3 attempts. 3 failures. Handle down between 300m and 1000m in in each attempt. Combination of fear and upset stomach. Will try again soon. But not very soon.
Very bummed.
Month: February 2016
Lactate curve thoughts
From Jan Olbrecht’s book.
And this quote:
The swimmers with the best competition results over 400 m achieve the fastest times at low concentrations of lactate (2-Speed test, see Standard Lactate Test). Exceptions to this principle are possible if the swimmer can compensate for his lack of endurance by reaching higher levels of lactate (fig. 24). This compensation, however, is limited.
Friday: Taper 2 x 500
At work on the model C with PM5 and ergdata.
Fletcher warmup. Felt hard this morning.
Then 2 quick 500s. Target pace was 1:38, r32. Got over excited in the last rep.
Then a normal 2K cool down.
So, a confluence of events have led me to decide to scratch from the Crash-Bs. The big thing is that I will be on a business trip all next week and there are a bunch of things I need to take care of this weekend. I can’t afford the time to spend most of Sunday at the arena.
So, instead, I think I will do 2K test on my own tomorrow afternoon at home. I’m a little bummed out, but I think it’s the right call.
Based on the 4 x 1K on Tuesday and these 500s in the taper, I think I am good for something around a 6:40. I think I will target a 1:40 split at r30 and see if I can speed up at all through the last 1000m.
I will try to stick to a reasonable workout schedule next week on the road, but I will be in 4 cities in 4 days. Then the following week, I will do assessment tests (1 min, 6K, 2-speed) to see where I stand. Then I will transition to a base aerobic block. Next major events are in Late June and early July. These are 1K OTW sprints, so I will follow the same basic periodized progression to them. Base, then distance threshold, then 6 to 12′ intervals, then sprint and peak power training. I will map out the plan next week while I sit on planes.
Thursday: Taper 3 x 500
Working from home, so PM3 and Rowpro today.
Fletcher Warmup
Then 3 x 500 / 500m rest. Target was 1:38 and r31. I ran a bit hot.
Workout Summary – Feb 26, 2016
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_02500_|_10:49.1_|_02:09.8_|_160.0_|_25.1_|_153.9_|_ 77.9% _|_09.2_|_06.4
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI
01_|_00500_|_01:36.3_|_01:36.3_|_391.6_|_30.5_|_160.6_|_ 82.7% _|_10.2_|_12.8
02_|_00500_|_02:58.2_|_02:58.2_|_061.9_|_21.2_|_145.0_|_ 71.6% _|_07.9_|_02.9
03_|_00500_|_01:36.9_|_01:36.9_|_384.9_|_31.0_|_158.9_|_ 81.5% _|_10.0_|_12.4
04_|_00500_|_03:00.4_|_03:00.4_|_059.7_|_19.6_|_148.6_|_ 74.2% _|_08.5_|_03.0
05_|_00500_|_01:37.3_|_01:37.3_|_379.9_|_30.8_|_160.0_|_ 82.3% _|_10.0_|_12.3
Then a very quick 1000m cool down. I needed to go pickup my car from the shop.
Template for processing ergdata .csv exports
Not yet complete, but workable. Requires windows eexcel version 2010 or higher.
Need to rename it from .xlsx to .xlsm and enable macros for it to work.
Race Taper Day 1 : 4 x 500
Using my usual taper plan, based on the paper that I reference in this post, is to start the taper 5 days ahead and do:
- Day 5: 4 x 500 / 3:30 rest , a bit faster than race pace and a bit higher rate.
- Day 4: 3 x 500 / 3:30 rest
- Day 3: 2 x 500 / 3:30 rest
- Day 2: 1 x 500
- Day 1: complete rest or warmup only
- Race day!
Since I am a bit off kilter, I did a full on interval session yesterday, mainly to help decide if I would race at all, and so I am starting to taper 4 days before, instead of 5. So I will just follow the normal progress 4,3,2, then just do a warmup on Saturday. Each day’s session also includes a standard 20 minute Fletcher warmup, and a 2K cool down. The intent is that the warmup should be totally automatic on race day so there is no temptation to overdo it in the arena.
Here’s the HR perspective of the whole session…
The other thing that I’ve gotten sorted is the ability to play around with ergdata exports from the concept2 online log book. I modified a spreadsheet that I use with speedcoach data for OTW stuff and here is the view of the interval session.
I think I will end up using ergdata for erg sessions and RIM to log OTW sessions. If ergstick ends up providing a common way to log both OTE an OTW, I might go that way.
4 x 1k / 5′ rest (and data problem sorted for the erg)
To try to decide if I would race this sunday, I decided to do the universal predictor workout, the 4 x 1K / 5′ rest.
In the past, I have generally been able to race at a pace about 1 second faster than this workout. I decided to go out hard and see if I could hold a 1:41 pace.
I pushed the first rep a bit too hard and paid the price in the later reps, but it all worked out OK.
Here’s the HR plot. It shows that I have certainly worked harder in this workout in the past, but boy the reps hurt a lot. I guess my lactate tolerance has been negatively impacted by a lack of speed work over the past few weeks.
I decided to try the Concept2 ErgData app, and it worked flawlessly! Here’s what you get in the online log if you upload from ergdata to your logbook.
So, details on each rep, plus a stroke rate and pace graph for each rep. Even better, there is a very simple csv export that I can adapt to my excel tools to track HR. There are rumors that the log book will be enhanced to include HR on the graph.
Now I just need to convince C2 to open up the ability to upload workouts from speedcoach, crewnerd or RIM and I can really simplify my life.
So, this workout today predicts somewhere around 6:40 to 6:45. Not the performance I was hoping for, but not horribly shabby. I think I will race. I think I’d regret not going.
Tomorrow: Start of the taper. Fletcher warmup and 4×500 at race pace.
Re-evaluating objectives
Well, I started this blog post about 5 times and couldn’t even figure out what title to give it. The bottom line is that I have to change how much time I devote to training, and thinking about training. The good news is that I was promoted at work and my new job is an exciting new challenge. But along with this new challenge, I think that I need to focus my energy on succeeding in my new role to an extent that I have to budget my time more carefully.
One of the challenges of my personality is that I am not one for moderation. If I row, I want to achieve at the highest level that my physiology will allow. Working out for the sake of heath and fitness bores me to tears. I really live for competition and half the fun is trying to figure out how to get better. I’m genuinely struggling with the idea of setting limits on training and then “doing my best” at competition. It sounds dangerously like phoning it in.
Obviously this is something that I am going to have to figure out for myself.
The first decision I need to make is whether or not to compete at the CRASH-Bs this Sunday. My race prep has been hampered by the fact that 2 of the last 4 weeks I have been traveling for business and last week, I was on vacation in Aruba (I know, life is tough, isn’t it). But now I have 5 days to competition and I’m sure I will struggle to post a respectable time. Part of me thinks using this week to determine a doable pace and going to the race is the best idea. Part of me wants to just blow it off since I’m pretty sure I will be no where near PB territory and it might be my slowest race ever.
Beyond this weekend, I think I need to come up with a simple, periodized approach that limits weekday workouts to 60 minutes of gym (or water) time. I also need to find a more efficient way to log and analyze training results. Finally, I think I need to limit my OTW racing to a couple events per year.
It will be interesting to find the balance that keeps me challenged on the erg and in the boat, and manages the time commitment more closely.
Friday: 3 x 20′ L4
I should have done a speed session, but I was tired and I decided to do it tomorrow on my erg at home, which (a bit obsessively), I think is “faster” than the one at work.
When I get a little time, I might write down a little bit about what is making work insane right now. It’s a great opportunity, but all consuming.
Today was another L4. 20′ minute segments.
- 3′ @ 18
- 3′ @ 19
- 3′ @ 20
- 2′ @ 21
- 3′ @ 20
- 3′ @ 19
- 3′ @ 18
All at 10W * stroke rate. HR started in good shape, but I tired out in the last 20 minute mountain.
Thursday: 3 x 20′ L4
Still crazy at work. Barely able to squeeze in the training. I was very tired in this session. I should have done a power set at the end, but didn’t have time or energy.
This was 10′ segments (2’@ 18, 2’@ 19, 2′ @ 20, 2′ @ 19, 2′ @ 18)
Quantified Rowing 