3×20′ – Awful workout.

March 26, 2015Leave a comment

Elevated HR, Lactate reading too high. Felt really tired. Quit after 3 20′ intervals instead doing the full four. Even dropping my training power by 10 watts in the third piece was not enough to bring my HR down into the UT1 zone.

The past 7 session before today, I was able to hold >190W and measured <2.0 in every session. Yesterday, at 193W, my HR was way high, like 10BPM higher than normal, but the lactates were OK (1.9). Today, holding 192W, HR was just as far off and my lactates were 2.3. I dropped down to 190W and measured 2.8 :shock: after another 20 minutes, and my HR was at least 5BPM above the top of my aerobic band.

So, here’s my recent history:

I’m struggling to come up with theories for what is going on.
– A little bit of acute over-training. I did a pretty hard 6×750 session yesterday morning
– Early warning of coming down with something (I am otherwise symptom free
– Reading error (I doubt it, I felt like I was working a lot harder today)

I’m also trying to figure out if I should make any adjustments. I am scheduled for another 4×20 tomorrow morning. Things I am thinking about are:
– Pretend today never happened and do a normal session at 190W
– drop back 5W and build back up again
– start to use the BTLS (Boris Theory of Lactate Supression) and do the first 20′ slowing ramping up to 190W

Any opinions?

6×750 / 3′ rest

March 25, 2015Leave a comment

Current routine is 4 steady state sessions per week, 1 hard distance row, and 1 interval session. (plus 10K on my rest day to keep up with Mud Season Madness).

Today was interval day. It went very well. I started with a pace target of 1:43 and found I could hold on at a faster pace.

Tomorrow: more steady state 4×20′

Tuesday: 4×20’/1′

March 24, 20152 Comments

Pushed it a bit harder today. HR was higher, but lactate was lower. I think I will stick with 192W for now.

Monday: 4×20’/1′

March 24, 2015Leave a comment

On slides. Still at 190.

Non-rest rest day 2x5K

March 22, 2015Leave a comment

Just keeping up with 10K a day for mud season madness.

5K at 190W and then a lactate test –> 1.8mmol/l (still going in the right direction). HR was high today. No idea why. I felt very relaxed.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 22, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:24.5_|_02:02.4_|_190.6_|_19.3_|_135.4_|_ 64.9% _|_12.7_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01250_|_05:05.7_|_02:02.3_|_191.5_|_19.2_|_119.7_|_ 53.7% _|_12.8_|_10.0
02_|_01250_|_05:05.2_|_02:02.1_|_192.3_|_19.3_|_136.2_|_ 65.4% _|_12.8_|_10.0
03_|_01250_|_05:06.7_|_02:02.7_|_189.5_|_19.4_|_141.5_|_ 69.2% _|_12.6_|_09.8
04_|_01250_|_05:06.9_|_02:02.7_|_189.3_|_19.2_|_144.4_|_ 71.2% _|_12.8_|_09.9

Then another 5K. To make it a bit fun, I started off at 220W and shaved off 10W after each 1000m. 220W is about a 1:56 pace, so nothing too spicy, but enough to make me glad to drop down to 210W when it was time.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 22, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:05.4_|_02:00.5_|_199.8_|_20.8_|_149.4_|_ 74.7% _|_12.0_|_09.6
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01000_|_03:53.1_|_01:56.5_|_221.2_|_21.9_|_139.4_|_ 67.7% _|_11.8_|_10.1
02_|_01000_|_03:57.1_|_01:58.5_|_210.1_|_21.5_|_152.4_|_ 76.9% _|_11.8_|_09.8
03_|_01000_|_04:00.8_|_02:00.4_|_200.6_|_21.2_|_153.8_|_ 77.8% _|_11.8_|_09.5
04_|_01000_|_04:05.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.4_|_20.3_|_152.3_|_ 76.8% _|_12.0_|_09.4
05_|_01000_|_04:09.5_|_02:04.8_|_180.2_|_19.2_|_148.9_|_ 74.4% _|_12.5_|_09.4

Tomorrow: 4×20′ on slides

Saturday: 30′ Threshold

March 21, 20151 Comment

I did a 20′ lactate test to start.

190W –> 1.9 mmol/l (moving in the right direction). HR was a bit higher than yesterday.

–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04900_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.4_|_190.7_|_18.9_|_133.2_|_ 63.2% _|_13.0_|_10.1
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01230_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.0_|_192.9_|_18.8_|_121.4_|_ 54.9% _|_13.1_|_10.3
02_|_01225_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.5_|_19.0_|_132.5_|_ 62.7% _|_12.9_|_10.0
03_|_01224_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.3_|_19.0_|_138.0_|_ 66.7% _|_12.9_|_10.0
04_|_01222_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.8_|_189.1_|_18.6_|_141.0_|_ 68.8% _|_13.1_|_10.2

Then into the real workout. 30′ Threshold session. Objective was >8000m (1:52.5 avg pace). I did 8128m early in January, but I don’t think I could do that now.

I pushed the pace a bit faster than 1:52 for the first 10 minutes, but I was feeling pretty stressed out and tried to up the rate and make my stroke lighter. I’m having a lot of trouble doing that lately so it wasn’t entirely successful. I slowed down to almost 1:54 from 20 minutes to 25 minutes and then pushed the last 5 minutes hard enough to get the projected finish back above 8000. It was a hard row, just like it was supposed to be.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 21, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_08016_|_30:00.0_|_01:52.3_|_247.3_|_25.1_|_169.7_|_ 89.1% _|_10.7_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01349_|_05:00.0_|_01:51.2_|_254.5_|_25.2_|_148.4_|_ 74.0% _|_10.7_|_10.1
02_|_01343_|_05:00.0_|_01:51.7_|_251.1_|_25.2_|_165.5_|_ 86.2% _|_10.7_|_10.0
03_|_01334_|_05:00.0_|_01:52.5_|_246.0_|_25.2_|_171.2_|_ 90.2% _|_10.6_|_09.8
04_|_01327_|_05:00.0_|_01:53.0_|_242.5_|_24.6_|_174.4_|_ 92.5% _|_10.8_|_09.9
05_|_01320_|_05:00.0_|_01:53.7_|_238.3_|_24.8_|_177.4_|_ 94.6% _|_10.6_|_09.6
06_|_01344_|_05:00.0_|_01:51.6_|_251.5_|_25.4_|_181.5_|_ 97.5% _|_10.6_|_09.9

Then I finished up with a 2K happy ending cool down. Starting at 2:00 pace and slowing by 0:05 every 500m.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 21, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_02000_|_08:29.3_|_02:07.3_|_169.6_|_17.9_|_158.4_|_ 81.2% _|_13.2_|_09.5
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_00500_|_02:00.0_|_02:00.0_|_202.5_|_20.0_|_152.9_|_ 77.3% _|_12.5_|_10.1
02_|_00500_|_02:04.9_|_02:04.9_|_179.8_|_18.3_|_163.3_|_ 84.6% _|_13.2_|_09.8
03_|_00500_|_02:09.5_|_02:09.5_|_161.0_|_17.1_|_161.7_|_ 83.5% _|_13.5_|_09.4
04_|_00500_|_02:14.9_|_02:14.9_|_142.7_|_16.5_|_156.0_|_ 79.5% _|_13.5_|_08.7

I was hoping that it would have been less of a struggle to top 8000. This was very close to the limit for me. I wonder how much the 20 minutes of steady state before the workout takes out of me? In the past for long hard rows, i would have done a very short warmup, maybe 1000m or so. But I would have done it harder than the steady state I was doing for the lactate test.

The conclusion that I have come to is that it might impact the pace a bit, but the t raining effect is the same. If I was racing or trying for a SB, I might shorten it up though.

Tomorrow: 5K lactate test and 5K easy for a non-rest rest day.

Friday: 1×20′ + 3×20/1’r

March 21, 2015March 21, 20151 Comment

My routine was all messed up on Friday. I had to give one omy kids a ride to a conference he was attending at BC, and then I had a Doctor’s appt at 11. In between, I snuck in a 20 minute lactate test.

190W –> 2.0 mmol/l (excellent, right in range)

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 20, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_04898_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.4_|_19.1_|_132.2_|_ 62.6% _|_12.8_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01217_|_05:00.0_|_02:03.2_|_187.1_|_19.0_|_121.2_|_ 54.8% _|_12.8_|_09.8
02_|_01232_|_05:00.0_|_02:01.8_|_193.8_|_19.6_|_133.8_|_ 63.7% _|_12.6_|_09.9
03_|_01225_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.5_|_19.0_|_135.7_|_ 65.0% _|_12.9_|_10.0
04_|_01224_|_05:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.2_|_18.8_|_138.3_|_ 66.9% _|_13.0_|_10.1

Then later in the day, maybe 4 hours later, I found enough time to do 3 more 20s at 190. All uneventful.

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 20, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_15070_|_63:00.0_|_02:05.4_|_177.4_|_18.6_|_145.2_|_ 71.8% _|_12.8_|_09.5
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_04903_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.4_|_190.9_|_19.0_|_135.7_|_ 65.0% _|_12.9_|_10.0
02_|_00058_|_01:00.0_|_08:40.2_|_002.5_|_05.0_|_138.4_|_ 67.0% _|_11.5_|_00.5
03_|_04903_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.4_|_191.0_|_19.1_|_148.4_|_ 74.0% _|_12.8_|_10.0
04_|_00054_|_01:00.0_|_09:12.1_|_002.1_|_06.0_|_140.7_|_ 68.6% _|_09.1_|_00.3
05_|_05153_|_21:00.0_|_02:02.3_|_191.5_|_19.0_|_151.4_|_ 76.1% _|_12.9_|_10.1

5×1500/3’r

March 19, 2015Leave a comment

Back to a classic. On slides.

Warmup: 20′ at r20 and 190W. Tested lactate: 1.7mmol/l (perfect)

Main set: 5×1500 / 3′ rest

Pace Target: 1:50

Felt like hard work, but in each rep except for the last, I was running ahead of target and allowed myself to bleed off a little pace in the last 500. I managed to negative split each rep. When I got to the last rep, I decided to see what I had left in the tank. I rated up, and saw that I was OK holding about a 1:44 through the first 500. So I decided to try to hang on at that pace. HR was reasonably low for the last rep of one of these workouts, but I was really working hard to try to hold on through the last 500m. Desperately counting strokes and trying to sit up straight.

Finished off with a 2K happy ending cool down, starting at 2:00 and dropping 0:05 slower each 500.

Tomorrow: 4×20′ at 190W

3x5K / 2’r

March 18, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

I spent the day in meetings in Phoenix and then had dinner with the customer. I wolfed down a delicious bone in rib-eye, drained a couple of glasses of Guiness (it was St. Patrick’s Day after all) and then bolted for the airport to catch the red eye.

My red eye arrived in Boston around 5:45AM and after waiting for a shuttle bus to my car for nearly half an hour, I just decided to go home instead of heading straight to work to grab a nap.

A couple more hours of sleep was definitely a good thing, but I was still not in the mood to face a more intense interval session. So, I substituted a steady state session to keep working on aerobic base. I rowed this at home on a static erg.

Today’s session was 3x5K with about 2 minute rests between pieces. Target power was 188W. I tested lactate after the first 5K and got 1.7mmol/l, right in the sweet spot.

The next two pieces, I pushed up the power to 190W and was gratified to see my HR stay quite low with minimal drift over the 60 minutes. I ended the session feeling better than when I started.

1st 5K – 188W – Lactate = 1.7 at end

Output
Workout Summary – Mar 18, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:29.9_|_02:03.0_|_188.1_|_18.9_|_134.0_|_ 63.8% _|_12.9_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI
01_|_01250_|_05:05.5_|_02:02.2_|_191.8_|_19.2_|_125.2_|_ 57.6% _|_12.8_|_10.0
02_|_01250_|_05:07.3_|_02:02.9_|_188.5_|_18.7_|_135.9_|_ 65.2% _|_13.0_|_10.1
03_|_01250_|_05:07.9_|_02:03.1_|_187.4_|_18.7_|_137.3_|_ 66.2% _|_13.0_|_10.0
04_|_01250_|_05:09.3_|_02:03.7_|_184.8_|_18.8_|_137.7_|_ 66.4% _|_12.9_|_09.8

2nd 5K – 190W avg

01_|_01250_|_05:05.5_|_02:02.2_|_191.9_|_19.8_|_131.7_|_ 62.2% _|_12.4_|_09.7
02_|_01250_|_05:06.6_|_02:02.6_|_189.8_|_18.8_|_138.3_|_ 66.9% _|_13.0_|_10.1
03_|_01250_|_05:06.7_|_02:02.7_|_189.6_|_19.0_|_139.7_|_ 67.9% _|_12.9_|_10.0
04_|_01250_|_05:06.1_|_02:02.4_|_190.7_|_19.0_|_140.0_|_ 68.1% _|_12.9_|_10.0

3rd 5K – 190W avg

Output

Workout Summary – Mar 18, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_05000_|_20:24.9_|_02:02.5_|_190.4_|_18.8_|_140.3_|_ 68.3% _|_13.1_|_10.2
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01250_|_05:05.6_|_02:02.2_|_191.7_|_19.0_|_136.3_|_ 65.5% _|_12.9_|_10.1
02_|_01250_|_05:05.8_|_02:02.3_|_191.2_|_18.6_|_141.6_|_ 69.2% _|_13.2_|_10.3
03_|_01250_|_05:07.0_|_02:02.8_|_189.0_|_18.8_|_142.8_|_ 70.1% _|_13.0_|_10.1
04_|_01250_|_05:06.5_|_02:02.6_|_189.9_|_18.6_|_140.6_|_ 68.5% _|_13.2_|_10.2

Tomorrow: Another attempt at the 5×1500 that I blew off today. 1:50 pace target.

Fun in the desert. 4×20’/1’r at Scorpion Crossfit

March 18, 2015March 21, 2015Leave a comment

In Phoenix. There was a great Crossfit box less than half a mile from my hotel. They let me use an erg and didn’t even charge me a guest fee. They were also very nice, just like every other crossfit that I’ve visited.

I just wanted to munch some meters today. I intended to row at 186W, but the atmosphere got to me and I ended up pushing harder and running a higher heart rate than I should have. My HR monitor started acting stupid after 40 minutes, but even before that I was pushing up into the low 150s. After 60 minutes, I had to make a decision to either slow it way down or have a little fun. I decided on fun in the form of a 20 minute L4 with these powers

r18 – 180

r20 – 200

r22 -220

And I rowed 22/20/18/22/20/18/22/20/18/22 (2′ each). It was good sweaty exercise.

While I was rowing I saw them working on the WOD which was 8 rounds of 30 seconds on the rower shooting for max calories, then 30 seconds of box jumps with 30 second rests for 8 rounds. I didn’t see what they were pulling, but I did one 30 second rep just to try it out. I managed 19 calories in 30 seconds, which is about a 1:25 split.

Tomorrow: I’m due for an interval session. I’m thinking 5×1500 at a sedate 1:50 to keep things ticking over. I may back off since I will be fresh off the red eye.

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Tag: erg