Thursday: Glutes! 3 x 20 / 1′

January 12, 20182 Comments

My coach sent me some feedback on the video that I posted. She was trying to be nice, but it was clear that I am not successfully implementing her suggestions for me. Here’s exactly what she said…

It is a big shift in rhythm so I understand where you are coming from. But yes, this is a little better but still not quite there. But almost!

Put the focus on keeping your glutes firm and stabilizing the quads- i.e. hold a “dead slide” now wheel movement until your wrists are over your knees.

I have to confess that I was totally mystified about how to keep my glutes firm and my quads stabilized, so I shot back a quick email asking. and she explained it really well.

Tense your glutes, keep contact with your feet, firm up your quads. That’s all.

Now straighten your arms and move just enough through the pivot to allow your wrists to reach your knees.

Zero in on that position.

So, I messed around with that position a bit. and noticed that consciously tensing my glutes when I swung my body in the drive ended up helping to propel my torso forward on recovery. I could actually feel a distinct body swing. Of course, it felt completely foreign to me.

I started with my PT exercises. Not the full set. I did the SI corrective, quad stretch, foam rolling, and twisty glute thing on the swiss ball. I skipped the core stuff.

Then into the erg session. I had been thinking about it a lot during the day on Wednesday, and as I drove to work on Thursday morning. I have taken roughly 3,010,000 strokes over the past 7 years. About 2.2 million of them have been on the erg. Expecting to change the way I take a rowing stroke in an instant or without a lot of concentration is not realistic.

I remember a while ago Tiger Woods basically took a season to reengineer his golf swing. If it took him a while, I guess I should expect that it will take me a while too.

So today, I decided that the number one priority was to take strokes with “perfect form”. Well, that isn’t exactly right, since I don’t know what perfect form is. What I actually did was to focus on tensing my glutes as I came into the finish and keep them that way until my arms were out and my body was over. It was horrific! Trying to maintain concentration on every stroke was murder. My rate and pace were all over the place, but I kept at it. By the time I got to the third 20′ piece, it was feeling a little less alien, but still required a ton of focus. If I got interested in the podcast in my headphones, I would notice that my knees might pop up early, or my butt was mushy at the finish.

I finished mentally tired and with a sore pair of glutes. I don’t think that they have worked that hard in a while!

Workout Summary - media/20180111-1345310o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14543|62:59.0|02:10.0|174.9|17.4|148.3|156.0|13.3
W-|14351|59:53.0|02:05.2|177.7|17.5|148.4|156.0|13.7
R-|00196|03:00.0|07:38.6|036.6|08.8|144.0|156.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04807|20:00.0|02:04.8|178.3|17.2|143.2|151.0|14.0
01|04788|20:00.0|02:05.3|177.8|17.6|150.2|156.0|13.6
02|04756|19:53.4|02:05.5|177.2|17.7|151.9|156.0|13.5

But the most important thing was technique, so I did another minute at the end to see if it looked any different.

Well, it certainly looks…different. The knees are staying down, but there is a noticeable hiccup in the recover after I get to body over, and before the seat moves. I think I need to over correct this way to try to unlearn bad habits?

Wednesday: 3 x (5 x 500 @ r24 / 1′ ) / 5′

January 10, 2018January 12, 20184 Comments

I have been squeezed for time the past two days so I skipped my physio exercises. Seems that was a mistake! Last night I started feeling really tight in my left hip and back and this morning, my SI joint was really sore on the left side.

I was a good boy and did all my exercises today, and afterward, it felt a lot looser. It still gave me a bit of a twinge if I finished with too much layback. Probably useful since I need to be more consistent and use a bit less layback in general.

The session for today is one that I have done at least 3 times now. I like it. At r24, it’s pretty easy to crank out 500s. They sting a bit at the end, but you can really focus on stroke mechanics because the rate and pace are pretty reasonable.

The target pace for these was 1:52.

To make the setup simple, I programmed this as 500m intervals and 1′ rests. Then after 5 hard intervals, I did the next one as a very light pause drill, stopping at body over on every stroke and trying to isolate and feel the body recovery. I ended up cheating myself out of about 20 seconds of the 5 minute rest this way, but there was plenty of recovery time.

I started with a 2k warmup with 4 x 300m or easy and 200m of hard.

          Workout Summary - media/20180110-1436060o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|02000|07:56.0|01:59.1|211.2|20.0|145.4|160.0|12.6
W-|02000|07:56.0|01:59.2|207.2|19.7|144.7|160.0|13.0
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|160.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00300|01:13.6|02:02.7|177.9|15.9|109.7|129.0|15.4
01|00200|00:46.0|01:55.0|223.7|21.4|137.9|144.0|12.2
02|00300|01:15.4|02:05.6|182.2|17.8|146.2|147.0|13.4
03|00200|00:44.7|01:51.7|252.1|23.6|147.2|151.0|11.4
04|00300|01:14.6|02:04.3|185.7|17.9|153.5|154.0|13.5
05|00200|00:44.3|01:50.7|251.2|23.5|154.1|156.0|11.5
06|00300|01:14.2|02:03.7|189.8|18.3|158.3|159.0|13.2
07|00200|00:44.0|01:50.1|257.5|24.7|158.1|160.0|11.0

Then I tightened the foot straps, programmed the PM, and got going. Not much to report. I was really trying to hold both rate and pace, while focusing on fast hands away and full body recovery before breaking my knees. It wasn’t too hard, but I was glad when the 5′ breaks came along.

          Workout Summary - media/20180110-1435320o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11037|50:31.0|02:17.3|186.9|21.8|149.4|167.0|10.0
W-|07500|27:57.0|01:51.8|252.0|23.5|149.6|166.0|11.4
R-|03546|18:33.0|02:36.9|076.3|19.1|150.6|166.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00500|01:50.1|01:50.1|246.7|23.8|137.3|158.0|11.5
01|00500|01:53.2|01:53.2|251.9|24.2|148.8|161.0|11.0
02|00500|01:51.6|01:51.6|250.9|23.9|150.0|161.0|11.2
03|00500|01:51.4|01:51.4|252.5|24.1|152.4|164.0|11.2
04|00500|01:51.7|01:51.7|247.2|23.0|153.6|165.0|11.7
05|00500|01:52.5|01:52.5|252.0|23.4|140.7|160.0|11.4
06|00500|01:51.3|01:51.3|253.9|23.8|150.8|162.0|11.3
07|00500|01:51.4|01:51.4|255.7|23.2|152.2|164.0|11.6
08|00500|01:52.1|01:52.1|246.0|23.7|153.3|164.0|11.3
09|00500|01:52.5|01:52.5|252.4|23.6|154.0|163.0|11.3
10|00500|01:51.5|01:51.5|253.7|22.8|139.2|158.0|11.8
11|00500|01:51.6|01:51.6|256.7|23.5|149.9|163.0|11.4
12|00500|01:51.8|01:51.8|255.6|23.0|152.0|165.0|11.6
13|00500|01:51.9|01:51.9|248.9|23.2|154.0|165.0|11.5
14|00500|01:52.4|01:52.4|255.5|23.8|154.8|166.0|11.2

Compared to last week. My HR was running a bit higher today, not sure why. Last time I opted to push the pace on the last one, I didn’t today.

After I finished, I was curious to see if all the effort I was putting in to technique was actually doing something or if I was just deluding myself. Somewhere in between, I think.

I still have to hold the knees down longer. Here’s the offending screen capture. Arms bent, body halfway there, but knees already up. Bad Greg!

Tomorrow: 4×20′ / 3′ Cat VI, r18, 2:05

Tuesday: 10 x (500 @ 22, 500 @ 18)

January 9, 2018Leave a comment

I got to sleep in to 6:30 this morning. I had a dentist appointment, which was disappointing. I was hoping that this would be the final session for my cracked tooth, but it has been sore, so they wanted to make some adjustments and hopefully have it calm down a bit before they put the final crown on. I didn’t hate the dentist before this, but I might after!

I had limited time today, so it was good that it was a pretty short session

10 x 500 / 2′
Cat V – Pace 1:58, rate: 22

Last week I did the rests at a Cat VI pace and it worked out pretty well, so I did it again today. One big benefit is that it’s a lot easier to program the PM for the workout. It’s just 500m intervals with 0′ rests. Doing the “rests” at 2:05 pushes the workout up above the UT1 heart rate zone, but its a pretty short workout. I am hoping that it will help improve my ability to clear lactate at aerobic pace. It also gives me a chance to practice rowing with good form and reasonable pressure at r18.

I added one 500m interval at 2:06 at the start and a final cool down 500m at 2:20 at the end for a total of 22 intervals.

I felt like I was working pretty hard at the end, so I was curious how this outing compared with the same workout last week. The answer…nearly identically.

Tomorrow: 3 x (5 x 500 @ 24 / 1′ ) / 5′. Target pace 1:52.

The morning after: 3 x 20′ / 3′

January 8, 2018Leave a comment

The original plan was for 4×20, but I ran out of time before my first meeting of the day. Frankly, I was glad. Every stroke was a struggle today. Chalk that up to a short turn around time from yesterday to today (14 hours), and a very crappy night’s sleep.

Anyway, HR was under control, but this session was pretty tough work.

Workout Summary - media/20180108-1330320o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15222|69:00.0|02:16.0|173.2|18.0|138.6|149.0|12.3
W-|14430|60:00.0|02:04.7|180.1|18.1|139.9|149.0|13.3
R-|00796|09:00.0|05:39.2|072.2|16.9|117.5|149.0|06.1
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04818|20:00.0|02:04.5|180.2|18.1|135.2|144.0|13.3
01|04805|20:00.0|02:04.9|179.8|18.0|141.5|146.0|13.3
02|04806|20:00.0|02:04.8|180.2|18.1|142.9|149.0|13.3

Tomorrow: 10 x 500 / 2′

Cat V – 1:58/r22
Rests as Cat VI, 2:05/r18

Brutal: 6 x (3′ @ 28, 7′ @ 18) / 1′

January 8, 20181 Comment

I spent most of Sunday trying to avoid doing this workout. It was a good thing, really. I got some good work done on a presentation I need to get ready, I shoveled the walk to the front door, and I think I did at least two crossword puzzles.

But finally, around 4, I mustered the courage to go down to the basement and confront my demon. I blew up last weekend on this workout, and I’ve failed at it even before my target paces got faster. Today, I really wanted to make it through, and I was going to try to be as careful as possible to maximize my chances.

The plan:

6 x ( 3′ @ 28, 7′ @ 18) / 1′ rest
r28: Cat III, Pace target: 1:48
r18: Cat VI, Pace Target: 2:05
The goal is smoothly transition from the r28 to r18 sections over a few strokes

I decided that it would be OK if I wanted to underrate the r28 sections by a little, if it helped me hit the target pace and felt a bit more comfortable.

I did my PT exercises.

I did a 2k warmup with 20 stroke bursts at target pace and rate.

Workout Summary - media/20180107-2131090o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|02000|07:45.0|01:56.5|229.5|22.0|138.2|154.0|11.7
W-|02000|07:46.0|01:56.6|223.3|21.4|137.5|154.0|12.2
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|154.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00300|01:13.2|02:02.1|175.1|17.1|102.6|121.0|14.3
01|00200|00:43.6|01:48.9|265.3|24.9|128.7|136.0|11.0
02|00300|01:13.8|02:03.0|195.2|19.0|139.6|141.0|12.9
03|00200|00:43.0|01:47.4|276.6|26.2|140.2|144.0|10.7
04|00300|01:14.0|02:03.3|196.2|19.4|146.5|148.0|12.5
05|00200|00:42.5|01:46.1|286.5|26.9|144.7|149.0|10.5
06|00300|01:13.5|02:02.5|198.7|19.0|152.9|154.0|12.9
07|00200|00:42.7|01:46.8|284.5|26.7|151.3|154.0|10.5

I was doing this warmup with 10 stroke bursts and I think it’s better to do it with 20s. I was a bit more winded at the end, but I felt a lot looser.

I had a drink of water, and went through the labor of setting up the PM for variable intervals, and off I went.

The 3′ of hard rowing wasn’t so bad in the first couple of intervals, but the rate of recovery while rowing at 2:05 was quite slow. The first couple of minutes of each r18 section was a real battle to stick to the rate and pace. The r28 sections always felt great in the first minute, tough in the second and brutal in the third.

I was pretty happy to make it through the fifth interval, since I blew up a minute into it last time. But, by the end of the 7′ section of the 5th one, I felt like I didn’t have the oomph to do the last one. I decided that I would give myself a bit of a break and do it at as Cat IV (r24 and 1:52). When I got going, I felt a bit stronger than that and I ended up at r26 and a bit faster than 1:50.

That was a good workout. I felt it the rest of the day in my legs and lungs.

Monday: 4 x 20′ / 3′ Cat VI.

Lazy Saturday: 4 x 20′ / 3′

January 6, 2018Leave a comment

I got up around 9 and wasted time until around 11. Then I thought it would be a good idea to get my training out of the way. So, down to the basement.

I haven’t been mentioning it, but most days, before I erg I am doing the corrective exercises that my PT prescribed for me. Today that meant.

10 x 10 sec of this…

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 4.04.39 PM.png

The this one…

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 4.06.04 PM.png

Then this…

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 4.06.58 PM.png

Then this…

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 4.07.35 PM.png

Then this…but with a 4 pound medicine ball.

Screen Shot 2018-01-06 at 4.08.16 PM

I should have, but didn’t do the exercises for my oblique abdominals. In addition, during the rests between the 20′ pieces, I did 10 reps of an abdominal exercise that he showed me. With feet unstrapped and at the finish, assume a hands away and body over position. Then hinge back at the hips and bring your arms over your head until you feel your feet start to become unweighted. Hold for a second, then bring hands back down and hinge back to body over. It’s a really good way to remind myself of good hip motion and back position during a ling session.

The session itself was not at all notable, and that’s kinda the whole point. Respected a 155 cap all the way along until the last minute when I want to finish with an even 4800m for the piece.

Workout Summary - media/20180106-1745330o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|20505|92:00.0|02:14.6|170.9|17.7|146.0|162.0|12.6
W-|19187|80:00.0|02:05.1|179.1|17.8|147.3|162.0|13.5
R-|01323|12:00.0|04:32.2|072.8|16.5|129.9|162.0|07.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04806|20:00.0|02:04.8|178.8|17.9|137.5|147.0|13.5
01|04794|20:00.0|02:05.1|179.4|17.8|147.3|154.0|13.4
02|04792|20:00.0|02:05.2|179.0|17.8|151.5|157.0|13.5
03|04794|20:00.0|02:05.2|179.0|17.8|152.9|162.0|13.4

One other note, I received a new PM5 from Concept2 as a warranty replacement for the one that was constantly throwing errors. It worked perfectly.

Tomorrow: I’m scared of this session. I haven’t succeeded with it yet.

Session:
1 x 40-60’
Rest between: n/a only briefly to rehydrate
Rating/Pace: Shift every 3’ Cat III; SR 28+/7’ @ Cat VI; SR 18

I’m hoping to do this as 6 x 10′ / 1′ The Cat III is at 1:48 and the Cat VI is at 2:06. Seems like it should be doable, but it really kicked my ass last week.

Wed: Cat V / Cat VI 500s, Thurs: nothing, Fri: 3 x (5 x 500 CatIV/1′)/5′

January 6, 2018Leave a comment

Wednesday:

At work in the gym.

The Plan:

10 x 500 / 2′
Cat V: 22spm, 1:58
I decided to do the “rests” as Cat VI (18, 2:05), and instead of programming rests in the PM, I just set it up for 500m intervals and 0 rests. Then I just changed pace for each interval between 1:58 and 2:05ish.

I thought that this workout would give me a chance to keep working on the modification to my stroke. Specifically row at a slightly higher rate and still keep my knees down until my arms and body had done their thing on the recovery.

It turned out to be a pretty strenuous workout because the 2′ “rests” at 2:05 weren’t all that restful.

Thursday: It was a massive blizzard here in Massachusetts. I worked from home and I was on the phone from 8am to 6pm. I had no time for my session. I should have gotten up extra early to do it before my calls, but I just couldn’t get motivated to do it. I love sleeping during snowstorms, it’s always so quiet and still.

Friday: Back to work. Luckily, lots of people stayed hoe today so the traffic was very light and I had time for my workout when I got to work this morning. A slightly more intense session and a chance to try to hold my new “knees down” form at 24 spm.

The plan:

3 sets of 5 x 500m 1′ rest
5 minutes rest between sets
the 500s to be done at Cat IV (Pace 1:52, rate: 24)
To do the 5 minute rests, I took the normal 1 minute rest, then rowed a 500 as a pause drill (at hands away) to work on arms and body recovery. This took between 2:40 and 3 minutes, then another 1′ rest at a paddle. This added up to about 5 minutes and was easy to program into the PM.

I started with a 2000 meter warmup.

          Workout Summary - media/20180105-1440300o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|01997|08:05.0|02:01.5|200.5|19.1|135.3|151.0|13.0
W-|02000|08:05.0|02:01.3|200.4|19.1|135.3|151.0|13.0
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|151.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00489|01:59.5|02:02.1|187.7|17.9|112.3|133.0|13.8
01|00504|02:03.5|02:02.6|194.8|19.2|137.3|139.0|12.7
02|00498|02:01.0|02:01.5|202.7|19.4|143.6|145.0|12.7
03|00509|02:01.3|01:59.2|216.4|19.8|147.7|151.0|12.7

Then the main set.

          Workout Summary - media/20180105-1530320o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11344|50:18.0|02:13.1|193.3|21.8|147.7|173.0|10.3
W-|07500|27:33.0|01:50.2|262.0|23.4|147.9|173.0|11.6
R-|03853|18:41.0|02:25.5|083.2|19.6|149.3|173.0|08.5
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00500|01:49.5|01:49.5|255.6|24.0|134.3|153.0|11.4
01|00500|01:52.5|01:52.5|255.9|23.6|144.4|157.0|11.3
02|00500|01:50.7|01:50.7|255.6|23.7|145.6|158.0|11.4
03|00500|01:50.7|01:50.7|257.6|23.5|149.2|160.0|11.5
04|00500|01:50.8|01:50.8|254.1|22.9|150.0|159.0|11.8
05|00500|01:51.7|01:51.7|257.3|23.4|137.8|157.0|11.5
06|00500|01:50.3|01:50.3|259.3|24.2|147.7|159.0|11.2
07|00500|01:50.9|01:50.9|259.1|23.0|149.1|161.0|11.8
08|00500|01:50.4|01:50.4|254.2|22.9|151.2|161.0|11.9
09|00500|01:50.7|01:50.7|255.9|22.8|151.8|162.0|11.9
10|00500|01:51.2|01:51.2|263.5|23.5|141.9|159.0|11.5
11|00500|01:50.0|01:50.0|263.9|23.6|150.1|161.0|11.6
12|00500|01:49.2|01:49.2|263.2|23.8|151.8|164.0|11.6
13|00500|01:50.1|01:50.1|270.8|23.4|155.2|165.0|11.7
14|00500|01:44.4|01:44.4|306.3|23.0|159.4|173.0|12.5

That was fun! I enjoyed it a bunch and I was happy to see my HR recover well in the short rests. I also felt really in control at r24 and 1:50. It was a good session.

Tomorrow: 4 x 20’/3′ Cat VI. Focusing on technique

Tuesday: 4 x 20′ / 1′

January 2, 20181 Comment

Monday: I felt pretty crappy all day long. Might have been a hangover 😉

Tuesday: I got some very specific coaching feedback on my stroke based on the video that I posted. The biggest issue that I have to get fixed in breaking my knees too early, before my arms are extended and my body angle is right. Today, I wanted to focus on that as hard as I could in an easy session.

The plan was

4×20′ / 3′
Cat VI: 2:03 – 2:08 (I was planning to go a bit slower to make sure that I focused on the recovery)
Rate 18

I got started and I was having a lot of trouble getting comfortable with the changed rhythm. I was a bit jerky on recovery, but I was determined to not break my knees until my arms were straight out. I had plenty of mental bandwidth to focus on my stroke because I managed to forget to turn on the podcast I wanted to listen to. This made the first 20 minutes feel like it was about 2 days long. My heart rate climb fast, but stabilized nicely right around 150.

When I finished the rep, I took a few rest strokes and then picked up my phone and started the podcast. When I looked back at the display, it was already counting down in the second interval! I had managed to misprogram the rests to be 1 minute instead of 3 minutes. I resisted the temptation to push too hard to make up for the missing 15 seconds. Of course, the podcast I was listening to finished before the end of my next rep, and I got have another 5 minutes of rowing in studious silence.

In the chart you can see how I got used to the new rhythm by the second 20 minutes and the power and rate both locked in much better.

          Workout Summary - media/20180102-1345320o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|19422|84:00.0|02:09.7|173.8|17.8|146.6|153.0|13.0
W-|19051|79:45.0|02:05.6|176.6|17.8|146.6|153.0|13.4
R-|00375|04:15.0|05:39.8|064.1|13.5|142.1|153.0|08.7
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04790|20:00.0|02:05.3|177.2|17.4|143.2|151.0|13.8
01|04716|19:45.0|02:05.6|176.5|18.0|145.6|152.0|13.2
02|04775|20:00.0|02:05.6|176.4|17.9|149.2|153.0|13.4
03|04769|20:00.0|02:05.8|176.2|18.0|148.4|152.0|13.3

Tomorrow: Good fun.

Session: 10 x 500m
Rest between: 2’ Rating/Pace: Cat V: SR 22-23

Notes: Medium tempo session. Use the faster end of your Cat V split. Focus on posture, firm core, chin level, breathing.

So, the faster end of my Cat V pace is 1:58. This will be a good chance to keep focusing on keeping my damn knees down at a slightly higher stroke rate.

Tough Session: 4 x (3′ @ 28 + 7′ @ 18)/1′ rest

January 1, 20181 Comment

I thought this would be a challenge. and it was. I also think that I was not in my best form. Not sure why, maybe I’m fighting off a little bug or something.

The original plan was for 6 intervals. I was so done in that I gave up during the fifth one. It was still really hard!

The Plan:

6 x (3′ @ 28, 7′ @ 18) / 1′ rest
r28 section: Cat III, pace 1:48.
r18 section: Cat VI, pace: 2:03 to 2:08

This was my first attempt at this workout with my new faster pace guidelines. Marlene shortened the r28 sections from 5′ to 3′ to make it a bit more doable, and I think it should have been, but I was really struggling from the first interval. My HR took a long time to recover and plateaued higher each time.