Just trying to keep my base building going. Another instance of the PM5 misbehaving and painsled losing all my data. This is getting old.
Nice and easy. HR stayed below 150 the whole way.
This was one of the error codes. It popped up with 3:00 left in the whole row.
I guess I will try a firmware upgrade tomorrow.
Around 6pm, I decided I really wanted to exercise a bit more. So, I jumped on the erg, dialed up 40 minutes and started rowing.
The thought was to just pile on some Cat VI meters. And that’s what I did.
Workout Summary - media/20171223-2300300o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|09554|40:00.0|02:05.6|176.4|18.4|144.6|154.0|13.0 W-|09555|40:00.0|02:05.6|176.4|18.4|144.6|154.0|13.0 R-|00000|00:00.0|00:00.0|000.0|00.0|000.0|154.0|00.0 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|02394|10:00.0|02:05.3|176.7|18.4|133.1|143.0|13.0 01|02386|10:00.0|02:05.7|176.1|18.6|144.4|146.0|12.8 02|02387|10:00.0|02:05.7|176.4|18.3|148.6|151.0|13.1 03|02387|10:00.0|02:05.7|176.4|18.4|152.4|154.0|13.0
I felt a bit better after that. Tomorrow, more of the same. 4 x 20′ / 3′ – Cat VI.
Not surprisingly, I felt pretty tired this morning. The HRV data agreed. Luckily, I had an easy sessions scheduled.
Plan:
This felt like a lot of work, but my heart rate stayed nice and low.
Workout Summary - media/20171218-1410320o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|20017|92:00.0|02:17.9|168.0|18.0|138.5|147.0|12.1 W-|19074|80:00.0|02:05.8|175.3|18.0|139.5|147.0|13.2 R-|00947|12:00.0|06:20.3|057.5|18.2|126.4|147.0|01.4 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|04772|20:00.0|02:05.7|175.1|17.9|135.9|143.0|13.3 01|04766|20:00.0|02:05.9|175.3|18.0|140.2|146.0|13.2 02|04770|20:00.0|02:05.8|175.5|18.1|140.6|145.0|13.2 03|04766|20:00.0|02:05.9|175.3|18.1|141.5|147.0|13.2
Tomorrow: I really would have liked to train tomorrow, but I am flying to San Diego at 7am, and flying back on the red eye. Next session is probably Wednesday afternoon.
The plan for the session was to keep it nice and easy.
I felt very stiff this morning from yesterday’s adventure. I had low expectations, but I was glad that it was a long slow session. As it turned out, my heart rate plateaued early and at a low level and basically stuck there. I was able to hold the 2:06 split throughout without coming close to the HR limits.
Workout Summary - media/20171214-1350320o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|20012|92:00.0|02:17.9|167.5|18.0|136.9|147.0|12.1 W-|19066|80:00.0|02:05.9|175.0|18.0|138.2|147.0|13.2 R-|00951|12:00.0|06:18.7|056.0|17.0|119.5|147.0|02.8 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|04772|20:00.0|02:05.7|175.1|18.2|132.7|142.0|13.1 01|04767|20:00.0|02:05.9|175.2|18.0|139.3|144.0|13.2 02|04764|20:00.0|02:06.0|174.9|18.0|140.3|147.0|13.3 03|04763|20:00.0|02:06.0|174.8|18.0|140.5|145.0|13.2
All in all, a nice way to spend 90 minutes.
Tomorrow:
Today’s session is a nice short endurance session done at paces a little bit faster than base endurance pace and a little bit higher rate.
Workout Summary - media/20171212-1135290o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|12656|54:00.0|02:08.0|193.9|21.7|144.2|159.0|10.8 W-|12005|48:00.0|01:60.0|202.8|21.8|144.8|159.0|11.5 R-|00656|06:00.0|04:34.5|065.4|19.6|138.4|159.0|02.1 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|03006|12:00.0|01:59.8|202.7|21.8|136.2|144.0|11.5 01|03002|12:00.0|01:59.9|203.8|21.8|143.0|152.0|11.5 02|03001|12:00.0|01:59.9|202.5|21.9|148.4|157.0|11.4 03|02996|12:00.0|02:00.2|202.3|21.9|151.7|159.0|11.4
Tomorrow: Big Day…Time to redo my 20′ test. Last time was 1:52.7 pace (244W). I will see how I do against a 1:51.0 target.
It was a fantastic workout. I did it in the basement on the old rowing machine from work. I brought it home to fix it on Friday. A couple of new screws, and resetting the rower type in the PM5 was all that was required to have it working like new.
The plan:
Actual
My HR hardly every broke 140 and every stroke felt effortless. I am really happy with how my base endurance seems to be improving with Roylerow training plan. I am looking forward to the next round of tests (20′ and 75′) that are coming up in a couple weeks.
Tomorrow, I head off to San Francisco. I’m there on Monday and Tuesday, and then I fly to Taiwan for meetings on Thursday and Friday. I will get back on Saturday morning. Depending on how the day goes tomorrow, I might try to get a workout done in the evening. If I do, it will be a 4×12’/1’30” at r22 and 2:01 pace.
On a side note, I had another PM related problem in today’s workout. It dropped the connection to my phone 70′ minutes into an 80 minute workout and started to throw error messages. I’ve seen this before when the batteries get low, and swapping them after I finished seems to have fixed the problem. It is crazy that the mechanics of the rowing machine are so robust that a machine that is probably 20 years old can be restored to working order with two screws and windex, but the electronics are so half baked that they can’t even let you know when the batteries are running low. I hope that they can make improvements in the PM over time, because I think it is holding them back in the broader fitness market.
Busy day. I did a couple hours of raking and cleaning out the flower beds early this afternoon. Then, around 5:30 I settled down for a long easy Cat VI workout.
The only tricky part was I was at home with my nemesis, the dynamic erg. For those of you who have not followed the saga. I have not been a fan of this piece of equipment, and I was convinced that it was defective in some way. I am less convinced since I sat on a dynamic erg at the HOCR and it felt basically exactly the same. Also, since then, I have received with less enthusiasm, pretty direct feedback about possible flaws in my technique that could explain why I can hammer out better times on the static erg, but not on my nemesis.
This situation gives me hope. If I can get better on the dynamic, maybe that will translate better to the boat too. So, it is time to embrace the suck. No better session to embrace the suck with than a nice easy Cat VI workout. The guidelines are simple.
On the static erg, I am doing these just about at the fast edge of the band. On my nemesis, I figured I should go out slow, maybe 2:10 and see what happened.
I started and things felt good between 2:08 and 2:09. Rate felt good between 20 and 21, so I had to work on keeping it at 20, with mixed success.
Workout Summary - media/20171120-0000300o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|19668|92:00.0|02:20.3|157.4|20.3|140.9|153.0|10.5 W-|18693|80:00.0|02:08.4|165.1|20.1|142.5|153.0|11.6 R-|00978|12:00.0|06:08.2|065.0|22.7|124.1|153.0|01.5 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|04673|20:00.0|02:08.4|164.4|19.9|136.9|145.0|11.7 01|04667|20:00.0|02:08.6|165.1|20.1|142.5|148.0|11.6 02|04675|20:00.0|02:08.3|165.4|20.3|144.4|149.0|11.5 03|04679|20:00.0|02:08.2|165.7|20.1|145.9|153.0|11.6
So, I think right now I have about a 2 split difference between dynamic and static, maybe 10-15 watts.
Monday’s session:
You might be noticing a trend by now. I’m looking at it as a rebuilding period. In this period I have a few goals
Today, I got to work on all three.
I started by doing my normal pre-rowing routine.
After that, I did a couple of drills that were recommended to try to improve my posture at the finish. Here are links to the drills.
Since I wanted to review it after, I taped my attempt at doing it and took a few easy strokes afterward trying to maintain the posture.
I found the drill to be very useful. I was able to remember what the position felt like and try to hold it during the row. By sitting the erg next to a mirror and looking at the hands back position, and then a proper finish position, I was get that picture in my mind and then look every once in a while during the row.
After that, I did my 4 x 20. Today, I started off aiming at 175W, but HR was really high, so I backed off slightly to try to keep it under 150. Remarkably, just a few watts was enough to do that. I did a lactate test at the end, and it read 5.3, which I thought had to be a mistake. I retook it and it was 3.0. Still much higher than I would have expected, but at least plausible. Rowing while focusing so much on posture was a lot harder and felt very unnatural. I imagine it will take weeks to start feeling natural. I think next time I will stick at this 170W-175W range.
Workout Summary - media/20171114-2005300o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|19314|84:00.0|02:10.5|169.2|18.2|145.2|153.0|12.6 W-|18926|80:00.0|02:06.8|171.8|18.2|145.2|153.0|13.0 R-|00392|04:00.0|05:05.7|096.1|19.6|144.4|153.0|02.3 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS- 00|04753|20:00.0|02:06.2|174.3|17.8|141.2|148.0|13.3 01|04725|20:00.0|02:07.0|171.3|18.1|145.2|148.0|13.0 02|04730|20:00.0|02:06.8|171.7|18.2|145.7|151.0|13.0 03|04718|20:00.0|02:07.2|169.7|18.6|148.7|153.0|12.7 - 3.0
Tomorrow: I’m getting tired of all this base building, I need a little bit of intensity, so I think I will return to an old classic, 8×500. Pace target around 1:45.
On the cape in the basement, around 10AM
Same session as Saturday. Much different result. Higher HR, higher Lactate (3.3). I felt much more tired. The main difference is that Saturday’s workout was after a rest day, Sunday’s workout was only 18 hours after Saturday’s, so I need to move my training power a bit lower to stay in the right range.
Workout Summary - media/20171112-1540290o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|19480|84:00.0|02:09.4|177.8|18.7|141.5|157.0|12.4 W-|19206|80:00.0|02:05.0|179.9|18.7|141.3|157.0|12.9 R-|00279|04:00.0|07:10.4|079.5|19.4|139.4|157.0|02.1 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-|-lac 00|01113|05:00.0|02:14.8|141.2|16.2|110.5|120.0|13.8 01|01164|05:00.0|02:08.9|163.3|17.2|126.0|129.0|13.5 02|02421|10:00.0|02:03.9|183.9|18.9|135.0|138.0|12.8 03|04846|20:00.0|02:03.8|184.9|18.8|139.0|147.0|12.9 04|04835|20:00.0|02:04.1|183.5|19.0|147.2|154.0|12.7 05|04828|20:00.0|02:04.3|183.0|19.1|152.2|157.0|12.6 - 3.3
Here is a comparison of HR for Saturday vs Sunday. I started at lower power, so the HR starts off lower, but it never plateaus!
In the fitness center at work.
I spoke to Marlene last night, and she has sent me the details of my fitness assessment. The gist of the assessment was:
She sent along her recommendations for training paces.
Today’s session was supposed to be a Cat VI session. I was instructed to row no faster than the fast end of the band, so, of course, that is what I aimed for.
Workout Summary - media/20171113-1345290o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|19416|84:00.0|02:09.8|171.4|18.6|136.6|145.0|12.4 W-|19026|80:00.0|02:06.1|174.6|18.7|136.8|145.0|12.7 R-|00393|04:00.0|05:05.4|079.9|18.8|133.7|145.0|02.5 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-|-lac 00|04768|20:00.0|02:05.8|174.6|18.6|128.5|136.0|12.8 01|04751|20:00.0|02:06.3|175.2|18.8|136.8|143.0|12.7 02|04755|20:00.0|02:06.2|174.8|18.5|140.4|144.0|12.8 03|04753|20:00.0|02:06.2|173.8|18.7|141.4|145.0|12.7- 1.8
The goal for today was to fine tune my aerobic training power. Despite the lousy workout on Thursday, I thought 180W was about right.
In the basement in the house on the cape. Nice and cool.
I settled in to a groove at 183W. My HR did about what is should do. At the end of the first interval, my lactates were a bit high 2.3mmol/l. I really wanted to see something way below 2.0. But I was interested in seeing what would happen from this point forward at this power. So I kept going at 183W through the second interval. Still my HR was fine and I was feeling good. At the end of that one, 2.8. Way too high, but science compelled me to keep going at the same power. In the third interval, things suddenly felt a little easier. I’m not sure why, but my HR stabilized and it was easy to hit the power. At the end of this one, my lactates were 1.4. Well, that was unexpected. So, 20 more minutes at 183W and now it was 1.6.
During the row, I tried to focus on fast hands away, and keeping my knees down during the first part of the recovery. I’d do that for a little while and then my mind would wander and I’d fall back into to old habits.
Conclusions? 183W is about right, but I think I need to get back to the habits that I was doing when I started doing lactate based training. Which are:
Workout Summary - media/20171111-2245290o.csv --|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg --|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS --|19813|88:00.0|02:13.2|178.7|19.1|141.1|149.0|11.8 W-|19306|80:00.0|02:04.3|182.8|19.0|141.8|149.0|12.7 R-|00512|08:00.0|07:49.0|064.3|20.2|120.8|149.0|03.7 Workout Details #-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-|-lac 00|04836|20:00.0|02:04.1|182.7|18.9|136.6|144.0|12.8 - 2.3 01|04822|20:00.0|02:04.4|183.7|19.2|143.0|149.0|12.6 - 2.8 02|04816|20:00.0|02:04.6|181.5|19.0|143.8|148.0|12.7 - 1.4 03|04833|20:00.0|02:04.2|183.1|19.0|143.9|148.0|12.7 - 1.6
Then, after finishing that, I did a couple of 1 minute intervals. Not as good as the first ones, but a nice little blast to finish things off.
Tomorrow: Same thing, but in a fasted state and with the warmup. I’ll do a lactate test just at the end.
Quantified Rowing 