Tag: erg

Thursday: Taper Day 2 –> 2 x 2′ / 5′ rest (on the erg)

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Early meeting, so I missed a beautiful morning on the river.  I looked at the glassy smooth water as I drove past.

Plan:  Taper day 2.

  1. 20 minute warmup
  2. 2 x 2′ / 5′ rest
    1. rate: >30
    2. pace:  faster than 2K race pace (1:40ish)
    3. on slides
  3. Cool down

2x500 Screen Shot 2015-11-05 at 9.02.04 AM

It was mercifully brief, but each interval really stung.  I pushed a lot faster than 2k race pace and let the rate really climb on the theory that the whole point is to provide sufficient stimulus to avoid any fitness loss during the taper.  No evidence that this is the right thing to do, but it made me feel like I was giving it my all.

Tomorrow:  Back on the river.  A nice warmup, a single 500m interval, and an easy cool down focusing on technique.  Then load up the boat for the race.

Sunday: 4×20′ / 1′ rest

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Static erg.  Core perform seat. PC running rowpro died while I was rowing.  Very sad.  Need a new beater PC to sweat all over.  Good thing I had my iphone going as a redundant HR monitor!  How’s that for obsessive!

Plan:

  1. 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest
  2. slow start: 5′ at 2:15. 5′ at 2:10, then 2:04 the rest of the way
  3. rate: r19
  4. mechanics:  Work on controlling handle height and easing into the catch.

11-1 Screen Shot 2015-11-01 at 7.22.06 PM

So, my HR was way higher than last session.  But the lactates were fine, delightful in fact.  So, I am definitely at the right training power, and I will push just a little bit faster next time.

lac

Just goes to show you that HR is not very well correlated with lactate level, even over the short term.

Friday: 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest Steady State on the erg

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Today, I had a doctor’s appointment at 11am, so I decided to work from home before that.  That made getting to the river for a real row a hassle, so again, I opted to do my steady state session on the erg.  It was a lovely fall morning, but it was a bit blustery, so I wasn’t to disappointed to miss the OTW.

The plan for today was a steady state endurance session.  The objective is to do the whole session with lactates below 2.0 mmol/l.  To test  that, I did a lactate test at the end of the 3rd interval, so after 60 minutes of rowing.

I am also sticking with the slow start plan.  It’s a relaxing way to start and I think it has a measurable impact on how well my HR plateaus, and results in lower lactate readings.

Last few of these sessions, I have been working at a 2:04 pace, and I’ve been reading around 2.0 for lactate readings, which is a bit higher than I really want.  I decided that if today was above 2.0, I would slow down the pace by a second.

But as it turns out, today’s lactate reading was a delightfully low 1.5mmol/l, and HR was equally low.

lactates 10-30

The other thing that I would like to think is going on is that the change that I made to reduce the intensity of my steady state rowing and ergs is actually having a beneficial effect on my endurance and reducing lactate levels.  There isn’t enough data to support that, but I think the trend is good.

Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 1.32.54 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 1.32.18 PM

Workout Summary – Oct 30, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_19284_|_80:00.0_|_02:04.5_|_181.6_|_18.1_|_133.3_|_ 63.3% _|_13.3_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01116_|_05:00.0_|_02:14.4_|_144.3_|_15.4_|_107.8_|_ 45.3% _|_14.5_|_09.4
02_|_01163_|_05:00.0_|_02:09.0_|_163.2_|_17.2_|_119.7_|_ 53.7% _|_13.5_|_09.5
03_|_02423_|_10:00.0_|_02:03.8_|_184.3_|_17.9_|_130.3_|_ 61.2% _|_13.5_|_10.3
04_|_04860_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.5_|_186.0_|_18.1_|_133.8_|_ 63.7% _|_13.4_|_10.3
05_|_04854_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.3_|_18.6_|_136.7_|_ 65.7% _|_13.1_|_10.0
06_|_04868_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.3_|_186.9_|_18.8_|_139.2_|_ 67.5% _|_13.0_|_10.0

While I rowed, I was listening to the Teaching Company audio course on “Turning Points in American History”.  I learned a bit about the King Philip War, the court case that laid the legal foundation for freedom of the press in colonial america, and the Boston Tea Party.  The time passed very enjoyably.

Tomorrow:  Head Race Simulation on Lake Quinsigamond.  Hard 5.5km.

Thursday: 10×3’/1′ rest on the erg

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Weather forecast was for rain, wind, and chance of thunderstorms.  So, even though the temperature was back in the high 50s, I decided to stay inside on the erg.  I did the workout on slides.

The OTW plan was for 4 x ( 3 x 3′ / 1′ paddle) / 2′ turn.  This was adapted from an erg workout 15×3’/1′ rest, so I decided to do that.  The problem coming back to the erg is always figuring out a good pace.

Today I guesses wrong and paid the price.  I decided to try to hit 1:50 or better, and ended up faster than 1:49 through 10 intervals, but I was totally done by that point and HD’ed in the 11th interval.  Once that happened, I basically gave up on the workout.  Looking in my old notebook, I saw that my fastest ever for this workout was 1:48.5, so I was a bit too ambitious with my pacing.  1:52 would have been a much better choice.

10x3 Screen Shot 2015-10-30 at 12.57.10 PM

I have trouble getting upset about this workout.  I did 30 minutes at head race pace and pushed it pretty hard.  I hate to bail on a workout, but trying to get 15 good reps in would have been an epic battle, probably without much additional training benefit.

Sunday: 10K Putsch!

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Rest day yesterday.

This morning, I was planning to go rowing.  I got up and headed out the the lake.  When I got there, I rapidly reconsidered my decision.  It was 44F, grey and raining.  There was a little wind, but the forecast was predicting it getting stronger.  And when I checked the online sign up sheet, I saw that most of my clubmates had scratched and undoubtedly rolled over and went back to sleep.

I drove home instead of rowing.  So, that left me wondering…What should I do.  The plan called for a hard distance piece, but the idea of sitting down and doing a 6K TT was not appealing in the least.  I decided to give myself a break and have a little fun.  I was going to dig up one of my favorite erg workouts.  The 10K Putsch!

Plan:

  1.  2K warmup
  2. 10K with a prescribed negative split
    • 1K at 2:00
    • 1K at 1:59
    • 1K at 1:58
    • and so on until the last 1K is at 1:51
  3. Free rate
  4. No HR Cap

This workout is adapted from “Erg: 75 workouts for Athletes”, by Lisa Schlenker, a great book, but apparently out of print right now.  In that book, the workout is a little different.

2015-10-25 10.28.22

It’s in 2K blocks and it’s a bit faster pace.  Even with my more gradual pace ramp, I’ve struggled with the Putsch in the past.  But not today!

First, the warmup.  2K starting slow and building speed every 500m.  Felt very easy and nice low HR.

Screen Shot 2015-10-25 at 10.13.43 AM

Workout Summary – Oct 25, 2015 — Warmup
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_02000_|_08:06.9_|_02:01.7_|_194.1_|_19.5_|_124.0_|_ 56.8% _|_12.7_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_00500_|_02:09.1_|_02:09.1_|_162.5_|_16.7_|_104.0_|_ 42.5% _|_13.9_|_09.7
02_|_00500_|_02:04.3_|_02:04.3_|_182.1_|_18.3_|_120.5_|_ 54.3% _|_13.2_|_09.9
03_|_00500_|_01:59.2_|_01:59.2_|_206.5_|_20.6_|_130.0_|_ 61.0% _|_12.2_|_10.0
04_|_00500_|_01:54.2_|_01:54.2_|_235.1_|_22.6_|_138.7_|_ 67.2% _|_11.6_|_10.4

Next, the main event.  I set this up in RowPro as 10×1000 intervals with zero rests.  That way I could see the average pace for each split and aim to for the target.  The first pull of each interval generates a very fast pace reading.  I was just rowing normally through the end to the beginning, but the data shows the pace transient.  You can see that I had a fair bit left in the tank when I got to the last 1000m, so I aimed at (and beat) 1:45 as my pace target.  It stung.

Screen Shot 2015-10-25 at 10.15.04 AM Screen Shot 2015-10-25 at 10.15.22 AM

Workout Summary – Oct 25, 2015 – 10K Push
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_10000_|_38:06.8_|_01:54.3_|_234.1_|_23.0_|_152.5_|_ 76.9% _|_11.4_|_10.2
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_03:59.6_|_01:59.8_|_203.5_|_20.8_|_127.4_|_ 59.1% _|_12.0_|_09.8
02_|_01000_|_03:57.4_|_01:58.7_|_209.4_|_21.2_|_138.9_|_ 67.3% _|_11.9_|_09.9
03_|_01000_|_03:54.8_|_01:57.4_|_216.2_|_21.5_|_142.6_|_ 69.9% _|_11.9_|_10.1
04_|_01000_|_03:52.7_|_01:56.4_|_222.2_|_22.2_|_146.3_|_ 72.6% _|_11.6_|_10.0
05_|_01000_|_03:50.8_|_01:55.4_|_227.6_|_22.6_|_150.2_|_ 75.3% _|_11.5_|_10.1
06_|_01000_|_03:48.9_|_01:54.5_|_233.3_|_23.1_|_153.8_|_ 77.9% _|_11.4_|_10.1
07_|_01000_|_03:46.6_|_01:53.3_|_240.7_|_23.6_|_158.0_|_ 80.8% _|_11.2_|_10.2
08_|_01000_|_03:44.6_|_01:52.3_|_247.0_|_23.8_|_161.6_|_ 83.4% _|_11.2_|_10.4
09_|_01000_|_03:42.4_|_01:51.2_|_254.7_|_24.6_|_165.9_|_ 86.5% _|_11.0_|_10.4
10_|_01000_|_03:29.0_|_01:44.5_|_306.8_|_27.9_|_174.6_|_ 92.7% _|_10.3_|_11.0

Then a nice long cool down.  Started at 2:00 pace and slowed down by 5 seconds every 1000m.  Sort of a backwards push.

Screen Shot 2015-10-25 at 10.16.22 AM

Workout Summary – Oct 25, 2015 – Cool down
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_21:33.9_|_02:09.4_|_161.6_|_18.4_|_142.9_|_ 70.1% _|_12.6_|_08.8
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_03:58.6_|_01:59.3_|_206.2_|_21.6_|_148.2_|_ 73.9% _|_11.6_|_09.5
02_|_01000_|_04:09.1_|_02:04.5_|_181.2_|_19.8_|_151.4_|_ 76.2% _|_12.2_|_09.2
03_|_01000_|_04:18.8_|_02:09.4_|_161.5_|_17.9_|_145.6_|_ 72.1% _|_13.0_|_09.0
04_|_01000_|_04:28.8_|_02:14.4_|_144.2_|_16.5_|_138.1_|_ 66.7% _|_13.5_|_08.7
05_|_01000_|_04:38.7_|_02:19.4_|_129.3_|_16.8_|_129.8_|_ 60.9% _|_12.8_|_07.7

A very satisfactory workout.  I was looking back and almost a year ago on Nov 15, I attempted the same workout and burnt out before I got to the middle.  I did a flat paced 10K at 1:53.4 which was a maximal effort.  Today was much easier.  I’m pumped.

Thursday: October Cross Team Challenge 15 x 1′ /1′ rest

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Landlocked due to boat damage.  So I decided to substitute my OTW short interval session with an erg based short interval session.  The CTC looked like a pretty good match to what I needed to do.

Plan: (erg on slides)

  1. 20 minute fletcher style warmup
  2. 15 x 1′ /1′ rest
  3. pace target: under 1:40
  4. rate: over 30

oct ctc Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 10.30.32 AM

That went better than I thought it would.  I beat the target and had enough oomph left over to deliver a punishing last rep.  I thought I was going to puke, pass out and wet myself at the end of the last rep, so I guess I pushed it hard enough.

This puts me in about the “right” place in terms of team and overall scoring for the CTC.  And it was a really good workout.

4 x20′ / 1′ rest @ 185W w/ lactate

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It was freezing this morning.  About 28F, so I decided to erg instead of rowing outside.

Plan called for steady state. So…

  1. 4 x 20’/1′
  2. ramp pace over first 10 minutes (5′ @ 2:15, 5′ @ 2:10, then 2:04 the rest of the way)
  3. lactate test at 60 minutes.

4x20 Screen Shot 2015-10-19 at 4.24.26 PM

So, in a nutshell, here is a real life example of how uncorrelated HR and lactate can be under different circumstances.

lac and HR

So compare yesterday and today.  power within 2 watts.  Same exact warmup process. Lactate reading was 0.3 higher today, but HR was 16 beats higher.  Thats more than 12% of HRR different.

I was in a different place, at a different time of day, and the room was definitely a bit warmer.  I had good airflow in both cases.

The conclusion that I am drawing is that I will continue to use 60′ lactate readings as a measure of intensity.  2.3 is above the high end of what I really want to see, but I don’t want to change training intensity based on a single reading above the limit.  So, I think I will hold at 185W, and continue to test.  If I read above 2.0 for the next workout, then I will drop 5W.

Tomorrow:  Back on the water for a 5x2K / 5′ rest at head race pace and r28.

Sunday: 3 x 20′ / 1′ rest

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I had intended to take today as a rest day, but I was feeling antsy.  So, I decided  to do a recovery/endurance session and keep it really tame.

Plan:

  1. 3 x 20′ / 1′ rest
  2. slow start: 5′ at 2:15, 5′ @ 2:10
  3. rest of the workout at 2:04 and r18
  4. Measure lactate at end of workout.

Screen Shot 2015-10-18 at 4.53.51 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-18 at 4.54.14 PM

Workout Summary – Oct 18, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_14432_|_60:00.0_|_02:04.7_|_180.4_|_17.9_|_126.8_|_ 58.7% _|_13.5_|_10.1
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01131_|_05:00.0_|_02:12.6_|_150.0_|_16.4_|_105.0_|_ 43.3% _|_13.8_|_09.1
02_|_01167_|_05:00.0_|_02:08.5_|_164.8_|_17.2_|_118.3_|_ 52.7% _|_13.6_|_09.6
03_|_02424_|_10:00.0_|_02:03.8_|_184.7_|_18.5_|_128.2_|_ 59.7% _|_13.1_|_10.0
04_|_04855_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.5_|_18.1_|_127.8_|_ 59.4% _|_13.4_|_10.2
05_|_04855_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.4_|_17.9_|_132.1_|_ 62.5% _|_13.6_|_10.4

Lactate reading at the end: 2.0.  I have done this exact session the last three Sundays. Each Sunday has been the day after a race, so my level of fatigue should be roughly similar.   Here are the lactate measurements

  • October 4th: 3.2 (182W)
  • October 11th: 2.2 (184W)
  • October 18th: 2.0 (185W)

Looks like progress to me.  It is really strange to me how long my HR needs to be to keep below 2.0mmol/l lactate, but I like the trend that I am seeing.  So, I’m going to keep inching the power up a watt at a time and measuring lactates at the 60 minute mark.

Tomorrow:  It looks like it is going to be about 30 degrees in the morning and I don’t really feel like freezing my ass off.  So, I think I will go erg at work.  Probably a 4 x 20′ endurance session.

Sunday: 4 x 20′ / 1′ rest endurance training (with lactate)

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I hopped on the erg today around 2pm.  It was nice and cool outside and I opened all the windows.

Plan:

  1. 4 x 20′
  2. Slow warmup…First 5′ at 2:15, second 5′ at 2:10, then the rest of the workout at 2:04
  3. 1 minute rests to drink water and take a lactate test.

Screen Shot 2015-10-11 at 6.21.55 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-11 at 6.21.41 PM

Workout Summary – Oct 11, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_19245_|_80:00.0_|_02:04.7_|_180.5_|_17.8_|_128.8_|_ 60.1% _|_13.5_|_10.2
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI_|_lac

01_|_01121_|_05:00.0_|_02:13.8_|_146.0_|_16.2_|_088.8_|_ 31.8% _|_13.8_|_09.0
02_|_01160_|_05:00.0_|_02:09.3_|_162.0_|_17.2_|_116.6_|_ 51.5% _|_13.5_|_09.4
03_|_02410_|_10:00.0_|_02:04.5_|_181.5_|_17.8_|_124.3_|_ 57.0% _|_13.5_|_10.2_|_1.7
04_|_04855_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.4_|_17.9_|_127.8_|_ 59.4% _|_13.6_|_10.4_|_2.1
05_|_04853_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.6_|_185.2_|_17.9_|_134.5_|_ 64.2% _|_13.6_|_10.3_|_2.2
06_|_04847_|_20:00.0_|_02:03.8_|_184.5_|_18.1_|_138.3_|_ 66.9% _|_13.4_|_10.2_|_2.5

Almost identical to last Sunday when I did 3 x 20′  HR was a little lower and the pace was a little faster, but the lactate readings were a bit higher at 20 and 40 minutes, but much lower at 60′.

  • Last week:  1.1, 1.2, 3.2
  • This week:  1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5

I think I should stick with 2:04 or 2:05 for now for an endurance pace.

I am now into my taper week for the HOCR.  Here’s the plan for that.

  • Monday:  4K warmup, 4 x 500 with 3:30 minute rests, 4K cool down
  • Tuesday: 4K warmup, 3 x 500 with 3:30 rests, 4K cool down
  • Wednesday: 4K warmup, 2 x 500 with 3:30 rests, 2K cool down
  • Thursday: 4K warmup, 1 x 500, 2k cool down
  • Friday:  Easy recon paddle on the HOCR course
  • Saturday:  9:20 start time, bow number: 36.

Sunday: 60′ Steady State (3×20’/1′ rest)

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My wife and I had plans in the afternoon, so I jumped on the erg as soon as I got up to get some meters in.  I was quite sore from the race on Saturday.  My ribs, my adductors and my arms were all quite sore.  I guess there was a lot of “conventional” movements.

Like Saturday afternoon, I started at lower power and ramped up over 15 minutes.  Again, my HR stayed nice and low.  A little bit of drift in the last 20 minutes.  Lactates were 1.2 at 20′, 1.1 at 40′, and weirdly 3.2 at 60 minutes.  It might have been a blown reading, but it might indicate that I had crossed over to building up some lactate in the last few minutes of the last 20′.  No matter.  I think rowing at a 2:04 (183W) pace for steady state until I see <2.0 at 80′ is the safe bet for now.

Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 1.10.04 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 1.09.34 PM

Output
Workout Summary – Oct 06, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_14337_|_60:00.0_|_02:05.5_|_176.9_|_17.9_|_129.5_|_ 60.6% _|_13.3_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01118_|_05:00.0_|_02:14.2_|_144.9_|_16.2_|_105.0_|_ 43.3% _|_13.8_|_08.9
02_|_01159_|_05:00.0_|_02:09.4_|_161.4_|_17.4_|_119.3_|_ 53.4% _|_13.3_|_09.3
03_|_01204_|_05:00.0_|_02:04.6_|_181.1_|_18.2_|_127.4_|_ 59.2% _|_13.2_|_09.9
04_|_01208_|_05:00.0_|_02:04.2_|_182.7_|_18.0_|_130.2_|_ 61.1% _|_13.4_|_10.2
05_|_04822_|_20:00.0_|_02:04.4_|_181.7_|_18.2_|_131.0_|_ 61.7% _|_13.2_|_10.0
06_|_04827_|_20:00.0_|_02:04.3_|_182.2_|_18.1_|_136.2_|_ 65.4% _|_13.3_|_10.1