Category: Training Journal

Tuesday: 10K OTW threshold

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Weather: mid 60s, overcast, intermittent light rain. Light SE wind, 4 mph with gusts to 6. This was a head wind going downriver and tail wind going up river.

Plan:

  • 4 x 2700 / 4′ rest
  • rate: 24-26
  • pace: ~2:15
  • No HR cap

I had a bad feeling about this workout from the moment I woke up.  I slept well, but apparently not long enough to catch up because I was sore and lethargic.

Another bad sign.  I forgot something right before I left the house and needed to climb the stairs to go back and get it.  I felt noticeably winded by the time I got to top of the stairs.  Uh oh.

Well, those intervals are not going to do themselves, you know.  So I pressed on regardless.  I got to the dock around 6:10 and I was on the water by 6:15.  It was then I noticed that my phone had not charged overnight and was completely dead (just like me!).  Today would be a speedcoach only session.  Too bad, I was looking forward to looking at acceleration curves for r24 and r26.  I’ll loop back to that later this week I guess.

When I launched, it was raining lightly, but it stopped by the time I finished warming up.  As I paddled through the cut, I heard and felt a significant thump.  I jammed my oars to stop the boat and heard a much softer bump when the log hit the impeller, and then an almost imperceptible bump when it hit the fin.  I saw it bob to the surface behind me, a weed encrusted log, about 6 feet long and 6″ in diameter.  More about that later.

I got myself setup to go in front of the island, and took off at r24.  The boat felt heavy, probably because of the light head wind, but also I was feeling a twinge in my lower back.  I got up to speed, and was counting strokes.  Looking over my shoulder I saw a single and launch coming the other way, so I stopped after about 50 strokes, hailed them, and paddled back to the launch.  I asked if he would go looking for the log and get rid of it for me.  He seemed happy to do it.  I doubt they want to lose a fin on it any more than I do.

Anyway, back to work.  I started again and was counting strokes.  It felt like a ton of effort to maintain any reasonable pace, and by the time I came out of the S-turn, I was discouraged and very tired.  I costed to a stop, paddled a little, and then brought it back up to an r24 and rowed the rest of the way to the Moody street dam.

Boy that was hard work.  I felt miserable.  Like I was rowing in mud.  I hoped that going the other way, with the light tail wind would be a bit easier.  It wasn’t.  I rowed up to the s-turn and bailed out again.  I paddled through the turn, and then did the last 1100m original start point.  Ugh.

I thought about quitting, but that would have made me feel even worse about this session.  Onward and downstreamwards!  The wind felt stronger, but it probably wasn’t, and I was having trouble just keeping the boat going faster than a 2:25.  And in the s-turn, I saw the pace popping above 2:30 a few times.  But I had had enough of bailing out.  I started to feel a bit hopeless in front of the watch factory, but eased up the pressure a bit and tried to maintain the stroke rate.  Within 10 or so strokes, I was back on track.  Once I was through the bridge, I pushed the pace a bit harder to the Moody Street dam.  I was feeling a bit better now.  At least I had completed the full rep, even if it was slow as hell.  One more to go.

Again, I focused on rate, not pace.  I was hoping that there would be a helpful tailwind.  Maybe there was a little bit, but not enough to help me.  I did OK up to the s-turn, but slowed down a lot through that.  Coming out of it, I gradually increase pressure and rate as I counted strokes.  It takes me about 300 to 320 strokes to get from end to end in these intervals, and coming out of the s-turn, I counted my 200th stroke.  Now, I just needed to get through another 120.  You can see the HR climb through this last section as I sensed the end was near.  Thank God!

After I finished, I pulled my feet out of the shoes and paddled home, working on clean finishes and balance.

Not my best work, but partial credit for sticking it out.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1197_|_06:48_|_2:50.4_|_123___|_18.1_|_09.7_|_124___|_warmup
01206_|_0454_|_02:00_|_2:12.3_|_050___|_25.0_|_09.1_|_147___|_head wind
01660_|_0162_|_01:02_|_3:10.7_|_016___|_15.5_|_10.1_|_144___|_stop to chat
01822_|_1181_|_05:17_|_2:14.4_|_135___|_25.5_|_08.7_|_159___|_head wind
03003_|_0137_|_00:45_|_2:42.8_|_016___|_21.5_|_08.6_|_138___|_bailed
03140_|_1129_|_05:19_|_2:21.5_|_125___|_23.5_|_09.0_|_155___|_head wind
04269_|_0037_|_00:27_|_6:10.3_|_007___|_15.3_|_05.3_|_127___|_rest
04306_|_1457_|_06:39_|_2:17.1_|_164___|_24.6_|_08.9_|_159___|_tail wind
05763_|_0239_|_01:41_|_3:31.3_|_030___|_17.8_|_08.0_|_135___|_bailed
06002_|_1094_|_04:51_|_2:13.1_|_121___|_24.9_|_09.0_|_163___|_tail wind
07096_|_0051_|_00:47_|_7:37.8_|_010___|_12.8_|_05.1_|_117___|_rest
07147_|_2798_|_13:29_|_2:24.5_|_323___|_24.0_|_08.7_|_165___|_head wind
09945_|_0117_|_01:21_|_5:44.9_|_020___|_14.9_|_05.9_|_120___|_rest
10062_|_2760_|_13:05_|_2:22.1_|_320___|_24.5_|_08.6_|_165___|_tail wind
12822_|_1212_|_07:43_|_3:10.8_|_143___|_18.5_|_08.5_|_132___|_feet out

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01197_|_06:48_|_2:50.4_|_123___|_18.1_|_09.7_|_124___|_warmup
10873_|_50:41_|_2:19.8_|_1238___|_24.4_|_08.8_|_162___|_Main set
00743_|_06:02_|_4:03.7_|_099___|_16.4_|_07.5_|_131___|_rest meters
01212_|_07:43_|_3:10.8_|_143___|_18.5_|_08.5_|_132___|_cool down
14025_|_11:13_|_2:32.3_|_1603___|_22.5_|_08.7_|_152___|_Total

Today’s session: 50′ HIT, 20′ LIT

Tomorrow: The plan calls for r20 steady state, but I think I need a very low intensity session.  So I think I will switch it with my Planned Friday session, which is:

  • Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated

 

Head Race Training: Week #3 review

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Date Day Workout Type mode Planned Workout Actual
7/25/16 Mon Cross Training (UT) xt 4 x 20′ fitness center Rest Day
7/26/16 Tue Cross Training (TR) xt 10K run 45′ Thresh run on treadmill HIT
7/27/16 Wed Cross Training (UT) xt 4 x 20′ fitness center 3 x 30′ fitness center LIT
7/28/16 Thu Cross Training (TR) xt 10K run 10K run 30′ HIT, 30′ LIT
7/29/16 Fri Cross Training (UT) xt 4 x 20′ fitness center rest
7/30/16 Sat Technique UT2/UT1 otw 80′ LIT  4 x 20′ on erg LIT
7/31/16 Sun long and easy erg 4 x 30′ / 1.5′ rest (lactate) 4 x 20′ on erg LIT
Summary LIT: 440′ HIT: 120′ LIT: 280′ HIT: 75′

So, significantly under on both LIT and HIT minutes.  That’s two weeks in a row.  We’ll see if I can get back on track this week.

Monday: 16K Steady State OTW

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Up at 5:15am, having gotten very little sleep.  Gotta get back into this timezone somehow.

Off to Newton for my first OTW session since July 20th!  I decided that a steady state session to just get some meters in the boat.

Plan:

  • row for about 80 minutes
  • short <1′ breaks at the turn arounds for a quick drink.
  • r20
  • pace target ~2:30
  • HR cap: 155

Weather was cloudy, 70F and 90% RH.  Another recipe for copious perspiration.  There was a light wind 2-4mph from the east.  This was roughly a head wind heading down river and tail wind going up river.

Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 1.15.09 PM

I used RIM today to see what’s happening with my stroke.  Here are plots of a few strokes with a light headwind (purple) and tailwind (yellow)

Screen Shot 2016-08-01 at 5.26.47 PM

Not much to see at these rates really.  At least it doesn’t look like I am lurging at the catch, like I used to do.

Heart rate was high and speed was slow, as I would expect after so long out of a boat.  I tried to easy up when my HR got above 155, but it got harder and harder as I went along to row that slowly.  Finally after about 12.5K, I decided to transition over to some form drills, so I finsihed with a few 500m sets of SBR and alternating SBR and feathered rowing.  This felt pretty good and I was happy that my balance seemed no worse for the layoff.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1072_|_05:32_|_2:34.6_|_108___|_19.5_|_09.9_|_133___|_warmup
01087_|_2765_|_13:42_|_2:28.7_|_274___|_20.0_|_10.1_|_153___|_head wind
03852_|_3091_|_15:17_|_2:28.4_|_298___|_19.5_|_10.4_|_152___|_tail wind
06943_|_2698_|_13:48_|_2:33.4_|_273___|_19.8_|_09.9_|_154___|_head wind
09641_|_2890_|_14:33_|_2:31.1_|_282___|_19.4_|_10.2_|_152___|_tail wind
12531_|_3407_|_18:21_|_2:41.6_|_330___|_18.0_|_10.3_|_148___|_drills

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01072_|_05:32_|_2:34.6_|_108___|_19.5_|_09.9_|_133___|_warmup
11444_|_57:21_|_2:30.3_|_1127___|_19.7_|_10.2_|_153___|_Main set
03407_|_18:21_|_2:41.6_|_330___|_18.0_|_10.3_|_148___|_cool down
15923_|_21:13_|_2:33.0_|_1565___|_19.3_|_10.2_|_150___|_Total

So, not a bad return to the water.  Still working on endurance base.

Tomorrow:  4 x 2700’/4′ rest @ 24-26spm  (threshold)

 

Sunday: 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest

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Was planning to go rowing but I was still really jet lagged and had trouble falling asleep at a reasonable hour.  Finally fell asleep around 2am and got up around 10am.

I went and did an erg session around 3 in the afternoon.  Goal for today was to basically do the same thing as Saturday.

Still hot ~80F and humid 80% RH.  A real sweat fest.

Today, I was going for r19 and 185W.  Basically the same results as yesterday, but started at a higher initial heart rate.  I eased off against the target power in the last 20 minutes to try to stay right at the top of the UT1 band, but missed it by a couple BPM.

 

Thursday: 10K run / walk in Kumamoto

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Weather: Hot!  80F and 95% humidity.

Plan:

  • 45′ to 60′ of threshold done as 10K run outside.
  • Objective: maximize time at HR > 165 (TR range)

The hotel had no fitness center, and Komamoto is a really beautiful city with a remarkable castle on a hill, so it was a perfect opportunity for some aerobic sightseeing.

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 1.47.42 PM.png

Well, that did not go to plan.  I started off fine, but it was so hot and humid that I was drenched in sweat within minutes.  Then, added to that was the challenges of road closures because of the Earthquake here in April.  The damage to the Castle and the grounds was quite extensive.  There were places where the whole castle wall had just collapsed.

160415141515-gettyimages-521253376-1japan-quake-super-169

Later in the day, I was speaking to the governor of Kumamoto perfecture, and he told me that reconstruction of the castle and grounds will cost more than $600M, but his government and the national government were committed to restoring it completely.

All of this damage also busted up the roads around the hilltop where the castle sits, so I was shuttled in all sorts of unexpected directions, but the big factor was the heat and humidity.  After about 30 minutes, I found that I could not run any appreciable distance without gasping for air.  A one point during the run, I started to wonder if I was getting a heat stroke, which seems pretty melodramatic.

Anyway, after about 40 minutes, I finally asked Google maps to get me home, which it did.  There was a lot of walking in the second half of this adventure.  It was not the session I intended, but another 70′ of mostly low intensity cross training.

run

Tomorrow:  I have an early start and tired legs, so I think I will pass on the planned steady state session.

 

Wednesday: 3 x 30′ UT2/UT1

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Still in Shanghai.  I fly to Kumamoto early this afternoon, so I had time for a nice(?), long session in the fitness center.

  • 30′ incline treadmill (15% grade, 3.3mph)
  • 30′ Stationary bike (random profile, 15/25 load)
  • 30′ elliptical (rolling hills, 15/25 load)
  • HR limit ~150.  OK to exceed that briefly with variable load
  • ~1′ between machines

What a bore.  Listened to NPR’s “Ask Me Another” game show, and then a the “Daily Tech News Podcast”.  That got me into the last 30 minutes, when I needed a bit more motivation.  I switched over and listened to Steely Dan’s “Gaucho”, which brought me home in mellow style.

Screen Shot 2016-07-27 at 10.04.56 AM

Tomorrow: 60′ treadmill threshold run.

Tuesday: 45′ Threshold on Treadmill

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In Shanghai.

Nice fitness center, but no ergs in sight.

Plan called for a 10K run, but at 6am, I was surprised with an invitation to a conference call scheduled for 7am.  I only had time for 45 minutes in the gym, so I just set the treadmill to 2% grade, 6mph and 45′ and went.

It was just about right in terms of training effect, maybe I could have pushed just a little bit harder, but not much.  I saw some weird HR monitor effects in the second half of the run, but it was above UT for the last 25 minutes.  I’ll try the H7 tomorrow to see if that’s better.

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 9.25.46 AM.png

Tomorrow:  Plan calls for for 80′ of UT2/UT1.  I’ll probably do some kind of a fitness center triathlon.

Head Race Training – Week 2 review

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Date Day Workout Type mode Planned Workout Actual
7/18/16 Mon Rest  rest  rest  rest
7/19/16 Tue Hard Distance otw 4 x 2900 / 1′ rest r24 (HR limit 170), 50′ HIT, 30′ LIT  4×2800/4’rest, r26, no HR limit, 50′ HIT, 30′ LIT
7/20/16 Wed Steady State otw 4 x 2900 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit 150), 70′ LIT  4×2800/1’r, r20, HR limit 155, 70′ LIT
7/21/16 Thu Hard Distance otw 4 x 2900 / 1′ rest r24 (HR limit 170), 50′ HIT, 30′ LIT  No training
7/22/16 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 otw Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half, 70′ LIT  No Training
7/23/16 Sat Hard Distance otw 4 x 2900 / 1′ rest r24 (HR limit 170), 50′ HIT, 30′ LIT CTC: 30′ HIT, 30′ LIT
7/24/16 Sun Rest  rest rest yard work: 180′, about 60′ of LIT
summary  150′ HIT, 230′ LIT  80′ HIT, 190′ LIT

I think that three days with no training is bound to have a negative effect.  My weight is up.  Hopefully, I can do some good cross training this week and keep some discipline in my food and drink intake.

Thurs: No Training, Fri: No Training, Saturday: CTC, Sunday: Yard Work

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Well, you make your choices and you own them.  This week was quarterly business review week at work, and it’s a big week to prepare our status from the prior quarter and present it to executive management.  There is also a lot of activity to get ready for our earnings call.  Anyway, this quarter it meant early starts to the work day and late nights and no time for training.

Wednesday:  I was at work until around 8pm, got home around 9

Thursday:  I had meetings starting at 9, but I had to do some prep for them so I was at my desk at 7.  No time to go rowing, or even hit the gym at work.  Meetings were back to back from 9am to 7pm.

Friday:  My meetings started at 8am, and again I had prep work to do before, so I was at my desk at 7.  I had meetings most of the morning, then more prep, then a big review from 2 to about 6pm.  I got home after 7.  And I was totally exahausted.  I don;t think I had gotten more than 5 hours sleep any night of the week so far.  I decided there was no way I could get up early to row out at Quinsig.  I conked out around 11, and slept until around 9am.  It was bliss!

Saturday:  I had a another busy day.  We had our work family day at an amusement park about an hour away from home and I needed to do some shopping for a trip to China and Japan.  But I desperately wanted to get some training in.  I decided to do the July CTC as soon as I got out of bed.

Screen Shot 2016-07-24 at 6.54.52 PM

It’s always a guessing game to do these sessions when I am not erging regularly.  This looked a lot like a Wolverine L2 session, like the waterfall (3K/2.5K/2K), and I can usually hold about a <1:50 pace for sessions like that, so I thought I would go for that as my pace.

I warmed up with rate ladder 18/20/22/24/26 over the planned 2813m distance, and then paddled a bit in the 4 minute rest.  I let the flywheel completely stop so my first rep of the CTC would be legal.

I took off at my 1:50 pace and very soon realized that it was way too aggressive.  I started to bleed off speed about half way through the rep and by the time I finished, I had let the average pace creep up to 1:51.

I knew even that was too spicy and I set out on rep #2 targeting 1:52.  Again, it was too much for me and I slowed in the middle.

The last rep, I figured i was toast.  I started off trying to hold the 1:52.6 from the last rep, but it was not working out very well.  I saw lots of 1:55s and some 1:56s in the middle, but with a bit less than 2K to go, I found a bit of energy (and pride) and started to bear down.  The split came back in line and I was seeing 1:54s and 1:53s.  Then I started seeing 1:52s.  With 1000m left, I was counting down strokes.  My avg pace was still above 1:54, but I was seeing it come down.  As Rocket Roy describes it, the “red mist” descended and I sudenly thought I might be able to equal my previous rep.  Turns out I missed it 3 tenths of a second.  I dug my way out of a really deep hole.

I did a quick cool down and then had some breakfast.

2016-07-23 10.42.06.jpg

 

The rest of the day was a blur.  Shopping, off to the picnic, back from the picnic, laundry and packing.

Sunday:  I had to leave for the airport around 11am, and I really needed to get some yard work done before I took off.  There were trees to be pruned, and a bunch of shrubs and hedges that needed trimming.  I was hoping to dispatch it quickly and do an hour on the erg, but it took nearly 3 hours and I finished with barely enough time for a shower before I had to head off to the airport.

Now I am in a plane somewhere over canada, near mackenzie bay.  I am on my way to Shanghai for some customer meetings on tuesday.  Wednesday, I fly over to our plant in Kumamoto Japan.  Our building was essentially destroyed by the recent earthquakes and the folks we have working for us there have been doing an amazing job improvising, finding space, and supporting our local customers.  I’m visiting to see the damage and review our reconstruction plans.  I fly home during the day on Friday.

In other words.  More cross training this week.