Tag: bikeErg

July 5 to Aug 14

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Looks like July was the just about the most training that I have done in a month. 31 and 1/2 hours of training in 22 sessions. I did a fair amount of cycling in July, culminating in a hard 3 hour effort on July 31st. I also really nailed a head race piece.

Since the end of July, I have backed off, and shifted back into more of a base building question. At the end of July, it looks like I have reached a fitness peak in Strava at 95.

Since that time, I’ve shifted gears to ease up and focus on base building. I read a little bit of Maffetone, and although I am not convinced of his whole low carb, lifestyle thing, and the 180-age formula seems like chicanery, I definitely see merit in the idea of specifically training to increase one’s aerobic threshold. It is basically the same idea of lactate based training. If you stay below 2.0 mmol, then you can be pretty sure that you are not crossing over to burning more CHO at the expense of fat metabolism.

My challenge in doing this type of base training has always been that I push it too hard. So, the maffetone book convinced me to back way off on intensity and way up on duration. I don’t know what will happen with it, but I’ve got nothing but time and it sure is an easy way to train. And when it comes to OTW, focusing on technique has to be a good thing too.

So, I have been trying to keep all sessions above an hour and stay below UT2 heart rates (137). Additionally, I’ve been trying to extend my warmups as well.

Here’s a quick recap of the past 5 weeks.

July 5 – 50′ Stationary bike, Avg HR 131

July 6 – 70′ Coastal row up to Wellfleet harbor.

July 7 – Bike ride to rock harbor, 1:18:00, 34km, Avg HR 133

July 8 – Bike Ride – Wellfleet coast loop, 34km, 1:22, Avg HR 139

July 9 – Rest day

July 10 – 90′ steady state on Lake Quinsigamond

The last bit was tough!

July 11 – 60′ BikeErg – Hardish

July 12 – 90′ BikeErg – a little slower

July 13 – Rate Ladders on Quinsig

July 14 – rest day

July 15 – 60′ steady state on slides

July 16 – 60′ steady state on slides

July 17 – Wormtown Chase GPS Challenge

What a great day! I laid down a beautiful row. I steered well. Paced myself well and dug deep at the end. And I was fast!

The conditions were great. flat water and a very slight breeze from the south, which was a tail wind for the last two thirds of the challenge.

Here’s my course. Nice and tight around the islands. I went a bit to far west coming up to the narrows, but not bad.

Then from the Narrows to the finish was two nice straight lines.

I was unexpectedly fast, I think the fastest I have ever done a head race in a boat.

Workout Summary - media/d6476edfd2-20200717-120557o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09969|00:53:00.9|02:39.5|143.3|22.9|148.0|179.0|08.2
W-|05201|00:23:07.7|02:13.4|189.5|25.8|167.9|179.0|08.7
R-|04769|00:29:53.3|03:08.0|107.5|20.7|132.6|179.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|05201|23:07.7|02:13.4|189.5|25.8|167.9|179.0|08.7

July 18 – Drills

Back on Quinsig, but just taking it easy and doing drills on the 5s

July 19 – Randall Foil Test

You can read all about it here: https://analytics.rowsandall.com/2020/07/19/randall-foils-vs-smoothies/

It was a hard day rowing.

July 20 – 60′ BikeErg

July 21 – Just a walk

July 22 – 65km bike ride

Avg HR 136. 28.8 km/h. Tiring ride.

July 23 – rest day

July 24 – Coastal row – almost to Rock Harbor

The row back was into the wind and waves and a pretty tough slog.

July 25 – Exploring the marshes – 60′ coastal row

July 26 – bike ride on the rail trail, 32km, 80′

July 27 – rest day

July 28 – rest day

July 29 – bike ride – Wellfleet coastal loop

40km, 96 minutes, avg speed 28.1 kph, avg hr 147! (hard work)

July 30 – More exploration of the marsh

Headed out for a row up to Wellfleet Harbor, but the wind and waves were unpleasant, so I turned back and explored the swamp again.

July 31 – Mammoth bike ride

All the way to the end of the rail trail, and I pushed hard too.

77km, 3 hours

I was destroyed for the rest of the day.

Aug 1 – Rest day

Aug 2 – Fun in the swamp – 80′

Still windy, so it’s a lot more fun to scoot around sheltered water.

Aug 3 – 60′ MAF test on slides

So the MAF test is basically a cardiac drift test. You row up to a HR limit (130), and then bleed off power to stay at the limit.

Over time, you can repeat the test and see both the avg power and the % drop off. A key part is a lengthy warmup.

Today’s results: 150W. 26W drop off.

       Workout Summary - media/31860ffd50-20200803-142318o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|18062|01:23:20.0|02:18.4|143.5|17.7|122.9|131.0|12.2
W-|13531|00:59:50.0|02:12.7|149.9|17.9|127.4|131.0|12.6
R-|04536|00:23:30.0|02:35.4|127.4|17.3|111.6|131.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01173|05:00.0|02:07.9|168.3|18.7|119.0|125.0|12.5
02|01159|05:00.0|02:09.5|160.7|18.1|125.8|127.0|12.8
03|01151|05:00.0|02:10.3|158.9|18.3|126.7|128.0|12.6
04|01145|05:00.0|02:11.0|155.7|18.3|126.9|129.0|12.5
05|01143|05:00.0|02:11.3|151.9|18.1|128.3|131.0|12.6
06|01126|05:00.0|02:13.2|147.9|18.0|128.5|130.0|12.5
07|01119|05:00.0|02:14.0|144.7|17.7|128.5|130.0|12.6
08|01117|05:00.0|02:14.3|144.1|17.8|128.5|131.0|12.6
09|01115|05:00.0|02:14.5|142.8|17.3|128.9|131.0|12.9
10|01108|05:00.0|02:15.4|140.9|17.2|129.2|130.0|12.9
11|01106|05:00.0|02:15.6|140.2|17.3|129.0|130.0|12.8
12|01069|04:50.0|02:15.7|141.7|18.0|129.2|131.0|12.3

Aug 4 – rest day – Crazy Work schedule

Aug 5 – rest day – more crazy work schedule

Aug 6 – 45′ BikeErg MAF Test

Same plan, but now on a bike. I had less time, so a 15 minute warmup and a 45 minute test.

Workout Summary - media/df_20200806-113556.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|27672|01:00:03.2|01:05.1|158.2|68.2|122.5|138.0|06.8
W-|21232|00:45:03.2|01:03.7|168.1|69.7|127.4|138.0|06.8
R-|06443|00:15:00.0|01:09.8|128.3|63.5|107.7|138.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|02378|05:00.0|01:03.1|171.9|70.3|126.0|129.0|06.8
02|02376|05:00.0|01:03.1|173.1|70.4|128.0|138.0|06.8
03|02382|05:00.0|01:03.0|173.0|70.4|126.3|128.0|06.8
04|02323|05:00.0|01:04.6|161.6|68.9|128.3|130.0|06.7
05|02329|05:00.0|01:04.4|161.9|68.9|128.7|133.0|06.8
06|02333|05:00.0|01:04.3|163.5|69.1|126.5|130.0|06.8
07|02358|05:00.0|01:03.6|168.1|69.7|127.0|131.0|06.8
08|02356|05:00.0|01:03.7|168.1|69.7|127.8|129.0|06.8
09|02395|05:03.2|01:03.3|171.8|70.2|127.8|132.0|06.8

Average 172W, drop off 0W.

Aug 7 – 90′ Bike Erg – Sub UT2

Aug 8 – 4×20′ Sub-UT2 on slides

BoatCoach failed me today.

Aug 9 – Long Steady State (too hard)

As I launched, a friend from the club launched too. We rowed together and peer pressure pushed me faster than it should have. I was very worn out by the last 15 minutes.

Workout Summary - media/96a610e7d1-20200809-131602o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|17489|01:44:37.5|02:59.5|123.2|20.4|137.7|169.0|08.2
W-|15783|01:19:21.3|02:30.8|136.8|20.4|147.8|169.0|09.8
R-|01711|00:25:17.0|07:23.3|080.5|20.5|106.1|169.0|02.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01676|08:35.6|02:33.8|132.5|17.7|131.6|138.0|11.0
02|01513|07:32.1|02:29.4|145.4|20.0|142.6|151.0|10.0
03|05688|27:41.1|02:26.0|144.8|20.7|151.5|169.0|09.9
04|03606|18:51.9|02:37.0|130.1|19.7|150.4|156.0|09.7
05|00105|00:34.4|02:43.5|109.2|21.0|141.2|143.0|08.7
06|01667|08:28.2|02:32.4|122.8|21.7|151.2|161.0|09.1
07|00224|01:13.1|02:43.4|115.2|21.7|143.5|144.0|08.5
08|01305|06:24.9|02:27.5|143.0|22.7|148.7|169.0|08.9

Aug 10 – Drills on the fives

Definitely trying to taker the intensity down a notch.

Aug 11 – 70′ sub-ut2 BikeErg

Hot and Humid. Very slow.

Aug 12 – 90′ sub-ut2 BikeErg

Even hotter, humider and slower.

Aug 13 – Rest day

Aug 14 – 2 hours steady state on Quinsig

Just a wonderful morning to be rowing. Tried to keep it below ut2. Did OK until the last bit which was into a building head wind.

115 Days

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I never thought it would last this long. But it has. Another week in the books. Most of it spent down on the cape. The weather has been mixed.

Sunday – June 28 – 100′ Coastal Row

The last bit from Wellfleet harbor to home was into a headwind and a bit of a chore

Monday – June 29 – 6 Darts Games

I woke up and it was foggy. No coastal today. Down to the dungeon for some Darts Games. No high scores, but good consistency.

14435,14485,14385,14700,14550,14600

Tuesday – 30 June – No Training

Stayed up too late, and felt like crap when I woke up. I went back to bed. And I just looked and I had worked out 15 straight days prior.

Wednesday – 1 July – 9 x (4′ @ r18, 1′ @ r30)

I like these bumps sessions. Get a bit of intensity in without killing myself or chasing splits. This session was made a bit interesting by the slides breaking in the middle of the session. In the slide, the rollers run on a plastic spline that goes over the metal frame. This spline split on what I guess would be the starboard bow side.

I had to pull the erg off the slides during one of the r18 sections.

Replacement parts are being ordered.

Other than the slide problem, the workout went well. I was happy to average 305W for the quick bits. It was very weird going from slides to static in the middle of this workout. It took a couple of minutes before it felt like the erg stopped moving.

        Workout Summary - media/d4adf504c9-20200701-144818o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10016|00:45:01.2|02:14.8|179.5|22.4|151.7|172.0|09.9
W-|10027|00:45:01.2|02:14.7|179.5|22.4|151.7|172.0|10.7
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|172.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00944|04:00.0|02:07.1|166.6|18.1|121.4|137.0|13.0
01|00284|01:00.0|01:45.6|294.9|28.7|144.2|151.0|09.9
02|00941|04:00.0|02:07.6|169.4|18.4|147.7|153.0|12.8
03|00288|01:00.0|01:44.0|311.8|31.4|152.9|161.0|09.2
04|00937|04:00.0|02:08.1|168.3|18.4|152.5|162.0|12.7
05|00290|01:00.0|01:43.3|312.6|31.9|153.4|164.0|09.1
06|00935|04:00.0|02:08.4|167.8|18.3|158.3|167.0|12.8
07|00290|01:00.0|01:43.6|312.0|31.9|157.6|165.0|09.1
08|00207|04:00.0|09:41.0|024.8|32.7|136.8|167.0|01.6
09|00274|01:00.0|01:49.5|297.1|34.0|128.6|151.0|08.1
10|00674|04:00.0|02:58.1|127.1|23.3|149.6|161.0|07.2
11|00293|01:00.0|01:42.5|321.2|29.9|156.7|166.0|09.8
12|00938|04:00.0|02:07.9|169.7|18.0|162.7|170.0|13.0
13|00288|01:00.0|01:44.3|307.9|28.7|160.0|168.0|10.0
14|00937|04:00.0|02:08.0|168.5|17.9|165.3|171.0|13.1
15|00288|01:00.0|01:44.1|300.6|29.4|162.8|170.0|09.8
16|00934|04:00.0|02:08.5|166.8|18.1|166.5|172.0|12.9
17|00287|01:01.2|01:46.6|300.9|30.2|165.5|172.0|09.3

Thursday – July 2 – 60 minute BikeErg

We drive back to Hopkinton on Wednesday afternoon. We needed to pick up mail, and take care of a few things around the house. Our plan was to head back to the cape on Thursday morning.

I wasn’t ambitious enough to head out to the lake, so I settled for a 60 minute BikeErg session, while watching the end of Ford v. Ferrari.

I guess the movie was a bit to exciting, I pushed my HR too high for the intended session.

        Workout Summary - media/df_20200702-142440.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|28737|01:00:27.0|01:03.1|175.1|71.1|155.2|169.1|06.7
W-|28740|01:00:27.0|01:03.1|175.1|71.1|155.2|169.1|06.7
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|169.1|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04745|10:00.0|01:03.2|170.5|70.4|153.4|157.7|06.7
01|04795|10:00.0|01:02.6|177.0|71.4|141.3|150.8|06.7
02|04841|10:00.0|01:02.0|181.9|72.1|151.6|157.8|06.7
03|04826|10:00.0|01:02.2|180.4|72.0|161.0|165.1|06.7
04|04801|10:00.0|01:02.5|177.9|71.7|165.2|169.1|06.7
05|04732|10:27.0|01:06.2|163.2|69.3|158.7|164.6|06.5

Friday – July 3 – 4 x 20′ / 2′ Steady State

Not a great session. Started with the intention of alternating r18/r20, but my HR started to go too high, so I settled at r18. Then it kept creeping up, so I upped the rate a bit. It was my first steady state session on a static erg in a looong time, so maybe that was it. It was also insanely humid.

        Workout Summary - media/bbfcc899e2-20200703-211114o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|19525|01:28:00.0|02:15.2|156.2|18.1|143.5|154.0|12.3
W-|18774|01:20:00.0|02:07.8|167.6|19.0|144.3|154.0|12.4
R-|00755|00:08:00.0|05:17.9|042.6|09.1|135.9|154.0|10.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04772|20:00.0|02:05.7|175.5|19.0|135.8|148.0|12.6
01|04696|20:00.0|02:07.8|167.9|18.4|144.8|151.0|12.7
02|04656|20:00.0|02:08.9|163.5|18.8|147.9|152.0|12.4
03|04650|20:00.0|02:09.0|163.3|19.7|148.7|154.0|11.8

Saturday – July 4 – 100′ Coastal Row

Fun row today! It was grey, and there was about a 5-10mph wind blowing from the NNE. The wind peaked while I was rowing into it (as it always does). I launched at about 11:30 and I turned north at 12:20

I launched at close to high tide and I hugged the coast of the island around to south. I had never really explored the tidal marsh on the south side of the island. Today, I rowed nearly as far as could and then back out along the south edge of the bay. Then I rowed down along the beach into Eastham. As I went, the chop was building and I was getting a bit of surfing them with the wind behind me.

I turned around at 50 minutes on the clock. I was heading just west of North and the wind was NNE. It felt much stronger now that I was heading into it. There were also a fair number of motor boats out. The seas were big and lumpy. The bigger ones were probably a bit bigger than 12 inches.

I am learning how to manage this a bit better. Stay patient. Lighten up on the pressure in each stroke. Rate up, and work on keeping the oars clear on recovery. You have to accept the fact that bigger waves will grab your blades, and unpredictable movements will mean that you take some bad strokes. The first 15 minutes of it were the toughest. After that, it seemed to get easier.

I turned at my favorite red buoy and headed for home. This was a new challenge with the seas on the beam. Finding the right rate was important.

The final turn, I was out of the chop and I rated up. It was really interesting, I could feel the depth of the water. When the water got shallow, I could feel the boat get heavy and watch the split slow down. Then when it got deep again, I could feel the boat get lighter and speed right up. 

     Workout Summary - media/8bba9f9965-20200704-183555o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|16742|01:42:35.0|03:03.8|000.0|21.7|143.3|156.0|07.5
W-|16744|01:42:35.0|03:03.8|000.0|21.7|143.3|156.0|07.6
R-|00000|00:00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|156.0|00.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|04232|25:00.0|02:57.2|000.0|20.8|138.3|149.0|08.1
01|04545|25:00.0|02:45.0|000.0|19.6|143.9|149.0|09.3
02|05526|37:00.0|03:20.9|000.0|22.8|145.3|151.0|06.5
03|01338|09:00.0|03:21.8|000.0|23.1|144.2|149.0|06.4
04|01104|06:35.0|02:58.9|000.0|24.3|147.9|156.0|06.9

Tomorrow: More Coastal. Maybe the 4km out and back challenge.

Living my best pandemic

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Maybe this sounds hokey, but I’ve been feeling very, very fortunate lately. Thank goodness, my job has not been affected by the downturn, and no on in my family has caught COVID-19. At this point, I have gotten used to working from home and improved my ability to use remote work tools, and I am enjoying the temporary respite from both commuting and business travel. For sure, I miss seeing my friends at work, and I worry about losing touch with my customers and business colleagues, but the change has meant that I get more sleep, get more exercise and spend more time with people I care about.

So, it’s been a good month for training.

In the past 27 days:

  • 3 rest days, sessions for the last 12 days in a row (I’ve been doing easy bike rides instead of taking full rest days lately)
  • 24 workouts
    • 13 days flat water rowing
    • 3 days coastal rowing
    • 3 runs
    • 2 erg sessions
    • 3 rides on my new BikeErg

Training Diary

Sunday – June 7 – No Training

I worked on the stairs down on the cape and didn’t have time for a workout. Nice day in the sun though.

Monday – June 8 – 15K on Lake Quinsigamond.

I am cartopping to the lake. I get up around 6, launch around 6:45 and row until 8:00 or 8:30 depending on whether or not I have a meeting at 9.

The club I row with is being good and safe. Masks on the dock, social distancing, time slots for launching to keep the docks from getting crowded. And the lake is just wonderful to row on.

Today was just some steady state. Down to the south end, all the way up to the north end, then back past the boathouse to the narrows, then finally back to the boathouse. Working with a HR cap of about 150. There was a bit of a headwind going North.

       Workout Summary - media/0407a4c8a1-20200608-125553o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15033|01:22:42.3|02:45.0|132.6|20.4|133.6|151.0|08.9
W-|14070|01:12:11.8|02:33.9|142.4|20.5|136.7|151.0|09.5
R-|00967|00:10:30.9|05:26.2|065.3|19.8|112.3|151.0|07.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03268|16:26.5|02:31.0|133.4|19.3|126.8|141.0|10.3
02|05758|30:04.8|02:36.7|148.5|20.8|140.1|151.0|09.2
03|03579|17:58.9|02:30.7|136.7|20.3|138.8|146.0|09.8
04|01466|07:41.6|02:37.4|151.0|22.1|139.9|147.0|08.6

Tuesday – June 9 – 15km steady state

Just beautiful. Flat water. A few waterskiers, but I didn’t mind the brief stops for that.

       Workout Summary - media/ee32ce273d-20200609-123554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15020|01:21:27.1|02:42.7|133.4|21.0|135.9|154.0|08.8
W-|13893|01:09:05.2|02:29.2|150.0|20.3|140.5|154.0|09.9
R-|01131|00:12:22.2|05:28.2|041.2|24.9|109.7|154.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03194|15:48.1|02:28.4|147.4|19.5|132.8|143.0|10.3
02|05731|28:43.6|02:30.4|150.9|20.7|141.0|150.0|09.7
03|03562|17:39.1|02:28.7|148.9|20.0|145.3|154.0|10.1
04|01406|06:54.4|02:27.4|154.5|21.2|144.2|152.0|09.6

Wednesday – 10 June – Descent to Hell

This is a Push it / Don’t Pull it workout. It is decreasing length pieces from 6′ down to 30″ with 90″ rests. so, 6′, 5’30”, 5′, 4’30″…

It was brutal. I did pretty well through the first four, but then when I turned into the wind, I blew up in the fifth interval. From there, I hung in there OK.

This workout is a keeper. Definitely doing it again later.

        Workout Summary - media/658d149feb-20200610-123056o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|13546|01:14:30.4|02:45.0|137.4|22.8|152.4|175.0|08.0
W-|07995|00:36:26.4|02:16.7|189.7|25.6|159.4|175.0|08.6
R-|05561|00:38:05.1|03:25.4|087.4|20.3|145.7|175.0|04.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01328|06:02.5|02:16.5|178.8|23.5|151.3|160.0|09.4
02|01200|05:33.2|02:18.9|171.6|24.0|156.7|166.0|09.0
03|01110|05:00.0|02:15.1|188.0|25.0|163.1|173.0|08.9
04|00989|04:26.3|02:14.6|192.4|25.4|165.2|175.0|08.8
05|00212|00:59.8|02:20.7|186.8|25.1|151.1|161.0|08.5
06|00346|01:37.8|02:21.2|190.1|25.8|162.7|167.0|08.2
07|00736|03:22.8|02:17.7|194.5|26.0|165.9|174.0|08.4
08|00516|02:20.9|02:16.5|201.7|26.8|162.1|174.0|08.2
09|00499|02:20.6|02:20.8|189.7|26.9|162.4|172.0|07.9
10|00410|01:51.6|02:15.9|211.0|28.5|162.7|174.0|07.8
11|00294|01:21.8|02:19.2|201.7|28.6|155.1|167.0|07.5
12|00216|00:55.5|02:08.3|221.1|30.1|154.2|164.0|07.8
13|00137|00:33.6|02:02.6|255.2|31.9|148.8|158.0|07.7

Thursday – June 11 – No Training

I earned a day off.

Friday – June 12 – Charles River GPS Speed Order

Another go at the speed order. My goal this time was to steer a better line. I ended up going out too hard and blowing up in the middle.

But my line was beautiful! Here it is compared to Carlo Zezza, who rowed a really tight and short line. (I’m the brown line)

From the start around magazine beach, I’m looking really good. I drifted out just a hair too much at the end (I was worried about cutting too close to the Riverside docks). I decided to use the cambridge arches, vs the center arches going up the powerhouse stretch.

I took a good line into weeks and made the turn from there to Anderson really well. This is where I ran out of energy and really slowed down. After Anderson, it looks like I took a good straight line to the apex of the eliot turn. And I did a good job hugging the curve for last turn as well.

I shaved 190m off the distance rowed from the prior attempt. And even though I rowed more slowly, I cut 30 seconds off my time.

  • 4773m / 22:38 / 2:22.3
  • 4583m / 22:08 / 2:23.9

Maybe for the July challenge, I can put steering and fitness together for a good row!

Saturday – June 13 – 12k on Lake Quinsigamond with Randall Foils

I’ve embarked on an experiment to see if Randall Foils help me row faster. I’ll be writing up some impressions of the Randall Foils eventually on https://analytics.rowsandall.com/

But in order to give them a fair test, I need to learn how to row with them and make sure that I understand how they feel. This row was the first step to try do that. Just a steady state row in choppy conditions to try to figure out how they work.

       Workout Summary - media/7f555d2212-20200613-133055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12026|01:08:10.4|02:50.1|123.3|21.0|140.4|170.0|08.4
W-|11008|00:57:02.3|02:35.5|138.6|20.5|143.7|170.0|09.5
R-|01023|00:11:08.5|05:26.8|044.7|23.7|123.7|170.0|04.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01415|07:34.1|02:40.5|116.9|18.0|125.1|138.0|10.4
02|01925|09:53.4|02:34.1|130.9|19.1|137.7|145.0|10.2
03|05784|30:40.9|02:39.2|140.4|20.7|147.5|165.0|09.1
04|01884|08:53.9|02:21.7|159.7|23.4|153.0|170.0|09.1

Overall, I did not enjoy my first experience with the foils. They sure feel solid at the catch, but they increase the wind resistance of the oars, and smacking a wavetop with the foils was a pretty violent feeling. Also, they were a pain when coasting, and maneuvering. More to come.

Sunday – June 14 – No Training

We drove down to the cape on Saturday afternoon, and I slept in. I spent most of the day finishing up the stairs to the beach.

Monday – June 15 – 6 Darts Games

Just a nice easy base builder in the basement.

Tuesday - June 16 - Easy Coastal Row

Just a nice day for a row.

Wednesday – June 17 – Another longer coastal row

In this one, I went over into where the Herring River comes out into Wellfleet Harbor. Beautiful area over there.

No real useful data fro the row, because both crewnerd and the speedcoach managed to get mucked up. My phone was splashed seriously enough to think that I had swiped away from crewnerd. And I ran out of memory on the speedcoach during the row.

Thursday – June 18 – 7km run

I crossed the bridge and ran a loop around a woodsy neighborhood.

Friday – June 19 – Experimenting with foils

Pushed hard for about 2km, then took a break for about 1km, then finished hard. 

        Workout Summary - media/c535caef77-20200619-120554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10712|00:58:38.1|02:44.2|133.3|21.7|147.2|182.0|08.4
W-|09723|00:47:31.7|02:26.6|154.4|21.9|152.7|182.0|09.4
R-|00994|00:11:06.7|05:35.2|043.0|20.8|123.5|182.0|06.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00185|00:58.4|02:37.9|128.4|18.7|112.1|123.0|10.2
02|03159|15:50.8|02:30.5|145.3|19.7|143.9|156.0|10.1
03|02114|10:01.0|02:22.1|171.2|23.9|157.4|168.0|08.8
04|02857|13:08.5|02:18.0|175.3|24.3|168.6|182.0|08.9 - Nice!
05|01408|07:33.0|02:40.9|118.1|20.4|142.6|153.0|09.2

Saturday – June 20 – Rate Ladders with Foils

Trying to work specific stroke rates with the foils. I think it works a bit better to try to row lighter and rate up.

Sunday – June 21 – 40 minute BikeErg

Unfortunately Boatcoach quit after 20 minutes. But it was lovely. Nice easy cross training session.

Monday – June 22 – Steady State

Still rowing with foils. This was supposed to be a nice easy steady state session, but as luck would have it, a sculler ended up right next to me as I pulled out from the dock, and his steady state pace was a bit quicker than mine. I just refused to let him go and pushed too hard.

I got to talk to him at the south end of the lake. Nice guy, student at University of Delaware. Getting back in shape in case there is rowing this fall.

       Workout Summary - media/f2e1dce094-20200622-122554o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11848|01:08:44.6|02:54.1|121.9|20.1|143.7|166.0|08.6
W-|11293|00:56:39.9|02:30.5|141.2|19.5|150.3|166.0|10.2
R-|00559|00:12:05.0|10:48.9|031.5|23.0|112.3|166.0|03.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|03533|17:10.2|02:25.8|144.5|19.0|148.0|163.0|10.8
02|05723|29:16.4|02:33.5|142.7|19.7|155.9|166.0|09.9
03|02037|10:13.3|02:30.5|131.4|19.8|138.3|162.0|10.0

There was a bit of wind blowing from North to South.

Tuesday – June 23 – Lake Quinsigamond Speed Order

When I rowed on Saturday, I met a nice guy from Western Mass who came to row the GPS Speed Order on the lake. He handily beat my team and my course standard score. I found that highly motivating. I decided to give the course another go.

I started with a nice long warmup to the south end of the lake, and then set off. There was a very light tail wind (about 2mph) and I was seeing splits between 2:15 and 2:20, which was encouraging. My HR was high, but I didn’t feel distressed. The last 2k was kind of difficult, but I would fiddle around with rate and pressure a little bit to try to distract myself.

I was very happy with the end result. No where near my competitor on raw time, but I edged him out on course standard score.

I also shaved nearly 30 seconds off my previous time. (22:37). Boom.

Wednesday – June 24 – 40 minute BikeErg

I like the bike erg! It’s a great change of pace and a good way to get some low intensity aerobic minutes in. I started watching Ford v. Ferrari, which was highly entertaining.

Thursday – June 25 – Steady State (without Foils)

It felt so good to row without foils! Still not sure if they make me faster. They certainly do not slow me down, but I do not like rowing with them.

Nice, reasonable speedy steady state session. I was able to keep on the fast side of 2:30 for most of it.

       Workout Summary - media/7a3eb7d12d-20200625-202055o.csv
--|Total|-Total----|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time-----|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11945|01:03:09.1|02:38.6|134.6|20.6|139.8|159.0|09.2
W-|10644|00:52:28.8|02:27.9|146.4|20.4|143.4|159.0|09.9
R-|01309|00:10:41.0|04:04.7|076.8|21.1|122.2|159.0|06.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00278|01:24.8|02:32.8|127.8|19.0|116.4|121.0|10.3
02|01974|09:34.9|02:25.7|149.8|20.4|136.4|147.0|10.1
03|00534|02:35.4|02:25.6|158.6|20.9|137.7|149.0|09.9
04|01306|06:27.5|02:28.3|145.2|20.5|138.5|147.0|09.9
05|04446|22:00.1|02:28.5|148.8|20.5|148.4|159.0|09.9
06|01891|09:21.6|02:28.5|137.6|20.3|147.8|153.0|10.0
07|00216|01:04.5|02:29.1|143.8|22.3|144.3|146.0|09.0

Friday – June 26 – 45 minute BikeErg

I had an 8 am meeting, so not enough time to go to the lake and get in a row. I slept in an extra half hour, and did a short session on the Bike. Watched more of Ford v Ferrari. Still really fun.

Saturday – June 27 – 80′ Coastal Row

It was warm and windy today. I thought it would be fun to go bash into some waves. I was right!

I launched at 12:15, so right as the wind was building up past 15mph. It peaked around 1pm when I was up near Wellfleet inner harbor, and moderated back down to 15 on the way back.

You can tell that the water is rough when the speedcoach starts having all those spikes on the stroke rate.

It was just past low tide when I launched, so I had to take a short leg to the northwest to stay clear of the shoals, then I turned SW and headed to the red buoy. The wind was blowing from the SSW, so on my port bow. The waves were very steep over the shallow water as I got close to the buoy, and I was filling the footwell every ten or so strokes. I opened the bailer and left it that way the rest of the row.

I turned at the buoy and had a downwind ride with the tide all the way to the harbor. The waves hissing and sizzling under the boat as I went. I turned into the harbor and grabbed a quick drink. I knew the next bit was going to be the tough part.

I headed back out, and as soon as I cleared the breakwater, I started getting slammed by 12 to 18 waves. They seem pretty big when your boat sits 3 inches above the water line. I pounded my way out and picked a point on the shore to focus on. I concentrated on just controlling my oars and reacting to the waves. I paid a lot of attention to my heart rate. With the waves and headwind, it was easy to push too hard.

The footwell was filled most of the time. By the time the bailer reduced the water level, another wave would run the length of the boat and fill it again.

Finally, I came into the lee of the Island and the water flattened out. The last bit of rowing on flat water was a nice change to adventure through the waves.

Great fun!