Tag: head race

Saturday: US Masters National Head Race Championships

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Well that was an experience.

The weather was really bad.  It was raw and cold, 46F and overcast.  The wind was from the NE which is basically a perfect head wind for the last 2K of the course and blowing 15mph with gusts to 25mph.  The last 2K of the course were impossible to row at rate and pressure.

In terms of results, it’s the usual story.  I did as well as I could expect but not as well as I would have hoped.  I finished 6th or 13 among all master men starters, and 3rd of 4 “D” Class boats.  Looking at the other D entrants, this is exactly where I I should have been in the finish order.  I would have liked to be closer to the guy in front of me, but his 2K erg is about 8 seconds faster than mine.  This earned me a Bronze medal.  It’s hard to not think of it as a “second to last” medal.

2015-10-03 13.34.48

Honestly, I’m more proud of just getting out on the course and finishing under the conditions than anything.

I was pretty tense about the conditions, and I managed to forget to put on my HR strap, so I don’t have an objective idea about how hard I was working.  It felt like I was pushing just about right through the first 3K of the course, but after that, I needed to back off a bit to just keep the boat under control.  I managed to pass about 4 or 5 boats and I was passed by one guy.  So, I think everyone was struggling under the conditions.

Here are the pace and rate charts.

Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 6.17.23 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 6.17.02 PM

Here is the course that I took.

Screen Shot 2015-10-03 at 6.37.32 PM

I was extremely slow.  A 2:21 pace.  The fast current shaved about 400m off the course.  It’s 5800 meters by GPS and 5400 meters by impeller.  So, the river moved 400m in 25 minutes.  I figured it out.  That is roughly 0.944 km/h.  The current in the first half was probably twice that, and much less where the river widens out.  It was interesting to see the water swirling around submerged rocks and stuff as I was rowing up to the start.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0040_|_00:11_|_2:17.5_|_004___|_21.8_|_10.0_|_000___|_w
00060_|_5400_|_25:27_|_2:21.3_|_672___|_26.4_|_08.0_|_000___|_m
05460_|_1220_|_08:29_|_3:28.6_|_125___|_14.7_|_09.8_|_000___|_c

More details about the race itself.  The first 800m or so was with a cross wind and the river was narrow so it was nice flat water.  I wanted to hug the bouy line on the north side of the river, but they set the buoys very close to the center of the river and I was forced further to the south bank than I wanted.

In the turn to the east, I went a bit too wide and probably added some distance.  This stretch was with a cross/head wind so things slowed down.  I steered this part right.  Moving over to the south bank ad hugging that turn. As we approached the next turn to the east, the water started to get lumpier, and by the time we made the turn, I thought it was pretty bad.

I stuck to my plan to hug the buoy line on the north side of the course.  This was complicated by the fact that some of the markers had dragged a bit onto the course due to a very strong current (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the really fast current!).  So, I would have to adjust to stay on the right side of the markers a bit more abruptly than I would have liked.

I had no idea just how good we had it at the beginning of this stretch.  The water just got worse and worse, and the wind got more and more crazy as I approached and passed under the bridge.  I was whacking the wavetops and crabbing every 6th stroke or so, but I was pounding it out to the end.

Here is the video of the ordeal.

Thinking it over.  Here are my take aways from experience.

  1. I let the conditions phase me.  I was so preoccupied that I managed to boat without my HR strap.  I need to work on focus during the pre-race.
  2. I need to work on rough water rowing.  And probably try out some rough water adjustments to my rigging.  Moving my oarlocks up to the top limits for conditions like these.
  3. I need to find and do balance drills regularly to improve blade clearance over the water.
  4. Conditioning needs improvement.  Next year, I need to be much more diligent about endurance intensity and probably substitute one OTW steady state with a erg steady state session so I can track lactates better.

So, now I have 3 more races.  Next weekend is a tune up race on Lake Quinsigamond.  The weekend following is HOCR. Then a couple weeks after that is the Merrimac chase.  I think the best thing to do now is train enough to maintain where I am and reduce volume to be as fresh as possible for next weekend.  This is complicated a bit by a business trip to Munich this week.  Oh well.

2015 Head Racing Training Plan

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I am planning to enter 3 or 4 head races this fall.

  • Textile River Regatta: Sunday, October 4, 6K race in Lowell
  • Quinsigmond Snake Race, October 10th or 11th, 4.5K race (Tentative)
  • Head of the Charles, October 17th or 18th, 5K race in Boston (Tentative)
  • Merrimack Chase: Saturday, November 6

Priority:

  1. HOCR
  2. Textile
  3. Merrimack
  4. Snake Race

If I don’t get an entry for the HOCR, then the Textile is my key event, so I need to plan to peak for the beginning of October and then maintain from then to the beginning of November.

The plan is focused on improving performance over a 5K to 6K race.  I have time for 6 sessions a week.  I seem to best with a polarized plan, so I am planning to do 3 lower intensity endurance sessions per week.  One hard distance piece a week (basically head race distance).  One set of long intervals (Like a WP L2 type session).

So far, this looks like the Pete Plan or the Wolverine Plan.  The difference is that I plan to substitute the short intervals (L1s in WP language) with another session focused on improving lactate clearance and tolerance.  I’m thinking that this would be an interval based session at about head race pace and rate, with short rests.  The intent here is to accumulate fatigue (and lactate) as the session goes on.  Examples of this type of workout on the erg are things like the 15×3’/1′ rest or 8x1K/2′ rest.

I like the cyclical nature of the Pete Plan, so I am planning a 4 week cycle after which the workouts repeat so I can try to measure progress.

Because of where I row, I have to limit the distance covered in each interval.  I have just about 3000 meters of river that can be rowed at full pressure.  Any turn is basically going to cost about 1 minute of rest time, so I would like to try to work within that constraint.  The one exception is that on weekend days, I can row on Lake Quinsigamond in a club boat, so that is why my hard distance days will be on weekends.

The plan is obviously going to be impacted by travel and life, but I figure having a plan and changing is better than having no plan at all.

I welcome feedback and suggestions for changes.

Date Weekday Workout Type Planned Workout
7/19/15 Sun Cross Training (Bike)
7/20/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
7/21/15 Tue Long Intervals 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest r24
7/22/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
7/23/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (3 x 3′ on / 1′ paddle) / 2′ rest
7/24/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
7/25/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r26
7/26/15 Sun Rest
7/27/15 Mon Cross Training (Bike) Vacation Week
7/28/15 Tue Cross training (Run)
7/29/15 Wed Cross Training (Bike)
7/30/15 Thu Cross training (Run)
7/31/15 Fri Cross Training (Bike)
8/1/15 Sat rest
8/2/15 Sun Hard Distance 5.5K r26
8/3/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
8/4/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 1500 / 5′ rest r26
8/5/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
8/6/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 8 x 1000 / 2′ rest
8/7/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half
8/8/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r26
8/9/15 Sun Rest
8/10/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
8/11/15 Tue Long Intervals 3000 / 2500 / 2000 5′ rest
8/12/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
8/13/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (5 x 2′ on / 30″ paddle) / 2′ rest
8/14/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
8/15/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r26
8/16/15 Sun Rest
8/17/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
8/18/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 2000 / 5′ rest r28
8/19/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
8/20/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 5 x 20@32/10 off / 5 x 20@34/15 off / 5 x 20@36/20 off, 8′ between sets
8/21/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half
8/22/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r28
8/23/15 Sun Rest
8/24/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
8/25/15 Tue Long Intervals 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest r24
8/26/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
8/27/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (3 x 3′ on / 1′ paddle) / 2′ rest
8/28/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
8/29/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r28
8/30/15 Sun Rest
8/31/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
9/1/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 1500 / 5′ rest r26
9/2/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
9/3/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 8 x 1000 / 2′ rest
9/4/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half
9/5/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r28
9/6/15 Sun Rest
9/7/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
9/8/15 Tue Long Intervals 3000 / 2500 / 2000 5′ rest
9/9/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
9/10/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (5 x 2′ on / 30″ paddle) / 2′ rest
9/11/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
9/12/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r30
9/13/15 Sun Rest
9/14/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
9/15/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 2000 / 5′ rest r28
9/16/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
9/17/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 5 x 20@32/10 off / 5 x 20@34/15 off / 5 x 20@36/20 off, 8′ between sets
9/18/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half
9/19/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r30
9/20/15 Sun Rest
9/21/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
9/22/15 Tue Long Intervals 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest r24
9/23/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
9/24/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (3 x 3′ on / 1′ paddle) / 2′ rest
9/25/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
9/26/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r30
9/27/15 Sun Rest
9/28/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
9/29/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 1500 / 5′ rest r26
9/30/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 500 taper
10/1/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 3 x 500 taper
10/2/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 2 x 500 taper
10/3/15 Sat warm up only warm up only
10/4/15 Sun Textile
10/5/15 Mon rest
10/6/15 Tue Long Intervals 3000 / 2500 / 2000 5′ rest
10/7/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
10/8/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (5 x 2′ on / 30″ paddle) / 2′ rest
10/9/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
10/10/15 Sat warm up only warm up only
10/11/15 Sun Snake Race
10/12/15 Mon rest
10/13/15 Tue Long Intervals 4 x 500 taper
10/14/15 Wed Steady State 3 x 500 taper
10/15/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 2 x 500 taper
10/16/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 warm up only
10/17/15 Sat HOCR
10/18/15 Sun HOCR
10/19/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
10/20/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 2000 / 5′ rest r28
10/21/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
10/22/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 5 x 20@32/10 off / 5 x 20@34/15 off / 5 x 20@36/20 off, 8′ between sets
10/23/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Bungee Row first half, Steady state r20 second half
10/24/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r30
10/25/15 Sun Rest
10/26/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
10/27/15 Tue Long Intervals 4 x 2500 / 5′ rest r24
10/28/15 Wed Steady State 4 x 3000 / 1′ rest r20 (HR limit at 80% HRR)
10/29/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 4 x (3 x 3′ on / 1′ paddle) / 2′ rest
10/30/15 Fri Technique UT2/UT1 Square Blades / Slow Roll Up / r20 2 minutes each, repeated
10/31/15 Sat Hard Distance 5.5K r30
11/1/15 Sun Rest
11/2/15 Mon Steady State UT1 Rate Ladder 4 x (1000 @ 18, 1000 @ 20, 500 @ 22, 250 @ 24) / 2′ rest
11/3/15 Tue Long Intervals 5 x 1500 / 5′ rest r26
11/4/15 Wed Steady State 3 x 500 taper
11/5/15 Thu Short Rest Intervals 2 x 500 taper
11/6/15 Fri Warmup up only warm up only
11/7/15 Sat Merrimack Chase