Friday: 10K Cat VI plus Strength

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Full PT Suite

10K Cat VI.  Target pace 2:05.  Felt pretty awful.

          Workout Summary - media/20180216-1310300o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10000|41:34.0|02:04.7|179.8|18.1|150.5|158.0|13.3
W-|10000|41:34.0|02:04.7|179.8|18.1|150.4|158.0|13.3
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|158.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|02000|08:16.7|02:04.2|180.5|17.6|136.5|148.0|13.7
01|02000|08:17.0|02:04.2|182.3|18.2|151.1|154.0|13.3
02|02000|08:18.3|02:04.6|180.9|18.1|154.9|158.0|13.3
03|02000|08:20.4|02:05.1|179.0|18.3|154.6|156.0|13.1
04|02000|08:22.4|02:05.6|176.6|18.3|154.7|157.0|13.1

Then strength

  • KB Swings – 3 x 20 16kg
  • Torso rotations – 2 x 2 x 10 – position 6
  • Front squats – 5 x 6 – 115lbs
  • Pull ups – 5, 3, 3, 2

 

Feeling a bit better: Feb 8 to Feb 15

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Last time I posted, I had decided to take a step back and mix up my training a bit to try to get some momentum back.  The good news is that I think it is working, at least I am feeling a bit more relaxed than I was.

Thursday, Feb 8: Strength Training

  • Full PT Suite
  • Front Squats, KB Swings, Pull ups, Deadlifts

Friday, Feb 9: No Training.  Spent my training time working on my project looking at how aging effects rowing performance by mistake.  I was only going to make one little tweak to my “R” code and when I looked up 90 minutes had gone by.

Saturday, Feb 10: 4 x 20′ / 3′ (On Slides)

I bought a pair of slides a couple years ago and they have been in the gym at work.  I have rarely used them because it’s a pain to set them up and break them down after ech session.  I decided to bring them home and use them on my erg down on the cape.

It was awesome!  I loved the feeling of rowing on slides again.  With the technique stuff I’ve been working on the rowing motion felt really fluid.  Add in the fact that this erg has a core perform seat and it felt very much like real rowing.

My goal was just to get some low intensity meters in, and keep my HR below 155.

Workout Summary - media/20180210-1840300o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|20016|92:00.0|02:17.9|165.8|19.1|146.3|158.0|11.4
W-|18992|80:00.0|02:06.4|173.3|19.0|147.8|158.0|12.5
R-|01030|12:00.0|05:49.6|070.8|20.3|130.5|158.0|02.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04776|20:00.0|02:05.6|175.6|18.7|140.3|152.0|12.8
01|04724|20:00.0|02:07.0|170.6|18.8|148.7|155.0|12.5
02|04739|20:00.0|02:06.6|173.0|19.2|151.0|158.0|12.4
03|04753|20:00.0|02:06.2|173.9|19.3|151.0|157.0|12.3

I found it very natural to row about 1 spm higher on slides, and I was maybe 1 second slower than on a static machine.  The difference between rowing on slides and rowing on the dynamic is night and day.

Sunday, Feb 11: 8 x (4:30 @ 18, 0:30 @ 30+)/30″ (On Slides)

To follow up on that blissful session I wanted to have a bit more fun on slides.  I really like this 8 x 5′ with 30 sec sprint session.  I’ve been doing this kind of sessions more since reading this book.  The One Minute Workout

It was a blast doing it on slides.  I could rate up very easily, which I can’t seem to do on the dynamic machine.

Workout Summary - media/20180211-1530300o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10387|44:00.0|02:07.1|217.6|22.1|148.1|172.0|10.7
W-|09816|40:00.0|02:02.3|199.8|20.5|147.1|172.0|12.3
R-|00584|04:00.0|03:25.3|257.1|29.3|159.6|172.0|04.1
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|01094|04:30.0|02:03.4|184.8|19.9|117.9|135.0|12.2
01|00153|00:30.0|01:38.0|369.6|34.7|140.5|146.0|08.8
02|01078|04:30.0|02:05.2|181.7|18.0|136.0|143.0|13.3
03|00156|00:30.0|01:35.9|386.7|35.2|143.6|150.0|08.9
04|01067|04:30.0|02:06.5|176.9|18.6|142.5|153.0|12.8
05|00160|00:30.0|01:33.8|395.0|36.9|146.9|150.0|08.7
06|01070|04:30.0|02:06.2|174.9|17.7|146.8|158.0|13.4
07|00163|00:30.0|01:31.8|442.5|38.2|150.0|155.0|08.5
08|01060|04:30.0|02:07.4|174.9|18.7|152.2|164.0|12.6
09|00161|00:30.0|01:33.3|426.6|38.8|154.0|158.0|08.3
10|01070|04:30.0|02:06.2|175.3|18.4|156.3|166.0|12.9
11|00159|00:30.0|01:34.4|399.9|37.1|158.2|161.0|08.6
12|01052|04:30.0|02:08.4|172.3|18.9|158.9|169.0|12.3
13|00157|00:30.0|01:35.7|399.1|36.5|158.3|162.0|08.6
14|01057|04:30.0|02:07.7|173.5|19.1|162.4|172.0|12.3
15|00159|00:30.0|01:34.2|437.6|38.8|162.5|165.0|08.2

Another delightful session.  The feeling of rowing on slides was so different that I decided to take a quick video to see how my technique looked.  Spoiler alert:  I have work to do.

Despite my best efforts, I am still not getting my body over before breaking my knees on recovery.

Monday, Feb 12: Strength Training plus 40 minutes Cat VI

Full PT suite.

40′ Cat VI row.  A great row.  Felt very easy.  Nice low HR.

Workout Summary - media/20180212-1305260o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09684|40:00.0|02:03.9|183.5|18.9|139.0|145.0|12.8
W-|09685|40:00.0|02:03.9|183.5|18.9|139.0|145.0|12.8
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|145.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04832|20:00.0|02:04.2|181.8|18.8|136.6|144.0|12.9
01|04853|20:00.0|02:03.6|185.2|19.0|141.4|145.0|12.7

Was able to speed up a bit in the second half because my HR was so low.

Then I did a Strength Session

  • KB Swings 3 x 20 with 16kg
  • Front Squats 4 x 8 with 145 lb
  • Trunk rotation with 50 2 sets of 10 each side
  • Pull ups: 5,4,3,3

Tuesday, Feb 13: 10 x 500/2′ @ 22

PT Suite

Enjoyable little workout.

Workout Summary - media/20180213-1340290o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10941|44:54.0|02:03.1|194.3|19.3|153.6|167.0|12.6
W-|10941|44:55.0|02:03.2|192.3|19.1|153.5|167.0|12.9
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|167.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00500|02:04.6|02:04.6|173.6|17.0|110.6|128.0|14.1
01|00500|01:59.0|01:59.0|209.2|21.0|137.9|143.0|12.0
02|00500|02:07.4|02:07.4|179.2|16.9|142.7|144.0|13.9
03|00500|01:57.4|01:57.4|213.7|21.7|146.3|150.0|11.8
04|00500|02:08.3|02:08.3|172.7|17.6|148.5|150.0|13.3
05|00500|01:57.4|01:57.4|215.1|21.2|149.1|152.0|12.1
06|00500|02:05.9|02:05.9|170.3|17.6|151.5|154.0|13.5
07|00500|01:58.2|01:58.2|219.4|21.3|151.0|154.0|11.9
08|00500|02:05.0|02:05.0|175.9|17.7|153.4|155.0|13.6
09|00500|01:58.7|01:58.7|218.3|20.7|154.3|157.0|12.2
10|00500|02:07.0|02:07.0|173.7|17.6|156.1|158.0|13.4
11|00500|01:59.3|01:59.3|211.7|21.3|156.7|160.0|11.8
12|00500|02:07.8|02:07.8|178.9|17.1|159.3|161.0|13.7
13|00500|01:58.3|01:58.3|217.6|21.3|159.8|162.0|11.9
14|00500|02:09.8|02:09.8|177.6|17.8|160.8|164.0|13.0
15|00500|01:57.9|01:57.9|214.6|21.8|161.7|164.0|11.7
16|00500|02:06.0|02:06.0|178.0|18.1|162.4|164.0|13.1
17|00500|01:59.5|01:59.5|205.1|21.0|163.5|165.0|12.0
18|00500|02:05.1|02:05.1|179.6|17.5|163.3|165.0|13.7
19|00500|01:58.7|01:58.7|222.9|21.2|164.8|167.0|11.9
20|00500|02:08.0|02:08.0|179.8|16.9|165.6|167.0|13.8
21|00441|01:56.2|02:11.6|156.5|16.8|159.1|162.0|13.6

Wednesday, Feb 14: Strength Training only

I was pressed for time.  Distracted by the Aging related decline project again.

Full PT Suite

Strength Session

  • KB Swings – 3 x 20 with 16kg
  • Front squats – 4 x 8 with 145lbs, 1 x 8 with 165lbs
  • trunk rotations – 2 x 2 x 10 with 50 lbs
  • Pull ups – 5, 4, 3, 3
  • Dead lifts – 5 x 8 x 150lbs

Thursday, Feb 15:  No Training.  Rest Day

 

Rough patch

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I got back from Korea late Friday night, around 11pm.  And even though the flights were fine and I got some rest on the flight, I was wasted.  I struggled to sleep on Friday night, and Saturday night, and Sunday night, and Monday night.  Each night, I would fall asleep, but wake up at 2am and spend the rest of the night tossing and turning.  I didn’t get a good night sleep until last night when I got 7 blissful hours.

Along with the sleep issues, I felt rundown and grumpy during the day.  My motivation to train was low and my training sessions were abysmal.  A lot of this was just being tired, but also knowing that I am in a period with a lot of travel and no immediate training objective makes it hard to push through.  Maybe it’s good not to in this case.

I reached out to Marlene for advice and she was fine with backing off a bit.  I decided to change things up.  For the next couple weeks, I’m modifying the plan.

  1.  Faithfully do my PT exercises 5 or 6  times a week
  2. 3x mini-strength sessions a week
    1. KB swings
    2. pull ups
    3. front squats
  3. on non-strength days do shorter erg sessions, working on proper technique and base aerobic fitness
  4. on strength days, do a short erg warmup and maybe a bit of cross training on the treadmill

I’ll do this through Feb 24th and then dive back into normal training.  The goal then will be to get ready to get back on the water.  I feel better having made the mental switch.

Recent training details….

Saturday – 2/3:  In the evening, I decided to try to do what I thought would be an easy 10K push on the dynamic.  I started at 2:04, and aimed to finish at 1:55.  I made it 6K and then backed off to a paddle.  With 1000m left, I was pretty pissed off, so I targeted 1:55 and it nearly killed me.

Workout Summary - media/20180204-0310250o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10000|40:33.0|02:01.7|196.8|21.8|158.8|182.0|11.3
W-|10000|40:33.0|02:01.7|195.2|21.6|157.9|182.0|11.5
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|182.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|01000|04:07.0|02:03.5|183.9|18.9|120.4|136.0|12.8
01|01000|04:05.3|02:02.6|189.4|20.2|145.6|150.0|12.1
02|01000|04:03.2|02:01.6|194.4|21.3|154.1|157.0|11.6
03|01000|04:01.3|02:00.7|199.4|22.2|158.9|161.0|11.2
04|01000|03:59.1|01:59.6|204.6|22.8|163.6|165.0|11.0
05|01000|03:57.6|01:58.8|208.7|23.5|168.0|170.0|10.8
06|01000|04:11.8|02:05.9|182.3|21.1|164.4|172.0|11.3
07|01000|04:09.9|02:04.9|179.2|19.9|164.0|167.0|12.1
08|01000|04:10.9|02:05.4|177.4|19.8|166.2|168.0|12.1
09|01000|03:47.8|01:53.9|237.5|26.7|175.6|182.0|09.9

Sunday:  I felt pretty awful all day long and didn’t train.

Monday:  Not much sleep, headed in to the gym with the intent to do the tough session that was originally planned for Saturday:

  • 6 x (3’@28, 7’@18) / 1′
  • 3’@28: Cat III (1:48)
  • 7’@18: Cat VI (2:05-2:08)

I gave it my best, but I flamed out after 3.  My HR never really came back down.  This was kind of a low point for me.  That’s when I reached out for advice.

Workout Summary - media/20180205-1240290o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|07618|33:00.0|02:10.0|205.6|21.2|154.4|174.0|10.9
W-|07469|30:00.0|02:00.5|202.5|20.5|155.5|174.0|12.3
R-|00154|03:00.0|09:45.6|014.9|12.0|152.5|174.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00828|03:00.0|01:48.7|264.6|26.1|130.0|154.0|10.6
01|01661|07:00.0|02:06.5|173.9|17.7|147.4|155.0|13.4
02|00828|03:00.0|01:48.7|268.6|26.4|156.1|169.0|10.4
03|01664|07:00.0|02:06.2|175.9|18.3|160.6|170.0|13.0
04|00820|03:00.0|01:49.7|263.6|26.3|159.2|174.0|10.4
05|01667|07:00.0|02:05.9|176.6|18.3|167.5|174.0|13.0

Tuesday – 2/6:

Another night of bad sleep.  I was awake from 2am, and gave up trying around 4am.  I did a couple of crossword puzzles and then headed to work early.

The plan:

  • PT exercises
  • Mini strength session (KB swings, front squats, pull ups)
  • 40 minute erg

The PT exercises were fine.  I had a blast with the strength stuff

  • 3 sets of 20 KB swings with a 16kg kettle bell.  I felt the third set.  I think I need a heavier KB, this is the biggest one on the rack at work.
  • Front squats:  I’ve always done regular back squats.   Mainly because you can do heavier weights.  But from what I’ve been reading, front squats are a bit more functional for rowing related strength, and because the weight is more limited, and you are forced into a more erect posture, there is less risk of injury.  Today, I did a set of 10 with the bare bar, and 5 sets of 8 with 50 lbs on the bar.  I felt that in the last set as well.
  • Pull ups.  5, 4, 3, 2, 1 with about 30 seconds between sets

Then onto the erg.  Between the swings and the squats, there was nothing left in my legs.  I was having trouble holding a Cat VI pace.  I lasted for 20 minutes and decided that it was no fun at all.

Workout Summary - media/20180206-1640290o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|04771|20:14.0|02:07.3|171.7|17.9|149.6|156.0|13.2
W-|04777|20:14.0|02:07.1|171.4|17.9|149.7|156.0|13.2
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|156.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00488|02:00.0|02:03.0|180.6|17.3|125.0|144.0|14.1
01|00481|02:00.0|02:04.7|180.4|18.4|146.5|150.0|13.1
02|00480|02:00.0|02:05.1|179.1|18.4|150.1|151.0|13.1
03|00474|02:00.0|02:06.6|172.9|18.2|151.5|153.0|13.0
04|00471|02:00.0|02:07.5|168.8|18.2|151.7|153.0|13.0
05|00470|02:00.0|02:07.6|168.8|17.4|153.9|154.0|13.5
06|00469|02:00.0|02:08.0|167.0|17.3|153.9|154.0|13.5
07|00471|02:00.0|02:07.3|169.5|18.2|154.7|156.0|13.0
08|00469|02:00.0|02:08.1|166.5|18.0|155.5|156.0|13.0
09|00470|02:00.0|02:07.8|168.0|17.9|154.1|155.0|13.1
10|00035|00:14.5|03:27.9|105.4|14.3|155.0|155.0|10.1

So, I was tired of rowing, but I felt like doing more.  I decided to go do a couple of HIIT bursts on the treadmill.  I cranked the incline to 15% and fast walked for 4:20.  Then I cranked the speed up to 7mph and sprinted until 5:00.  With the lag of the machine, I was basically at speed for 30 full seconds.  At the 5 minute mark, I hopped off the belt and then turned the speed back down.  I did that 4 times total.  Like before, I seemed to get better at the mechanics of sprinting, essentially running more on my toes and increasing my cadence.  I guess that is the running equivalent of “rating up”.

Screen Shot 2018-02-07 at 2.03.12 PM

Wednesday:  Ah bliss!  I slept 7 hours last night without any insomnia.  I got up at 5:15 and headed off to work.  I was almost paralyzed by DOMS from my tiny strength session yesterday.  I guess that’s a good sign that I should keep a session or two of strength work in my rotation all the time.  My thighs were the sorest, but my butt, my lats and forearms all let me know that they were quite upset with me.  I kinda liked it.

Today, I was short on time and wanted a light session anyway.  So, after doing minimal PT exercises,  I decided to just do a 10k  at Cat VI (r18/2:05).  That’s what I did.  HR was still higher than it should have been, but that might have been because of the muscle soreness.

Pretty unremarkable, huh?

        Workout Summary - media/20180207-1345260o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09996|41:33.0|02:04.7|180.1|18.2|146.0|157.0|13.2
W-|10000|41:34.0|02:04.7|180.1|18.2|146.0|157.0|13.2
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|157.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00980|04:03.5|02:04.3|177.2|17.5|120.3|134.0|13.8
01|01009|04:11.5|02:04.6|181.2|18.3|139.7|145.0|13.1
02|00990|04:06.5|02:04.5|181.4|18.3|144.7|145.0|13.2
03|01007|04:11.0|02:04.7|180.8|18.4|144.3|147.0|13.1
04|00996|04:09.0|02:05.0|179.3|18.2|148.2|151.0|13.2
05|01009|04:12.0|02:04.9|179.7|18.2|149.3|151.0|13.2
06|00989|04:06.5|02:04.7|180.9|18.2|151.1|152.0|13.2
07|01009|04:11.5|02:04.7|180.8|18.3|152.8|154.0|13.2
08|00997|04:09.0|02:04.9|179.7|18.3|154.2|155.0|13.1
09|01014|04:13.5|02:04.9|179.8|18.0|155.0|157.0|13.3

That brings us up to the present.

Tomorrow:

  • Full PT Suite
  • Strength (KB Swings, Front Squats, Pull ups, Add push ups)
  • erg – 8 x 5′ (4:30 cat VI, 0:30 Cat II) / 30″

 

 

 

 

 

Farewell Korea: 8 x (4:30@18, 0:30@30+)/30″

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I had a pretty easy day yesterday.  I had a lunch meeting, some internal meetings in the afternoon, and then a dinner with a customer.  I was back at the hotel around 10.

I slept pretty fitfully and I was up around 5:30.  I had a conference call from 6 to 8 and then I headed for the gym.

The plan:

  • 8×5’/30″ rest
  • 4:30 – Cat VI (r18, 2:05)
  • 0:30 – Cat II (r30+, 1:45-)
  • The focus was to try to keep my stroke short and snappy when I rated up.  Try to keep the sequence right on recovery, even when I am pounding it out at high rate.

I love this workout.  It’s short, but the 30 second sprints add a bit of sting.  The Cat VI rowing is slow enough so that I recover well in the first half, but the fatigue starts to pile up in the second and even the slow bits feel like a lot more work.

          Workout Summary - media/20180202-0000330o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10639|44:03.0|02:04.2|208.3|20.7|155.5|176.0|11.6
W-|09917|40:00.0|02:01.0|200.7|19.5|154.1|173.0|13.0
R-|00736|04:03.0|02:45.1|152.8|23.5|166.9|173.0|06.5
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|01098|04:30.0|02:03.0|184.5|17.8|123.9|138.0|13.7
01|00154|00:30.0|01:37.3|378.4|32.9|142.4|150.0|09.4
02|01085|04:30.0|02:04.4|181.1|17.8|145.2|152.0|13.5
03|00160|00:30.0|01:33.9|406.9|34.0|152.5|159.0|09.4
04|01084|04:30.0|02:04.5|178.8|17.4|152.1|162.0|13.8
05|00157|00:30.0|01:35.7|386.3|33.1|154.4|159.0|09.5
06|01085|04:30.0|02:04.4|180.5|18.0|155.1|165.0|13.4
07|00155|00:30.0|01:36.9|380.7|32.6|158.1|162.0|09.5
08|01080|04:30.0|02:05.1|178.4|18.0|159.1|168.0|13.4
09|00159|00:30.0|01:34.2|400.2|34.2|161.4|165.0|09.3
10|01079|04:30.0|02:05.1|178.2|17.7|162.5|171.0|13.5
11|00156|00:30.0|01:36.1|387.3|33.5|163.6|167.0|09.3
12|01076|04:30.0|02:05.5|178.8|18.1|164.2|173.0|13.2
13|00153|00:30.0|01:38.1|363.5|32.2|166.4|170.0|09.5
14|01080|04:30.0|02:05.0|178.7|18.5|166.7|173.0|13.0
15|00158|00:30.0|01:35.2|403.1|35.4|167.7|171.0|08.9

That works out to this summary

  • Cat VI: 2:04.6, r17.9, 181W
  • Cat II: 1:35.8, r33.5, 397W

The fast bits felt great today.  I have been struggling to get the rate up previously, but today something clicked and I was able to really snap back on the recovery and take light strokes.  Now, I don’t know how long I could hold that kind of rate and pace, but it was a blast for 15 to 20 strokes.

I’m waiting to board my first flight to Hong Kong, then change planes for the rest of the ride back to Boston.  I get in around 8:55pm local time.  All together from hotel in Korea to home, it’s about 26 hours of travel time.  Blechh.

The training schedule has my hardest session of the week on Saturday.  I think I will probably swap it around and do Sunday’s Cat VI row then.  That will let me the kinks out before I dig deep on Sunday.

 

 

 

Still in Korea…Wed: 3 x (5×500@24), Thurs: 3 x 20′

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Wednesday:  Was massively tired on Tuesday night and fell asleep by 10.  I woke up for good around 4am.  I got up around 5:30 and did some work and called home.  Finally, around 6:30, I headed down to the gym.

The plan:

  • 3 x (5 x 500 @ 24/1′)/5′
  • Cat IV: r24/1:52

Started with a 500 at cat VI, started plugging away at the reps.  I felt a bit tired.  Jetlag presumably.

          Workout Summary - media/20180130-2245350o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12446|59:45.0|02:24.1|182.0|20.7|145.7|175.0|10.1
W-|10000|39:41.0|01:59.1|217.7|21.1|142.3|174.0|12.1
R-|02455|20:05.0|04:05.6|050.0|16.6|150.1|174.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00500|02:03.6|02:03.6|176.0|17.3|108.2|130.0|14.0
01|00500|01:52.4|01:52.4|255.6|24.2|127.8|148.0|11.0
02|00500|01:50.5|01:50.5|262.2|23.6|140.5|154.0|11.5
03|00500|01:49.6|01:49.6|266.3|24.2|144.1|158.0|11.3
04|00500|01:50.0|01:50.0|261.0|23.2|147.8|159.0|11.8
05|00500|01:50.3|01:50.3|258.1|23.1|151.3|161.0|11.8
06|00500|02:47.0|02:47.0|074.5|13.6|123.3|143.0|13.2
07|00500|01:51.0|01:51.0|252.5|23.0|135.6|156.0|11.8
08|00500|01:51.5|01:51.5|259.4|24.4|147.9|160.0|11.0
09|00500|01:50.4|01:50.4|259.9|23.5|150.3|163.0|11.5
10|00500|01:50.0|01:50.0|261.3|23.1|152.5|164.0|11.8
11|00500|01:49.9|01:49.9|258.1|23.7|154.9|165.0|11.5
12|00500|02:50.4|02:50.4|070.1|15.1|129.0|152.0|11.7
13|00500|01:50.5|01:50.5|256.3|23.0|139.6|161.0|11.8
14|00500|01:51.4|01:51.4|259.2|23.2|151.9|163.0|11.6
15|00500|01:50.4|01:50.4|257.2|23.0|154.4|167.0|11.8
16|00500|01:50.5|01:50.5|263.5|24.2|157.6|167.0|11.2
17|00500|01:46.5|01:46.5|284.4|24.0|159.4|174.0|11.7
18|00500|02:10.2|02:10.2|160.0|16.0|150.8|158.0|14.4
19|00500|02:15.2|02:15.2|144.8|15.4|139.4|148.0|14.4

Comparing to previous attempts.

1-31a.png

It was pretty close in the first set, but higher in the second two sets.  I really pushed the last rep, so that one shouldn’t really count. A bit disappointed that I’m not improving more.

Thursday:  Back to the gym around 7:30.  Today was just a 4 x20′ / 3′ at Cat VI (r18/2:05)

I felt good to start, but quickly started to feel like it was hard work.  My hr climbed quickly.  I decided to bail out after 3 reps.  And having a little issue with graphs today.

2018-02-01 09.01.17

 

Tomorrow:  8 x (4:30@CatVI, 0:30@CatII)/30″rest.  I like this workout.

 

 

 

Rowing in Seoul: 10x(500@22,500@18)

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I left Boston at 1:30AM on Monday morning.  Flew east over Europe and Asia, landed in Hong Kong, changed planes and continued on to Seoul.  I was on the ground at about 12:30PM Tuesday afternoon, and at my hotel around 2:00PM.

I unpacked and since I didn’t have any commitments until dinner time, I suited up and headed down to the gym.  As is typical for hotels in Korea, the fitness center was pretty amazing.  Even more amazing was the sight of two, brand new Model D rowers with PM5s.

2018-01-30 15.13.50.jpg

I was not expecting that.  So, I can stick to the training plan.  Today’s mission

  • 10x500m/2′ paddle
  • Cat V: r22, 1:58
  • To make it easy to program, I did it as 500m with no rest and alternated each piece between Cat V (1:58/r22) and Cat VI (2:05/r18)
  • To make it a bit more fun, I did it strapless.

I was a bit jetlagged and the gym was hot, but I had a good time.  I started with one rep at Cat VI, then into the 10 alternating reps.  Then I finished with a 500 at r16 as a quick cool down.

My HR was a bit higher today than previously, but not by a lot.

1-30a.png

Tomorrow: 3 x (5 x 500/1′)/5′  Cat IV: 1:52/r24

 

Sunday: 3 x 20′ / 3′ Cat VI – Dynamic, plus video

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Since I didn’t feel particularly bad yesterday, just really tired, I wasn’t sure if I was better today.  I went to bed at 11 and slept until 9.  When I woke up, I certainly didn’t feel like erging.  So, I hung out, wrote up my journal, did some grocery shopping and some chores around the house.  Finally, around 2, I decided that I should get it done.

The workout on the agenda for today is a regular old 3 or 4 x 20′ / 3′ at Cat VI.  That means rate at 18 and pace between 2:03 and 2:08.  I have been thinking about getting back on the dynamic erg for a while.  Since I am making changes in my stroke, I was wondering if it would be a less unpleasant experience with better technique.

I decided today was a good day to try it out.

Most folks rate up a bit on the dynamic, so I decided r20 was the target instead of r18.   And since I have had such struggles with it, I decided that a target above 2:05, maybe 2:07 might be a good idea.  In any case, I would go by a HR limit.  Keep it at or below 155.

And that’s what I did.  It seems that deleting and reloading painsled fixed my issues, it worked fine today.

          Workout Summary - media/20180128-2010330o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15008|69:00.0|02:17.9|167.8|20.0|147.9|157.0|10.9
W-|14229|60:00.0|02:06.5|173.1|19.9|148.6|157.0|11.9
R-|00782|09:00.0|05:45.3|083.5|19.9|135.5|157.0|05.5
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04784|20:00.0|02:05.4|176.6|20.0|143.5|151.0|12.0
01|04734|20:00.0|02:06.7|171.8|19.9|149.5|155.0|11.9
02|04712|20:00.0|02:07.3|170.9|20.0|152.9|157.0|11.8

It was a lot more work than on the static, but it felt a bit better better than before.  It was certainly easier to maintain proper form, at least I thought so.  After I finished, I set up to take a short video so I could see I was actually doing the right things.

I watched the video and yes, it looks like I was doing a pretty good job on recovery.  I was a bit more slumped than I should have been, but not so bad.

Here’s the video, judge for your self.

I was interested to compare doing steady state on the dynamic to the static.

  • Power:  About 5 watts lower
  • Rate: 2 beats higher.  Also note how much less consistent my rate is.
  • HR: About 5 beats higher
  • Drive length: 10 cm shorter on the dynamic.  I will have to do a video compare to figure out what’s going on there, but I suspect that I am compressing less at the catch on the dynamic and that’s probably a good thing.
  • Peak force:  just about the same
  • Average force: lower, which makes sense since I am doing less power at a higher rate
  • Peak/avg ratio: follows logically.

Tonight:  I am flying to Korea via Hong Kong.  My flight leaves at about 1:30 am.  I get to Korea Tuesday morning.  I’ll be there through Friday.  More crosstraining!

 

Thurs: Travel, Friday: 8x(4:30@18,30″@30)/30″ (good) , Sat: 4x(3’@28,7’@18)1′ (bad)

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Thursday: Up at 5:15am to head to the airport.  Direct flight from LAX to BOS.  I managed to score an upgrade to business class.  I arrived around 4:45PM and was home by 6:30.  A reasonably civilized way to travel.

Friday:  Back to the routine.  Up at 5:15, and into work.  I had an 8:30AM meeting so I had to be aware of the time, but the planned workout was pretty short.

I did my full set of PT exercises.  Then the erg session.

  • 8 x 5′ / 30″ rest
  • first 4:30 of each interval is Cat VI (r18, 2:05)
  • last 30″ of each interval is Cat II (r30+, 1:45 or faster)
  • The important thing to me was to try to maintain good sequential recovery in the high rate bursts.

The first annoyance was that I could not get Painsled to link up with the PM.  I tried a bunch of stuff and then gave up.  I ended up using ergdata which linked up right away.

The workout itself went great.  I had a blast.  It was pretty close in feel to the HIIT sessions I did while I was on the road.  I was not pushing  the fast bits as hard as I could go though, and the paddling I did in between bursts was harder than the rests for the HIIT stuff.

Because it was captured with ergdata, it is almost impossible to get a good set of summary stats.  Luckily, rowsandall has a way around that, using the flex plot.  I can look at a plot of all the strokes I took at above r25.  And get an average stroke rate and power.

1-26a

So, 324.28 watts is 1:42.6.  I was closer to 1:40 in the bursts after I got up to speed.

Saturday:  I slept a lot on Friday night, and since we had a busy day planned, I went to workout as soon as I got up.  I didn’t feel so great.  And today was a tough workout.

I did my PT exercises.

Then

  • 10 minute warmup
  • 4 x (3′ @ r28, 7′ @ r18)/1′ rest
  • target pace for r28: 1:48
  • target pace for r18: 2:05

I felt pretty nasty in the warmup.  It seemed like it was taking a lot of work to get to my regular Cat VI pace and the bursts were hard too.

Then into the workout.  I was destroyed by the first 3′ section.  I usually bring down the rate in a controlled way.  Yesterday, I just started paddling and tried to bring the pace back to the target.  I made it about 5 of the 7 minutes in the first rep and I was having trouble catching my breath, so I paddled out the rest of it.  The second 3′ section was even worse.  I stopped completely after it and then rowed to the target off and on through the Cat VI section.  Same thing in the last two intervals.  In the last Cat VI section I started getting awful stomach cramps and I barely made it to the toilet after I finished.  Not really the cool down I was planning.

Workout Summary - media/Import_32270454.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12943|52:44.0|02:02.2|195.7|22.2|151.3|178.0|11.1
W-|12085|50:00.0|02:04.1|192.5|21.7|151.8|178.0|11.2
R-|00864|02:44.0|01:35.2|053.5|19.4|140.4|178.0|46.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|02504|10:00.0|01:59.8|208.1|21.4|138.9|156.0|11.7
01|00838|03:00.0|01:47.4|278.0|26.7|151.5|167.0|10.4
02|01535|07:00.0|02:16.8|148.0|19.8|148.5|167.0|11.1
03|00828|03:00.0|01:48.7|278.1|27.8|152.5|169.0|09.9
04|01547|07:00.0|02:15.8|143.6|19.7|150.2|170.0|11.2
05|00839|03:00.0|01:47.3|275.2|26.9|158.9|173.0|10.4
06|01589|07:00.0|02:12.1|153.9|18.4|157.1|173.0|12.4
07|00840|03:00.0|01:47.1|276.5|27.8|164.0|178.0|10.1
08|01565|07:00.0|02:14.2|157.6|19.9|161.3|178.0|11.3

The only positive note was that I actually hit the target for the 3 minute sections.

I was drained the rest of the day.  We took a quick ride down to the cape.  I needed to replace some shingles on the roof and do a few other chores.  I fell asleep in the car going down for about 30 minutes, and while we were there I slept for another half hour or so on the couch.  I didn’t have any other symptoms, but I suspect that I am trying to fight off a bug of some kind.

 

Wednesday: More HIIT, today on the treadmill

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I’m liking this stuff.  Today, I decided to try to use the treadmill.

So, I set it up for a 15% grade and started walking at a nice gentle 2.5mph pace.  After 4:20, I turned up the speed.  The first interval I got up to 6.2mph, and sprinted until the next minute turned over.  I got just over 30 seconds of sprinting at speed, and then I hopped off the belt to the sides and turned the speed back down.   Then I’d walk it off for the next 4 minutes.  I boosted up the speed a bit on each of the sprints.  The surprising thing was that my sprinting economy improved through the session, so I found it easier later on even though I was up to 7.4mph by the last interval.

Overall it was a bit easier from an aerobic perspective than yesterday, but a hell of a lot more fun.

1-24a.png

Tomorrow:  I have a 7:50AM flight from LAX to Boston, so I need to leave the hotel before 6am.  I get home around 6pm, so probably no training.

 

Tuesday: Something new. Minimalist Intervals

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Yesterday, I was up at 3:30am, on a flight at 6, then in meetings to 6 and dinner until 9:30, add in the time zone change and it was a 21 hour day on 2 hours of sleep.  I was pretty tired.

Tuesday:  I had to be at a meeting by 8 so I didn’t have a ton of time.  On the flight out, I spent some time reading this book.

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 12.33.10 PM.png

Now, I was suspicious of this book right from the title, but the author is at McMaster University and he has published some well regarded research into HIT, so I thought I would give it a chance.  The book is based on a really good paper from 2012.

Physiological adaptations to low-volume, high-intensity interval training in health and disease

The thing that I am struggling to comprehend is that this research is showing a measurable effect on endurance.  My understanding before was that low intensity duration built endurance and HIT improved lactate tolerance, strength and power.  This seems to say that doing intervals above VO2Max power has a beneficial effect on endurance, which is just plain weird.

But, anyway, it seemed like good chance to give this nasty hard interval stuff a try.  So, I decided to do the same workout that they used in the 2012 study for the HIT group.

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 1.09.10 PM.png

The study was done with stationary bikes, but it seemed any mode would work: treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike or erg.  Today, I went to the fitness center and the elliptical was open so I jumped on that.   I just programmed a 30 minute manual session and started going at about a level 14.  After 4:25, I cranked the “level” up to 23-24 (out of 25) and pushed as hard as I could.  At this level, I could barely move the pedals at first and it was pretty tough to make it through 30 seconds at the intensity.  The HR increase was so sharp that the monitor seemed to lag a bit.  Next time I torture myself, I will try to use the OH1 and Polar H7 to compare.

Here’s the HR response.  The first one I only got the level up to 22 and I think it was a bit too easy.  The second one I got all the way to 25 and pushed so hard I nearly threw up.  I kind of settled on 24 after that and it was just manageable to get to the full 30 seconds (plus whatever extra I got by turning up the level early.

10-23

Since I am always pressed for time on the road, and I seem to be trading off workout time versus sleep time, I think that this kind of short interval work might be a good travel solution.   If I am reading the paper correctly, it may do a better job maintaining my endurance than the shorter LIT sessions I typically do on the road.  Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens.  If I have time and an erg I will stick to the “real” training plan, but otherwise, I think I will tryout this HIIT style sessions on the road.

Tomorrow:  Another HIIT session before I fly down to LA for more meetings.