Monday: 4 x 20 @ 185W

September 5, 2016Leave a comment

Saturday and Sunday we had guests and there was never a good time to go train.

We came home last night and today, in the afternoon, I settled in for a long and easy erg session.

Plan:

4 x 20′
1′ rests
power: 185W
HR limit: 155

I got back into listening to a Teaching Company course. This one is a skeptics view of american history. Today I heard about the beginnings of the labor movement and america’s ambivalent attitude toward imperialism. The time passed quickly.

Tomorrow the forecast is for lots of wind, showers and a chance of thunderstorms. I think another erg session is called for. Maybe a shot at the September CTC.

Friday: 100′ bike ride

September 5, 2016Leave a comment

A nice ride along the ocean side of Cape Cod, plus and excursion around the kettle ponds in Wellfleet. My phone died about halfway through. It was probably about 80′ of low intensity and 20′ of high intensity dealing with the hills.

The featured image is a picture of the oysters and champagne we had after we got back from the adventure.

Thursday: 4 x (5 x 2′ / 1′ rest ) 4′ rest

September 5, 20162 Comments

Weather: light wind from the west, this slowed down the second and fourth sets a bit.

Plan:

4 sets of 5 x 2′ / 1′ rest
each set would cover the length of the river.
4′ rest between sets
pace: < 2:15
rate: 26

Here’s the plots from the TCX data.

And the plot from the speedcoach.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00010_|_1179_|_06:49_|_2:53.3_|_131___|_19.2_|_09.0_|_123___|_warmup
01189_|_0450_|_02:00_|_2:12.9_|_052___|_26.1_|_08.7_|_148___|_m
01639_|_0090_|_00:30_|_2:45.0_|_010___|_20.2_|_09.0_|_157___|_r
01729_|_0455_|_02:01_|_2:12.9_|_054___|_26.8_|_08.4_|_161___|_m
02184_|_0087_|_00:29_|_2:49.0_|_010___|_20.4_|_08.7_|_165___|_r
02271_|_0464_|_02:03_|_2:12.3_|_056___|_27.4_|_08.3_|_168___|_m
02735_|_0081_|_00:30_|_3:05.2_|_010___|_20.0_|_08.1_|_168___|_r
02816_|_0437_|_01:57_|_2:14.1_|_052___|_26.6_|_08.4_|_167___|_m
03253_|_0082_|_00:30_|_3:02.3_|_010___|_20.1_|_08.2_|_169___|_r
03335_|_0446_|_02:01_|_2:15.3_|_052___|_25.8_|_08.6_|_168___|_m
03781_|_0289_|_02:03_|_3:32.6_|_039___|_19.0_|_07.4_|_147___|_r
04070_|_0421_|_01:56_|_2:17.5_|_050___|_25.9_|_08.4_|_154___|_m
04491_|_0093_|_00:35_|_3:06.0_|_012___|_20.8_|_07.8_|_165___|_r
04584_|_0424_|_01:58_|_2:19.5_|_052___|_26.4_|_08.2_|_166___|_m
05008_|_0071_|_00:30_|_3:32.7_|_010___|_19.9_|_07.1_|_170___|_r
05079_|_0429_|_01:59_|_2:19.0_|_052___|_26.2_|_08.3_|_170___|_m
05508_|_0062_|_00:25_|_3:20.8_|_008___|_19.3_|_07.8_|_173___|_r
05570_|_0437_|_02:05_|_2:23.6_|_053___|_25.3_|_08.2_|_168___|_m
06007_|_0062_|_00:27_|_3:39.4_|_007___|_15.4_|_08.9_|_173___|_r
06069_|_0427_|_02:00_|_2:20.9_|_052___|_25.9_|_08.2_|_172___|_m
06496_|_0362_|_03:03_|_4:12.8_|_048___|_15.7_|_07.5_|_137___|_r
06858_|_0442_|_02:00_|_2:15.6_|_052___|_26.0_|_08.5_|_153___|_m
07300_|_0077_|_00:30_|_3:15.5_|_010___|_19.9_|_07.7_|_165___|_r
07377_|_0437_|_01:59_|_2:15.7_|_052___|_26.3_|_08.4_|_167___|_m
07814_|_0076_|_00:29_|_3:09.5_|_010___|_20.8_|_07.6_|_171___|_r
07890_|_0444_|_02:02_|_2:17.4_|_054___|_26.6_|_08.2_|_171___|_m
08334_|_0065_|_00:26_|_3:23.8_|_008___|_18.1_|_08.1_|_173___|_r
08399_|_0432_|_02:01_|_2:19.5_|_052___|_25.9_|_08.3_|_173___|_m
08831_|_0078_|_00:33_|_3:33.5_|_009___|_16.2_|_08.7_|_173___|_r
08909_|_0435_|_02:00_|_2:17.7_|_052___|_26.0_|_08.4_|_173___|_m
09344_|_0316_|_02:59_|_4:42.6_|_043___|_14.4_|_07.3_|_138___|_r
09660_|_0440_|_02:03_|_2:19.3_|_052___|_25.4_|_08.5_|_155___|_m
10100_|_0074_|_00:30_|_3:25.4_|_010___|_19.7_|_07.4_|_165___|_r
10174_|_0430_|_01:59_|_2:18.4_|_054___|_27.2_|_08.0_|_168___|_m
10604_|_0061_|_00:26_|_3:29.8_|_008___|_18.8_|_07.6_|_171___|_r
10665_|_0431_|_02:05_|_2:24.4_|_054___|_26.0_|_08.0_|_170___|_m
11096_|_0055_|_00:26_|_3:53.6_|_007___|_16.3_|_07.9_|_171___|_r
11151_|_0427_|_02:02_|_2:23.2_|_054___|_26.5_|_07.9_|_171___|_m
11578_|_0065_|_00:28_|_3:35.4_|_007___|_15.0_|_09.3_|_173___|_r
11643_|_0423_|_02:01_|_2:22.8_|_054___|_26.8_|_07.8_|_175___|_m
12066_|_1494_|_09:29_|_3:10.4_|_197___|_20.8_|_07.6_|_138___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01179_|_06:49_|_2:53.3_|_131___|_19.2_|_09.0_|_123___|_warmup
08731_|_40:10_|_2:18.0_|_1055___|_26.3_|_08.3_|_166___|_Main set
02146_|_15:49_|_3:41.1_|_276___|_17.5_|_07.8_|_154___|_rest meters
01494_|_09:29_|_3:10.4_|_197___|_20.8_|_07.6_|_138___|_cool down
13550_|_12:17_|_2:40.0_|_1659___|_23.0_|_08.2_|_156___|_Total

Even allowing for the speecoach miscalibration, this was about a second slower than I would have liked. But it was darn good training.

Wednesday: Steady State (and more accuracy fun)

August 31, 2016Leave a comment

Weather: Yawn…Another perfect day.

Plan:

4 x ~14min
rate 20
pace target < 2:30
HR cap < 155

So, here is the pace plotted for GPS (on the left) and speedcoach (on the right)

Here is the rate data

Tabular comparison of impeller and GPS

Impeller Data
Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1028_|_05:50_|_2:50.2_|_114___|_19.5_|_09.0_|_124___|_warmup
01044_|_2825_|_13:46_|_2:26.2_|_282___|_20.5_|_10.0_|_145___|_rep #1
03869_|_0126_|_00:59_|_3:54.1_|_013___|_13.2_|_09.7_|_124___|_rest
03995_|_2833_|_14:00_|_2:28.2_|_288___|_20.6_|_09.8_|_148___|_rep #2
06828_|_0058_|_00:32_|_4:35.0_|_006___|_11.3_|_09.7_|_117___|_rest
06886_|_2846_|_14:05_|_2:28.4_|_284___|_20.2_|_10.0_|_150___|_rep #3
09732_|_0139_|_01:14_|_4:27.6_|_017___|_13.7_|_08.2_|_129___|_rest
09871_|_2826_|_14:23_|_2:32.6_|_294___|_20.4_|_09.6_|_153___|_rep #4
12697_|_1041_|_06:35_|_3:09.6_|_127___|_19.3_|_08.2_|_133___|_cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01028_|_05:50_|_2:50.2_|_114___|_19.5_|_09.0_|_124___|_warmup
11330_|_56:13_|_2:28.9_|_1148___|_20.4_|_09.9_|_149___|_Main set
00323_|_02:45_|_4:15.9_|_036___|_13.1_|_09.0_|_125___|_rest meters
01041_|_06:35_|_3:09.6_|_127___|_19.3_|_08.2_|_133___|_cool down
13722_|_11:23_|_2:36.1_|_1425___|_20.0_|_09.6_|_145___|_Total
TCX Data
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00019|01081|05:44|02:39.1| 20.0 | 122 |09.4|warmup
|01100|02898|13:48|02:22.9| 20.6 | 145 |10.2|rep #4
|03998|00222|04:07|09:16.3| 08.8 | 110 |06.1|cool down
|04220|02898|13:58|02:24.6| 20.7 | 148 |10.0|rep #2
|07118|00082|01:36|09:45.4| 14.0 | 133 |03.7|rest
|07200|02898|14:03|02:25.4| 20.2 | 150 |10.2|Rep #3
|10098|00213|02:09|05:02.8| 16.3 | 133 |06.1|rest
|10311|02886|14:21|02:29.2| 20.5 | 153 |09.8|Rep #4
|13197|01095|07:07|03:15.0| 19.3 | 133 |08.0|cool down

|00000|01081|05:44|02:39.1| 20.0 | 122
|00000|11580|56:10|02:25.5| 20.5 | 149
|00000|01095|07:07|03:15.0| 19.3 | 133

2:26.2 vs 2:22.9 –> 3.3 – down stream
2:28.2 vs 2:24.6 –> 3.6 – up stream
2:28.4 vs 2:25.4 –> 3.0 – down stream
2:32.6 vs 2:29.2 –> 3.4 – up stream

current effect ~ 3.5 – 3.15 (avg of 2 ups – 2 downs) = 0.35

So, the downstream pieces GPS will read .2 faster than impeller, up stream .2 slower
Average difference between speedcoach and GPS –> 3.4 seconds (impeller is slower)

Yesterday the difference was around 2.5 seconds difference. I think I need to recalibrate my speedcoach.

Tomorrow: My first outing doing short rest intervals in this mesocycle.

4 x (5 x 2′ on / 30″ paddle) / 2′ rest

The 2′ on is supposed to be at head race pace. I’ll target 2:15.

Tuesday: 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest

August 30, 2016August 30, 20166 Comments

Weather: Amazing! Cool and dry, very little wind. I launched just after 6:30.

Plan:

4 x 2500
5′ active rests
rate target: 26
pace target: 2:15

I am pretty darn happy with this workout. I would have been happier if it was faster, but I executed this workout to the best of my ability. No theatrics, no bailing out.

There was one weird thing with today’s workout. I was seeing a persistent difference in pace between the speedcoach and the GPS. Now, over a short span, I don’t expect them to read the same, but for basically the whole row downriver, I was seeing the GPS based numbers giving a pace 2 to 5 seconds faster than the impeller. Must be flow, you might be thinking. At least that was what I was thinking, but right now, there is essentially no flow. The water level is so low that basically nothing is going over the dam. And when I saw the same thing going up river, I decided that something was fishy with the speedcoach impeller. Either the cal was off, or there was something fouling the impeller.

Here is a comparison of the paces for the four pieces.

GPS — Imp –> Delta
2:12.0 — 2:14.6 –> 2.6
2:14.9 — 2:17.4 –> 2.5
2:16.1 — 2:18.7 –> 2.6
2:16.7 — 2:19.5 –> 2.8

I saw nothing on the impeller when I pulled the boat, so I will do the comparison again tomorrow and update the cal if there is still a difference.

Here’s the (slow) speedcoach data.

For comparison, here are the first 3 intervals based on TCX data from RIM. The pace data is a lot noisier, but the eyeball average is about 3 seconds faster. I had a glitch with the phone and the data for the 4th interval ended up in a different file.

Here’s the TCX data for the fourth interval.

Here are the tabulated results.

TCX Data from RIM
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00019|01203|07:11|02:59.1| 18.7 | 117 |09.0|Warming up
|01250|02496|10:59|02:12.0| 26.2 | 159 |08.7|rep #1 – downstream
|03746|00474|04:59|05:15.4| 16.1 | 125 |05.9|rest
|04269|02498|11:14|02:14.9| 26.2 | 167 |08.5|rep #2 – upstream
|06767|00424|03:53|04:34.8| 19.9 | 135 |05.5|rest
|07219|02501|11:21|02:16.1| 26.2 | 170 |08.4|Rep #3 – downstream
|00020|00280|03:22|06:00.7| 13.1 | 128 |06.4|rest
|00300|02498|11:23|02:16.7| 26.5 | 170 |08.3|rep #4 – upstream
|02798|01492|09:50|03:17.7| 19.7 | 139 |07.7|cool down
|—–|09993|44:57|02:14.9| 26.3 | 167 |08.5|Main Set

Impeller Data from Speedcoach
Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1188_|_06:46_|_2:50.7_|_122___|_18.0_|_09.7_|_117___|_warmup
01220_|_2501_|_11:13_|_2:14.6_|_292___|_26.0_|_08.6_|_159___|_rep #1
03720_|_0389_|_02:59_|_3:49.8_|_052___|_17.4_|_07.5_|_126___|_rest
04093_|_2508_|_11:29_|_2:17.4_|_300___|_26.1_|_08.4_|_166___|_rep #2
06610_|_0299_|_02:15_|_3:45.9_|_039___|_17.3_|_07.7_|_128___|_rest
06900_|_2512_|_11:37_|_2:18.7_|_304___|_26.2_|_08.3_|_169___|_rep #3
09420_|_0302_|_02:35_|_4:17.0_|_039___|_15.1_|_07.7_|_134___|_rest
09700_|_2493_|_11:35_|_2:19.5_|_306___|_26.4_|_08.1_|_170___|_rep #4
12210_|_1364_|_08:20_|_3:03.2_|_166___|_19.9_|_08.2_|_136___|_cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01188_|_06:46_|_2:50.7_|_122___|_18.0_|_09.7_|_117___|_warmup
10014_|_45:54_|_2:17.5_|_1202___|_26.2_|_08.3_|_166___|_Main set

Tomorrow: 75′ Steady State, 20 spm, HR cap at 155.

Monday: Steady State Rate Ladders

August 29, 2016Leave a comment

Weather: broken overcast. Warm and humid. Light wind from the W. This was a headwind going up river, but not much of a factor, maybe 4 seconds on pace.

Plan:

Rate ladders
- 4′ at 18
- 3′ at 20
- 2′ at 22
- 1′ at 24
Pace targets: 2:30 for r18, and faster with higher rate, maybe 3 sec for each step.
HR: Cap at 155

Tabulated pace and rate data from the Speedcoach. This let’s me break it down by rate. I blocked the 1 minute chunks around each turn around to get a better estimate of actual pace. I finished with the ladders at 1:01, and then rowed with square blades back to the dock as my cool down.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00000_|_1186_|_06:45_|_2:50.9_|_123___|_18.2_|_09.6_|_120___|_warmup
01186_|_0821_|_04:01_|_2:26.7_|_074___|_18.4_|_11.1_|_132___|_18
02007_|_0608_|_02:58_|_2:26.3_|_060___|_20.2_|_10.1_|_142___|_20
02615_|_0438_|_02:05_|_2:22.8_|_046___|_22.1_|_09.5_|_148___|_22
03053_|_0218_|_00:59_|_2:16.5_|_024___|_24.2_|_09.1_|_152___|_24
03271_|_0590_|_02:56_|_2:29.3_|_054___|_18.4_|_10.9_|_147___|_18
03861_|_0193_|_01:01_|_2:36.7_|_017___|_16.9_|_11.4_|_134___|_turn
04054_|_0603_|_03:02_|_2:30.5_|_062___|_20.5_|_09.7_|_143___|_20
04657_|_0400_|_01:59_|_2:28.5_|_044___|_22.2_|_09.1_|_148___|_22
05057_|_0212_|_01:01_|_2:23.2_|_024___|_23.7_|_08.8_|_152___|_24
05269_|_0769_|_03:58_|_2:34.7_|_074___|_18.7_|_10.4_|_147___|_18
06038_|_0612_|_03:02_|_2:28.9_|_062___|_20.4_|_09.9_|_149___|_20
06650_|_0174_|_01:02_|_2:59.0_|_018___|_17.3_|_09.7_|_120___|_turn
06824_|_0208_|_00:58_|_2:20.1_|_022___|_22.6_|_09.5_|_140___|_22
07032_|_0220_|_01:00_|_2:16.6_|_024___|_24.0_|_09.2_|_149___|_24
07252_|_0813_|_04:01_|_2:28.5_|_074___|_18.4_|_11.0_|_146___|_18
08065_|_0609_|_02:58_|_2:25.9_|_060___|_20.3_|_10.2_|_150___|_20
08674_|_0417_|_01:58_|_2:22.0_|_044___|_22.3_|_09.5_|_154___|_22
09091_|_0222_|_01:00_|_2:16.0_|_024___|_23.8_|_09.3_|_157___|_24
09313_|_0186_|_01:01_|_2:42.9_|_017___|_16.8_|_10.9_|_149___|_turn
09499_|_0580_|_03:02_|_2:37.0_|_056___|_18.5_|_10.4_|_142___|_18
10079_|_0583_|_02:57_|_2:31.7_|_060___|_20.4_|_09.7_|_151___|_20
10662_|_0419_|_02:04_|_2:28.3_|_046___|_22.2_|_09.1_|_155___|_22
11081_|_0211_|_00:59_|_2:20.0_|_024___|_24.4_|_08.8_|_158___|_24
11292_|_0774_|_03:58_|_2:33.5_|_074___|_18.7_|_10.5_|_155___|_18
12066_|_1357_|_08:28_|_3:07.2_|_169___|_20.0_|_08.0_|_132___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01186_|_06:45_|_2:50.9_|_123___|_18.2_|_09.6_|_120___|_warmup
00553_|_03:03_|_2:45.8_|_052___|_17.0_|_10.6_|_134___|_rest meters
01357_|_08:28_|_3:07.2_|_169___|_20.0_|_08.0_|_132___|_cool down

04347_|_21:56_|_2:31.4_|_406___|_18.5_|_10.7_|_145___|_r18
03015_|_14:56_|_2:28.6_|_304___|_20.4_|_09.9_|_147___|_r20
01882_|_09:05_|_2:24.8_|_202___|_22.2_|_09.3_|_150___|_r22
01083_|_05:00_|_2:18.4_|_120___|_24.0_|_09.0_|_154___|_r24
10327_|_50:57_|_2:28.0_|_1032___|_20.3_|_10.0_|_147___|_main set

So, a bit slower for the r18 than I would have liked. About 3 seconds faster for r20. 3.8 seconds going from r20 to r22 and 6.4 seconds faster going from R22 to R24! Interesting to see the HR following the rates too.

Here’s the view of the workout from the TCX data collected by RIM and process by rowsandall.com

Tomorrow: Long Intervals – 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest. rate target r26.

Sunday: Easy hour.

August 28, 2016Leave a comment

Got home around midnight last night, so I slept in instead of heading off to the lake this morning. Around 3 in the afternoon I was ready for an erg session.

I wasn’t sure what to do today, so I decided to do an hour. I would start slow, around 2:05, and speed up by a second every six minutes until I got to the top of the UT band. Then I would slow down by a second to the end.

It ended up being an enjoyable session. A bit warm, in the mid 80s and very sweaty, but I was happy that it took until the last 12 minutes before I hit the top of my UT band.

Data was saved using ergdata and then processed by rowsandall.com.

Tomorrow: 14k steady state OTW

Saturday: 14K open water in Wellfleet

August 27, 2016August 28, 2016Leave a comment

Sunny warm and beautiful. Brisk wind from the NNW between 10 and 15 mph with gusts to about 20. This kicked up a fair amount of chop away from the windward shore, so I tried to stay close to shore where I could

I launched at 8:40am. Here’s the weather data.

I launched from the small beach near my house, and rowed along the shore of Lt Island. Then I cut over toward indian neck. On the water, the wind felt like it was more NNE than NNW, and once I got over to the indian neck shoreline, there was nice smooth water and a bit less wind.

I went into Wellfleet inner harbor and I wanted to explore up into Duck Creek. It was a good thing I did, because as soon as I turned around the end of the breakwater that forms the entrance to the creek, my boat was surrounded by a school of fish, they looked to be between 6″ and 12″ long and they were swimming so fast that they were stirring up the surface of the water. I wasn’t sure why they were so agitated, but when I looked around there were a couple of seals peeking out the water at me. They soon went back to hunting these fish, there were thousands of them. A most amazing site.

I turned at the end of the marina and then rowed all the way out of the harbor and along the Wellfleet town beach to the west until I got to great island. By then I had done about 9km and I needed to turn for home. I didn’t stay as close to the beach on the way back and there was a lot more chop, which was basically on my beam. I needed to ease up a bit and work on balance and timing to get both oars engaged at the catch with the boat rocking around.

I wanted to get over to the eastern shore a bit before I turned for home to avoid a bit of the chop, but time was growing short so I decided to just turn and row with the waves. This was a blast. Sometimes I was surging down the fronts of waves, but I needed to be really aware to avoid catching my oars on them on recovery. In this case catching an oar is not the kind of slap that I am used to in flat water rowing, but burying the whole damn blade in the back of a wave. I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I would be surprised if many of the waves were over 12″ tall (except when they merged with a passing wake). But it was enough to really change the way that I could row.

I surfed all the way back in front of my house to the little beach. Then I had to carry my boat over the dunes back to my car. One issue with the boat. Every time I row, I get a good liter of water in the boat that drains out when I open the plug in the bow. I suspect that the seam between the hull and the deck is cracked. I’ll have to try to fix it this winter.

Edit: Adding graphs from rowsandall.com

Here is the pace data leaned up and scaled so you can see the slow bits that were going into the wind and waves. The worst was the bit from about 5 minutes to 10 minutes. The bit from just after 20 minutes to 30 minutes was tooling around wellfleet harbor. I struggled with the waves from about 55 minutes all the way to about 1:10. The big slow downs were huge wakes combined with the waves that pretty much swamped me.

Tuesday: Speedcoach Calibration and 14K of steady state

August 23, 2016August 23, 20167 Comments

Weather: Crystal clear. Very Sunny. Cool and breezy. Wind NW 2 to 5 mph.

The main objective today was to get the new impeller mounted for my speedcoach. Once it was mounted, it needed to be calibrated. So, I popped it in the water and headed out. I usually row in the early morning, but today, I had some things to do at home in the morning. So, I launched around 1:00 in the afternoon. Since it was such a nice day there were a lot of kayaks, pedal boats, canoes and various other water craft out enjoying the day as well. Even though I was looking around constantly, I still had to back down hard a few times when a boat zigged instead of zagging, or I missed them in my scans. Despite this, it was a glorious day to be out rowing.

Plan:

Do 2x 1000m at r24 in opposite directions to calibrate the speedcoach.
80 minutes of steady state

Leaving the dock, I started RIM and reset the speedcoach. After I warmed up and got to the start of the straight part of the river, I realized that I really should be using Crewnerd for a autostart 1000m piece for speedcoach cal. So, I flipped over and started up crewnerd, losing the first 1200m of rowing.

The 1000s went fine. The first one was with the light wind and was done at an average pace of 2:11.4. The second was upwind and the pace was 2:13.3. I was winded but I didn’t push them all that hard. After that, I did the river twice from the start to the moody street dam. At first I was feeling like I was really struggling to hit any reasonable split. But eventually, I started to row a bit better and sped up. The main difference was focusing on getting way into compression at the catch.

Tomorrow: Some more steady state. 80′ at r20.

Monday: 40km Bike Ride

August 23, 2016August 29, 2016Leave a comment

Monday morning the tide was too low to launch. I would have had to carry my boat across 500 meters of sand to get it in the water. It was also windy (15-20mph with gusts t0 30 from the SW). So I needed another plan. I decided to give biking a try.

I have my old mountain bike down on the Cape. I decided that navigating the sand and gravel roads on the island on a road bike with skinny tires and clip-in pedals was a bit much. I might give it a try sometime, but for now, the old mountain bike is the pick.

This bike handled the sand and gravel without any trouble. It’s 3.6km from my house to the major road. 1.3km is sand road. The other 2.6 is paved. The transition from sand to paved is right at the boundary between the island and a long causeway across the salt marsh. There is a little bridge across a tidal channel, right where between the “e” and the “u” are in the word Lieutenant on the map below. The approaches to this bridge actually are covered by the highest of high tides and cut off the island for a couple of hours. When I went out biking it was much closed to low tide.

Right across Route six is the Cape Cod Rail Trail. A lovely, straight, flat bike trail along the path of railroad right of way. It stretches for about 23 miles. I got on at about mile 22, and I rode south 15 km. I decided to just ride out 50 minutes and then turn around to go home for a total workout length of 100 minutes.

When I turned around, I realized that I had a work phone call to do at 11am, so I pushed the pace and cut off a few minutes. It also actually got my heart rate up into some reasonable zone for training.

Very nice. I think biking is a great alternative if the tides of wind are not favorable.

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Category: Training Journal

Monday: 4 x 20 @ 185W

Friday: 100′ bike ride

Thursday: 4 x (5 x 2′ / 1′ rest ) 4′ rest

Wednesday: Steady State (and more accuracy fun)

Tuesday: 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest

Monday: Steady State Rate Ladders

Sunday: Easy hour.

Saturday: 14K open water in Wellfleet

Tuesday: Speedcoach Calibration and 14K of steady state

Monday: 40km Bike Ride