Weather:  Cloudy, warm (mid 60s), light to moderate breeze from the SSW, 5-8 mph with gusts a bit higher.  This was a headwind going up river.

The Plan:  Do two head race pieces at slightly lower than head race pressure to find the power level that I can hold reasonably for the HOCR.  Also work on technique at race rate.  Probably most importantly work on my confidence in rowing while in considerable discomfort.

• 2 x 5.5K
  • Rate: 25-26
  • quick turn at the halfway point
• ~ 10′ rest between pieces

I was extremely annoyed to find that I had forgotten my heart rate monitor at home.  Oh well, this session would be managed by RPE.

I did some pick drill out to the start point, and then had a drink and got going.  The pace dropped down below 2:10 and I felt pretty awesome.  Of course, I was rowing in the part of the river where the current was most favorable, and the wind was behind me.  Nevertheless, it got me off in a good way.  I just counted strokes and tried to keep my mind on all the things I had to manage.

• steering
• keep knees together at the catch
• nice clean finishes.  Don’t let the handles hit my chest at the finish.
• blades off the water on recovery
• nice consistent blade depth during the drive.

Of course you can’t think all these thoughts at the same time, so I basically would use them to distract myself.  I would try to turn to look every ten strokes, and if I felt like I was pushing past a sustainable effort, I would take the strokes between looks to focus on one area.   It seemed to work.  The hardest part of this session is the turn in the middle.  Mentally, it is so hard to be right on the edge when you get to the halfway point, and then turn the boat quickly and get back up to speed.  I wanted to stop so badly both times.

          Workout Summary - media/20171015-173937-Greg Smith 20171015 0933amo.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14949|82:41.0|02:46.0|158.8|24.0|0.0|000.0|07.5
W-|10994|52:07.0|02:22.2|192.1|25.2|000.0|000.0|08.4
R-|03960|30:34.0|03:51.6|081.2|21.1|000.0|000.0|06.4
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|02767|12:27.0|02:15.0|198.2|24.9|000.0|0.0|08.9
02|02688|13:04.8|02:26.0|197.6|25.3|000.0|0.0|08.1
03|02762|12:46.2|02:18.7|180.1|25.1|000.0|0.0|08.6
04|02778|13:49.2|02:29.2|192.4|25.3|000.0|0.0|07.9

So, it looks like I can target a bit above 200W for the race, maybe 210W.  You can see  the effect of the fatigue fro the first piece in how my length and power just faded in the second one.

I know that I have plenty of rationalizations for the level of preparation for this race, but it is really bugging me.  It is unlikely that I will ever win a big event like this, but I take a lot of pride in preparing well and building a plan that let’s me do my best in the event.  I don’t feel like that is the case this year.  I need to do some thinking about how to modify my training so I am better focused and end enjoy it more next year.

Tomorrow:  Technique row.  Probably 2′ segments of square blades, alternating square/feathered and race rate rowing.  The intent will be to be able to row at r26 with good technique at less than race pace.