Tuesday: 4×15’/4′ (7′ @ 5KP, 8′ @ MP) Marathon Training OTW

May 17, 2017May 17, 20177 Comments

Weather: Lovely. Sunny. Temperature was around 60F. There was a moderate 5-10mph breeze from the WNW. This was a cross/tail wind heading down river and the cross/head wind going upriver. (But since I was going to row to power, that didn’t matter!)

Plan: This was the first time I would be doing one of the Fletcher Marathon Plan sessions on water. I figured I would need to be a little flexible to make it work.

4 x 15′ / 4′ rest
In each 15′ interval
- 7′ @ 5KP (which is 220 to 235W on the erg)
- 8′ @ MP (which is 180 to 195W)

As for adaptations.

I have about 3000m of river that I can row at high pressure. This takes me a little bit less than 15 minutes. I decided to keep the 7′ at 5KP and then just stop short of 8′ if I ran out of river. This would be more of problem downstream than upstream, both because of current and also the headwind.
Power: I decided to try to row to my erg power specs. I suspected that this would be really hard, and it was. After I rowed, I listened to a great podcast about rowing with power meters which said the average difference between erg and OTW powers was in the range of 13% to 16%. Interesting tidbit. If I had know that, the targets would have been substantially reduced.

Rate: I have somewhat arbitrarily decided to match rate to these powers as follows
- 5KP: 24-26
- 10KP: 22-24
- HMP: 20-22
- MP: 19-21

So, how’d did it go? It was a really tough, but awesome workout. I dug very deep to get it done and I definitely faded in the later reps, but I stayed focused and got it done. From a TRIMP perspective, it was the hardest workout I’ve done since the end of January (HR based TRIMP of 195)

Here’s the interval summary from rowsandall

Workout Summary - media/20170516-135626-SpdCoach 2182533 20170516 0639amo.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14847|77:09.0|02:35.9|169.6|21.9|159.7|177.0|08.8
W-|11373|53:49.0|02:22.0|194.5|22.6|167.7|177.0|09.4
R-|03482|23:20.0|03:21.1|093.3|19.1|137.4|177.0|07.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|00005|00:00.0|00:00.0|087.0|17.0|085.0|85.0|00.0
01|01613|07:00.0|02:10.2|224.6|24.3|164.0|170.0|09.5 - 255-240W
02|01258|05:51.0|02:19.5|190.8|20.1|165.0|170.0|10.7 - 180-195W
03|01454|06:48.0|02:20.3|215.7|24.8|168.0|176.0|08.6
04|01371|07:00.0|02:33.2|170.4|20.4|169.4|176.0|09.6
05|01508|06:52.2|02:16.7|204.3|25.5|167.9|176.0|08.6
06|01356|06:22.2|02:21.0|178.5|20.1|169.4|176.0|10.6
07|01445|06:55.2|02:23.7|202.0|25.1|167.9|177.0|08.3
08|01364|07:01.2|02:34.3|168.3|20.2|169.7|177.0|09.6

So, I tried hard, but I couldn’t hit the erg based targets. But I was ahead of the 15% derated targets. For now, I will aim at the top end of the OTW target range.

I’m using the impeller on the speedcoach to try to avoid stream effects on the live pace display. I’ve tried to calibrate the impeller input, but based on a comparison of the speedcoach and GPS data today, I think my cal factor might be a bit slow.

Workout Summary - media/20170517-123357-87478o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|15674|81:34.0|02:36.1|000.0|21.4|0.0|000.0|09.0
W-|11886|54:28.0|02:17.5|000.0|22.7|000.0|000.0|09.7
R-|03793|27:06.0|03:34.4|000.0|18.5|000.0|000.0|08.2
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|01645|07:00.0|02:07.7|000.0|24.4|000.0|0.0|09.6
02|01325|06:00.0|02:15.8|000.0|20.2|000.0|0.0|11.0
03|01594|07:00.0|02:11.7|000.0|25.0|000.0|0.0|09.1
04|01478|07:18.0|02:28.2|000.0|20.5|000.0|0.0|09.9
05|01570|07:00.0|02:13.7|000.0|25.5|000.0|0.0|08.8
06|01314|06:10.2|02:20.9|000.0|20.2|000.0|0.0|10.5
07|01529|07:00.0|02:17.3|000.0|25.2|000.0|0.0|08.7
08|01431|07:00.0|02:26.7|000.0|20.2|000.0|0.0|10.1

I compared the paces.

So, based on this data, I think my impeller is reading about 4.5 seconds slow.

This row gave me a treasure trove of data to look at the state of my rowing technique. Here is a gallery of the plots that I did.

Power and pace vs stroke rate: pace is bimodal due to headwind. Power is not. Pretty wide spread because of the way I started faster and faded
Effective length vs stroke rate: Slightly longer at r24 than at r20. This is pretty consistent with what I’ve read in Kleshnev and other places
Wash: Wash got a little bit worse as I got more tired, but I think it is pretty good. I guess my finishes are in OK shape.
Slip: Lower slip values at r24. This is where the better length is coming from. I am attacking the catch with more enthusiasm at the higher stroke rate. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I need to figure out if it is resulting in a more fficient generation of boat speed relative to the effort (power). That will be a longer term project.
Catch: consistent. A little degradation in the last interval. Certainly more variation from stroke to stroke.
Finish: Better and more consistent at r24. You can see how I was really struggling at the beginning of each of the r20 sections. I dug a deep hole with the higher power segments, and when I gear shifted I struggled to take full strokes.
Effective length vs time: You can see the effect of me gasping for breath at the beginning of the MP sections, especially in the later intervals
Work per stroke vs time: I filtered the data to do two plots. One for r24 and the other for r20. Very clear reduction in r24 WPS over the workout. I was rowing to lower power and slightly higher rate. This is physiological, not technique. In the r20 sections, you can see me digging out of the lactate hole through each of them and finishing stronger.

Now I am flying out to LAX. I will take today as a rest day. Tomorrow morning, I have two possible plans. If I stay over I’m planning to visit Crossfit Anaerobic in Irvine and do this session…

4 x 20′ / 2′

MP, 10KP, HMP, MP

90.0%

(167)

I might take the red eye home. If I do that, I have my rowing gear in my car and my plan would be to stop and row on my way home from the airport. The plan would then be to do a version of this OTW. Each section would probably be closer to 15 minutes.

Friday: 90 minutes of near-bliss

May 5, 20171 Comment

I felt like crap all day Thursday. My stomach was a little upset, and just felt lethargic and slow. We went to bed early again and I got a good 8 hours of sleep. I woke up this morning feeling a whole lot better.

The weather was gray and it rained off and on. The temperature was in the mid-40s. But there was very little wind and I was looking forward to just taking it easy and working on technique. My morning schedule was pretty open, so I didn’t have to rush to much either.

I launched and got going. My plan was:

2′ SBR
2′ alternating square / feathered
2′ r20
repeat over and over again.

As I rowed out to the useful part of the river, I decided that today would be a good day to get the impeller mode of the speedcoach calibrated. Right now there is enough current that my upstream and downstream speeds are different by 10 or 15 second per 500, and since the impeller is already mounted on the boat, I might as well use it.

I had never done the calibration with the speedcoach GPS, so I fumbled through the menus a bit until I found it under the advanced setup menu. Once I found it, it was easy and intuitive to use. Just start it up, it tells you to start rowing, and once you are up to speed, it uses the GPS to measure 500m of true distance. Then it tells you to turn around and press start when you are ready to do the same thing in the other direction. After all that, it tells you what the cal factor is.

So, I did 2 moderately hard 500m pieces to setup the cal. I was suspicious that it might not be a good cal because my boat speed looked a bit too good.

After that, I just rowed. I went all the way down river, back up to the cove, then back down to the dam. The basin down by the dam is pretty broad and the I can do 500m without much of a turn, so I did the cal again. The cal factor came out close to the first time (1.069 vs 1.061), but I did pull one massively bad stroke in the first 500, so I am wondering if I could get it better. Maybe I’ll do it again on Quinsig this weekend over 1000m.

After I finished the second cal, I decided to row steady state the whole way back. I was pulling really hard in the 2 minute chunks of r20, and I wanted to try to practice at a feathered at a lower stroke pressure. This was very pleasant rowing.

The whole outing was about 17km on RIM, and I was on the water for 96 minutes. It was glorious.

This is the GPS data from RIM. You can see the extra loops at each end of the river where I did the cal pieces. You can also see a place in the middle where the was some kind of glitch with the data. I did not, in fact, row through the headland, not even close.

Here is the same thing using the GPS coordinates from the speedcoach. In this one, the cal pieces are missing, but look at how much smoother the path is.

Here’s the summary plot from the speedcoach. Still suspicious about the impeller based pace, but it sure is less noisy! It is also missing the cal pieces.

Here is the summary plot from RIM.

In this plot, I have smoothed the pace data twice, and it is still a lot noisier than the speedcoach data.

I am trying to figure out the best set of parameters to have live in the boat. Today, I setup the speedcoach to have pace, HR, effective length and wash. On RIM, I had stroke rate and elapsed time. This worked out OK, but I think I like using the RIM for HR. For example, today I don’t have any HR data for the cal pieces. In a similar way, if I setup the speedcoach for an interval workout, I would miss the rest data. If I use RIM essentially as a logger, and the speedcoach more interactively, I think that would work out.

I think I will always want to see pace, stroke rate, heart rate and elapsed time. And I would like to have two fields for empower related stuff. Right now I am working on finishes, so it makes sense to have wash. But eventually, I think I will mainly have work and effective length as the main screens.

Feeling so bad yesterday and so good today has gotten me thinking.

I have never really figured how much business travel interferes with training. I used to just think of travel days as enforced rest days and tried to just hit my training goals working around the travel. From that perspective, the only impact was essentially from reduced training hours when I couldn’t squeeze in the sessions.

Now I think it’s worse than that. Spending 6 hours squeezed into a plane (or 15 hours) and shifting multiple time zones is nothing like a real rest day. But it does nothing to improve my fitness level. Right now, I am thinking that it puts the same stress on my body that training does, but without the beneficial training effect.

So the question is…what to do about it? The answer is…I don’t know. It seems pretty clear to me that maintaining a very regular training schedule helps me manage jet lag and stress. It’s also clear that my performance in training sessions after travel is compromised. So, I think I keep doing what I’m doing. I will try to rearrange my schedule to put low intensity sessions after trips and I will focus on base endurance cross training or strength while I travel.

The other thing that is really clear to me is that the best thing I can do to improve performance right now is to lose weight. Losing weight requires no extra time, it can be done while I’m at home or on travel, and every 10 pounds is worth a full second off my 500m split in the boat. The problem with losing weight is will power. It takes a lot of effort for me to lose weight and it’s easy to lose motivation. But, I need to give it a try. It will help my fitness, performance and health.

Tomorrow: yardwork all day. Time to mulch.

Monday: 4 x 2800m Threshold OTW

November 7, 20162 Comments

In Newton in my Fluid

Weather: 36F, Clear, light wind from the NNW 3-5mph. This was a head wind heading down river. It was only a factor in the straight section in front of the watch factory.

Plan:

4 x 2800m
3-5min rest
Rate: 24-26
Pace: ~2:15
HR Cap: None –> Target TR zone
Technique: Clean Finishes.

Workout Summary - media/20161107-143843-78581o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|13608|71:23.0|02:37.4|23.1|150.5|170.0|08.2
W-|11198|51:40.0|02:18.4|24.8|160.0|170.0|08.7
R-|03680|27:30.0|03:44.3|19.1|123.4|170.0|07.9
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
02|02820|12:55.7|02:17.5|25.1|158.4|164.0|08.7
03|02804|12:46.9|02:16.8|24.7|160.1|166.0|08.9
04|02753|13:05.1|02:22.6|24.5|160.9|166.0|08.6
05|02821|12:52.3|02:16.9|24.9|160.4|170.0|08.8

A very good workout. I pushed hard, but tried to stick to r24, and that kept the HR in a reasonable place. I wanted to focus more on rowing clean than driving for the best possible pace.

The one interesting thing from the workout is the sharp deceleration at 6000m. I was going through the s-turn and a goose did not get out of my way quickly enough. I hit it hard with my oar during recovery, and lost my grip on the handle. Luckily, the force of the “bird strike” pushed the handle toward my torso. It was trapped between my leg and chest and I could grab it again quickly. Good thing too, because the blade was flipping from feathered to square and starting to really catch water. I think I avoided a flip by a fraction of a second. Usually the geese are smart enough to get out of my way. I think this specific goose will probably do so in the future.

Here’s a quick look at stroke metrics.

The loop down to 20 spm at the bottom is my “bird strike”.

I did a plot of each interval to see if I could see the effect of the light headwind. The left column is against the headwind, the right column is with the wind.

Now I am off to San Jose and LA for the week. I will probably stick to cross training at hotel gyms for this trip. Maybe try to do a couple of strength sessions.

Thursday: 4 x (5 x 2′ / 30″ paddle) / 3′ rest

October 27, 20162 Comments

On the Upper Charles. In my fluid.

Weather: Cold, calm, clear and dark! 30F when I launched, 31F when I finished. The water was glassy smooth. It was so calm that I noticed the tiny wake that a goose made when he paddled by in the opposite direction (and I resented the goose for spoiling my perfect water!)

Plan:

4 sets of 5 x 2′ on / 30″ paddle
3 or 4 minutes of rest between sets
rate: 26-28
pace: better than 2:15
HR: No cap. Threshold workout
Technique: full compression, level draw, crisp tap down, smooth recovery

The number of reps in each set is designed to cover the distance down the river so that I get my long rest when I need to turn at the end. The intent of this workout is to work at head race pace and stroke rates with enough rests so that it is more focused on technique than survival. It worked out as planned.

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01166 | 08:00 | 3:25.8 | 15.2 | 119.3 | 09.6 | warming up
 | 08:00.0 | 00451 | 01:59 | 2:11.9 | 25.9 | 151.5 | 08.8 | 
 | 09:59.0 | 00090 | 00:30 | 2:46.7 | 20.7 | 155.1 | 08.7 | 
 | 10:29.0 | 00462 | 02:00 | 2:09.9 | 26.9 | 158.1 | 08.6 | 
 | 12:29.0 | 00079 | 00:30 | 3:09.9 | 19.6 | 159.8 | 08.1 | 
 | 12:59.0 | 00452 | 02:00 | 2:12.7 | 26.8 | 158.3 | 08.4 | 
 | 14:59.0 | 00075 | 00:30 | 3:20.0 | 19.7 | 160.9 | 07.6 | 
 | 15:29.0 | 00473 | 02:01 | 2:07.9 | 27.1 | 160.6 | 08.7 | 
 | 17:30.0 | 00078 | 00:29 | 3:05.9 | 21.4 | 165.2 | 07.5 | 
 | 17:59.0 | 00470 | 02:00 | 2:07.7 | 27.9 | 165.0 | 08.4 | 
 | 19:59.0 | 00323 | 03:00 | 4:38.6 | 20.2 | 135.8 | 05.3 | 
 | 22:59.0 | 00454 | 02:00 | 2:12.2 | 26.9 | 152.0 | 08.4 | 
 | 24:59.0 | 00084 | 00:30 | 2:58.6 | 21.6 | 164.3 | 07.8 | 
 | 25:29.0 | 00447 | 02:00 | 2:14.2 | 27.5 | 164.8 | 08.1 | 
 | 27:29.0 | 00078 | 00:30 | 3:12.3 | 21.7 | 167.5 | 07.2 | 
 | 27:59.0 | 00444 | 02:00 | 2:15.1 | 26.8 | 166.5 | 08.3 | 
 | 29:59.0 | 00082 | 00:31 | 3:09.0 | 25.2 | 170.0 | 06.3 | 
 | 30:30.0 | 00437 | 01:59 | 2:16.2 | 27.2 | 167.6 | 08.1 | 
 | 32:29.0 | 00069 | 00:30 | 3:37.4 | 21.0 | 170.3 | 06.6 | 
 | 32:59.0 | 00445 | 02:00 | 2:14.8 | 26.3 | 167.2 | 08.5 | 
 | 34:59.0 | 00415 | 04:00 | 4:49.2 | 18.9 | 136.7 | 05.5 | 
 | 38:59.0 | 00460 | 02:00 | 2:10.4 | 26.8 | 153.5 | 08.6 | 
 | 40:59.0 | 00084 | 00:30 | 2:58.6 | 21.3 | 163.6 | 07.9 | 
 | 41:29.0 | 00447 | 02:00 | 2:14.2 | 27.4 | 163.3 | 08.2 | 
 | 43:29.0 | 00084 | 00:30 | 2:58.6 | 22.0 | 166.7 | 07.6 | 
 | 43:59.0 | 00447 | 02:00 | 2:14.2 | 26.2 | 165.3 | 08.5 | 
 | 45:59.0 | 00093 | 00:31 | 2:46.7 | 21.5 | 166.6 | 08.4 | 
 | 46:30.0 | 00445 | 01:59 | 2:13.7 | 27.0 | 164.9 | 08.3 | 
 | 48:29.0 | 00078 | 00:30 | 3:12.3 | 21.3 | 167.2 | 07.3 | 
 | 48:59.0 | 00454 | 02:00 | 2:12.2 | 27.4 | 167.2 | 08.3 | 
 | 50:59.0 | 00215 | 03:00 | 6:58.6 | 18.2 | 134.5 | 03.9 | 
 | 53:59.0 | 00455 | 02:00 | 2:11.9 | 26.8 | 153.4 | 08.5 | 
 | 55:59.0 | 00081 | 00:30 | 3:05.2 | 21.2 | 163.2 | 07.7 | 
 | 56:29.0 | 00440 | 02:00 | 2:16.4 | 25.8 | 163.6 | 08.5 | 
 | 58:29.0 | 00082 | 00:30 | 3:02.9 | 21.3 | 165.1 | 07.7 | 
 | 58:59.0 | 00437 | 02:01 | 2:18.4 | 26.1 | 164.8 | 08.3 | 
 | 01:00.0 | 00076 | 00:29 | 3:10.8 | 21.7 | 166.6 | 07.2 | 
 | 01:29.0 | 00437 | 02:00 | 2:17.3 | 26.2 | 165.7 | 08.3 | 
 | 03:29.0 | 00079 | 00:30 | 3:09.9 | 20.4 | 167.7 | 07.7 | 
 | 03:59.0 | 00449 | 02:00 | 2:13.6 | 26.7 | 167.7 | 08.4 | 
 | 05:59.0 | 01455 | 10:20 | 3:33.1 | 18.1 | 127.8 | 07.8 |

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01166 | 08:00 | 3:25.8 | 15.2 | 119.3 | 09.6 | warmup
 | 00:00.0 | 02245 | 18:00 | 4:00.5 | 20.1 | 148.8 | 06.2 | rests
 | 00:00.0 | 01455 | 10:20 | 3:33.1 | 18.1 | 127.8 | 07.8 | cool down
 | 00:00.0 | 09006 | 39:59 | 2:13.2 | 26.8 | 162.1 | 08.4 | main set

I was hoping to be a bit faster, but it wasn’t gonna happen for me today. I suspect that the hard workout from Tuesday, plus 90 minutes yesterday has built up a little fatigue.

I also was not pushing this to the edge. In each interval, when it started to bite, I tried to refocus on technique. Try to get my finishes so clean that I wouldn’t touch the water, and really get out for the catch. With water this smooth, it was hard to row badly!

I was curious what my stroke dynamics look like. Here are a few strokes from the begining and end of the workout.

You can compare that to last year.

It looks like some subtle changes.

This year, it looks like I am getting a bit more impulse from my leg drive. The acceleration curve is peaking more at 0.4 sec.
It looks like my finishes were a bit cleaner last year.
See how the boat speed is peaking right before the catch last year? That means that I am accelerating up the slide. This year in two out of three strokes, the boat speed is nice and flat through the recovery, so a smoother, more even recovery. You can also see this in terms of the minimum instantaneous boat speed. Last year, it troughed well below 2.5m/s. This year, all strokes troughed above 2.5m/s. That’s good.

Tomorrow: The weather is supposed to be terrible. I might do an erg session. I should probably do a 4 x 20′ endurance session, but I might do a rate limited 10K to post a CTC number.

Cold Enough for Pogies! 90′ of steady state

October 26, 2016Leave a comment

On the upper charles in my fluid.

Weather: Cold and clear, 35F. Light wind from the ESE. This was a bit of a head wind coming up river. Another absolutely stunning day.

Plan:

As much steady state as I had time for. ( turned out to be nearly 90 minutes)
rate: 20
pace: ~2:30
HR: Capped at 155
Technique: good compression, level drive, crisp finishes

I got to the dock about 20 minutes earlier today than yesterday and the difference was dramatic. It was really dark! I could see a few lights out in the lagoon heading down river when I got my boat, but I could see the boats that they were on.

By the time I got in my boat, my eyes had adjusted enough that I could see a little bit, but I was still pretty tentative. The river is narrow enough at the beginning that it is shaded by trees on both sides, so it is really dark in places. As I started the turn out of the lagoon, I saw lights ahead. One was on a four that had steering off into the weeds on the inside of the turn. The other was a launch. I couldn’t tell which way the launch was heading so I stopped and inspected the situation closely, then paddled through the whole situation. After I passed those two boats, there was one more four a bit further down the river. I saw no more of them after that.

For today, my objectives were pretty simple. Work on building my aerobic base by getting in lots of minutes or rowing. And more importantly, try to work on correcting the flaws in my stroke. In the double, I was rowing way to deep (over the barrel), and my finishes were very sloppy. Today, I was trying to maintain an internal monologue during every stroke. It went something like this.

(starting right after the finish)

Get those blades off the water, don’t be lazy, you don’t need training wheels
Easy up the slide. keep it smooth
Don’t hunch, keep your shoulders high in to the catch
Reach way out there, don’t be a chicken
drop the blades first, then accelerate
keep the handles nice and low, don’t go deep
push hands down and away crisply. Don’t let your hands brush your torso
Get those blades up.

Over and over. Sometimes I would get focused on one part of it, especially the finishes and I would start to hunch or drag my blades, but this was some of the hardest concentration that I have done in a steady state session.

After I finished my usual 2 full laps of the river, I had time to add in another 2k or so rowing. This part I did with slow roll ups. I would finish, feather, and then roll to square slowly through the whole recovery. This was a good change because it still required a lot of concentration, but was a bit of change.

Sometimes I just want to row, but right now, I really want to try to break some habits and start some new ones. It ain’t easy.

Data from RIM.

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 00705 | 05:32 | 3:55.5 | 12.5 | 112.8 | 10.2 | warming up
 | 05:32.0 | 03357 | 16:19 | 2:25.8 | 19.4 | 141.1 | 10.6 | 
 | 21:51.0 | 00111 | 01:08 | 5:06.3 | 18.6 | 133.3 | 05.3 | 
 | 22:59.0 | 02803 | 13:49 | 2:27.9 | 19.9 | 149.5 | 10.2 | 
 | 36:48.0 | 00053 | 02:01 | 19:01.5| 15.7 | 120.8 | 01.7 | 
 | 38:49.0 | 02846 | 13:38 | 2:23.7 | 20.1 | 147.8 | 10.4 | 
 | 52:27.0 | 00088 | 00:59 | 5:35.2 | 18.7 | 142.3 | 04.8 | 
 | 53:26.0 | 02809 | 14:02 | 2:29.9 | 20.1 | 151.0 | 10.0 | 
 | 07:28.0 | 00103 | 01:17 | 6:13.8 | 14.9 | 134.5 | 05.4 | 
 | 08:45.0 | 01090 | 05:21 | 2:27.2 | 20.0 | 144.9 | 10.2 | 
 | 14:06.0 | 00099 | 01:18 | 6:33.9 | 20.3 | 133.2 | 03.7 | 
 | 15:24.0 | 01186 | 05:58 | 2:30.9 | 20.6 | 146.1 | 09.6 | 
 | 21:22.0 | 01120 | 05:51 | 2:36.7 | 20.8 | 146.7 | 09.2 |

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 00705 | 05:32 | 3:55.5 | 12.5 | 112.8 | 10.2 | warmup
 | 00:00.0 | 00454 | 06:43 | 7:23.8 | 17.4 | 131.1 | 03.9 | rests
 | 00:00.0 | 01120 | 05:51 | 2:36.7 | 20.8 | 146.7 | 09.2 | cool down
 | 00:00.0 | 14091 | 09:07 | 2:27.2 | 19.9 | 146.8 | 10.2 | main set

I always feel a little bit better when I can stick with a HR cap and still do a steady state session with the avg pace faster than 2:30.

Tuesday: 5 x 1500

October 25, 20164 Comments

On the Upper Charles in Newton in my single

Weather: Cold and stunningly beautiful. There was frost on the dock, and the air temp was around 36F. There was no wind at all at first. Over the course of the session, a little bit of wind from the east started, but it was barely noticeable.

The river level was high because of all the rain we got over the weekend. From the GPS data, it looks like the flow was a bit higher than usual (my calculation about 0.02 m/s) This is about a second plus or minus on pace depending on whether you are heading up of down river.

Plan:

Short warmup
5 x 1500m / 5′ rest
- rate: 26-28
- pace: faster than 2:15
- No HR cap. Threshold intensity
Square blade rowing for cool down

TCX data from RIM

Workout Summary - media/20161025-133204-77854o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|12728|71:56.0|02:49.6|22.6|145.0|174.0|07.8
W-|07501|32:51.0|02:11.4|27.0|162.2|174.0|08.5
R-|06530|46:46.0|03:34.9|16.5|113.6|174.0|08.1
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
02|01501|06:31.8|02:10.5|25.8|155.5|163.0|08.9
03|01501|06:34.7|02:11.5|27.6|161.6|168.0|08.3
04|01499|06:32.3|02:10.9|26.6|161.8|171.0|08.6
05|01502|06:40.9|02:13.5|27.6|166.6|173.0|08.1
06|01499|06:31.3|02:10.6|27.5|165.2|174.0|08.3

Speedcoach Data. I sure do like the lower noise you get from the impeller. I think the cal factor is still a little stingy. The avg pace from GPS was 2:11.4. From the Speedcoach it’s 2:12.3.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1230_|_07:16_|_2:57.2_|_124___|_17.1_|_09.9_|_117___|_warmup
01235_|_1490_|_06:36_|_2:13.0_|_170___|_25.7_|_08.8_|_155___|_rep #1
02735_|_0546_|_03:39_|_3:20.3_|_063___|_17.3_|_08.7_|_125___|_rest
03271_|_1491_|_06:32_|_2:11.3_|_180___|_27.6_|_08.3_|_162___|_rep #2
04771_|_0604_|_04:15_|_3:31.0_|_071___|_16.7_|_08.5_|_128___|_rest
05366_|_1495_|_06:39_|_2:13.3_|_175___|_26.3_|_08.5_|_164___|_rep #3
06866_|_0421_|_03:07_|_3:42.0_|_052___|_16.7_|_08.1_|_133___|_rest
07282_|_1487_|_06:33_|_2:12.1_|_180___|_27.5_|_08.3_|_166___|_rep #4
08782_|_0473_|_03:15_|_3:26.4_|_056___|_17.2_|_08.4_|_139___|_rest
09242_|_1491_|_06:33_|_2:11.9_|_180___|_27.5_|_08.3_|_165___|_rep #5
10742_|_2876_|_17:04_|_2:58.0_|_310___|_18.2_|_09.3_|_132___|_sbr, cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01230_|_07:16_|_2:57.2_|_124___|_17.1_|_09.9_|_117___|_warmup
07454_|_32:53_|_2:12.3_|_885___|_26.9_|_08.4_|_162___|_Main set
02044_|_14:16_|_3:29.3_|_242___|_17.0_|_08.4_|_131___|_rest meters
02876_|_17:04_|_2:58.0_|_310___|_18.2_|_09.3_|_132___|_cool down
13604_|_11:28_|_2:37.6_|_1561___|_21.8_|_08.7_|_144___|_Total

I was delighted with this workout. I was working hard, but I was never on the edge of failure. I sifted through my journal and found that I did this workout on November 3rd of last year. (Link)

That session last year was a bit of a miracle. Everything went perfectly and I pushed it to the limit. I managed an average split of 2:09.7. Avg heart rate was 168. Today, my avg pace was 2:11.4 (1.5 sec slower), but my avg heart rate was 162. Taking into account the lack of threshold work that I have done in my single this year, I find it very encouraging that I am that close on pace, and in a better place in terms of aerobic fitness.

Tomorrow: 75′ steady state. It’s gonna be cold again. Predicted low around 32F.

Monday: UT1 Rate Ladders

October 24, 20163 Comments

Back in my single, on the Upper Charles in Newton. I took that picture of a Great Blue Heron on the dock I used. I saw him as I walked back from putting my boat away. I see these birds often in the distance as I row, but this was the closest to one that I have gotten.

Weather: flat water, cool, clear skies, with the sun slowly rising during my session

Plan:

6 minute rate ladders.
- 3′ @ 20
- 2′ @ 22
- 1′ @ 24
4 x (2 x 6’/no rest) / 1′ rest (to turn the boat)
Pace target: No real target, but I wanted to see faster paces with higher rates
HR Target: None, but I was hoping that most of the session would be UT1. I was OK with going higher to focus on technique.
Technique: Work on level arm draw, avoid rowing “over the barrel”. Work on crisper finishes and faster hands away.

I didn’t even bother to put on the speedcoach today, I just used RIM on my phone. Here’s the data as processed by rowsandall.com. You can see that this was a bit harder work than most of my endurance sessions, with about 20 minutes above the top end of the UT1 band.

One of the cool tools that has been developed on the site is an ability to examine how different parameters in the data are related to each other. For example, in a rate ladder workout, one of the interesting relationships is pace versus stroke rate. The site also has a very useful interval editor so you can exclude strokes taken during warmup, rests and cool down. Here is a plot of pace versus stroke rate.

You can see from the data that there are more strokes at 20spm than 22 and 24. You can also see that there is a pretty wide variance of paces at each stroke rate. That’s totally expected because of wind, current, effort, and steering. But the interesting thing is trend of the centers of the cloud.

With the interval editor, you can also get accurate values for average pace, rate, dps and HR for each of the define intervals.

Workout Summary - media/20161024-152030-77825o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|11964|62:00.0|02:35.5|20.6|148.3|167.0|09.3
W-|10087|48:00.0|02:22.8|21.4|153.9|167.0|09.8
R-|03307|22:00.0|03:19.6|18.8|142.8|167.0|07.6
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
02|02580|12:00.0|02:19.6|21.5|146.7|159.0|10.0
03|02478|12:00.0|02:25.3|21.4|154.0|162.0|09.6
04|02546|12:00.0|02:21.4|21.4|156.5|165.0|09.9
05|02483|12:00.0|02:25.0|21.5|158.5|167.0|09.6

This is pretty new functionality, so I checked it with an excel workbook that I have that does the same kind of processing.

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01418 | 08:00 | 2:49.3 | 17.9 | 115.6 | 09.9 | warming up
 | 08:00.0 | 02577 | 11:59 | 2:19.5 | 21.5 | 146.7 | 10.0 | 1
 | 19:59.0 | 00108 | 01:00 | 4:37.8 | 20.4 | 149.2 | 05.3 | 
 | 20:59.0 | 02479 | 12:00 | 2:25.2 | 21.4 | 154.0 | 09.6 | 2
 | 32:59.0 | 00107 | 01:00 | 4:40.4 | 21.5 | 153.4 | 05.0 | 
 | 33:59.0 | 02549 | 12:00 | 2:21.2 | 21.4 | 156.5 | 09.9 | 3
 | 45:59.0 | 00086 | 01:00 | 5:48.8 | 20.7 | 152.5 | 04.2 | 
 | 46:59.0 | 02487 | 12:01 | 2:25.0 | 21.5 | 158.4 | 09.6 | 4
 | 59:00.0 | 01456 | 08:00 | 2:44.8 | 18.8 | 146.1 | 09.7 | cool down

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01418 | 08:00 | 2:49.3 | 17.9 | 115.6 | 09.9 | warmup
 | 00:00.0 | 00301 | 03:00 | 4:59.0 | 20.8 | 151.7 | 04.8 | rest
 | 00:00.0 | 01456 | 08:00 | 2:44.8 | 18.8 | 146.1 | 09.7 | cool down
 | 00:00.0 | 10092 | 48:00 | 2:22.7 | 21.4 | 153.9 | 09.8 | Main set

It looks like it matches up really well. In order to do similar analysis to the SPM vs pace with a spreadsheet, I need to slice the data into little mini intervals, one for each stroke rate and summarize it that way. Here’s what that looks like.

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01418 | 08:00 | 2:49.3 | 17.9 | 115.6 | 09.9 | warming up
 | 08:00.0 | 00638 | 03:00 | 2:21.1 | 20.1 | 138.4 | 10.6 | r20
 | 11:00.0 | 00427 | 01:59 | 2:19.3 | 22.3 | 145.7 | 09.7 | r22
 | 12:59.0 | 00224 | 01:01 | 2:16.2 | 24.2 | 150.8 | 09.1 | r24
 | 14:00.0 | 00626 | 02:59 | 2:23.0 | 19.8 | 147.5 | 10.6 | r20
 | 16:59.0 | 00443 | 02:01 | 2:16.6 | 22.6 | 151.6 | 09.7 | r22
 | 19:00.0 | 00219 | 00:59 | 2:14.7 | 23.8 | 157.3 | 09.4 | r24
 | 19:59.0 | 00108 | 01:00 | 4:37.8 | 20.4 | 149.2 | 05.3 | turn
 | 20:59.0 | 00625 | 03:01 | 2:24.8 | 20.3 | 147.8 | 10.2 | r20
 | 24:00.0 | 00414 | 01:59 | 2:23.7 | 22.2 | 155.2 | 09.4 | r22
 | 25:59.0 | 00220 | 01:01 | 2:18.6 | 23.2 | 158.4 | 09.3 | r24
 | 27:00.0 | 00594 | 03:00 | 2:31.5 | 20.0 | 153.5 | 09.9 | r20
 | 30:00.0 | 00417 | 02:00 | 2:23.9 | 22.4 | 157.3 | 09.3 | r22
 | 32:00.0 | 00209 | 00:59 | 2:21.1 | 23.9 | 161.3 | 08.9 | r24
 | 32:59.0 | 00107 | 01:00 | 4:40.4 | 21.5 | 153.4 | 05.0 | turn
 | 33:59.0 | 00637 | 03:00 | 2:21.3 | 19.9 | 149.9 | 10.7 | r20
 | 36:59.0 | 00418 | 02:00 | 2:23.5 | 22.3 | 157.2 | 09.4 | r22
 | 38:59.0 | 00226 | 01:01 | 2:15.0 | 23.5 | 161.2 | 09.5 | r24
 | 40:00.0 | 00615 | 03:00 | 2:26.3 | 19.9 | 156.6 | 10.3 | r20
 | 43:00.0 | 00437 | 02:00 | 2:17.3 | 22.5 | 159.2 | 09.7 | r22
 | 45:00.0 | 00216 | 00:59 | 2:16.6 | 24.8 | 164.0 | 08.9 | r24
 | 45:59.0 | 00086 | 01:00 | 5:48.8 | 20.7 | 152.5 | 04.2 | turn
 | 46:59.0 | 00613 | 03:00 | 2:26.8 | 20.3 | 152.9 | 10.1 | r20
 | 49:59.0 | 00419 | 02:00 | 2:23.2 | 22.3 | 159.2 | 09.4 | r22
 | 51:59.0 | 00222 | 01:01 | 2:17.4 | 23.3 | 162.3 | 09.4 | r24
 | 53:00.0 | 00593 | 03:00 | 2:31.8 | 19.8 | 157.7 | 10.0 | r20
 | 56:00.0 | 00419 | 01:59 | 2:22.0 | 22.5 | 161.4 | 09.4 | r22
 | 57:59.0 | 00221 | 01:01 | 2:18.0 | 24.8 | 165.9 | 08.8 | r24
 | 59:00.0 | 01456 | 08:00 | 2:44.8 | 18.8 | 146.1 | 09.7 | cool down

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
 | 00:00.0 | 01418 | 08:00 | 2:49.3 | 17.9 | 115.6 | 09.9 | warmup
 | 00:00.0 | 00301 | 03:00 | 4:59.0 | 20.8 | 151.7 | 04.8 | rest
 | 00:00.0 | 01456 | 08:00 | 2:44.8 | 18.8 | 146.1 | 09.7 | cool down
 | 00:00.0 | 04941 | 24:00 | 2:25.7 | 20.0 | 150.5 | 10.3 | r20
 | 00:00.0 | 03394 | 15:58 | 2:21.1 | 22.4 | 155.9 | 09.5 | r22
 | 00:00.0 | 01757 | 08:02 | 2:17.2 | 23.9 | 160.1 | 09.1 | r24

Looking at the average paces, compared to the SPM vs pace plot, it appears that the 20 and 22 spm averages line up pretty well with the visual center of the data point clouds. For 24 spm, it looks like the average is a bit slower than the center of the cloud.

Anyway, it was an amusing way to look at the data. And it was a very fun workout.

Tomorrow: The schedule calls for 5 x 1500m / 5′ rest. Who am I to argue with that. Pace target is 2:15.

Thursday: 2×500 taper.

October 20, 2016November 2, 2016Leave a comment

On the charles in my fluid.

Last taper day.

2×500

Workout Summary - media/20161020-152810-77630o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|04143|24:30.0|02:57.5|21.1|141.4|175.0|08.0
W-|01000|03:55.0|01:57.5|29.5|161.7|174.0|08.6
R-|07344|46:00.0|03:08.0|02.4|016.4|174.0|08.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
02|00500|01:55.2|01:55.2|30.2|161.5|174.0|08.6
03|00500|01:59.9|01:59.9|28.9|161.8|174.0|08.7

Tuesday: 4 x 500 taper

October 18, 2016October 19, 20162 Comments

In my single, down in Newton. First day of the taper for the HOCR.

Following the same taper plan I always do. (The paper it’s based on is here)

The idea is to do a decreasing number of high intensity intervals as you approach race day. By doing this you maintain your VO2max while also lightening the training load to get some supercompensation. If you compare the approach with pure rest, and a low intensity taper, you get a longer time to fatigue.

So, today was 4 intervals. Tomorrow is 3, Thursday is 2. Friday should be a total rest day, but we will be doing a slow scouting run on the race course.

Weather: Dark! I boated at 6:30 and it was overcast so the full moon was blocked. There was very little light at first, but it got better over the first 30 minutes. There was a bit of wind at first, but it died down during my warmup. It was unseasonably warm, around 62F.

Plan:

Full Rojabo style warmup
4 x 500m intervals
As much rest as I wanted, 2 to 5 minutes
Pace target 2:00 (I was stunned to see that I did these with a 1:55 pace target in July)
Rate: 28 spm

My warmup was my version of the Rojabo warmup. I like it because it fits the length of the river really well and is just taxing enough.

10 strokes at 20spm / 10 paddle
20 strokes at 22 / 20 paddle
30 @ 24 / 30 paddle
20 @ 26 / 20 paddle
20 @ 28 / 20 paddle
20 @ 30 / 20 paddle
20 @ 32 / 20 paddle

Then I had a drink and did the first interval, which took me to the bridge. I paddled through the bridge and felt pretty good, so I took off on the second one with only a couple minutes of rest. That one hurt a bit more, and I had a taste of the lactate rush after I finished it (nausea, feeling like I would pee my pants, stuff like that). I paddled through the s-curve, and then setup for the third interval. I took this one a bit easier and felt few ill effects afterwards. This one took me past the island and left me a bit too close to the end to keep going straight, so I paddled back to the end of the straight 1k chunk and set up. My legs felt it in the last one. But it was the last one.

I used both RIM and my speedcoach. I’m seeing some weird stuff on the speedcoach.

Here’s the RIM data.

Here are the splits.

Workout Summary - media/20161018-175618-77540o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|05474|32:45.0|02:59.5|21.4|139.9|174.0|07.8
W-|02000|09:02.0|02:15.7|25.0|147.7|173.0|07.9
R-|07672|49:50.0|03:14.9|20.4|137.4|173.0|08.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
02|00500|01:59.9|01:59.9|27.8|158.7|169.0|09.0
03|00500|02:01.6|02:01.6|28.0|158.1|173.0|08.8
04|00500|02:00.7|02:00.7|28.1|158.1|173.0|08.8
05|00500|01:59.8|01:59.8|28.7|160.4|173.0|08.7

Here’s the plots from the speedcoach.

I am struggling to explain the pace changes that occur in the first and second intervals. Parsing this data into splits shows that the first rep was a bit slower on the speedcoach. The other ones line up reasonably well.

00020_|_0078_|_00:23_|_2:27.4_|_008___|_20.9_|_09.8_|_124___|_warmup

00100_|_0499_|_02:03_|_2:03.2_|_058___|_28.3_|_08.6_|_162___|_rep #1

00600_|_0274_|_02:00_|_3:38.6_|_037___|_18.5_|_07.4_|_142___|_rest

00860_|_0499_|_02:00_|_2:00.6_|_058___|_28.9_|_08.6_|_165___|_rep #2

01360_|_0449_|_03:07_|_3:27.9_|_059___|_19.0_|_07.6_|_135___|_rest

01820_|_0485_|_01:57_|_2:00.2_|_056___|_28.8_|_08.7_|_164___|_rep #3

02320_|_0803_|_05:12_|_3:14.2_|_095___|_18.3_|_08.5_|_129___|_rest

03100_|_0396_|_01:35_|_1:59.7_|_046___|_29.1_|_08.6_|_166___|_rep #4

03500_|_1727_|_10:04_|_2:54.8_|_188___|_18.7_|_09.2_|_132___|_cool down

The best thing about a taper is that it’s fun to row fast!

Tomorrow: Back on Quinsig for 3 x 500 plus drills.

Thursday: Steady State OTW

September 29, 20161 Comment

On the water, down in Newton in my single.

The featured image is an aerial view that I found of the old watch factory in Waltham. The little bridge is just over 2km from the start of the rowable section of the river, and about 900m from the end at the Moody street dam. Going down river, which is from the bottom of the picture to the top, you need to go through the span of the bridge right against the right hand shore, so you need to turn right at the corner of the straight wall to line up with the bridge. Also notice that the bridge crosses the river at an angle so you need to turn aggressively in the other direction as soon as you have your line to the bridge. It adds a bit of fun to workouts and keeps my head on a swivel!

Weather: Cool and Breezy. Wind was NNE between 5 and 10mph with gusts to 15mph. This was a head wind going downriver and a tail wind coming up river. It was forecast to be overcast, but it was actually mostly clear. A lovely fall day, really.

Plan:

4 lengths of the river
Short stops for a drink of water at the end of each chunk.
Rate: r20
Pace: better than 2:30
HR Cap: 155
Technique: Work on balance, try to get blades off the water on recovery. Work on getting a good reach at the catch and staying forward through the initial drive.

Today I decided that I would be careful enough and get data to recalibrate my speedcoach. Instead of using the built in routine, I decided to just match start times and durations of the four moving segments between speedcoach and RIM, and then use the formula helpfully provided in the speedcoach manual.

Here is the Speedcoach data….

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00009_|_1094_|_06:15_|_2:51.5_|_117___|_18.7_|_09.4_|_121___|_warmup
01103_|_2779_|_14:32_|_2:36.8_|_294___|_20.2_|_09.5_|_148___|_m
03882_|_0099_|_00:38_|_3:09.9_|_011___|_17.6_|_09.0_|_136___|_r
03981_|_2643_|_13:24_|_2:32.0_|_272___|_20.3_|_09.7_|_150___|_m
06624_|_0134_|_00:58_|_3:36.4_|_013___|_13.4_|_10.3_|_133___|_r
06758_|_2727_|_14:37_|_2:40.7_|_296___|_20.3_|_09.2_|_151___|_m
09485_|_0086_|_00:36_|_3:29.3_|_008___|_13.3_|_10.8_|_123___|_r
09571_|_2672_|_13:35_|_2:32.6_|_274___|_20.2_|_09.8_|_150___|_m
12243_|_1097_|_06:10_|_2:48.4_|_125___|_20.3_|_08.8_|_141___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01094_|_06:15_|_2:51.5_|_117___|_18.7_|_09.4_|_121___|_warmup
10821_|_56:07_|_2:35.6_|_1136___|_20.2_|_09.5_|_150___|_Main set
00319_|_02:12_|_3:26.3_|_032___|_14.6_|_10.0_|_131___|_rest meters
01097_|_06:10_|_2:48.4_|_125___|_20.3_|_08.8_|_141___|_cool down
13331_|_10:44_|_2:39.2_|_1410___|_19.9_|_09.5_|_146___|_Total

The important bit is the time and distance for the main set

10821m in 56:07 sec.

Here is the RIM data

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
| 00:00.0 | 01243 | 08:14 | 3:18.7 | 15.6 | 113.6 | 09.7 | warming up
| 07:44.0 | 02884 | 14:35 | 2:31.7 | 20.3 | 147.8 | 09.7 |
| 22:19.0 | 00167 | 01:20 | 3:59.5 | 20.3 | 138.5 | 06.2 |
| 23:39.0 | 02737 | 13:20 | 2:26.1 | 20.4 | 150.5 | 10.1 |
| 36:59.0 | 00150 | 02:02 | 6:46.7 | 18.6 | 132.9 | 04.0 |
| 39:01.0 | 02808 | 14:35 | 2:35.8 | 20.3 | 150.9 | 09.5 |
| 53:36.0 | 00140 | 01:48 | 6:25.7 | 19.4 | 137.1 | 04.0 |
| 55:24.0 | 02797 | 13:36 | 2:25.9 | 20.3 | 149.6 | 10.1 |
| 09:00.0 | 01198 | 06:34 | 2:44.4 | 21.3 | 142.4 | 08.6 |

| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
| 00:00.0 | 01243 | 08:14 | 3:18.7 | 15.6 | 113.6 | 09.7 | warmup
| 00:00.0 | 11226 | 56:06 | 2:29.9 | 20.3 | 149.7 | 09.8 | Mainset
| 00:00.0 | 00457 | 05:10 | 5:39.2 | 19.3 | 135.8 | 04.6 | rests
| 00:00.0 | 01198 | 06:34 | 2:44.4 | 21.3 | 142.4 | 08.6 | cool down

From RIM, 11226 in 56:07

The formula is

new cal factor = (old cal factor * true distance) / displayed distance

(0.962 * 11226) / 10821 = 0.998 (my new cal factor)

Look at that, I’ve gained 5 seconds of boat speed without working any harder!

Other than this, the workout was entirely unremarkable. My hands are a mess. I have blisters on my index fingers, and a bad one under the callous at the base of my ring finger. Today didn’t make them any worse, but my hands hurt a bit during the row. I must be gripping differently in the double and causing some trouble.

The wind was enough to be noticeable, but there wasn’t any chop (I love this river!) So, I set the pace by using the HR limit. If I got up to the limit, I would back off the pressure a bit to bring it back in line.

Tomorrow: Back to Quinsig. Another attempt at the grand hook workout. 6km with a big turn starting at about the 5km mark. Great practice for head racing!

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Tag: Charles River

Tuesday: 4×15’/4′ (7′ @ 5KP, 8′ @ MP) Marathon Training OTW

Friday: 90 minutes of near-bliss

Monday: 4 x 2800m Threshold OTW

Thursday: 4 x (5 x 2′ / 30″ paddle) / 3′ rest

Cold Enough for Pogies! 90′ of steady state

Tuesday: 5 x 1500

Monday: UT1 Rate Ladders

Thursday: 2×500 taper.

Tuesday: 4 x 500 taper

Thursday: Steady State OTW