Erg Based Training is so simple!

November 17, 2019Leave a comment

I last posted on November 11th, right after I struggled with the Pyramid workout. Since then, I’ve had some OK workouts, some good workouts, but the main thing I’ve had is consistency. I been able to follow my plan at just about 100% conformance for the past three weeks.

Just in time for three weeks of travel and holidays! Let’s see how well I can maintain momentum through this.

Tuesday – November 12 – 4 x 20′ / 2′

At work, static erg. Nothing fancy. Just doing the meters. Working with a HR cap of 150.

       Workout Summary - media/20191112-1401180o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|20011|01:27:59.9|02:11.9|160.6|19.7|137.7|150.0|11.6
W-|18981|01:19:52.4|02:06.2|173.5|20.2|139.1|150.0|11.8
R-|01034|00:08:00.0|03:52.1|033.7|14.6|124.7|150.0|11.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04773|20:00.0|02:05.7|174.0|19.9|129.7|138.0|12.0
01|04742|20:00.0|02:06.5|173.2|20.2|138.6|146.0|11.7
02|04747|20:00.0|02:06.4|173.2|20.2|143.4|149.0|11.8
03|04719|19:52.4|02:06.4|173.5|20.5|144.6|150.0|11.6

Good session.

Wednesday – 13 November – 5 x 1500/5′ L2

Always my favorite of the L2 workouts. Pace target was 1:51.0.

Started with a 2k warmup.

Then the main session. I chickened out about the 1:51 target and decided 1:52 would be better.

        Workout Summary - media/20191113-1341120o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10974|00:52:45.7|02:24.2|157.6|22.0|143.0|176.0|09.5
W-|07500|00:27:44.4|01:51.0|256.1|26.7|155.5|176.0|10.1
R-|03476|00:25:01.6|03:36.0|048.4|16.7|129.1|176.0|08.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|01500|05:32.4|01:50.8|254.4|26.2|149.6|164.0|10.3
01|01500|05:35.5|01:51.8|253.5|26.6|154.6|167.0|10.1
02|01500|05:33.3|01:51.1|254.4|26.9|156.5|170.0|10.0
03|01500|05:33.1|01:51.0|255.9|26.9|158.1|172.0|10.1
04|01500|05:30.1|01:50.0|262.7|27.2|158.7|176.0|10.0

As it turned out, with a bit of a fast last, I was able to make the target after all.

Later Wednesday morning, I headed down to Washington DC to do a presentation at a conference.

Thursday – 14 November – steady state cross training in Washington

30′ inclined walk

10′ stationary bike (I was not enjoying it)

20′ on an ellipitcal

Friday – 15 November – 3 x 20′ / 1′

I was pressed for time, so I cut back from an 80 minuter session to 60′. I pushed the power target up a bit, mainly just to see what would happen. I was very happy with the result. My HR was higher, but plateaued pretty well.

        Workout Summary - media/20191115-1331160o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14840|01:03:00.4|02:07.4|175.2|19.9|142.0|157.0|11.8
W-|14481|00:60:00.0|02:04.3|182.0|20.0|141.9|157.0|12.0
R-|00363|00:03:00.5|04:08.7|038.8|17.5|143.6|157.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04829|20:00.0|02:04.2|181.7|20.1|131.1|144.0|12.0
01|04825|20:00.0|02:04.3|182.1|20.0|144.0|150.0|12.0
02|04826|20:00.0|02:04.3|182.2|20.0|150.5|157.0|12.1

That was really gratifying. I feel like my base fitness is starting to return.

Saturday – 16 November – 6K Threshold

I was nervous about this session all day. I was originally going to do it with company at the lake with some clubmates, but we ended up locked out of the storeroom where the ergs are kept. So I was able to procrastinate a bit longer. I finally got up the nerve to go do it. First, a 2K warmup.

Then there wasn’t anything else to do but to give it a try. I had put my 10K and my 30 minute sessions into the Free Spirits pace predictor and it spit out a 1:51.4 target. Holy hell, that felt fast. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, off I went trying to keep 1:51’s on the screen. That worked out OK through the first 2000, but I was starting to really feel it. My HR was well in control, but I had that vaguely drowning feeling you get when you’re on the edge. I played with pace and rate a bit to see if anything felt better and counted out blocks of 100 strokes. The section from 4000 to 5000 was the worst. I managed to get some control of myself by really trying to concentrate on stroke technique. Keeping my knees down during the first part of the recovery and limiting my layback. Then into the last 100 strokes, and it was just a matter of getting through it. I managed a small sprint in the last 500 meters.

Then a happy ending cool down.

I am very happy with that. I ranked it and for it’s currently 38th for the 50-59 heavies. Roughly the 90th percentile. It’s a full minute off my best 6K time, so lots of room for improvement, but a good hard row.

Sunday – 17 November – 3 x 30’/2′

Long and easy. Perfect for a sunday afternoon.

        Workout Summary - media/20191117-1926120o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|22004|01:36:00.0|02:10.9|167.2|19.8|136.9|147.0|11.6
W-|21455|01:30:00.0|02:05.8|175.3|19.9|137.9|147.0|12.0
R-|00553|00:06:00.0|05:25.7|046.4|18.1|121.5|147.0|08.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|07137|30:00.0|02:06.1|173.3|19.5|134.3|141.0|12.2
01|07135|30:00.0|02:06.1|174.9|20.0|138.7|144.0|11.9
02|07183|30:00.0|02:05.3|177.8|20.3|140.7|147.0|11.8

I wanted to stay below a HR cap of 150, and started with a power target of 173W. I nudged it up in each 30′ segment by a couple of watts. More signs of progress.

Tomorrow: I fly out to Shanghai at 9am.

Hard 6K – indoors

October 9, 20171 Comment

This morning was a real disaster. I planned to get up at 4:45 and head out to Quisigamond for a head race piece. That was blown up by not getting to bed on time. It was midnight by the time I was finished packing for my trip and in bed. I decided that a very early start was not the smartest idea (actually, my wife decided that and told me I was an idiot). It turns out this was a little clairvoyant. I got up after 6, and I was on my way to work at 6:30 when my phone rang. It turns out that I was supposed to be in a teleconference at 6:30. I saw it on my calendar, but I assumed it had to be some kind of an error. Oops, I guess not. Anyway, I did the call from my car, most of it pulled over so I could concentrate on the meeting. By the time I got to work, I had to rush straight in to my first meeting at 8:30 in my workout clothes.

After that meeting, I had a 1 hour hole in my schedule, so I made my way to the fitness center. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I had time for a quick warmup and a hard 6K piece.

Then on to the 6K. I was feeling a bit confident after the good 5×1500 workout and the strong steady state session. My prior hard distance sessions were

30′ at 1:56.2 on 9/23
10K at 1:56.0 on 9/29

So, based on my rough math, if I was able to do 10K at 1:56, I thought I should be able to easily do 6K at 1:54. It turned out that that was a bit too much of an ask.

I didn’t exactly hit the wall, but I needed to ease off the gas pedal around the 4000m mark. There was no way I was going to put the handle down, but I couldn’t hold the pace at 1:54. I held on and played all the tricks I could with visualization and stroke counting, but in the end it was just enduring it. With 1000m left I tried to pop up the rate, but I went too far too soon and needed to back off.

          Workout Summary - media/20171009-1416080o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|06000|22:54.0|01:54.5|233.0|25.3|170.9|183.0|10.3
W-|06000|22:54.0|01:54.5|232.9|25.3|171.0|183.0|10.3
R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|183.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00500|01:51.3|01:51.3|239.3|24.3|135.5|157.0|11.1
01|00500|01:52.8|01:52.8|244.4|25.4|160.4|163.0|10.5
02|00500|01:52.9|01:52.9|242.8|25.4|165.9|168.0|10.5
03|00500|01:53.1|01:53.1|241.3|25.9|169.3|171.0|10.2
04|00500|01:53.5|01:53.5|239.8|25.8|172.0|173.0|10.2
05|00500|01:53.9|01:53.9|236.8|25.6|173.6|174.0|10.3
06|00500|01:54.9|01:54.9|231.2|25.0|176.7|178.0|10.4
07|00500|01:55.1|01:55.1|230.0|25.3|177.0|179.0|10.3
08|00500|01:56.7|01:56.7|220.3|24.9|178.2|179.0|10.3
09|00500|01:58.9|01:58.9|218.2|25.0|178.9|180.0|10.1
10|00500|01:56.3|01:56.3|222.3|25.4|180.9|182.0|10.2
11|00500|01:55.0|01:55.0|230.6|25.8|181.6|183.0|10.1

So, it hurt. That’s kind of the point.

Now I am at the airport heading off to Europe for a 4 day trip. The schedule is jam packed. Stuttgart, Munich, Grenoble, Milan. I am going to do my best to do some maintenance sessions to avoid losing any aerobic fitness, but I think I won’t be doing any rowing until next Saturday. I also need to focus on trying to avoid coming back from this trip with a big sleep deficit.

Sunday: 6K test

November 15, 2015November 16, 20153 Comments

Right before I went to go do this test, I read Sander’s post about how he might have had a PB if he went out less conservatively and had a “Contempt of Death”. I was very uncertain about what I could do today. On one hand, I haven’t done a lot of work on the erg, and I was pretty far away from PB pace on my 2K test. On the other hand, I’ve been working this distance all autumn.

So, I decided to set up three pace boats on RowPro.

One at 1:50, which was the slowest I really wanted to go
One at 1:49, which was about my PB pace from last season
One at 1:48, which was just a bit slower than what I thought was my PB Pace (1:47.9). In fact, I had misread my PB from my signature. Checking it now, I found out that it was in fact a 21:23, not 21:32 (1:46.9). A bummer, as it turns out.

I started with a 2K warmup with 3 bursts at 1:45 to 1:50.

Workout Summary – Nov 15, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_02000_|_08:07.3_|_02:01.8_|_193.6_|_19.7_|_125.7_|_ 58.0% _|_12.5_|_09.8

Then in to the main event. With Sander’s words ringing in my head, I went out to see if I could hold 1:48. I felt pretty good through 1000. By the time I got to 2000, it was starting to hurt, but my HR was nice an low. I was just counting out each 1000m. It was generally about 95 to 98 strokes per 1000. It wasn’t very dramatic, but it was pretty nasty going with 2000 to go, and I eased up just a little bit for a few strokes. With 1000 left, I knew I was going to make it and started to push a bit more. In the end, I finished with a 1:47.5 and a 21:29.9. Not the PB that I thought it was at the time, but still a hell of a row.

Thanks to Sander and the Contempt of Death.

Workout Summary – Nov 15, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_06000_|_21:29.9_|_01:47.5_|_281.8_|_26.7_|_170.1_|_ 89.4% _|_10.5_|_10.6
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_00500_|_01:48.7_|_01:48.7_|_272.6_|_24.8_|_137.4_|_ 66.2% _|_11.1_|_11.0
02_|_00500_|_01:47.4_|_01:47.4_|_282.2_|_26.2_|_157.4_|_ 80.4% _|_10.6_|_10.8
03_|_00500_|_01:46.9_|_01:46.9_|_286.9_|_26.4_|_164.4_|_ 85.4% _|_10.6_|_10.9
04_|_00500_|_01:47.3_|_01:47.3_|_283.7_|_26.3_|_168.3_|_ 88.1% _|_10.6_|_10.8
05_|_00500_|_01:47.6_|_01:47.6_|_281.1_|_26.2_|_170.2_|_ 89.5% _|_10.6_|_10.7
06_|_00500_|_01:47.7_|_01:47.7_|_280.2_|_26.2_|_172.2_|_ 90.9% _|_10.6_|_10.7
07_|_00500_|_01:47.7_|_01:47.7_|_280.3_|_26.7_|_174.5_|_ 92.5% _|_10.4_|_10.5
08_|_00500_|_01:48.1_|_01:48.1_|_277.2_|_26.6_|_176.3_|_ 93.9% _|_10.4_|_10.4
09_|_00500_|_01:47.8_|_01:47.8_|_279.3_|_26.7_|_177.9_|_ 95.0% _|_10.4_|_10.5
10_|_00500_|_01:47.9_|_01:47.9_|_278.3_|_27.2_|_178.8_|_ 95.6% _|_10.2_|_10.2
11_|_00500_|_01:47.8_|_01:47.8_|_279.5_|_27.8_|_179.9_|_ 96.4% _|_10.0_|_10.0
12_|_00500_|_01:45.1_|_01:45.1_|_301.2_|_28.5_|_180.9_|_ 97.1% _|_10.0_|_10.6

I did a lactate test 4 minutes after finishing, just for fun. 13.6mmol/l

Then I did long “happy ending” cool down.

Workout Summary – Nov 15, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_21:24.1_|_02:08.4_|_165.3_|_19.1_|_146.8_|_ 72.9% _|_12.3_|_08.7

Tonight, I drink my SB Beer. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but I think I will do a light endurance session instead.

6K Threshold – Season Best Time

March 29, 20156 Comments

I think I did the right thing by backing off the power in yesterday’s session. I think I will do that in future sessions if my readings are weird.

I started today with the normal 20′ constant power piece as a warmup. Power was 191W, HR was delightfully low and final lactate reading was fantastic 1.3mmol/l. I think there is still a difference in effort between slides and static.

2015-03-28_15-49-16

01_|_01225_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.4_|_190.7_|_19.2_|_123.2_|_ 56.2% _|_12.8_|_09.9
02_|_01228_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.2_|_191.9_|_19.0_|_134.6_|_ 64.2% _|_12.9_|_10.1
03_|_01226_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.4_|_191.0_|_19.0_|_137.7_|_ 66.5% _|_12.9_|_10.1
04_|_01226_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.3_|_191.1_|_18.8_|_138.2_|_ 66.8% _|_13.0_|_10.2

I rested for a few minutes and a had a drink of water. Then I set up for 6K and took off. My objectives were:

1. Pace: faster than 1:50

2. Rate 27 or higher

I didn’t think I was gonna make it about two thirds of the way through because my HR was just so high, but I focused on trying to keep the stroke rate at or above 27 and kept counting strokes. I was kinda in the zone, deep in the hurt locker, but able to keep it up. I was so scared that I was gonna blow up that I waited until I had less than 200m left before I rated up for the finish, even that was pretty anemic.

Output

Workout Summary – Mar 28, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_06000_|_21:36.3_|_01:48.0_|_277.6_|_26.7_|_170.6_|_ 89.8% _|_10.4_|_10.4
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI
01_|_00500_|_01:48.5_|_01:48.5_|_273.9_|_25.4_|_137.8_|_ 66.5% _|_10.9_|_10.8
02_|_00500_|_01:48.6_|_01:48.6_|_273.3_|_26.5_|_156.8_|_ 80.0% _|_10.4_|_10.3
03_|_00500_|_01:47.5_|_01:47.5_|_281.8_|_26.8_|_164.5_|_ 85.5% _|_10.4_|_10.5
04_|_00500_|_01:48.2_|_01:48.2_|_275.9_|_26.6_|_168.1_|_ 88.0% _|_10.4_|_10.4
05_|_00500_|_01:47.9_|_01:47.9_|_279.0_|_26.7_|_171.0_|_ 90.0% _|_10.4_|_10.4
06_|_00500_|_01:47.2_|_01:47.2_|_283.8_|_26.9_|_172.8_|_ 91.4% _|_10.4_|_10.6
07_|_00500_|_01:47.7_|_01:47.7_|_279.9_|_26.7_|_175.0_|_ 92.9% _|_10.4_|_10.5
08_|_00500_|_01:48.0_|_01:48.0_|_277.6_|_26.7_|_176.6_|_ 94.0% _|_10.4_|_10.4
09_|_00500_|_01:48.3_|_01:48.3_|_275.9_|_26.6_|_178.4_|_ 95.3% _|_10.4_|_10.4
10_|_00500_|_01:49.2_|_01:49.2_|_268.9_|_26.4_|_179.5_|_ 96.1% _|_10.4_|_10.2
11_|_00500_|_01:48.6_|_01:48.6_|_273.3_|_27.6_|_181.3_|_ 97.4% _|_10.0_|_09.9
12_|_00500_|_01:46.6_|_01:46.6_|_288.8_|_27.6_|_183.5_|_ 98.9% _|_10.2_|_10.5

After that, I did a quick 2K cool down and called it a day.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 28, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_02000_|_08:28.1_|_02:07.0_|_170.7_|_17.2_|_155.5_|_ 79.1% _|_13.7_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI
01_|_00500_|_01:59.7_|_01:59.7_|_204.1_|_19.5_|_148.5_|_ 74.1% _|_12.8_|_10.4
02_|_00500_|_02:04.7_|_02:04.7_|_180.6_|_17.8_|_160.9_|_ 82.9% _|_13.5_|_10.1
03_|_00500_|_02:09.7_|_02:09.7_|_160.4_|_16.2_|_159.0_|_ 81.6% _|_14.3_|_09.9
04_|_00500_|_02:14.1_|_02:14.1_|_145.3_|_15.7_|_153.9_|_ 78.0% _|_14.3_|_09.3

Seeing as how I finished the mud season madness challenge today, I think I might take a rest day tomorrow!

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Tag: 6K

Erg Based Training is so simple!

Hard 6K – indoors

Sunday: 6K test

6K Threshold – Season Best Time