Friday: OTW – 1x – 4 x ( 7 x 1′ / 1′ rest) x 3′ rest

May 6, 2016May 6, 20162 Comments

Cool, cloudy, Wind was flukey, from the WSW. Generally about 5mph, but with gusts up to 10mph.

I was originally intending to just do a steady state session, but I was in the mood to try to work on full pressure and rate technique. I wasn’t in the mood to kill myself, so I decided to do 1 minute intervals at about 26 t0 28 spm. I can do about 7 of these in in a row on my river, and then I would need to turn around. I took a bit more rest on the turn arounds.

It was basically a head wind rowing downriver (1st and 3rd set) and a tail wind rowing upriver (2nd and 4th). Since this is GPS based data, the upriver paces were probably about a couple seconds slower than actual. And the downriver ones a couple seconds faster, basically enough to counteract the wind.

I moved the footstretcher one notch to the bow and I was much more comfortable at the finish. My blade work was really mess though. I guess that would be expected for my second real outing in this boat. The slide doesn’t really have quite enough travel to the stern to me. Whenever I really got out to full extension at the catch, I was running into the stops on the slide. Things did get better as I went along and in the last set of intervals, I was getting good clearance on recovery and felt a lot smoother with the application of power during the drive.

This weekend, my focus is on yard work. Time to get all the flower beds in shape for the summer. So basically 4 hours of low intensity exercise per day. I might wear a HR strap to get an idea of what kind of aerobic benefit it has.

2015/2016 Season Retrospective

May 4, 2016May 4, 20162 Comments

I have no idea why Concept2 runs the season from May 1st to April 30th, but that’s what they do. And with the end of another season, its the time for a look back.

I have some mixed feelings about the season. I couldn’t be happier about my OTW results from last summer and fall. However, after a very promising start to the indoor season, the wheels really came off in February, and I never really got back to where I wanted to be. So, I am going into this OTW season with a lower state of fitness than last year.

For the full year, my total meters are almost identical to last year. But with a higher amount of erg meters and less OTW meters. You can blame the unplanned rapid rearrangement of my boat by a tree for that.

But under the hood, there is an important difference in the way that these two seasons ended.

Last year I finished strong with big meters in March and April. This year, not so much. So, I am leaving this season in a lower state of fitness than last.

A closer look at this season on a weekly level shows how spotty things have been since January.

Why? In a word, life happened. A couple of bouts of manflu, a promotion, some vacation, and a ton of business travel have disrupted my training plans. I don’t see this as a failure, because I wouldn’t change any of the choices I made, but I do need to think through realistic competitive goals and a reasonable, flexible training plan to get me to achieve them.

I am just about 1% lower total meters and 1% lower total training time for 2015/2016. My average distance for days rowed is up slightly, which is driven by more erg sessions and fewer OTW sessions (erg sessions tend to be about 20% more meters)

: 2014 / 2015

: 2015 / 2016

Bt I don’t want that to diminish the good stuff from this season. I was really happy with how the OTW season went.

Festival Sprints: 1K and 2K sprints. Tough racing in lousy conditions. Improved on last years results, but not as much as I wanted to.

Cromwell cup: 1k sprint in amazing conditions on a fun course. Finished second by a fraction of a second in my age bracket in a great race. Thrilled with the outcome. The guy that beat me ended up finishing 6th in the nationals.

Masters National Head Race Championships: A 6K head race. In Lowell on the Merrimac in lousy conditions with a small field. Finished third, about where I should have, but I was hoping to do better.

Quinsigamond Snake Race: a 4K head race. Picture perfect conditions. It was a small field so all the singles were raced in a single flight. I placed second. More importantly, I had a duel on my hands for nearly the whole race. The guy that started one or two places ahead of me was just a hair slower than I was and over the first 1K of the race I slowly closed the gap and we raced side by side for the next 2000 meters. I’d push, then he’d push, it was back and forth. In the last 1000 meters, I finally managed to achieve some separation, but it was the most exciting head race experience I have ever had. (tiring too)

Head of the Charles: A 5K head race. The big one! I started 36th in a field of 59 boats in my age class. It was generally head wind conditions and pretty nasty through the first 1000m. There were parts of the race where I gave away time by not steering the best line, but looking at the heart rate, I certainly put everything I had into the race. I’ll remember the last 1000m for the rest of my life. I was chasing down the guy in front of me and hearing the announcing calling out my name and bow number as I was surging. We hit the finish line at nearly the same instant (I think he had me by a bow ball), but the feeling of achievement was so intense.

Merrimack Chase: This was a 4K head race at the beginning of November. It was windy, but not nearly as cold as past years. The conditions were choppy through the first 1000m but got a lot better. I had bow #1 of my class so I had no one to chase. I managed to put in a good race and won my age bracket. A great way to finish off the season.

I finished the OTW season is really good shape for middle distance rowing, and started to use a new training plan based on block periodization. I started with working on endurance and through November and December, I was hitting targets and even setting some new personal bests.

I set PBs for the 5000m, 60′ and Half Marathon. In some cases improving PBs that were 3 or more years old.

So, I might have to set more modest goals for the coming season. Maybe reduce the number of races I enter, and try to improve technique and diet to compensate for lower training volumes. I also need to do more research for the optimal approach when time is limited. There is a lot of contradictory advice out there to be sorted through.

Anyway, it was an exciting and rewarding year. And there are some new challenges to keep me interested in this coming season.

Monday: 14K Steady State OTW

May 2, 2016May 2, 20163 Comments

Rowing out of Boating in Boston in Newton. In a borrowed boat. An older Peinert Elite, which was a delight to row. Light, responsive, stiff and as near as I can tell, a bit easier to set than my Fluid.

Conditions were cool, drizzly, and completely overcast. There was a light (1-5mph) wind from the ESE, which was a cross head wind going downriver and tail wind coming back up river. The river level was high, but the current seemed pretty weak.

The goal today was to get used to the boat, and work on technique. I tried to respect a HR cap around 155, at the upper end of my endurance zone. I also tried to keep the stroke rate below 20 so I could work on careful recoveries.

The boat was rigged for someone with slightly longer legs than I have, so it was challenging to finish cleanly, I didn’t have much clearance for my hands and I kept bumping into my stomach. The temporary solution is to move the footstretcher one click to the bow. The better, more permanent solution would be to lose 10 pounds!

Actually, I was not unhappy with the setup of the boat. It was good to try to get control of the finishes like this and I also spent a lot of strokes trying to be very careful about blade depth. Overall, it was a good outing and I was happy that I had not regressed further from the long layoff.

More importantly, it was amazing to be back on my stretch of the river. There were two boats from Brandeis out with a launch. The ducks and geese were watching suspiciously and I counted about 5 swans, all at a respectful distance. It really is a beautiful section of the Charles to row on.

From my launch point, I rowed downriver. There is about 1000m of twists and turns, culminating in a cut through an island to the beginning of the “good rowing”. From there, there is a nice wide, straight 1000m section. Then into an S-turn that spans about 300 meters. Then another straight section around 800m long. This one runs in front of the old watch factory in Waltham that is now condos. Past the watch factory, you squeeze through the eastern arch of stone bridge and then 600 or so meters across the basin to the Moody street Dam and Bridge in downtown Waltham. All together it is almost exactly 4000 meters from where I launch to the end.

Today, when I cam back upstream, I followed the same path for about 2500m, and then cut over into a long cove. This cove is always some of the nice rowing. It i s sheltered on 3 sides and very straight. Later in the season it gets weed choked, but in the spring, it is clear water nearly to the end. Today, I rowed until the speedcoach clicked over 7000m.

Then back down stream all the way to the dam, and then a final leg back home. On this leg, coming out of the s-turn, I decided to see how things worked at a little higher rate. It pushed it up to a 24 and focused on trying to keep my finishes clean. It worked out pretty well, but after about 800m or so, my hands were hurting, and when I took a bad stroke, I decided to call it quits there. I rowed with square blades for about 1000m, and then tried to row the last 300m or so to the dock as cleanly as I possibly could. This was entirely for vanity’s sake since I knew the guy who I was borrowing the boat from would be hot seating in after me and I wanted to look my best.

He met me at the dock, we swapped oars, chatted a bit, and then he set out for his row. I’m sure there is no way he can know how grateful I am. Getting back in a single on this peaceful river was so incredibly invigorating.

From there I rushed to the airport, zipped through security and had a quick shower in the American Airlines club and got on my plane. I’m on my way to LA, returning tomorrow evening. But, I have to say, I am feeling happier than I have in weeks.

=========WORK DATA=================

Total Time : 75:2

Total Distance : 14109 m

Average Pace : 2:39.2

Average HR : 147 Beats/min

Average SPM : 19.5 /min

Max HR : 169 Beats/min

Max SPM : 33.8 /min

===================================

Workout Summary – 2016-05-02-0628.CSV

–|Total|-Total-|–Avg–|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg

–|Dist-|-Time–|-Pace–|SPM-|-HR–|-HR–|-DPS

–|14109|75:02.0|02:39.2|19.5|147.0|169.0|09.7

Workout Details

01|14109| 1:15:02 |02:39.1|19.5|147.0|169.0|09.7

Saturday: Windy outing in a 2x

April 17, 2016April 17, 20164 Comments

Out on Lake Quinsigamond with Bob in a double. Quite windy. Here’s the weather data from the station nearest the south end of the lake.

So, wind speed 10 to 15 mph from the NNE, which is a head wind heading up lake. The gusts were impressive, basically boat stoppers. Bob was in bow and he tried to hug the easter shore of the lake when we were heading north. This helped a bit and gave us flatter water to work with.

The north end of the lake was off limits because of racing. So we did a loop to the south end of the lake, and then a shorter loop just down through the narrows.

Because the conditions were a bit challenging, we basically just did it as a steady state row. We were out with a two quads. The only time we really pushed it was when we were going south on the first leg and were in a position to pass one of the quads. That was the boost in heart rate in the first section. The blank bit from 6000 to 7000 meters was while we were rowing up lake into the wind and my phone got splashed just right to fool Crewnerd into thinking I wanted to go to the setup screen.

The conditions were not ideal, but I had a good time. I enjoyed rowing with Bob and frankly, anytime I get to get on the water right now is a welcome change.

Saturday: 14km in a quad

April 9, 2016Leave a comment

Nice morning at the lake. Slight overcast, very little wind, around 35F. We had 6 rowers today, so we took out a quad and a double. I stroked the quad.

It was a good boat. I had some trouble with being in stroke. I was trying to hold the rate, but every once in a while, I could feel the other rowers take the catch while I was still squaring up my oars. I would try to just stick with the rate and let them get realigned, but a couple of times it got so bad that I clashed oars with the guy behind me. I suspect that I was varying the rate more than I perceived and they had trouble following the variation. Things got much better on the second lap of the lake when we did a couple of rate ladders and everyone was focusing on maintaining the rate more intently (including me!)

We did the south half of the lake twice.

We basically just rowed down lake, and then coming back up lake, we did a power pyramid 10-20-30-40-30-20-10, with 10 strokes paddle between power sets. Trying to hold the rate around 22.

Going back down lake, we did a rate pyramid 3’@20, 2’@22, 1’@24. Then another 3’@20, 2’@24, 1’@28. Going back up lake we repeated the same 10-20-30-40-30-20-10 pyramid, but let the rate go up for the last half.

This evening I fly off to Munich for a couple days.

First Cut at an OTW Training Plan

March 22, 2016March 22, 20164 Comments

Merrimack Chase Videos

November 8, 2015Leave a comment

Sorry about the shaky video. I had to improvise a mount and it had a bit of wiggle to it. I decided that the videos would look better using the youtube stabilization. I’m not entirely sure. Also, for some reason, the heart rate sensor decided to not talk to my iphone yesterday. It worked fine to the speedcoach, but that was using a polar receiver. I suspect that the bluetooth connectivity is a bit squirrely.

Truth be told, it’s not all that exciting a video. I go under a bridge at about 5 minutes into the first part. And the water is nasty and rough, but since I had the first bow number for the event, I had no one to pass. I had a close call with a buoy at 1:55 in the last part. I almost got the last guy of the Master “C” group at the end of the race, but not quite. I think the sprint from 2:00 into that video to the end was pretty good.

The pre-start and about the first 8 minutes or so of the race:

The middle of the race, from after the bridge around the big bend and into the flatter water.

The last few minutes of the race.

Not the prettiest rowing I have ever done, but for the state of the water, I’m OK with it. Lots to work on for next season!

Merrimack Chase – I won.

November 7, 20156 Comments

Weather: Broken clouds. Warm, nearly 60 degrees. Windy. It looks like some kind of a front went through during my race. It was a WNW wind at about 10mph, with gusts up to 23mph. This is a pure head wind through the first 2 km of the course. The water as nasty.

Here is the weather underground almanac for today from a station right on the Andover side of the river in the middle of the course. The cursor is about 5 minutes after my start.

I was pleased with the race result.

I finished first among the Master D/E group. And finished close to top guys in the Masters C group. I know those guys and they are good scullers.

Looking at the map of my course, I am not all that happy with my line. I messed up my approach to the bridge and it added about 30 meters to my course, or nearly 10 seconds to my time. And I did not hug the big turn nearly close enough, that probably added another 30 to 50 meters of length to my course. Having said that, I steered it bette rthan the guy behind me. I think he could have beat me if he followed my line, but he went way wide around the turn.

Since the wind was from the WNW, the first half of the course until you were completely through the turn was straight into it, and the chop was pretty nasty, so the pace was really slow. Once around the corner, it was a lot smoother and much less wind. Still a few gusts to contend with, but much nicer water. The splits reflect that

In the last 1000m I was coming up behind one of the boats from the Master C group. I wanted to take the line along the buoys on the western shore, but he didn’t really give me a good line and I ended up nearly hitting one of the course buoys. That pissed me off enough that I cut across his stern and spinted my guts out to the finish. I nearly caught him at the line. I can thank him for probably a 10 second better thime than I would have other wise had. 🙂

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_4320_|_24:38_|_2:51.1_|_456___|_18.5_|_09.5_|_141___|_warmup
Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0340_|_03:17_|_4:49.3_|_038___|_11.6_|_08.9_|_126___|_in the chute
00360_|_4700_|_21:34_|_2:17.7_|_594___|_27.5_|_07.9_|_175___|_Race!
05060_|_1480_|_09:36_|_3:14.6_|_160___|_16.7_|_09.3_|_124___|_back to the dock

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00340_|_03:17_|_4:49.3_|_038___|_11.6_|_08.9_|_126___|_warmup
04700_|_21:34_|_2:17.7_|_594___|_27.5_|_07.9_|_175___|_Main set
01480_|_09:36_|_3:14.6_|_160___|_16.7_|_09.3_|_124___|_rest meters
06520_|_34:27_|_2:38.5_|_792___|_23.0_|_08.2_|_156___|_Total

Video will be coming a bit later.

Wednesday: Taper day 1 – 3 x 500 / 500m rest

November 4, 20158 Comments

This has been the nicest stretch of weather this week. Today was mirror flat water, temps in the 50s, and bright sunshine.

Plan: Implementing a short 3 day taper for the race on Saturday. This is based on this paper.

Nice long warmup
3 x 500m / 500m rest
Rate: >30
Pace: faster than 2:00
Work on keeping the rate up and technically clean.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_3980_|_19:58_|_2:30.6_|_402___|_20.1_|_09.9_|_141___|_w
04000_|_0500_|_01:59_|_1:58.9_|_063___|_31.8_|_07.9_|_166___|_Int #1
04500_|_0500_|_02:53_|_2:52.9_|_052___|_18.0_|_09.6_|_141___|_r
05000_|_0500_|_01:59_|_1:59.3_|_066___|_33.2_|_07.6_|_168___|_Int #2
05500_|_0500_|_03:04_|_3:03.8_|_059___|_19.3_|_08.5_|_144___|_r
06000_|_0500_|_01:58_|_1:58.2_|_062___|_31.5_|_08.1_|_170___|_Int #3
06500_|_1260_|_07:22_|_2:55.4_|_140___|_19.0_|_09.0_|_132___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
03980_|_19:58_|_2:30.6_|_402___|_20.1_|_09.9_|_141___|_warmup
01500_|_05:56_|_1:58.8_|_191___|_32.2_|_07.9_|_168___|_Main set
01000_|_05:57_|_2:58.4_|_111___|_18.7_|_09.0_|_143___|_rest meters
01260_|_07:22_|_2:55.4_|_140___|_19.0_|_09.0_|_132___|_cool down
07740_|_39:14_|_2:32.0_|_844___|_21.5_|_09.2_|_144___|_Total

The intervals stung, but only for a very short while after finishing each. I really like to see a pace below 2:00 on the speed coach. It’s fun to row fast.

I’m probably going to need to do tomorrow on the erg because I have an early meeting at work. Pity. The weather is supposed perfect again.

Tuesday: 5×1500 / 5′ rest

November 3, 20152 Comments

Many cultures have named winds that have an important impact on daily life. In Southern California, the Santa Ana winds blow hard in afternoons as hot air rises above the mountains and draws air from the Pacific Ocean. In the Rocky Mountains, the Chinook is a warming wind which in Native American Legend is the “snow eater”. In Europe the Mistral blows from the Mediterranean to the Alps. Today, I experienced a wind that I think needs a name.

The “Finale”…a wind, always a head wind, that occurs only during the final 1000 meters of a head race, or during the last rep of a workout. It comes quietly, barely rippling the surface of the water, but you feel it on the back of your neck as you watch your splits slow down, despite your best efforts. Then as you enter the last 5 strokes, the “Finale” disappears as mysteriously as it came, leaving the river glassy smooth. In ancient time, it was believed the that “Finale” was caused by playful rowing god who took great joy in tormenting scullers. But with the introduction of modern metrology, the mystery has only deepened because this wind is not detectable by normal anemometers.

Sorry for the digression. The weather this morning was perfect. I mean really perfect. High 40s, into the low 50s by the time I finished. Bright sunshine, now that the clocks have changed. And except for the mysterious Finale, no wind at all.

Plan:

5 x 1500 / 5′ rest
rate: r28
pace: 2:10
Technique: Experiment with trying to hold my hands higher going into the finish to avoid washing out and stop “rowing over a barrel”

The spikes in the rate are from when I go around the s-turn. There is a peak to come into the turn, then about 10 strokes straight, then a peak to come out of the turn. Going upriver, the turn starts about 700m in. Going down river, around 1000m.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_2980_|_15:01_|_2:31.1_|_307___|_20.5_|_09.7_|_137___|_w
03000_|_1500_|_06:23_|_2:07.6_|_178___|_27.9_|_08.4_|_164___|_Int #1
04500_|_0500_|_03:47_|_3:47.2_|_070___|_18.5_|_07.1_|_129___|_r
05000_|_1500_|_06:27_|_2:08.9_|_180___|_27.9_|_08.3_|_168___|_Int #2
06500_|_0500_|_03:02_|_3:02.0_|_058___|_19.1_|_08.6_|_139___|_r
07000_|_1500_|_06:29_|_2:09.5_|_181___|_28.0_|_08.3_|_170___|_Int #3
08500_|_0500_|_03:05_|_3:04.9_|_059___|_19.1_|_08.5_|_142___|_r
09000_|_1500_|_06:30_|_2:10.0_|_182___|_28.0_|_08.2_|_168___|_Int #4
10500_|_0500_|_03:07_|_3:06.6_|_062___|_19.9_|_08.1_|_140___|_r
11000_|_1500_|_06:38_|_2:12.6_|_189___|_28.5_|_07.9_|_169___|_Int #5
12500_|_1680_|_09:49_|_2:55.2_|_194___|_19.8_|_08.7_|_128___|_cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
02980_|_15:01_|_2:31.1_|_307___|_20.5_|_09.7_|_137___|_warmup
07500_|_32:26_|_2:09.7_|_910___|_28.1_|_08.2_|_168___|_Main set
02000_|_13:01_|_3:15.2_|_249___|_19.1_|_08.0_|_137___|_rest meters
01680_|_09:49_|_2:55.2_|_194___|_19.8_|_08.7_|_128___|_cool down
14160_|_10:16_|_2:28.9_|_1660___|_23.6_|_08.5_|_150___|_Total

That was awesome. Hard, but awesome. Seriously, a bit of wind picked up while I was resting before my last interval and I think that slowed me down a bit. But I was also really tired by that point. The big win was just hanging in with that rep when I felt like I was going to blow up.

Tomorrow: 3 x 500 / 500m rest (start of taper for Saturday’s race)

Quantified Rowing

Measure – Adjust – Improve

Tag: OTW