Thursday: Easy Technique

August 5, 2016Leave a comment

Weather: Sunny, hot – in the 80s, light wind around 4 mph from the west, generally a head wind when going up river.

I was out late for dinner with a customer on Wednesday night, so I decided to sleep in, and maybe catch a row in the late afternoon after work. I was able to get out around 4:30PM and I was on the water by about 5:15.

I was originally planning to do a hard threshold session, but I’m still feeling a bit worn down. I’m also working through some lower back pain. I was dreading the session enough that I found myself trying to come up with reasons to not row. Once I figured that out, I decided that it was too nice a day to miss getting out on the water to enjoy it, and reset my plans. I would do a low intensity technique session.

I didn’t have a ton of time, so I decided to just do one lap of river, about 9km. It’s been a while since I did a bungee row, so I opted to row from the dock to the end of the river with the bungee and then take it off for the row back. The main thing I try to do when I row with a bungee is to work on my form during the drive. I want to accelerate smoothly while maintaining a body forward position, with my shoulders relaxed and my arms not bent at all, then swing my body through, and finish smooth and early and get my blades out of the water cleanly. The big thing is avoiding opening up my back early. Paradoxically, doing this session with a bit of lower bak pain was helpful. Essentially, my back would remind me with a twinge anytime I opened early.

I was surprised by the pace I was getting with the bungee. I usually lose about 15 seconds or more off pace, but today it was less than 10. Once I turned the boat around and took the bungee off, I understood why. I was rowing with a gentle tail wind. Now I was rowing into the wind and frankly, it felt a lot like rowing with the bungee. I tried to just stick at an easy 18 spm, and ignore the pace as much as I could to focus on getting the drive right and enjoying the sunshine.

Wednesday: 13K LIT Technique

August 3, 20161 Comment

Weather: cool and misty. Around 60F, quite foggy at the start, but cleared up as I went along. Light wind <2mph, seemingly from every direction of the compass.

Plan:

2′ Square Blades
2′ alternating square and feathered by stroke
2′ feathered – r20
Objectives: clean finishes, balance during recovery (blades high!), full compression at the catch
HR guideline: Top of UT1 (155), maximize time in UT2 (137-143)

This was a nice relaxed session. Good balance and some very nice strokes.

75′ LIT

Tomorrow: 4 x 2700 / 4′ rest @ r24, pace target <2:20, HR limit 170

Tuesday: 10K OTW threshold

August 2, 20162 Comments

Weather: mid 60s, overcast, intermittent light rain. Light SE wind, 4 mph with gusts to 6. This was a head wind going downriver and tail wind going up river.

Plan:

4 x 2700 / 4′ rest
rate: 24-26
pace: ~2:15
No HR cap

I had a bad feeling about this workout from the moment I woke up. I slept well, but apparently not long enough to catch up because I was sore and lethargic.

Another bad sign. I forgot something right before I left the house and needed to climb the stairs to go back and get it. I felt noticeably winded by the time I got to top of the stairs. Uh oh.

Well, those intervals are not going to do themselves, you know. So I pressed on regardless. I got to the dock around 6:10 and I was on the water by 6:15. It was then I noticed that my phone had not charged overnight and was completely dead (just like me!). Today would be a speedcoach only session. Too bad, I was looking forward to looking at acceleration curves for r24 and r26. I’ll loop back to that later this week I guess.

When I launched, it was raining lightly, but it stopped by the time I finished warming up. As I paddled through the cut, I heard and felt a significant thump. I jammed my oars to stop the boat and heard a much softer bump when the log hit the impeller, and then an almost imperceptible bump when it hit the fin. I saw it bob to the surface behind me, a weed encrusted log, about 6 feet long and 6″ in diameter. More about that later.

I got myself setup to go in front of the island, and took off at r24. The boat felt heavy, probably because of the light head wind, but also I was feeling a twinge in my lower back. I got up to speed, and was counting strokes. Looking over my shoulder I saw a single and launch coming the other way, so I stopped after about 50 strokes, hailed them, and paddled back to the launch. I asked if he would go looking for the log and get rid of it for me. He seemed happy to do it. I doubt they want to lose a fin on it any more than I do.

Anyway, back to work. I started again and was counting strokes. It felt like a ton of effort to maintain any reasonable pace, and by the time I came out of the S-turn, I was discouraged and very tired. I costed to a stop, paddled a little, and then brought it back up to an r24 and rowed the rest of the way to the Moody street dam.

Boy that was hard work. I felt miserable. Like I was rowing in mud. I hoped that going the other way, with the light tail wind would be a bit easier. It wasn’t. I rowed up to the s-turn and bailed out again. I paddled through the turn, and then did the last 1100m original start point. Ugh.

I thought about quitting, but that would have made me feel even worse about this session. Onward and downstreamwards! The wind felt stronger, but it probably wasn’t, and I was having trouble just keeping the boat going faster than a 2:25. And in the s-turn, I saw the pace popping above 2:30 a few times. But I had had enough of bailing out. I started to feel a bit hopeless in front of the watch factory, but eased up the pressure a bit and tried to maintain the stroke rate. Within 10 or so strokes, I was back on track. Once I was through the bridge, I pushed the pace a bit harder to the Moody Street dam. I was feeling a bit better now. At least I had completed the full rep, even if it was slow as hell. One more to go.

Again, I focused on rate, not pace. I was hoping that there would be a helpful tailwind. Maybe there was a little bit, but not enough to help me. I did OK up to the s-turn, but slowed down a lot through that. Coming out of it, I gradually increase pressure and rate as I counted strokes. It takes me about 300 to 320 strokes to get from end to end in these intervals, and coming out of the s-turn, I counted my 200th stroke. Now, I just needed to get through another 120. You can see the HR climb through this last section as I sensed the end was near. Thank God!

After I finished, I pulled my feet out of the shoes and paddled home, working on clean finishes and balance.

Not my best work, but partial credit for sticking it out.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1197_|_06:48_|_2:50.4_|_123___|_18.1_|_09.7_|_124___|_warmup
01206_|_0454_|_02:00_|_2:12.3_|_050___|_25.0_|_09.1_|_147___|_head wind
01660_|_0162_|_01:02_|_3:10.7_|_016___|_15.5_|_10.1_|_144___|_stop to chat
01822_|_1181_|_05:17_|_2:14.4_|_135___|_25.5_|_08.7_|_159___|_head wind
03003_|_0137_|_00:45_|_2:42.8_|_016___|_21.5_|_08.6_|_138___|_bailed
03140_|_1129_|_05:19_|_2:21.5_|_125___|_23.5_|_09.0_|_155___|_head wind
04269_|_0037_|_00:27_|_6:10.3_|_007___|_15.3_|_05.3_|_127___|_rest
04306_|_1457_|_06:39_|_2:17.1_|_164___|_24.6_|_08.9_|_159___|_tail wind
05763_|_0239_|_01:41_|_3:31.3_|_030___|_17.8_|_08.0_|_135___|_bailed
06002_|_1094_|_04:51_|_2:13.1_|_121___|_24.9_|_09.0_|_163___|_tail wind
07096_|_0051_|_00:47_|_7:37.8_|_010___|_12.8_|_05.1_|_117___|_rest
07147_|_2798_|_13:29_|_2:24.5_|_323___|_24.0_|_08.7_|_165___|_head wind
09945_|_0117_|_01:21_|_5:44.9_|_020___|_14.9_|_05.9_|_120___|_rest
10062_|_2760_|_13:05_|_2:22.1_|_320___|_24.5_|_08.6_|_165___|_tail wind
12822_|_1212_|_07:43_|_3:10.8_|_143___|_18.5_|_08.5_|_132___|_feet out

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01197_|_06:48_|_2:50.4_|_123___|_18.1_|_09.7_|_124___|_warmup
10873_|_50:41_|_2:19.8_|_1238___|_24.4_|_08.8_|_162___|_Main set
00743_|_06:02_|_4:03.7_|_099___|_16.4_|_07.5_|_131___|_rest meters
01212_|_07:43_|_3:10.8_|_143___|_18.5_|_08.5_|_132___|_cool down
14025_|_11:13_|_2:32.3_|_1603___|_22.5_|_08.7_|_152___|_Total

Today’s session: 50′ HIT, 20′ LIT

Tomorrow: The plan calls for r20 steady state, but I think I need a very low intensity session. So I think I will switch it with my Planned Friday session, which is:

Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated

Head Race Training: Week #3 review

August 1, 2016Leave a comment

Date	Day	Workout Type	mode	Planned Workout	Actual
7/25/16	Mon	Cross Training (UT)	xt	4 x 20′ fitness center	Rest Day
7/26/16	Tue	Cross Training (TR)	xt	10K run	45′ Thresh run on treadmill HIT
7/27/16	Wed	Cross Training (UT)	xt	4 x 20′ fitness center	3 x 30′ fitness center LIT
7/28/16	Thu	Cross Training (TR)	xt	10K run	10K run 30′ HIT, 30′ LIT
7/29/16	Fri	Cross Training (UT)	xt	4 x 20′ fitness center	rest
7/30/16	Sat	Technique UT2/UT1	otw	80′ LIT	4 x 20′ on erg LIT
7/31/16	Sun	long and easy	erg	4 x 30′ / 1.5′ rest (lactate)	4 x 20′ on erg LIT
Summary				LIT: 440′ HIT: 120′	LIT: 280′ HIT: 75′

So, significantly under on both LIT and HIT minutes. That’s two weeks in a row. We’ll see if I can get back on track this week.

Monday: 16K Steady State OTW

August 1, 20162 Comments

Up at 5:15am, having gotten very little sleep. Gotta get back into this timezone somehow.

Off to Newton for my first OTW session since July 20th! I decided that a steady state session to just get some meters in the boat.

Plan:

row for about 80 minutes
short <1′ breaks at the turn arounds for a quick drink.
r20
pace target ~2:30
HR cap: 155

Weather was cloudy, 70F and 90% RH. Another recipe for copious perspiration. There was a light wind 2-4mph from the east. This was roughly a head wind heading down river and tail wind going up river.

I used RIM today to see what’s happening with my stroke. Here are plots of a few strokes with a light headwind (purple) and tailwind (yellow)

Not much to see at these rates really. At least it doesn’t look like I am lurging at the catch, like I used to do.

Heart rate was high and speed was slow, as I would expect after so long out of a boat. I tried to easy up when my HR got above 155, but it got harder and harder as I went along to row that slowly. Finally after about 12.5K, I decided to transition over to some form drills, so I finsihed with a few 500m sets of SBR and alternating SBR and feathered rowing. This felt pretty good and I was happy that my balance seemed no worse for the layoff.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1072_|_05:32_|_2:34.6_|_108___|_19.5_|_09.9_|_133___|_warmup
01087_|_2765_|_13:42_|_2:28.7_|_274___|_20.0_|_10.1_|_153___|_head wind
03852_|_3091_|_15:17_|_2:28.4_|_298___|_19.5_|_10.4_|_152___|_tail wind
06943_|_2698_|_13:48_|_2:33.4_|_273___|_19.8_|_09.9_|_154___|_head wind
09641_|_2890_|_14:33_|_2:31.1_|_282___|_19.4_|_10.2_|_152___|_tail wind
12531_|_3407_|_18:21_|_2:41.6_|_330___|_18.0_|_10.3_|_148___|_drills

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01072_|_05:32_|_2:34.6_|_108___|_19.5_|_09.9_|_133___|_warmup
11444_|_57:21_|_2:30.3_|_1127___|_19.7_|_10.2_|_153___|_Main set
03407_|_18:21_|_2:41.6_|_330___|_18.0_|_10.3_|_148___|_cool down
15923_|_21:13_|_2:33.0_|_1565___|_19.3_|_10.2_|_150___|_Total

So, not a bad return to the water. Still working on endurance base.

Tomorrow: 4 x 2700’/4′ rest @ 24-26spm (threshold)

Sunday: 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest

August 1, 2016Leave a comment

Was planning to go rowing but I was still really jet lagged and had trouble falling asleep at a reasonable hour. Finally fell asleep around 2am and got up around 10am.

I went and did an erg session around 3 in the afternoon. Goal for today was to basically do the same thing as Saturday.

Still hot ~80F and humid 80% RH. A real sweat fest.

Today, I was going for r19 and 185W. Basically the same results as yesterday, but started at a higher initial heart rate. I eased off against the target power in the last 20 minutes to try to stay right at the top of the UT1 band, but missed it by a couple BPM.