On the upper charles in my fluid.

Weather:  Cold and clear,  35F.  Light wind from the ESE.  This was a bit of a head wind coming up river.  Another absolutely stunning day.

Plan:

• As much steady state as I had time for.  ( turned out to be nearly 90 minutes)
• rate: 20
• pace: ~2:30
• HR: Capped at 155
• Technique:  good compression, level drive, crisp finishes

I got to the dock about 20 minutes earlier today than yesterday and the difference was dramatic.  It was really dark!  I could see a few lights out in the lagoon heading down river when I got my boat, but I could see the boats that they were on.

By the time I got in my boat, my eyes had adjusted enough that I could see a little bit, but I was still pretty tentative.  The river is narrow enough at the beginning that it is shaded by trees on both sides, so it is really dark in places.  As I started the turn out of the lagoon, I saw lights ahead.  One was on a four that had steering off into the weeds on the inside of the turn.  The other was a launch.  I couldn’t tell which way the launch was heading so I stopped and inspected the situation closely, then paddled through the whole situation.  After I passed those two boats, there was one more four a bit further down  the river.  I saw no more of them after that.

For today, my objectives were pretty simple.  Work on building my aerobic base by getting in lots of minutes or rowing.  And more importantly, try to work on correcting the flaws in my stroke.  In the double, I was rowing way to deep (over the barrel), and my finishes were very sloppy.  Today, I was trying to maintain an internal monologue during every stroke.  It went something like this.

(starting right after the finish)

• Get those blades off the water, don’t be lazy, you don’t need training wheels
• Easy up the slide.  keep it smooth
• Don’t hunch, keep your shoulders high in to the catch
• Reach way out there, don’t be a chicken
• drop the blades first, then accelerate
• keep the handles nice and low, don’t go deep
• push hands down and away crisply.  Don’t let your hands brush your torso
• Get those blades up.

Over and over.  Sometimes I would get focused on one part of it, especially the finishes and I would start to hunch or drag my blades, but this was some of the hardest concentration that I have done in a steady state session.

After I finished my usual 2 full laps of the river, I had time to add in another 2k or so rowing.  This part I did with slow roll ups.  I would finish, feather, and then roll to square slowly through the whole recovery.  This was a good change because it still required a lot of concentration, but was a bit of change.

Sometimes I just want to row, but right now, I really want to try to break some habits and start some new ones.  It ain’t easy.

Data from RIM.

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 00705 | 05:32 | 3:55.5 | 12.5 | 112.8 | 10.2 | warming up
 | 05:32.0 | 03357 | 16:19 | 2:25.8 | 19.4 | 141.1 | 10.6 | 
 | 21:51.0 | 00111 | 01:08 | 5:06.3 | 18.6 | 133.3 | 05.3 | 
 | 22:59.0 | 02803 | 13:49 | 2:27.9 | 19.9 | 149.5 | 10.2 | 
 | 36:48.0 | 00053 | 02:01 | 19:01.5| 15.7 | 120.8 | 01.7 | 
 | 38:49.0 | 02846 | 13:38 | 2:23.7 | 20.1 | 147.8 | 10.4 | 
 | 52:27.0 | 00088 | 00:59 | 5:35.2 | 18.7 | 142.3 | 04.8 | 
 | 53:26.0 | 02809 | 14:02 | 2:29.9 | 20.1 | 151.0 | 10.0 | 
 | 07:28.0 | 00103 | 01:17 | 6:13.8 | 14.9 | 134.5 | 05.4 | 
 | 08:45.0 | 01090 | 05:21 | 2:27.2 | 20.0 | 144.9 | 10.2 | 
 | 14:06.0 | 00099 | 01:18 | 6:33.9 | 20.3 | 133.2 | 03.7 | 
 | 15:24.0 | 01186 | 05:58 | 2:30.9 | 20.6 | 146.1 | 09.6 | 
 | 21:22.0 | 01120 | 05:51 | 2:36.7 | 20.8 | 146.7 | 09.2 |

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 00705 | 05:32 | 3:55.5 | 12.5 | 112.8 | 10.2 | warmup
 | 00:00.0 | 00454 | 06:43 | 7:23.8 | 17.4 | 131.1 | 03.9 | rests
 | 00:00.0 | 01120 | 05:51 | 2:36.7 | 20.8 | 146.7 | 09.2 | cool down
 | 00:00.0 | 14091 | 09:07 | 2:27.2 | 19.9 | 146.8 | 10.2 | main set

I always feel a little bit better when I can stick with a HR cap and still do a steady state session with the avg pace faster than 2:30.