Tag: erg

Monday: 4×15’/4′ (9′ @ 5kp, 6′ @ mp) – Some days suck

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We got home last night after 11pm, and I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight.  So I decided to sleep until 7 and do my planned workout on the erg instead of getting up at 5:15 to do it on the water.

I had a 90 minute window in my schedule from 11 to 12:30, so I dashed off to the gym to get it done.

The plan..

M1 4 x 15′ / 4′ 9′ @ 5KP, 6′ @ MP 92.5% (172)

Power targets

  • 5kp –> 225 to 240W (stretch goal 250 today)
  • mp –> 180 to 195W (stretch goal 200 today)

I thought it was OK during the first interval, but by the time I was a couple minutes into the second interval, I knew I was in deep, deep trouble.  I hung on to hit targets in the second interval, and then reset my target for the next one to be 240/190.

This turned out to be too little too late.  I blew up about halfway through the 9′ piece.  In the past, I have pushed this harder and gone into the anaerobic zone, but that seemed pretty dumb, and I was really in some distress.

I handled down for a few seconds then tried to spin back up at around 225 watts.  That didn’t work out so good.  I handled down again, and decided to just finish the rest of the 9′ piece at a marathon power.

This left me with some thinking to do during the 4 minute rest.  I thought about packing it in, but that seemed to be the coward’s way out.  I knew that I wouldn’t make it through the 9′ piece at any “reasonable” power.  I came up with a brilliant plan.  I would row at 225W until my HR went above the 172 bpm cap.  Then I would drop down to marathon power and finish the 9′ and the following 6′ at that power.

It was highly unpleasant, but it worked.

myimage (61)

Workout Summary - media/20170619-204125-sled_2017-06-19T10-54-44ZEDT.strokes.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|17082|76:00.0|02:13.5|197.6|23.3|158.5|178.0|09.6
W-|15296|60:00.0|01:57.7|218.5|23.6|163.2|178.0|10.8
R-|01792|16:00.0|04:27.8|090.1|21.8|139.7|178.0|00.1
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|02439|09:00.0|01:50.7|256.5|24.9|145.9|164.0|10.9
01|01498|06:00.0|02:00.2|205.0|21.8|159.8|164.0|11.4
02|02404|09:00.0|01:52.3|252.4|25.0|164.8|178.0|10.7
03|01481|06:00.0|02:01.5|195.8|22.3|171.6|178.0|11.1
04|02281|09:00.0|01:58.4|218.9|24.4|164.7|175.0|10.4
05|01448|06:00.0|02:04.3|184.1|22.0|168.2|170.0|11.0
06|02277|09:00.0|01:58.6|212.2|23.9|165.4|173.0|10.6
07|01469|06:00.0|02:02.6|189.8|22.5|171.0|173.0|10.9

Tomorrow:

M2 3 x 30′ / 3′ MP, 10KP, MP 90.0% (167)

Hopefully on the water.  This might be a bit of challenge because it’s a 90 minute workout.

Power targets

  • 10kp: 184 to 197W
  • mp: 158-171W

2 x 40 / 2′ (mp)

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The wind was blowing hard today.  Around 20mph with gusts to 25 in the morning and 35 with gusts to 40 in the afternoon.  The water looked very angry.

I decided to erg. 😦

The plan:

M3 2 x 40′ / 4′ MP or slower 75.0% (140)

I decided to row to a HR cap of 155 instead of 140.

myimage (58).png

Workout Summary - media/20170618-1950210o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|20007|84:00.0|02:06.0|180.6|20.1|142.1|152.0|11.9
W-|19349|80:00.0|02:04.0|183.3|20.0|142.1|152.0|12.1
R-|00660|04:00.0|03:01.8|110.7|22.2|139.9|152.0|09.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|09677|40:00.0|02:04.0|183.3|19.9|136.8|147.0|12.2
01|09672|40:00.0|02:04.1|183.3|20.1|147.5|152.0|12.0

Felt very easy.

Tomorrow:

M1 4 x 15′ / 4′ 9′ @ 5KP, 6′ @ MP 92.5% (172)

OTW

Wednesday: 2 x 20′ (10kp,hmp)

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No time for a session in the morning, and none of the windows I had in the day were big enough to accommodate the planned workout, which was 86 minutes long.

By the time, I came up for breath, it was 5:30 pm, and I really wanted to workout, but I also didn’t want to be too late going home.  The original plan was

M2 4 x 20′ / 2′ MP, 10KP, HMP, MP 90.0% (167)

I decided to just do the two harder chunks in  the middle for a 4 minute workout.

It didn’t work out so well.  My HR was high and I my RPE was through the roof.  I HD’ed in the second piece.

myimage (51)

Workout Summary - media/20170614-2220190o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|10780|44:00.0|02:02.5|208.5|22.9|164.0|179.0|10.7
W-|09961|38:30.0|01:56.0|223.8|23.0|164.8|179.0|11.3
R-|00823|05:30.0|03:20.8|067.9|21.6|157.7|179.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|05271|20:00.0|01:53.8|236.1|23.9|161.3|177.0|11.0
01|01652|06:30.0|01:58.1|215.8|21.9|163.4|173.0|11.6
02|03039|12:00.0|01:58.5|207.5|22.1|171.2|179.0|11.4

I did push the power a little beyond the target band, but it was the same powers as I used in a session last week (mp,10kp,hmp).  Here’s a comparison of my HR in the two sessions.

bokeh_plot (77)

Oh well, at least I did some training!

 

Thursday: 3 x 20’/2′ (mp, 10kp, hmp)

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On Wednesday night I had a business dinner that went quite late, and I had an early meeting on Thursday, so no chance for an OTW session.

But, I managed to get stuff finished up by 5 and I had some time to do the session on the erg.

Plan:  Push it hard to see how I’m doing.

  • 3 x 20′ / 2′ rest
  • Target power
    • 1st:  mp (80 to 195).  Target 200W
    • 2nd: 10kp (210 to 225). Target 230W
    • 3rd: hmp (195 to 210). Target 215W
  • Nominal HR cap at 167.  But I planned to ignore that.

Well, I survived.  I went significantly over the cap.  The last 20 minutes were brutal.  The 20 minutes at 230W were pretty damn brutal too.

myimage (42).png

Workout Summary - media/20170608-2225210o.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|16044|66:00.0|02:03.4|208.4|22.3|160.0|177.0|10.9
W-|15367|60:00.0|01:57.1|218.1|22.3|160.3|177.0|11.5
R-|00681|06:00.0|04:24.5|050.3|21.2|142.3|177.0|07.4
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|05007|20:00.0|01:59.8|202.9|20.3|145.7|155.0|12.3
01|05238|20:00.0|01:54.6|233.2|23.5|165.1|173.0|11.1
02|05123|20:00.0|01:57.1|218.1|23.0|170.2|177.0|11.1

So, I actually pushed another 3 watts beyond the targets.  I sure paid for it though.

It was good to dig the deep hole and keep plugging.  Whenever I race, I worry about blowing up and embarrassing myself.  These sessions where you slow down, but don’t give up are a pretty good way to show some grit for that kind of situation.

I will probably do a 20 minute warmup only a little later today.

Race plan for Saturday.  The race is 2 laps of a 4km closed course.

  • Aim at a rate of about 22-24 depending on wind and wave conditions
  • Focus on steering and rowing clean
  • Try to keep HR below 170 in the first lap.  That’ll be an early sign that I’m pushing too hard.
  • I have very little idea what kind of pace I can sustain.  Probably about a 2:30 pace, but that’s a total guess.

El “Dy”ablo – 10K hard

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Monday night:  Flew out to San Jose.  Arrived around 11.  Asleep around 1am

Tuesday:  Rest Day.  Meetings all day.  Caught the red eye home from San Jose.

Wednesday:  Arrived at the airport around 5:15am.  My original plan was to stop in Newton, do a session on the water, and then continue on to work.  But, I felt pretty beat up from the flight and I decided to go home and get some sleep instead.  I was in bed by 6:30 and I slept until 10.  I had breakfast, did some email, and decided I had time for a quick erg session.

I have a race this Saturday.  It’s open water, and 8K long.  I’m just getting used to the Aero, and I’m not sure what kind of pace I can hold over 8km.  Two weeks ago, in my first row, my “tide adjusted” pace was around 2:55/500.  That was basically at a marathon pace, so I think 2:45 might work.  8km at 2:45 would take 44 minutes.  So, basically, it’s not that different than a hard 10K on the erg.

So, I haven’t really done any hard distance work, so it seemed like a good idea to do a “dry run” to remind myself that its possible to row above 165bpm for a long time, even though it isn’t very pleasant.

I was at home, and I was using the dynamic.  So I had no idea what pace would work.  I decided to be conservative and take off at a 2:00 pace, and then speed up once I got calibrated.  Based on the 4×15 type sessions I’m doing I figure I am good for 1:55 pace over 10K on a static erg right now.

But on the dynamic, it was impossible for me to hold a 2:00 pace beyond 5km.  By that point, my HR was already up around 175 (93% HRR) and I was really struggling.  I upped the rate and eased the pace to try to get back in firmer control of the row, just the way i would if I went out too fast in a race.  I really didn’t want to give myself permission to give up.  That is not the way to prep for a race.

So, I struggled my way through the back half of the session and managed the tiniest of sprints at the very end.  I spent 6 minutes above my anaerobic threshold.  It hurt.  It hurt more that I was only rowing at a 2:00 pace.

myimage (39)

So, I am trying to figure out just how much harder it is for me to row the dynamic.  On clue could come from the session that I did on Monday.  That was a 4×15′ where the first 6′ was at 250W (roughly a 1:50 pace).  I compared my HR response over the first 6 minutes of that row and the first 6 minutes of this row.bokeh_plot (61)

They are very close to superimposed.  So, my guess is that I am 40W “better” on the static than the dynamic, that’s 23% different.  For comparison, between  the static erg and my fluid, the difference is closer to 11%.

So, I still hate that devil machine.  (El Dy-ablo)

Tomorrow:

M2 3 x 20′ / 2′ MP, 10KP, HMP 90.0% (167)

On the water.  I’ll do each interval to the proper distance and do quick turns when required.

target power:

  • MP: 158-171  (Stroke rate 20)
  • 10KP: 184-197 (stroke rate 24)
  • HMP: 171-184 (stroke rate 22)

Monday: 4 x 15′ / 4′ (6′ @ 5kp, 9′ @ mp) – cut short due to time

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Weather:  Lousy.  Low 50sF.  Steady rain.

I decided that it would be best to do my session inside, so I drove to work and headed to the fitness center.

Plan:

  • 4×15′ / 4′ rest
  • 6′ at 5kp, 9′ at mp
    • 5kp target: 250W
    • mp target: 203W

I was very happy with how this workout went when I did it last weekend, and I was a little worried that it was a fluke.  Today would test the theory by trying to hold the same power.

To make a long story short.  It was fine.  Roughly the same HR response, Basically the same RPE.  I ran out of time after the last 6 minute segment, so I dug deep and pushed hard through the end of that segment.  I paddled for a couple minutes into the last interval to cool down.

I have to say that I like being able to stop a workout without finishing it.  In the rowpro days, I would have lost all my precious data if I had done that.

One other side note.  I have done about 5 or 6 sessions with the polar H7 and the PM5 on 3 different ergs and I haven’t had any issues with hangups or crashes.  I might give painsled another try with the H7.  I think my problems were related to the Tickr.

Otherwise, not much to report.

myimage (36)

Here is the workout compared to the one two weekends ago.

I’m heading to the airport in the afternoon for a quick trip to San Jose.  I will be coming back on the Tuesday night red eye.

Tomorrow:  rest day.

Sunday: 2 x 30′ / 2′

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I hate the dynamic erg.  I never have a good workout on it.  It is unpleasant to row and very noisy.  I think it’s time to sell it and buy a model D.

You might guess that todays workout was not so good.  You’d be right.

The plan was

  • 2 x 30′ at mp or slower
  • 2 minutes rest
  • HR cap at 150

Just and easy session.  On a static erg, I would probably crank the first interval out at 180W and the second at 175W and it would be nice and easy.  On the dynamic, it was awful.  It felt like I was rowing through weeds the whole time.  I cranked the drag down to 1 (DF = 82 for the purists) and it still felt heavy.  I’m done with it.

myimage (34).png

myimage (35)

Workout Summary - media/Import_29874956.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|14297|62:45.0|02:11.7|151.4|20.8|149.2|160.0|11.0
W-|13870|60:00.0|02:09.8|158.6|20.5|149.9|160.0|11.3
R-|00429|02:45.0|03:12.2|047.8|23.6|134.6|160.0|05.8
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|07092|30:00.0|02:06.9|168.7|19.3|145.9|154.0|12.2
01|06777|30:00.0|02:12.8|148.6|21.7|154.0|160.0|10.4

Tomorrow:

M1 4 x 15′ / 4′ 6′ @ 5KP, 9′ @ MP 92.5% (172)

I’ll do the usual shortening of the 9′ segments.

power targets

  • 5kp: 197-210
  • mp: 158-171

Today I registered for my first coastal race.  The Provincetown Regatta, next Saturday.  It’s a little race.  8k long, two laps of an M shaped 4k long course.

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I am training through this race.  I am doing it mainly to get an event under my belt before the Blackburn and to meet some Cape Cod based rowers.

You can check out the race on regatta central

Provincetown Regatta

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Monday: I shoulda taken a rest day

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I was wiped out all day after my 20k adventure.  (Maybe I pushed a bit harder than I thought).  Monday was a holiday, but the weather was terrible, so my wife and I decided to head back a bit early.  Apparently everyone on Cape Cod decided to do the same thing because we were in a massive traffic jam and it took us over 4 hours to get hour (vs the normal 2 hours).

Once we were home, I decided to do the  next M2 session.

M2 3 x 20′ / 2′ MP, 10KP, HMP 90.0% (167)

I was doing this on the dynamic (and I am beginning to really dislike the machine).  I felt awful.  Just rowing the first 30 minutes at marathon pace was torture.  My HR didn’t climb that much but my RPE was through the roof.  I decided to bail after the first 20 minutes.

myimage (19)

Part of the problem was that I didn’t respect the fact that I get more watts on the static than I do on the dynamic, but really, the big issue was that I was just spent.

 

Saturday: 4 x 15 / 4′ (6’@5kp, 9’@mp)

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We got to bed late on Friday night, and I was feeling lazy on Saturday morning, so I postponed my maiden voyage of Kanangra to Sunday.  The weather was going to be better as well.  Instead, I went out to the lumber yard to get wood to build a proper boat rack, and then I built a proper boat rack.

2017-05-27 13.50.26

Space for two coastal boats.  The old broken Alden Star on top and the New Maas Aero on the bottom.  I think I might swap that next weekend.  Getting the boat off the bottom rack is a bit of a tricky maneuver.

Anyway, by about 6pm, I was ready for an erg session.  Another session from the Marathon Plan.

M1 4 x 15′ / 4′ 6′ @ 5KP, 9′ @ MP 92.5% (172)

So, for target powers, I wanted to kick it up a notch.  Last week I did this with 9′ at 5kp and  6′ at mp, and this would obviously be easier at the same pace.  That session was 235W and 201W.  So today, I decided to aim at 250W and 203W.

myimage (16)

So, I did it and it was hard!

Workout Summary - media/Import_29819180.csv
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|-Pwr-|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|17810|73:29.0|02:03.8|197.8|23.5|156.8|176.0|10.3
W-|15528|60:00.0|01:55.9|223.2|23.5|162.4|176.0|11.0
R-|02289|13:30.0|02:56.9|062.2|22.6|129.5|176.0|07.0
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-Pwr-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
00|01634|06:00.0|01:50.2|256.7|24.8|145.6|161.0|11.0
01|02263|09:00.0|01:59.3|204.1|21.4|155.3|161.0|11.8
02|01625|06:00.0|01:50.8|253.5|25.0|158.3|170.0|10.8
03|02259|09:00.0|01:59.5|203.0|22.0|164.1|170.0|11.4
04|01621|06:00.0|01:51.1|252.8|26.1|164.5|174.0|10.3
05|02253|09:00.0|01:59.8|202.3|22.7|168.7|174.0|11.0
06|01622|06:00.0|01:51.0|251.9|25.8|166.6|176.0|10.5
07|02251|09:00.0|01:59.9|202.1|22.8|171.0|176.0|11.0

Pleased with the steadiness of this effort, even when it got hard.

 

Tuesday: 4 x 15’/4′ (9’@5kp,6’@mp)

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Monday:  I felt very tired Sunday night and I decided that I would benefit from a rest day, so I took on.  I slept in instead.

Tuesday:  I was on my way to row.  The sky was grey and it was cool and drizzly.  I have gotten into the habit of stopping at a highway rest stop that is near where I launch to go to the bathroom.  Before doing this routinely, I have had a number of sessions ruined by a urgent need to go to the bathroom.  This morning was one of those mornings, I could just tell.  I made an executive decision.  I drove right past the boathouse and continued on to work.  I would do the session on the erg instead in the fitness center at work.

This worked out just fine.  I was able to go to the bathroom and  then exercise with a clear conscience (and empty…).

The plan

  • 4 – 15 minute intervals with 4 minute rests
  • Each interval
    • 9 minutes at 5k power (225 to 240W)
    • 6 minutes at marathon power (180-195W)
  • Heart rate limit at 172

It was another great workout.  These rest days are kind of magic!

myimage (3)

Compare this workout to the same one done at the end of January.  The HR response today was crazy low.  The first chart is power and you can see I used a higher Marathon Power, and even pushed the 5k power in the last rep.

Tomorrow is a monster session.

M2 3 x 30′ / 3′ MP, 10KP, MP 90.0% (167)

Hopefully, I can do this one on the water.

  • Power Targets:  MP -> 155 to 165W, 10KP –> 180 to 190W
  • Adaptations.  The first 30 minutes I will start right off the dock and it will take me down to the dam and halfway back to the start.  Then I will paddle the rest of the way to the start of the good rowing section, then I will do down and back.  Then a 3 minute paddle downstream, then back to the dam and back home.  About 2 hours on the water.