Maybe this sounds hokey, but I’ve been feeling very, very fortunate lately. Thank goodness, my job has not been affected by the downturn, and no on in my family has caught COVID-19. At this point, I have gotten used to working from home and improved my ability to use remote work tools, and I am enjoying the temporary respite from both commuting and business travel. For sure, I miss seeing my friends at work, and I worry about losing touch with my customers and business colleagues, but the change has meant that I get more sleep, get more exercise and spend more time with people I care about.

So, it’s been a good month for training.

In the past 27 days:

• 3 rest days, sessions for the last 12 days in a row (I’ve been doing easy bike rides instead of taking full rest days lately)
• 24 workouts
  • 13 days flat water rowing
  • 3 days coastal rowing
  • 3 runs
  • 2 erg sessions
  • 3 rides on my new BikeErg

Training Diary

Sunday – June 7 – No Training

I worked on the stairs down on the cape and didn’t have time for a workout. Nice day in the sun though.

Monday – June 8 – 15K on Lake Quinsigamond.

I am cartopping to the lake. I get up around 6, launch around 6:45 and row until 8:00 or 8:30 depending on whether or not I have a meeting at 9.

The club I row with is being good and safe. Masks on the dock, social distancing, time slots for launching to keep the docks from getting crowded. And the lake is just wonderful to row on.

Today was just some steady state. Down to the south end, all the way up to the north end, then back past the boathouse to the narrows, then finally back to the boathouse. Working with a HR cap of about 150. There was a bit of a headwind going North.

       Workout Summary - media/0407a4c8a1-20200608-125553o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15033|01:22:42.3|02:45.0|132.6|20.4|133.6|151.0|08.9
W-|14070|01:12:11.8|02:33.9|142.4|20.5|136.7|151.0|09.5
R-|00967|00:10:30.9|05:26.2|065.3|19.8|112.3|151.0|07.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03268|16:26.5|02:31.0|133.4|19.3|126.8|141.0|10.3
02|05758|30:04.8|02:36.7|148.5|20.8|140.1|151.0|09.2
03|03579|17:58.9|02:30.7|136.7|20.3|138.8|146.0|09.8
04|01466|07:41.6|02:37.4|151.0|22.1|139.9|147.0|08.6

Tuesday – June 9 – 15km steady state

Just beautiful. Flat water. A few waterskiers, but I didn’t mind the brief stops for that.

       Workout Summary - media/ee32ce273d-20200609-123554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15020|01:21:27.1|02:42.7|133.4|21.0|135.9|154.0|08.8
W-|13893|01:09:05.2|02:29.2|150.0|20.3|140.5|154.0|09.9
R-|01131|00:12:22.2|05:28.2|041.2|24.9|109.7|154.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03194|15:48.1|02:28.4|147.4|19.5|132.8|143.0|10.3
02|05731|28:43.6|02:30.4|150.9|20.7|141.0|150.0|09.7
03|03562|17:39.1|02:28.7|148.9|20.0|145.3|154.0|10.1
04|01406|06:54.4|02:27.4|154.5|21.2|144.2|152.0|09.6

Wednesday – 10 June – Descent to Hell

This is a Push it / Don’t Pull it workout. It is decreasing length pieces from 6′ down to 30″ with 90″ rests. so, 6′, 5’30”, 5′, 4’30″…

It was brutal. I did pretty well through the first four, but then when I turned into the wind, I blew up in the fifth interval. From there, I hung in there OK.

This workout is a keeper. Definitely doing it again later.

        Workout Summary - media/658d149feb-20200610-123056o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|13546|01:14:30.4|02:45.0|137.4|22.8|152.4|175.0|08.0
W-|07995|00:36:26.4|02:16.7|189.7|25.6|159.4|175.0|08.6
R-|05561|00:38:05.1|03:25.4|087.4|20.3|145.7|175.0|04.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01328|06:02.5|02:16.5|178.8|23.5|151.3|160.0|09.4
02|01200|05:33.2|02:18.9|171.6|24.0|156.7|166.0|09.0
03|01110|05:00.0|02:15.1|188.0|25.0|163.1|173.0|08.9
04|00989|04:26.3|02:14.6|192.4|25.4|165.2|175.0|08.8
05|00212|00:59.8|02:20.7|186.8|25.1|151.1|161.0|08.5
06|00346|01:37.8|02:21.2|190.1|25.8|162.7|167.0|08.2
07|00736|03:22.8|02:17.7|194.5|26.0|165.9|174.0|08.4
08|00516|02:20.9|02:16.5|201.7|26.8|162.1|174.0|08.2
09|00499|02:20.6|02:20.8|189.7|26.9|162.4|172.0|07.9
10|00410|01:51.6|02:15.9|211.0|28.5|162.7|174.0|07.8
11|00294|01:21.8|02:19.2|201.7|28.6|155.1|167.0|07.5
12|00216|00:55.5|02:08.3|221.1|30.1|154.2|164.0|07.8
13|00137|00:33.6|02:02.6|255.2|31.9|148.8|158.0|07.7

Thursday – June 11 – No Training

I earned a day off.

Friday – June 12 – Charles River GPS Speed Order

Another go at the speed order. My goal this time was to steer a better line. I ended up going out too hard and blowing up in the middle.

But my line was beautiful! Here it is compared to Carlo Zezza, who rowed a really tight and short line. (I’m the brown line)

From the start around magazine beach, I’m looking really good. I drifted out just a hair too much at the end (I was worried about cutting too close to the Riverside docks). I decided to use the cambridge arches, vs the center arches going up the powerhouse stretch.

I took a good line into weeks and made the turn from there to Anderson really well. This is where I ran out of energy and really slowed down. After Anderson, it looks like I took a good straight line to the apex of the eliot turn. And I did a good job hugging the curve for last turn as well.

I shaved 190m off the distance rowed from the prior attempt. And even though I rowed more slowly, I cut 30 seconds off my time.

• 4773m / 22:38 / 2:22.3
• 4583m / 22:08 / 2:23.9

Maybe for the July challenge, I can put steering and fitness together for a good row!

Saturday – June 13 – 12k on Lake Quinsigamond with Randall Foils

I’ve embarked on an experiment to see if Randall Foils help me row faster. I’ll be writing up some impressions of the Randall Foils eventually on https://analytics.rowsandall.com/

But in order to give them a fair test, I need to learn how to row with them and make sure that I understand how they feel. This row was the first step to try do that. Just a steady state row in choppy conditions to try to figure out how they work.

       Workout Summary - media/7f555d2212-20200613-133055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12026|01:08:10.4|02:50.1|123.3|21.0|140.4|170.0|08.4
W-|11008|00:57:02.3|02:35.5|138.6|20.5|143.7|170.0|09.5
R-|01023|00:11:08.5|05:26.8|044.7|23.7|123.7|170.0|04.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01415|07:34.1|02:40.5|116.9|18.0|125.1|138.0|10.4
02|01925|09:53.4|02:34.1|130.9|19.1|137.7|145.0|10.2
03|05784|30:40.9|02:39.2|140.4|20.7|147.5|165.0|09.1
04|01884|08:53.9|02:21.7|159.7|23.4|153.0|170.0|09.1

Overall, I did not enjoy my first experience with the foils. They sure feel solid at the catch, but they increase the wind resistance of the oars, and smacking a wavetop with the foils was a pretty violent feeling. Also, they were a pain when coasting, and maneuvering. More to come.

Sunday – June 14 – No Training

We drove down to the cape on Saturday afternoon, and I slept in. I spent most of the day finishing up the stairs to the beach.

Monday – June 15 – 6 Darts Games

Just a nice easy base builder in the basement.

Tuesday - June 16 - Easy Coastal Row

Just a nice day for a row.

Wednesday – June 17 – Another longer coastal row

In this one, I went over into where the Herring River comes out into Wellfleet Harbor. Beautiful area over there.

No real useful data fro the row, because both crewnerd and the speedcoach managed to get mucked up. My phone was splashed seriously enough to think that I had swiped away from crewnerd. And I ran out of memory on the speedcoach during the row.

Thursday – June 18 – 7km run

I crossed the bridge and ran a loop around a woodsy neighborhood.

Friday – June 19 – Experimenting with foils

Pushed hard for about 2km, then took a break for about 1km, then finished hard.

        Workout Summary - media/c535caef77-20200619-120554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10712|00:58:38.1|02:44.2|133.3|21.7|147.2|182.0|08.4
W-|09723|00:47:31.7|02:26.6|154.4|21.9|152.7|182.0|09.4
R-|00994|00:11:06.7|05:35.2|043.0|20.8|123.5|182.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00185|00:58.4|02:37.9|128.4|18.7|112.1|123.0|10.2
02|03159|15:50.8|02:30.5|145.3|19.7|143.9|156.0|10.1
03|02114|10:01.0|02:22.1|171.2|23.9|157.4|168.0|08.8
04|02857|13:08.5|02:18.0|175.3|24.3|168.6|182.0|08.9 - Nice!
05|01408|07:33.0|02:40.9|118.1|20.4|142.6|153.0|09.2

Saturday – June 20 – Rate Ladders with Foils

Trying to work specific stroke rates with the foils. I think it works a bit better to try to row lighter and rate up.

Sunday – June 21 – 40 minute BikeErg

Unfortunately Boatcoach quit after 20 minutes. But it was lovely. Nice easy cross training session.

Monday – June 22 – Steady State

Still rowing with foils. This was supposed to be a nice easy steady state session, but as luck would have it, a sculler ended up right next to me as I pulled out from the dock, and his steady state pace was a bit quicker than mine. I just refused to let him go and pushed too hard.

I got to talk to him at the south end of the lake. Nice guy, student at University of Delaware. Getting back in shape in case there is rowing this fall.

       Workout Summary - media/f2e1dce094-20200622-122554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11848|01:08:44.6|02:54.1|121.9|20.1|143.7|166.0|08.6
W-|11293|00:56:39.9|02:30.5|141.2|19.5|150.3|166.0|10.2
R-|00559|00:12:05.0|10:48.9|031.5|23.0|112.3|166.0|03.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03533|17:10.2|02:25.8|144.5|19.0|148.0|163.0|10.8
02|05723|29:16.4|02:33.5|142.7|19.7|155.9|166.0|09.9
03|02037|10:13.3|02:30.5|131.4|19.8|138.3|162.0|10.0

There was a bit of wind blowing from North to South.

Tuesday – June 23 – Lake Quinsigamond Speed Order

When I rowed on Saturday, I met a nice guy from Western Mass who came to row the GPS Speed Order on the lake. He handily beat my team and my course standard score. I found that highly motivating. I decided to give the course another go.

I started with a nice long warmup to the south end of the lake, and then set off. There was a very light tail wind (about 2mph) and I was seeing splits between 2:15 and 2:20, which was encouraging. My HR was high, but I didn’t feel distressed. The last 2k was kind of difficult, but I would fiddle around with rate and pressure a little bit to try to distract myself.

I was very happy with the end result. No where near my competitor on raw time, but I edged him out on course standard score.

I also shaved nearly 30 seconds off my previous time. (22:37). Boom.

Wednesday – June 24 – 40 minute BikeErg

I like the bike erg! It’s a great change of pace and a good way to get some low intensity aerobic minutes in. I started watching Ford v. Ferrari, which was highly entertaining.

Thursday – June 25 – Steady State (without Foils)

It felt so good to row without foils! Still not sure if they make me faster. They certainly do not slow me down, but I do not like rowing with them.

Nice, reasonable speedy steady state session. I was able to keep on the fast side of 2:30 for most of it.

       Workout Summary - media/7a3eb7d12d-20200625-202055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11945|01:03:09.1|02:38.6|134.6|20.6|139.8|159.0|09.2
W-|10644|00:52:28.8|02:27.9|146.4|20.4|143.4|159.0|09.9
R-|01309|00:10:41.0|04:04.7|076.8|21.1|122.2|159.0|06.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00278|01:24.8|02:32.8|127.8|19.0|116.4|121.0|10.3
02|01974|09:34.9|02:25.7|149.8|20.4|136.4|147.0|10.1
03|00534|02:35.4|02:25.6|158.6|20.9|137.7|149.0|09.9
04|01306|06:27.5|02:28.3|145.2|20.5|138.5|147.0|09.9
05|04446|22:00.1|02:28.5|148.8|20.5|148.4|159.0|09.9
06|01891|09:21.6|02:28.5|137.6|20.3|147.8|153.0|10.0
07|00216|01:04.5|02:29.1|143.8|22.3|144.3|146.0|09.0

Friday – June 26 – 45 minute BikeErg

I had an 8 am meeting, so not enough time to go to the lake and get in a row. I slept in an extra half hour, and did a short session on the Bike. Watched more of Ford v Ferrari. Still really fun.

Saturday – June 27 – 80′ Coastal Row

It was warm and windy today. I thought it would be fun to go bash into some waves. I was right!

I launched at 12:15, so right as the wind was building up past 15mph. It peaked around 1pm when I was up near Wellfleet inner harbor, and moderated back down to 15 on the way back.

It was just past low tide when I launched, so I had to take a short leg to the northwest to stay clear of the shoals, then I turned SW and headed to the red buoy. The wind was blowing from the SSW, so on my port bow. The waves were very steep over the shallow water as I got close to the buoy, and I was filling the footwell every ten or so strokes. I opened the bailer and left it that way the rest of the row.

I turned at the buoy and had a downwind ride with the tide all the way to the harbor. The waves hissing and sizzling under the boat as I went. I turned into the harbor and grabbed a quick drink. I knew the next bit was going to be the tough part.

I headed back out, and as soon as I cleared the breakwater, I started getting slammed by 12 to 18 waves. They seem pretty big when your boat sits 3 inches above the water line. I pounded my way out and picked a point on the shore to focus on. I concentrated on just controlling my oars and reacting to the waves. I paid a lot of attention to my heart rate. With the waves and headwind, it was easy to push too hard.

The footwell was filled most of the time. By the time the bailer reduced the water level, another wave would run the length of the boat and fill it again.

Finally, I came into the lee of the Island and the water flattened out. The last bit of rowing on flat water was a nice change to adventure through the waves.

Great fun!