I didn’t manage to do any training at all in Germany.  Which was frustrating.

I left Stuttgart around 3:30pm local time (9:30 AM boston time).  My plane got in to the airport at about 8:30pm last night.  After that, I was delayed in customs, my car battery was dead, and I ran into 2 traffic jams on my way home.  I finally got home around 10:30.  I was in a really foul mood by the time I got home.

I got to bed so late that I decided to turn off my alarm and skip my row.  But I woke up around 6am without the alarm and decided that I had enough time to squeeze some “me time” on the water before heading to work.  It was a good decision.  My mood was hugely improved after my row and I was ready to take on my day with a positive attitude.

Conditions:  Sunny, chilly at the start (46F), but it warmed up quickly and was nearly 60F by the time I finished.  Wind was from the north, but very flukey and mostly very gentle.  The water was flat and delicious.

Plan:

• For the first 3 segments (about 10K)
  1. rate: r18 to r20
  2. pace: 2:25 to 2:30
  3. HR cap: 155
  4. Technique:
     • slow roll up to square
     • try to stop touching water
     • approach the catch with good balance
     • finish early enough to avoid touching my torso and finish cleanly with hands in smooth motion
• For the last segment (from 10K to 14K)
  • rate: 18 to 20
  • Pace: 2:25 to 2:30
  • HR cap: 155
  • Technique:
    • Normal squaring
    • Row without touching water at all, work on balance
    • Approach catch with good balance
    • clean finishes

It was a really good row.  Previously, when I was rowing with slow rollup, I was rowing about 5 seconds slower pace than if I was squaring normally.  As I have gotten better at it, my pace rowing that way is converging with my normal steady state pace.

I am still not good enough to row clean when I square slowly.  I will lightly touch water on one side or the other on most strokes during the first part of the recovery, but get my blades off the water by the time I am going up the slide and the blades are square.

The biggest factor effecting pace when rowing at this rate is really getting all the way to full compression with a nice straight back.  If I get a little lazy (or I’m turning), and I don’t really reach for the catch, I slow down.  The other things that really slow me down are going too far at the finish by laying back too far.  I noticed that if I started to slump, that I was working harder for the same pace and having more trouble finishing cleanly.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace___|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0760_|_04:14_|_2:46.8_|_074___|_17.5_|_10.3_|_099___|_w
00780_|_3000_|_14:35_|_2:25.8_|_271___|_18.6_|_11.1_|_145___|_m
03780_|_0040_|_00:14_|_2:51.3_|_004___|_17.5_|_10.0_|_131___|_r
03820_|_3000_|_14:50_|_2:28.3_|_277___|_18.7_|_10.8_|_138___|_m
06820_|_0040_|_00:16_|_3:17.5_|_005___|_19.0_|_08.0_|_060___|_r
06860_|_2960_|_14:40_|_2:28.6_|_275___|_18.8_|_10.8_|_149___|_m
09820_|_0040_|_00:14_|_2:53.7_|_005___|_21.6_|_08.0_|_134___|_r
09860_|_0780_|_03:50_|_2:27.4_|_071___|_18.5_|_11.0_|_149___|_m
10640_|_0060_|_00:22_|_3:06.7_|_005___|_13.4_|_12.0_|_142___|_r
10700_|_2160_|_10:34_|_2:26.7_|_196___|_18.6_|_11.0_|_151___|_m
12860_|_1140_|_05:56_|_2:36.4_|_118___|_19.9_|_09.7_|_147___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00760_|_04:14_|_2:46.8_|_074___|_17.5_|_10.3_|_099___|_warmup
11900_|_58:28_|_2:27.4_|_1090__|_18.6_|_10.9_|_146___|_Main set
00180_|_01:06_|_3:02.8_|_019___|_17.3_|_09.5_|_118___|_rest meters
01140_|_05:56_|_2:36.4_|_118___|_19.9_|_09.7_|_147___|_cool down
13980_|_09:44_|_2:29.6_|_1301__|_18.7_|_10.7_|_142___|_Total

Tomorrow:  Threshold workout  4×2500 / 500m rest.  Rates 24,26,28,30.  Video from the side.

Sunday:  I think the training benefits of heavy yard work are under rated.  I was out from 12 to 3 and then from 3:30 to 6:30. The task was to weed and edge the flow beds, and then spread mulch to make them look pretty.  I ended up spreading about 4 cubic yards of mulch, and by the end of the day, I was extremely tired.  Like it was a struggle to just sit up, kind of tired.  Even a Dairy Queen Blizzard dd not fully revive me.  Needless to say, I did not do the planned half marathon.

Monday:  No surprise, I woke up stiff and sore this morning.  I feel like I am making some progress with the cleaning up part of my rowing and I’m enjoying the challenge.  So, I decided to do another morning of technique.

Plan:

1. 500m legs only.  Focus on staying forward with a straight back.  Finish clean with arms straight.
2. 500m slow roll ups.  Focus on straight back at the catch, with shoulders relaxed.  Clean finish, and then immediately start to slowly square the oars.  Try to avoid touching water and get all the way to full compression.
3. 500m on the square.  Focus on trying to finish without checking the boat (visible as a bump in the acceleration curve on the RIM app).  Try to avoid touching water and get all the way to full compression with a straight back.
4. 500m of steady state at r18.  Straight back, clean finishes, don’t touch water, full compression, smooth square, not too deep on the catch, smooth acceleration.
5. Do that for 3 lengths of the river.
6. Last 4K row as steady state, trying to integrate all the drill work.
7. Keep in aerobic, HR cap of 157

Conditions:  Hot, 65F when I launched and around 75F when I landed.  Sunny, glad I brought sunglasses today.  Wind NW at 5mph, which was a head wind heading up river.

It was a good session.  I was able to maintain concentration pretty well throughout because I was always changing what I was doing.  The hardest thing to keep in mind is posture.  I have millions of meters on the erg and in the boat done wrong.  Now I have to retrain doing it right.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace___|_Strks_|_Rate_|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0560_|_02:58_|_2:38.8_|_057___|_19.2_|_09.8_|_119___|_w
00580_|_3080_|_14:56_|_2:25.5_|_283___|_19.0_|_10.9_|_143___|_m
03660_|_1740_|_08:53_|_2:33.2_|_162___|_18.2_|_10.7_|_143___|_m
05440_|_1280_|_06:40_|_2:36.1_|_124___|_18.6_|_10.3_|_148___|_m
06760_|_2960_|_14:52_|_2:30.7_|_288___|_19.4_|_10.3_|_146___|_m
09760_|_3160_|_16:04_|_2:32.5_|_310___|_19.3_|_10.2_|_153___|_m
12920_|_1000_|_05:23_|_2:41.4_|_104___|_19.3_|_09.6_|_150___|_c

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00560_|_02:58_|_2:38.8_|_057___|_19.2_|_09.8_|_119___|_warmup
12220_|_01:24_|_2:30.8_|_1167__|_19.0_|_10.5_|_147___|_Main set
01000_|_05:23_|_2:41.4_|_104___|_19.3_|_09.6_|_150___|_cool down
13780_|_09:45_|_2:31.8_|_1328__|_19.0_|_10.4_|_146___|_Total

Tomorrow:  10×500 / 500m rest.  rates from r24 to r32, and back down again.

Conditions: cloudy, upper 50s, light variable wind generally a tail wind down river and head wind upriver.  Got sunny towards the end.

The original plan was for a hard 4×2500.  But honestly, I just wasn’t in the mood.  I’ve gotten so much good feedback on technique that I wanted to do another session at lower intensity trying to work on the things I’m doing wrong.  I also had time for a nie long row, so I changed my plan.

New Improved Plan:

1. Steady State, R18
2. Work on improving my form
   • row with good posture.  Stop slumping
   • clean finishes.  Get a good tap down, then feather
   • clean recoveries.  work on balance and not touching water
   • slower and more deliberate squaring of the oars
   • accelerate more smoothly from the catch, delay opening my back, maintain posture
3. Heart rate cap at 157 (the upper end of my aerobic band)

It’s a lot to keep in mind.  What I did today was sort of like a technique fartlek.  I would row along and notice that my finishes were messy, so I would do 500m of rowing on the square.  Or I would notice that my posture was bad, so I would do 500m concentrating on rowing with my back ramrod straight.  Or I would notice that I snapped my oars square at the last second, so I would do 500m focusing just on slow roll ups.  I also did a couple of sections of legs only rowing.

All together, I rowed the length of the river 6 times, about 22km.  My ass was quite sore by the time I finished, but I felt very satisfied with the session.  Good aerobic workout and a “mindful” practice session.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0680_|_03:37_|_2:39.6_|_070___|_19.3_|_09.7_|_128___|_pick drill
00700_|_3040_|_14:51_|_2:26.5_|_265___|_17.8_|_11.5_|_150___|_down river
03740_|_3080_|_15:20_|_2:29.4_|_272___|_17.7_|_11.3_|_154___|_up river
06860_|_2900_|_14:38_|_2:31.4_|_257___|_17.6_|_11.3_|_153___|_down river
09760_|_3000_|_15:23_|_2:33.9_|_277___|_18.0_|_10.8_|_150___|_up river
12760_|_2920_|_14:32_|_2:29.3_|_269___|_18.5_|_10.9_|_149___|_down river
15680_|_2980_|_15:15_|_2:33.5_|_290___|_19.0_|_10.3_|_151___|_up river
18660_|_1180_|_06:43_|_2:50.7_|_125___|_18.6_|_09.4_|_139___|_feet out

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00680_|_03:37_|_2:39.6_|_070___|_19.3_|_09.7_|_128___|_warmup
17920_|_29:59_|_2:30.6_|_1630___|_18.1_|_11.0_|_151___|_Main set
01180_|_06:43_|_2:50.7_|_125___|_18.6_|_09.4_|_139___|_cool down
19780_|_40:19_|_2:32.1_|_1825___|_18.2_|_10.8_|_149___|_Total

Then n the afternoon, I did about 3 hours of weeding, edging and spreading mulch in the garden.  I’m beat an I want a beer.

Tomorrow:  Easy HM.  HR cap at 150.

Conditions: Perfect.  60F, sunny, wind 1-3 mph from the North.  Water flat and lovely.

Plan:

1. Rate ladders (3′ @18, 2’@20, 1@22) repeat again and again.  Stop whe I runout of river to turn and grab a drink and then right back into it.
2. Pace: no real target
3. HR:  generally aerobic, but no cap
4. technique:  work on cleaning up finishes and improving posture.  Main feedback from prior videos is that my finishes suck.  You can see the water pouring off the top of my blades as I pull them out of the water.  I need to learn to release-then feather, not do them both at the same time.  I have also gotten feedback that I am slumping.  My hips stay in in the bow as I recover.  I need to sit up straight and swivel through the hips.

To try to make finishes a bit easier, I decided to move my feet 1cm toward the bow to give myself a bit more room.  I think it helped a bit.

Here is the rate based data.  There’s a lot of it.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_1060_|_05:27_|_2:34.2_|_102___|_18.7_|_10.4_|_130___|_w
01080_|_0620_|_02:56_|_2:22.2_|_054___|_18.4_|_11.5_|_145___|_18
01700_|_0440_|_02:00_|_2:16.4_|_040___|_20.0_|_11.0_|_155___|_20
02140_|_0220_|_00:58_|_2:12.5_|_022___|_22.6_|_10.0_|_160___|_22
02360_|_0640_|_03:04_|_2:23.4_|_056___|_18.3_|_11.4_|_154___|_18
03000_|_0440_|_02:01_|_2:17.5_|_041___|_20.3_|_10.7_|_158___|_20
03440_|_0220_|_00:58_|_2:10.9_|_022___|_22.9_|_10.0_|_162___|_22
03660_|_0600_|_02:57_|_2:27.8_|_052___|_17.6_|_11.5_|_148___|_18
04260_|_0420_|_02:00_|_2:23.0_|_040___|_20.0_|_10.5_|_156___|_20
04680_|_0220_|_01:00_|_2:16.8_|_022___|_21.9_|_10.0_|_163___|_22
04900_|_0620_|_03:02_|_2:26.7_|_056___|_18.5_|_11.1_|_159___|_18
05520_|_0420_|_02:01_|_2:23.6_|_041___|_20.4_|_10.2_|_160___|_20
05940_|_0220_|_00:59_|_2:15.0_|_022___|_22.2_|_10.0_|_164___|_22
06160_|_0600_|_02:59_|_2:28.8_|_054___|_18.2_|_11.1_|_160___|_18
06760_|_0420_|_01:59_|_2:22.0_|_040___|_20.1_|_10.5_|_163___|_20
07220_|_0160_|_00:43_|_2:14.1_|_017___|_23.8_|_09.4_|_138___|_22 (turn around)
07380_|_0620_|_03:03_|_2:27.6_|_054___|_17.7_|_11.5_|_154___|_18
08000_|_0420_|_01:59_|_2:21.4_|_040___|_20.2_|_10.5_|_157___|_20
08420_|_0220_|_01:00_|_2:15.5_|_023___|_23.2_|_09.6_|_162___|_22
08640_|_0600_|_02:58_|_2:28.0_|_055___|_18.6_|_10.9_|_157___|_18
09240_|_0440_|_02:04_|_2:20.6_|_042___|_20.4_|_10.5_|_161___|_20
09680_|_0220_|_00:59_|_2:14.5_|_022___|_22.3_|_10.0_|_164___|_22
09900_|_0580_|_02:58_|_2:33.4_|_053___|_17.9_|_10.9_|_148___|_18
10480_|_0420_|_02:00_|_2:23.2_|_040___|_20.0_|_10.5_|_155___|_20
10900_|_0220_|_01:01_|_2:19.1_|_023___|_22.5_|_09.6_|_159___|_22
11120_|_0600_|_02:59_|_2:29.2_|_054___|_18.1_|_11.1_|_156___|_18
11720_|_0420_|_02:02_|_2:25.7_|_041___|_20.1_|_10.2_|_157___|_20
12140_|_0220_|_00:59_|_2:13.6_|_022___|_22.4_|_10.0_|_163___|_22
12360_|_0600_|_02:59_|_2:28.8_|_055___|_18.5_|_10.9_|_158___|_18
12960_|_0200_|_00:57_|_2:22.2_|_020___|_21.1_|_10.0_|_158___|_20
13160_|_0040_|_00:37_|_7:43.8_|_006___|_09.7_|_06.7_|_135___|_r (turn around)
13200_|_0100_|_00:27_|_2:16.5_|_010___|_22.0_|_10.0_|_140___|_20
13300_|_0220_|_00:57_|_2:09.8_|_021___|_22.1_|_10.5_|_157___|_22
13520_|_0620_|_03:02_|_2:26.9_|_057___|_18.8_|_10.9_|_158___|_18
14140_|_0400_|_02:00_|_2:29.9_|_038___|_19.0_|_10.5_|_153___|_20
14540_|_0220_|_00:59_|_2:14.5_|_022___|_22.3_|_10.0_|_158___|_22
14760_|_0620_|_03:05_|_2:28.8_|_057___|_18.5_|_10.9_|_156___|_18
15380_|_0420_|_02:00_|_2:23.3_|_040___|_19.9_|_10.5_|_150___|_20
15800_|_0220_|_00:58_|_2:11.4_|_022___|_22.8_|_10.0_|_153___|_22

01100_|_06:04_|_2:45.4_|_108___|_17.8_|_10.2_|_130___|_Other Meters

stroke rate summary
07320_|_36:00_|_2:27.6_|_657___|_18.2_|_11.1_|_155___|_r18
04960_|_23:31_|_2:22.2_|_473___|_20.1_|_10.5_|_157___|_r20
02580_|_11:31_|_2:14.0_|_260___|_22.6_|_09.9_|_159___|_r22
14860_|_11:02_|_2:23.4_|_1390___|_19.6_|_10.7_|_156___|_

I was pretty happy with the paces that I was hitting at these rates.  There were some stretches where I was really relaxed at 18, and the boat was really moving well.  It was a struggle to keep all of the things I was working on in mind at the same time.

Tomorrow:  Hard distance – 4 x 2500 / 500m rest

Yesterday, I was focused on staying under the HR cap and I was OK with letting the rate slide around.  Today, I wanted to work on hitting specific rates with good form.

Plan:

1. 6 minute rate ladders:  3’@18, 2’@20, 1’@22
2. Work on crisp finishes and getting a good reach at the catch across the different rates.
3. Try to stay in the aerobic HR zone.

I ended up working a bit  too hard.  I was chasing the splits on the r18 segments and really pushing the effort on the drive.  I was lightening up on the r20 and r22 pretty well, but I really gave myself no relief in the r18 segments.  I think I have too much muscle memory from the Rojabo workouts I was doing last fall.  I need to work on maintaining perfect form and not put as much oomph into the drive when I row at r18.

I’ll loop back around to this workout again, but next time I want to get the avgHR down a bit.

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01040_|_05:30_|_2:38.8_|_097___|_17.6_|_10.7_|_125___|_warmup
06040_|_30:00_|_2:29.0_|_549___|_18.3_|_11.0_|_154___|_r18
04100_|_19:49_|_2:25.0_|_409___|_20.6_|_10.0_|_156___|_r20
02200_|_10:16_|_2:20.0_|_229___|_22.3_|_09.6_|_159___|_r22
00820_|_05:04_|_3:05.3_|_091___|_18.0_|_09.0_|_136___|_cool down

Tomorrow:  8×500/r500

Objectives:

1. Rate 19-21
2. Pace: Sub 2:30
3. HR Hard cap at 155
4. Continue to work on crisp finishes

It was cold and grey this morning, about 45F.  There was a breeze blowing upstream which started about 5mph and built to about 10mph by the time I finished.  So, all my downstream splits were slow and my upstream splits were fast.  I was able to maintain, on average about a 2:25 pace and keep below my HR cap.  So, a little bit of progress.

I felt awful when I started and excellent when I finished, so I guess you have to call that a good day.

Notice the big slow down at the end of the third piece.  That was the building headwind.  The last bit was more exposed than the rest and I wanted to stay at the cap.

Also, notice the rate creeping up.  I was trying to do that.  I wanted to try to focus on taking lighter strokes as I went along to maintain the pace without bumping up the HR.

Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00020_|_0960_|_05:29_|_2:51.5_|_093___|_16.9_|_10.3_|_120___|_warmup
00940_|_3000_|_14:25_|_2:24.1_|_282___|_19.6_|_10.6_|_149___|_downriver, calm
04000_|_3000_|_14:14_|_2:22.3_|_282___|_19.8_|_10.6_|_152___|_upriver, tailwind
07000_|_2840_|_14:01_|_2:28.0_|_283___|_20.2_|_10.0_|_153___|_downriver, headwind
09900_|_3080_|_14:43_|_2:23.4_|_304___|_20.6_|_10.1_|_151___|_upriver, tailwind
12980_|_1120_|_05:25_|_2:25.2_|_116___|_21.4_|_09.7_|_155___|_Cool down

Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00960_|_05:29_|_2:51.5_|_093___|_16.9_|_10.3_|_120___|_warmup
11920_|_57:23_|_2:24.4_|_1151___|_20.1_|_10.4_|_151___|_Main set
01120_|_05:25_|_2:25.2_|_116___|_21.4_|_09.7_|_155___|_cool down
14000_|_08:17_|_2:26.3_|_1360___|_19.9_|_10.3_|_149___|_Total

Tomorrow:  Same thing as today.