Category: Training Journal

Friday: 8 x 500 / 3′ rest

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Training plan called for short intervals, so I defaulted to the classic…8×500/3′ rest.  I decided that it was OK to work against a pace target of 1:45.  This is a pretty tame since I was able to post a 1:40.8 for a 6×750/4’rest session at the end of January.

I haven’t done much sprint work and my training volume in February and March has been way down.  For November, December and January, I was averaging almost 100km a week.  Since the beginning of February, my weekly average is 43km.  Now, I have done my best to supplement that with cross training, but there is not way to make up for that kind of a “time on erg” deficit.  Anyway, so much for my excuse codes for a slow target.

Warm up was a standard fletcher.  It felt hard.

Then in to the main event.  I focused on trying to hit 30 SPM and get my heels down fast.  I’ve noticed that I have been rowing on my tip toes when I rate up and that will be bad news in the boat.  This pace was hard, but doable, and I managed a fair bit better than target.  I did the first one at 1:44, and knew I could go harder.  Same thing in the second where I did 1:43.  The rest were in the 1:42.x range, with a nice faster last.  There were some annoying drop outs in the HR data.  Looking at the Strava data, I see exactly the same thing, so it’s the strap, not the PM5.  I only seem to see it on these short interval sessions.  I wonder if the fast HR increases are confusing the algorithm in the strap.

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I was pretty much toast after that.  I did a 2K cool down.

I decided to pass on doing a weight session tonight.  Not enough time and I’m still suffering DOMS from the last session.

Tomorrow:  OTW!

Thursday: Insomnia and 3 x 20′ L4

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Last night I went to bed a bit before 11, and then woke up for good around 1:45.  I tossed and turned for 2 hours and then gave up. got up and did some reading until it was time to go to work.  I felt worn down and tired, but not at all sleepy.  I’m working through a fair amount of stress right now, so it’s not surprising.  It is, however, annoying.

So, I had plenty of time for a long session this morning, but, as it turns out, I didn’t have the energy.  I plugged through the first 20 minutes, but I just sort of gave up the will to row in the middle of the second 20 minute piece.  I sat around for a minute or so, trying to decide what to do,  and then restarted at a light paddle and just sort of coasted through the last 12 minutes of that chunk.

I wasn’t sure if I should quick or continue after that, but I decided to give it a go.  I elected to invent a new L4 stroke sequence, which I shall hence forth call the “Dash of Spice”.  It is 1 minute at 21 SPM (and 210W), and then 4 minutes at 18 spm (180W).  I did 4 sets of that and it was the right choice for this morning.  I could hold the 180W sections with a nice stable HR, and the 1 minute sections at 210W were a good way to break up the piece.

I consider it a session well rescued.

Tomorrow:  I think another 3 x 20′.  Saturday will likely be my first OTW outing of the season.  Probably in a quad.  I’ll try to convince my boat mates that a session that is half technical and half 30″ on / 60″ off is a good way to open up the season.

 

Wednesday: 3 x1500 / 3′ rest

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Original plan was 5×1500 / 5′ rest, but I needed to squeeze the workout into lunchtime, so I only had time 3 reps and I needed to cut the rest down and skip the cool down.

Despite that, it was pretty taxing.  I was feeling some DOMS from my adventures with weights the day before.  I used the first 1500 rep as a warm up and then focused on staying under a 1:50 split for the next three.  I used the final rest as a cool down, pushing the pace a little bit more than normal, mainly to get the total meters above 8000 for the session.

I was working harder than I would have hoped for the achieved pace.   Probably because of the lingering effects of the weight session, but also because I haven’t done much middle distance work for the past month.

Tuesday PM: Starting Strength

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I’m adding 2 strength training sessions per week to my OTW training plan.  From what I have read in a couple of places (Fast after Fifty by Joe Friel, and Rowing Stronger by Will Ruth), I am becoming more convinced that adding strength training is an important way to prevent injuries, and get faster, at least for sprints.  I have also spent some time reading the strength training chapter in Rowing Faster, authored by Ed McNeely.

Both the Daly book and the McNeely chapter divide strength training into 3 main phases.  Hypertrophy, Strength and Power.  Each one has a slightly different combination of volume, intensity, reps per set and number of sets.  The intensity for each exercise is set as a percentage of 1RM (1 Rep Max).  So the job yesterday was to figure out what that number is for the main lifts.

So, the main lifts I will be doing are Squats, Front Squats, Deadlifts, Power Cleans, Good Mornings, Bench Press, Strict press, and either seated or bench rows.  In addition, I will be doing pull ups, chin ups and some core work.  Each session will include 2 main lifts, plus either pull ups or chin ups, and core work.

Instead of pushing all the way to a “real” 1 rep max test, I decided to play it a bit safer and use a calculated method where you try to get to a weight where you can do somewhere between 1 and 10 reps.  It’s more accurate if you have less than 5 reps.

Then you use this formula to estimate your 1RM.  (Source: wikipedia)

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Here’s my results from yesterday.

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So, I haven’t done the exercise for Good Mornings, strict press or the rows.  I will probably just wing it with them when they come up in rotation.

The basic plan is 2 sessions per week.  One on Monday or Tuesday and the other on Thursday or Friday.  Each session will have 2 major lifts plus assistance exercises.  Some example workouts…

  • Back Squat, Power Cleans, Pull ups, ab roll outs
  • Deadlift, Front Squat, chin ups, planks
  • Back Squat, Bench press, seated rows, ab rolls outs
  • Deadlift, Good mornings, Press, chin ups

 

 

Tuesday: 3 x 20′ / 1′ rest L4

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Tough rowing today.  Felt quite tired.  HR was correspondingly high.  I didn’t measure lactate, but it would have been too high if I did.

Later today, I will try to start some strength training.  I will probably do some work to estimate 1RM for a few major exercises (Back squat, Front Squat, Strict press, bench press, power clean, dead lift, good mornings).  I will not go to failure on these, but use the method of getting to a weight where you can do less than 10 reps and then use the formula

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to figure out an estimate for what my 1RM would be.

Tomorrow morning: Long Intervals : 5 x 1500 / 5′ rest, target pace 1:50

Monday: 10K reasonably hard

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I was short on time this morning so I did a 10K.  I was in the mood for a bit of intensity, so I started off targeting 1:57.  Then pushed the pace down to around 1:54 as I went along.  It was about a 80-90% effort.

Doing it strapless was a bit of challenge.

I won’t have time for the strength session tonight.  I will push that to tomorrow night instead.  Tomorrow morning, 3 x 20’/1’rest.

 

Sunday: 3×20’/1′ rest L4

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Saturday:  Rest Day!

Sunday: 3 x 20′ / 1′ rest L4.

This is my first erg session in 9 days.  I did 5 sessions of cross training during that period, but it felt weird being back on the rowing machine.  I expected my HR to be a bit high and it was.

Check out the new plots derived from Painsled data.

HR Statistics.

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Monday:  40 minute steady state session in the morning and a strength session in the afternoon.

 

Thursday: Cebu – Treadmill Intervals!

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I was press for time and craving something with a bit more bite on Thursday morning.

So, I warmed up with 8 minutes of incline walking (15%, 5.5km/h).  Then I did alternating 2 minutes at 12km/h and 1 minute at 6kmph with the incline at 3%.  Sad to say that 12km/h on 3% grade is a pretty intense pace for a lumbering water buffalo like me.

My HR monitor began to misbehave in the middle of the session, but by all appearances, I was getting the right effect!

I did repeats until I had 5 minutes left and then I cooled down.  As near as I can figure it, that’s makes this a 9 x 2′ / 1′ rest session.

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This is my first time visiting the island of Cebu in the Philippines.  I stayed at beautiful resort very near our facility here.

Now I am on my way back to Boston, on a 5 hour layover in Narita.  I think I will go for a nice walk in a little while to pass the time.

Saturday morning will be a traditional post-travel L4 session on my erg at home.

Tuesday: 60′ Stationary Bike and Incline Treadmill

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Still in Singapore.  I had a bit less time, so a 60 minute session.  Still trying to keep the intensity low.

30 minutes on the stationary bike.  This was too easy.

30 minutes on the treadmill with the incline set to max (15% grade).  Then I played around with the speed to keep me right in the middle of the UT1 HR zone.  It worked out to a fast walk around 3.5 mph.

Today the water was flavored with fresh strawberry slices.  Very classy.  I felt bad about the giant sweat puddles I left under the bike and treadmill.

Now, I have moved on to Bangkok.  This hotel has an admirably equipped gym, but still no rowing machine.  I think I might do 60 minutes of aerobic work and a short strength session, just to spice things up a bit.