I didn’t get a chance to row yesterday after I got back from Dallas.  So, I ended up with 2 rest days in a row.  That doesn’t happen very often.  Being that well rested made me want to push the endurance stuff more.

I toyed with the idea of a Marathon, but the idea of doing it but not aiming at a PB seemed disappointing somehow, and my 2.0 mmol power is definitely lower than when I did my last marathon PB.  So, I dialed it back to a two hour row instead.

Plan:

1. 4 x 30′ / 1′ rest
2. pace target: 2:03
3. rate target: 19
4. slow start: 5′ at 2:15, 5′ at 2:10

Workout Summary – Nov 21, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_29231_|_120:00.0_|_02:03.2_|_187.4_|_19.4_|_135.5_|_ 64.9% _|_12.6_|_09.7
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_01123_|_05:00.0_|_02:13.6_|_146.8_|_16.4_|_108.6_|_ 45.8% _|_13.7_|_08.9
02_|_01164_|_05:00.0_|_02:08.8_|_163.6_|_17.8_|_123.1_|_ 56.1% _|_13.1_|_09.2
03_|_04888_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.7_|_189.2_|_19.5_|_133.1_|_ 63.2% _|_12.5_|_09.7
04_|_07336_|_30:00.0_|_02:02.7_|_189.5_|_19.4_|_137.9_|_ 66.6% _|_12.6_|_09.8
05_|_07326_|_30:00.0_|_02:02.8_|_188.8_|_19.7_|_137.0_|_ 66.0% _|_12.4_|_09.6
06_|_02448_|_10:00.0_|_02:02.5_|_190.2_|_19.6_|_136.6_|_ 65.7% _|_12.5_|_09.7
07_|_04946_|_20:00.0_|_02:01.3_|_196.1_|_19.9_|_139.8_|_ 68.0% _|_12.5_|_09.9

I stuck to 2:03 like glue through the first 3 pieces.  After 10 minutes in the last 30′ piece, I wanted to see what would happen with my HR if I boosted the power just a little, from 189 to 195 watts, a little more than a second off the pace.  The answer was that nothing happened to my HR.

I measured lactate at 60′.  It was exactly 2.0mmol/l.

I had very little HR drift today, even over the whole 120 minutes.

Tomorrow:  With thanksgiving week, I am probably going to miss a couple of days, so I think I might get a jump on the first mesocycle.  This one is working on long distance rows.  The session I have planned for Tuesday is 4 x 15’/2′ rest at 95% of LT power, which is 267W (1:49).  This seems a tad ambitious, so I think I will dial it back to 250W (1:52).

Plan:

1.  3 x 20′ / 1′ rest
2. slow start, 5′ at 150W, 5′ at 175W, then 190W the rest of the way.
3. rate:  22 (on slides)

Tired legs from yesterday’s exhertions.  Also a warmer room and wearing a shirt meant that I was a lot sweatier, and my HR was higher.  I pulled the power down by 3 watts, and the lactates were 0.2 lower than Saturday, despite the higher RPE and HR.

This is a base building / transition week, so I’ll be sticking to endurance sessions.  Tomorrow is 4 x 20’/1′.  The plan calls for an afternoon session (30′ UT2), but I’m not sure if I can fit it in around work commitments.

During “test week”, I am doing 3 x 20′ steady state on the off days.  I’m trying to home in on the right training power and also do something that I think will be easy to keep up with in future test weeks.

Today, it was chilly outside, so with open windows, it was quite cool, maybe mid-50s, and it was quite breezy, so I had a lot of air flow.  I’ve noticed a very strong correlation between HR and temperature, so I expected my HR to stay low and it did.  It also felt incredibly easy.  I had intended to back off from 193W to 190W for todays session, but it just felt so incredibly easy, I couldn’t do it.  I stuck with 193W.

As usual, I did the slow start.  I’m more convinced every day that this makes a big difference

Workout Summary – Nov 14, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_14589_|_60:00.0_|_02:03.4_|_186.3_|_18.9_|_130.6_|_ 61.4% _|_12.9_|_09.9
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_04745_|_20:00.0_|_02:06.4_|_173.1_|_17.9_|_122.7_|_ 55.8% _|_13.3_|_09.7
02_|_04919_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.0_|_192.9_|_19.4_|_132.8_|_ 63.0% _|_12.7_|_09.9
03_|_04924_|_20:00.0_|_02:01.8_|_193.5_|_19.4_|_135.7_|_ 65.0% _|_12.7_|_10.0

But lactates don’t lie.  When I used this power on Thursday, I tested at 3.0mmol/l.  Today, with my HR so low and a low RPE to match, I expected to test out well below 2.0, but that is not what happened.  I tested out at 2.5mmol/l.

That’s a bit better than Thursday’s reading, but still above target.  It just goes to show you how variable HR is as a guide for steady state training.  If I was using HR as a guide, I would have pushed the pace much harder and my lactates would have probably been above 5.0 by the end.

There is a little nagging doubt in the back of mind that maybe this test was wrong.  Maybe I contaminated it with a bit of sweat.  But I’m pretty careful, and it isn’t that far off.  I only have to be a little bit above target to start to accumulate lactate and over 60 minutes, the difference between 2.0 and 2.5 is very small.

So, I have to earn the right to train at 193W.  I have to back off and get 3 tests below 2.0 before I push the pace up.

Here are my 60′ lactates

Later today I’ll be doing my 6K test.  Target is sub 1:50 pace.  SB last year was 1:49 pace.  PB is 1:47.6 pace.  I think a PB is out of reach, but if today is a good day, I might be able to match last season.  I need to remember that this is just a marker for the beginning of winter training.

More deviations from the test week plan.  As I drafted the plan, I had decided that between test days, I would do 2×20′ of steady state.  Today I changed my mind for a couple reasons.

1. I wanted to take a lactate test at the normal 60′ minute point to check if a step up in steady power was justified.
2. I didn’t really see the harm as long as I made it a consistent change for future test weeks
3. I felt like rowing, dammit.

Plan:

1. 3 x 20′ / 1′ rest
2. Rate: <20 spm
3. Pace:  Slow start at 2:15 for 5′, then 2:10 for 5′, then target pace thereafter (2:02)
4. Lactate test immediately after last 20′ piece

Workout Summary – Nov 12, 2015
–_|_Total_|_-Total-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg-_|_Avg-_|_-Avg-_|_–Avg–_|_-Avg_|_-Avg
–_|_Dist-_|_-Time–_|_-Pace–_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_-HR–_|_-%HRR–_|_-DPS_|_-SPI
–_|_14583_|_60:00.0_|_02:03.4_|_186.1_|_18.6_|_139.3_|_ 67.6% _|_13.1_|_10.0
Workout Details
#-_|_SDist_|_-Split-_|_-SPace-_|_Watts_|_SPM-_|_AvgHR_|_Avg%HRR_|_DPS-_|_-SPI

01_|_04741_|_20:00.0_|_02:06.6_|_172.7_|_17.8_|_124.6_|_ 57.2% _|_13.4_|_09.7
02_|_04922_|_20:00.0_|_02:01.9_|_193.2_|_19.0_|_143.0_|_ 70.2% _|_13.0_|_10.2
03_|_04920_|_20:00.0_|_02:02.0_|_192.9_|_19.1_|_149.4_|_ 74.8% _|_12.9_|_10.1

Lactate Reading after finishing was 3.0mmol/l vs target of <2.0.

So, 193W is a bit too much for right now.  I will back off to 190W and monitor.  When I get 3 readings under 2.0, I’ll push again.

It’s tough for me to remember that there is little downside to going too slow, but pushing too fast reduces the effectiveness of the training.  That’s why lactate testing is such a useful  tool for me.

Tomorrow:  2K time trial.  I’d like to beat 6:50.

Sunday:  Rest day

Monday:

Weather:  It doesn’t matter 😦

Plan:

1. 4×20′ / 1′ rest
2. slow start 5′ @ 2:15, 5′ @ 2:10, then 2:03 the rest of the way
3. rate: 19-21 (on slides)
4. lactate test at 60 minutes

Nothing unusual in the HR chart.  I increased speed by about half a second for the last 20 minutes to see if I could hold the higher power without my HR running away.

In the first interval, you can see the steps at 2:15 and 2:10, then the rise after the step to 2:03.  I was actually pulling around 2:02.7.  Then for the last 20 minutes, I pushed to 2:02.

So, this is the third lactate in a row at or below 1.6mmol/l for a power between 185 and 190.  I’m going to target 2:02 (193W) for a few workouts to see how that goes.

Tomorrow:  I will be starting a series of assessments to get a baseline before starting my winter training plan.

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.

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.

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.