5×1500/3’r

March 19, 2015Leave a comment

Back to a classic. On slides.

Warmup: 20′ at r20 and 190W. Tested lactate: 1.7mmol/l (perfect)

Main set: 5×1500 / 3′ rest

Pace Target: 1:50

Felt like hard work, but in each rep except for the last, I was running ahead of target and allowed myself to bleed off a little pace in the last 500. I managed to negative split each rep. When I got to the last rep, I decided to see what I had left in the tank. I rated up, and saw that I was OK holding about a 1:44 through the first 500. So I decided to try to hang on at that pace. HR was reasonably low for the last rep of one of these workouts, but I was really working hard to try to hold on through the last 500m. Desperately counting strokes and trying to sit up straight.

Finished off with a 2K happy ending cool down, starting at 2:00 and dropping 0:05 slower each 500.

Tomorrow: 4×20′ at 190W

3x5K / 2’r

March 18, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

I spent the day in meetings in Phoenix and then had dinner with the customer. I wolfed down a delicious bone in rib-eye, drained a couple of glasses of Guiness (it was St. Patrick’s Day after all) and then bolted for the airport to catch the red eye.

My red eye arrived in Boston around 5:45AM and after waiting for a shuttle bus to my car for nearly half an hour, I just decided to go home instead of heading straight to work to grab a nap.

A couple more hours of sleep was definitely a good thing, but I was still not in the mood to face a more intense interval session. So, I substituted a steady state session to keep working on aerobic base. I rowed this at home on a static erg.

Today’s session was 3x5K with about 2 minute rests between pieces. Target power was 188W. I tested lactate after the first 5K and got 1.7mmol/l, right in the sweet spot.

The next two pieces, I pushed up the power to 190W and was gratified to see my HR stay quite low with minimal drift over the 60 minutes. I ended the session feeling better than when I started.

1st 5K – 188W – Lactate = 1.7 at end

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 18, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:29.9_|_02:03.0_|_188.1_|_18.9_|_134.0_|_ 63.8% _|_12.9_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI
01_|_01250_|_05:05.5_|_02:02.2_|_191.8_|_19.2_|_125.2_|_ 57.6% _|_12.8_|_10.0
02_|_01250_|_05:07.3_|_02:02.9_|_188.5_|_18.7_|_135.9_|_ 65.2% _|_13.0_|_10.1
03_|_01250_|_05:07.9_|_02:03.1_|_187.4_|_18.7_|_137.3_|_ 66.2% _|_13.0_|_10.0
04_|_01250_|_05:09.3_|_02:03.7_|_184.8_|_18.8_|_137.7_|_ 66.4% _|_12.9_|_09.8

2nd 5K – 190W avg

01_|_01250_|_05:05.5_|_02:02.2_|_191.9_|_19.8_|_131.7_|_ 62.2% _|_12.4_|_09.7
02_|_01250_|_05:06.6_|_02:02.6_|_189.8_|_18.8_|_138.3_|_ 66.9% _|_13.0_|_10.1
03_|_01250_|_05:06.7_|_02:02.7_|_189.6_|_19.0_|_139.7_|_ 67.9% _|_12.9_|_10.0
04_|_01250_|_05:06.1_|_02:02.4_|_190.7_|_19.0_|_140.0_|_ 68.1% _|_12.9_|_10.0

3rd 5K – 190W avg

Output

Workout Summary – Mar 18, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:24.9_|_02:02.5_|_190.4_|_18.8_|_140.3_|_ 68.3% _|_13.1_|_10.2
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01250_|_05:05.6_|_02:02.2_|_191.7_|_19.0_|_136.3_|_ 65.5% _|_12.9_|_10.1
02_|_01250_|_05:05.8_|_02:02.3_|_191.2_|_18.6_|_141.6_|_ 69.2% _|_13.2_|_10.3
03_|_01250_|_05:07.0_|_02:02.8_|_189.0_|_18.8_|_142.8_|_ 70.1% _|_13.0_|_10.1
04_|_01250_|_05:06.5_|_02:02.6_|_189.9_|_18.6_|_140.6_|_ 68.5% _|_13.2_|_10.2

Tomorrow: Another attempt at the 5×1500 that I blew off today. 1:50 pace target.

Fun in the desert. 4×20’/1’r at Scorpion Crossfit

March 18, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

In Phoenix. There was a great Crossfit box less than half a mile from my hotel. They let me use an erg and didn’t even charge me a guest fee. They were also very nice, just like every other crossfit that I’ve visited.

I just wanted to munch some meters today. I intended to row at 186W, but the atmosphere got to me and I ended up pushing harder and running a higher heart rate than I should have. My HR monitor started acting stupid after 40 minutes, but even before that I was pushing up into the low 150s. After 60 minutes, I had to make a decision to either slow it way down or have a little fun. I decided on fun in the form of a 20 minute L4 with these powers

r18 – 180

r20 – 200

r22 -220

And I rowed 22/20/18/22/20/18/22/20/18/22 (2′ each). It was good sweaty exercise.

While I was rowing I saw them working on the WOD which was 8 rounds of 30 seconds on the rower shooting for max calories, then 30 seconds of box jumps with 30 second rests for 8 rounds. I didn’t see what they were pulling, but I did one 30 second rep just to try it out. I managed 19 calories in 30 seconds, which is about a 1:25 split.

Tomorrow: I’m due for an interval session. I’m thinking 5×1500 at a sedate 1:50 to keep things ticking over. I may back off since I will be fresh off the red eye.

Another 10K Threshold Workout

March 16, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

Pressed for time today and in the mood for something a bit spicier than the normal steady state. So, I thought doing another 10K at about a 200W pace and working on keeping the stroke rate up around 25 and using half decent form.

As it turned out, I felt more comfortable up at about 220W and I decided to just go with it. Rowing up at 25 on slides felt nice and smooth and I was able to maintain pretty good posture. My HR got pretty high at the end, but I didn’t feel like I was in trouble at any point.

A very satisfying row. Based on the high heart rate at the end, it appears I am not yet as efficient on slides for longer rows.

Tomorrow: Tonight I am heading out toe Phoenix. I’ll see if I can find myself a nice crossfit box to row in tomorrow morning. 4×20 would be the plan.

Non-rest rest day. 2x5K sub UT2

March 15, 20154 Comments

I usually try to take 1 rest day per week, but I also want to keep going with Mud Season madness. So far I’ve missed 3 days, and you can need to get 25 days of rowing in March in to meet the challenge.

Nonetheless, I wanted to go very easy today, so I just did a 5K lactate test, and then a sub-UT2 5K cool down.

Lactate test was much more in line with what I expected today. 186W, 137HR and 1.7mmol/l lactate. So, 186W is a fine training power for static erg. I think it’s a good thing that my static and slide training power is converging.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 15, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:33.0_|_02:03.3_|_186.7_|_19.1_|_128.6_|_ 60.0% _|_12.8_|_09.8
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01250_|_05:06.5_|_02:02.6_|_190.0_|_19.4_|_112.7_|_ 48.7% _|_12.6_|_09.8
02_|_01250_|_05:07.5_|_02:03.0_|_188.1_|_19.5_|_130.6_|_ 61.4% _|_12.5_|_09.6
03_|_01250_|_05:08.9_|_02:03.6_|_185.6_|_19.0_|_134.7_|_ 64.3% _|_12.8_|_09.7
04_|_01250_|_05:10.1_|_02:04.0_|_183.4_|_18.4_|_136.9_|_ 65.9% _|_13.2_|_10.0

To make the second piece a bit more entertaining, I started at a 2:03 pace and slowed down by 3 seconds for each 1000m split. It was a good way to keep working on posture.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 15, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_21:22.5_|_02:08.2_|_165.9_|_18.5_|_129.6_|_ 60.7% _|_12.7_|_09.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_04:04.8_|_02:02.4_|_190.9_|_20.1_|_126.7_|_ 58.6% _|_12.2_|_09.5
02_|_01000_|_04:10.7_|_02:05.4_|_177.6_|_19.6_|_133.9_|_ 63.8% _|_12.2_|_09.1
03_|_01000_|_04:16.1_|_02:08.1_|_166.7_|_18.7_|_132.2_|_ 62.5% _|_12.5_|_08.9
04_|_01000_|_04:23.3_|_02:11.7_|_153.4_|_16.9_|_129.7_|_ 60.8% _|_13.5_|_09.1
05_|_01000_|_04:27.6_|_02:13.8_|_146.2_|_17.3_|_125.4_|_ 57.7% _|_13.0_|_08.5

Tomorrow: Scheduled for a 4×20′ steady state session. I have to figure out when I can squeeze in a workout. I’ve got all kinds of logistical challenges between car repairs and a flight off to Phoenix in the evening. One way or another, I’ll get at least 10K in.

10K Threshold (Season Best!)

March 14, 2015Leave a comment

Started with a 20′ lactate test as a warmup. Heart rate was very low and it felt very easy, but lactates were up at 2.4mmol/l. I was so confused that I retested and got exactly the same number.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 14, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04858_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_185.8_|_19.5_|_126.6_|_ 58.6% _|_12.5_|_09.6
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01218_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.2_|_187.2_|_19.6_|_110.2_|_ 46.9% _|_12.4_|_09.6
02_|_01217_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.3_|_186.7_|_19.6_|_129.3_|_ 60.5% _|_12.4_|_09.5
03_|_01214_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.4_|_19.4_|_133.3_|_ 63.3% _|_12.5_|_09.6
04_|_01210_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.9_|_183.9_|_19.2_|_133.8_|_ 63.7% _|_12.6_|_09.6

Lactate –> 2.4mmol/l

Not sure why the lactates were so high. My best guess is that I did not do this row first thing in the morning and I had a fairly large, carb loaded breakfast a couple of hours before hand, which can impact fat metabolism. Oh well. I will drop back to 183W for tomorrow and see what happens.

Anyway, on to the main event. I was not intending to push for a season best, and frankly, I didn’t even know what my season best was when I was rowing. I intended to set out at a 1:55 pace, but 1:53 felt pretty comfortable, so I went with it and gave myself permission to slow down if it got too intense.

I was in a nice groove and working really hard, but feeling like I could keep it up. I was working on sitting up straight and getting good back swing both of the drive and on the recovery. I counted to 24 strokes every minute and it kept me focused on the short term. I really didn’t think about how much further I had to go except when I passed the 1000m splits.

With about 3K to go, my HR was pretty high and I was feeling like I was close to the edge, so I tried to up the rate and ease up the pressure a little. I kept at it until I had 250m to go and then finished with a pathetic little sprint.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 14, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_10000_|_37:41.2_|_01:53.1_|_242.2_|_24.0_|_168.0_|_ 88.0% _|_11.0_|_10.1
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_03:47.2_|_01:53.6_|_238.8_|_23.5_|_137.0_|_ 65.9% _|_11.2_|_10.2
02_|_01000_|_03:45.9_|_01:52.9_|_242.9_|_23.6_|_155.9_|_ 79.4% _|_11.2_|_10.3
03_|_01000_|_03:45.9_|_01:52.9_|_243.0_|_23.6_|_163.7_|_ 84.9% _|_11.2_|_10.3
04_|_01000_|_03:46.3_|_01:53.1_|_241.6_|_23.9_|_166.6_|_ 87.0% _|_11.1_|_10.1
05_|_01000_|_03:45.4_|_01:52.7_|_244.6_|_24.0_|_170.4_|_ 89.7% _|_11.1_|_10.2
06_|_01000_|_03:45.7_|_01:52.8_|_243.6_|_24.2_|_173.6_|_ 91.9% _|_11.0_|_10.1
07_|_01000_|_03:46.4_|_01:53.2_|_241.3_|_23.9_|_175.7_|_ 93.4% _|_11.1_|_10.1
08_|_01000_|_03:48.0_|_01:54.0_|_236.4_|_24.0_|_176.8_|_ 94.2% _|_11.0_|_09.9
09_|_01000_|_03:47.3_|_01:53.7_|_238.3_|_24.3_|_178.7_|_ 95.5% _|_10.9_|_09.8
10_|_01000_|_03:43.2_|_01:51.6_|_251.8_|_25.5_|_180.7_|_ 97.0% _|_10.5_|_09.9

So, I am really happy with this row. I feel a bit redeemed for the disaster of the 6K last weekend.

I finished with a 2500m happy ending cool down. Starting at 2:05 pace and slowing by 0:05 every 500m.

Tomorrow: A non-rest rest day. 5K lactate test and then a very easy 5K to keep me in the running for mud season madness.

3×20’/1’r – tired today

March 13, 2015March 13, 2015Leave a comment

At 184W. Lactate after 20 minutes was 2.2mmol/l. I suspect that was related to forgetting to turn on the fan, but even after that, my HR kept climbing and it felt like it was much harder work than yesterday.

Anyway, I was out of time and tired out after 3 pieces, so I blew off the last planned 20 minute piece. I hit a HR at 156 BPM with about 5 minutes left in the l3rd piece, so I backed off from 184 to 180w from there to the end to stop the HR drift.

A good solid 60 minutes of rowing though. Feeling very comfortable on slides, with better recoveries than before.

I’ll do Monday’s row at 184 and retest. If it’s still above 2.2, I’ll drop back a couple of watts.

Tomorrow: 10K @ 1:55

Climbing the lactate ladder – 4×20’/1’r

March 12, 2015March 12, 2015Leave a comment

Yesterday’s test was 1.1mmol/l after 20 minutes at 180W. It was so low I thought it might just be a bad reading. Today, I had intended to stick at 180W and retest, but the pace got away from me and I was above 182W at the 10 minute mark and I didn’t want to slow way down to try to bring the average in line.

Test result after 20′ at 182W was 1.3mmol/l. This validates yesterday’s low reading and indicates I can push the power even a bit more. So I did. the next 3 pieces were done at 184W.

My HR monitor decided to not work today, so no pretty graph. I bet i was pushing the top of UT1 by the end. I was pretty tired.

Tomorrow: same thing…4×20/1’r at 184W

March CTC Attempt #2

March 11, 2015March 11, 2015Leave a comment

20 minute warmup:

On slides, 180W, r20. Forgot to turn on the fan, so a sweatier than usual.

Lactate –> 1.1mol/l (weirdly low, I think I’ll ignore it and stick with 180W for tomorrow)

Then a 1K with 3 power 10s, trying to push the pace below 1:25 and rate up above 45.

Then into the big event, the CTC. 3×250/2’r

Last time I botched the start of the first rep and ended up with 43.4, 42.8, 42.8 for a total of 2:09.0. This is a 1:26.0 pace (550W).

Today, I hit the first start reasonably well, and pushed each rep as hard as I could. This resulted in all reps faster than last time and an improvement to 2:06.3, for an average pace of 1:24.2 (586W). I felt pretty wobbly afterwards. And I scrubbed plans to another couple sets of sprints in favor of a long cool down, some of which was done hard enough to try to effectively clear some of the lactate in my legs. I felt better afterwards, but I’m still remarkably tired for 750m and 2 minutes of hard work.

Tomorrow: 4×20’/1’r at 180W

20′ + 30′ steady state

March 9, 2015Leave a comment

Pressed for time this morning. Only had time for a 50 minute session.

Stuck with 183W for the training power. HR and lactate were lower than yesterday. I wanted to stick to r20, but at first, I was more comfortable at r19.

Last 5 min Avg HR –> 135, Lactate –> 1.8

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 09, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04837_|_20:00.0_|_02:04.0_|_183.4_|_19.3_|_128.8_|_ 60.2% _|_12.5_|_09.5
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01211_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.9_|_184.0_|_18.8_|_115.5_|_ 50.7% _|_12.9_|_09.8
02_|_01210_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.9_|_183.9_|_19.2_|_129.5_|_ 60.7% _|_12.6_|_09.6
03_|_01210_|_05:00.0_|_02:04.0_|_183.5_|_19.8_|_134.7_|_ 64.3% _|_12.2_|_09.3
04_|_01207_|_05:00.0_|_02:04.3_|_182.2_|_19.4_|_135.1_|_ 64.6% _|_12.4_|_09.4

Then I did 30 minutes. I had some trouble with my headphones, so I stopped at the beginning for about 10 seconds. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to claw my way back to an average of 183W. I knew that it was the wrong thing to do, but I decided as long as my HR didn;t go too high, it would be OK. I slowed down to 183W in the last 6 or so minutes once I was back on track. I did a better job sticking to r20 in this piece too.

Tomorrow: Another steady state session.

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Category: Training Journal