton of time this morning. So, I reverted back to the plan, which was for a 10K threshold session.
I wasn’t in the mood to try to push incredibly hard, and I am still a bit mystified by the whole middle distance thing on slides. I mulled it over as I drove to work, and ultimately decided to do a 10K push. Start at a 2:00 split and go 1 second faster for each 1K.
It didn’t go so well. I started with a nice 10 minute warmup. Then I got myself psyched up and dove into the piece. The slower paces felt a lot ore taxing than I was hoping but I held it together until I hit the 1:54 pace with 4K to go.
My HR was really high and I was really hurting, so I paddled for a few seconds and restarted at a slower rate. I just kind of rowed until I go to 1000m left, and for that I tried to finish with the planned 1:51 split, but it wasn’t to be. The best I could do was 1:53, and my HR was well into the Anaerobic zone at that. I am seriously slower on slides. I did a whole HM, more than twice the distance at 1:54.7 pace. No way I could hold that on slides, even for 10K. More directly comparable. I did a 10K push on a static erg on October 25th. I feel like I am in better shape now than I was then, and for that session, I nailed every pace and had enough to do the last 1000m at 1:44!
Perversely, I am glad. The whole point of rowing on slides is to get to be a better OTW rower. If I can close the gap between static and slides on the erg, then I think I can close some of the gap between my current predictive OTW speed and my current OTW speed. My predictive OTW 2K pace is 1:55. My race results are closer to 2:05. If part of that gap is a technique issue, and I can improve it, then that’s terrific!
I also don’t see how getting better on slides will impact my rowing on a static erg in a negative way. So, for now, I will do as much of my endurance work on slides, and do high intensity sessions there as well, but I will do time trials on a static erg, and I will back off on my expectations.
Tomorrow: 4 x 20. 180W.
Quantified Rowing 
Is it the same erg that you put on slides or a different one? Drag factor the same? Temperature of workout room? Air flow?
I wonder if we could do a blindfolded test. Don’t tell Greg what he is rowing on …
LikeLiked by 1 person
There are lots of uncontrolled variables. I keep my slides at work and use them on the erg in the gym there.
– different ergs (but my performance on these two ergs closely correlates when I use the one at work off slides)
– temp is usually 2 to 3 degrees higher at work (F)
– airflow is similar, but not identical
The next step is video.
LikeLike
Have a look at this: http://www.slideshare.net/rcaroe/the-erg-ivan-hooper-study
Lots of interesting information that backs up the idea of using a dynamic, but one thing that sticks out is that they’re rating higher on the dynamics, regardless of drag factor.
Which ‘probably’ means you’ll need to rate higher to get the same pace, if you want a fair comparison with the static pieces
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the link. Nice presentation. I am trying to get my rate up on slides, and I think that has something to do with my OTW issues too.
I have set a drag factor based on the bio row guideline to match the feel of a 1x (about 130), but I wonder if lighter would be better. I also feel like a lighter gearing on my oars would be worth trying, but I’ve got my fat2s as short as I can make them and with as much overlap as I can take.
I rate higher on slides, but not the 5 SPM higher that was in the presentation. Right now, it’s 3 SPM higher for steady state (22 vs 19), and maybe 2 higher for a 6k pace. For short stuff, I’m rating way higher, like 35 vs 30 and I think I’m faster on slides.
It appears to me that I have a stroke efficiency issue as my rate goes up, so being on a static erg and being able to row at a lower rate is and advantage. As I responded to sander, the next step is using video feedback to look for form problems.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Perhaps lower the drag a bit on the static. I am at 110 and my SS stroke rates are high
LikeLike
110 feels so much lighter than my boat though. I might give it a try anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person