I ran out of energy in a big way Friday night and crashed around 10pm. I slept until almost 9am, and then started a day of chores and errands.
Around 3pm, I headed off to do an easy erg session.
Plan:
I measured lactate at the end…1.4mmol/l. Nice. Of course this was an afternoon session.
On the water, down in Newton in my single.
The featured image is an aerial view that I found of the old watch factory in Waltham. The little bridge is just over 2km from the start of the rowable section of the river, and about 900m from the end at the Moody street dam. Going down river, which is from the bottom of the picture to the top, you need to go through the span of the bridge right against the right hand shore, so you need to turn right at the corner of the straight wall to line up with the bridge. Also notice that the bridge crosses the river at an angle so you need to turn aggressively in the other direction as soon as you have your line to the bridge. It adds a bit of fun to workouts and keeps my head on a swivel!
Weather: Cool and Breezy. Wind was NNE between 5 and 10mph with gusts to 15mph. This was a head wind going downriver and a tail wind coming up river. It was forecast to be overcast, but it was actually mostly clear. A lovely fall day, really.
Plan:
Today I decided that I would be careful enough and get data to recalibrate my speedcoach. Instead of using the built in routine, I decided to just match start times and durations of the four moving segments between speedcoach and RIM, and then use the formula helpfully provided in the speedcoach manual.
Here is the Speedcoach data….
Start_|_Dist_|_Split_|_Pace_|_Strks__|_Rate_|_DPS_|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
00009_|_1094_|_06:15_|_2:51.5_|_117___|_18.7_|_09.4_|_121___|_warmup
01103_|_2779_|_14:32_|_2:36.8_|_294___|_20.2_|_09.5_|_148___|_m
03882_|_0099_|_00:38_|_3:09.9_|_011___|_17.6_|_09.0_|_136___|_r
03981_|_2643_|_13:24_|_2:32.0_|_272___|_20.3_|_09.7_|_150___|_m
06624_|_0134_|_00:58_|_3:36.4_|_013___|_13.4_|_10.3_|_133___|_r
06758_|_2727_|_14:37_|_2:40.7_|_296___|_20.3_|_09.2_|_151___|_m
09485_|_0086_|_00:36_|_3:29.3_|_008___|_13.3_|_10.8_|_123___|_r
09571_|_2672_|_13:35_|_2:32.6_|_274___|_20.2_|_09.8_|_150___|_m
12243_|_1097_|_06:10_|_2:48.4_|_125___|_20.3_|_08.8_|_141___|_c
Dist__|_Time__|_Pace___|_Strks_|_SPM__|_DPS__|_AvgHR_|_Remarks
01094_|_06:15_|_2:51.5_|_117___|_18.7_|_09.4_|_121___|_warmup
10821_|_56:07_|_2:35.6_|_1136___|_20.2_|_09.5_|_150___|_Main set
00319_|_02:12_|_3:26.3_|_032___|_14.6_|_10.0_|_131___|_rest meters
01097_|_06:10_|_2:48.4_|_125___|_20.3_|_08.8_|_141___|_cool down
13331_|_10:44_|_2:39.2_|_1410___|_19.9_|_09.5_|_146___|_Total
The important bit is the time and distance for the main set
10821m in 56:07 sec.
Here is the RIM data
| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
| 00:00.0 | 01243 | 08:14 | 3:18.7 | 15.6 | 113.6 | 09.7 | warming up
| 07:44.0 | 02884 | 14:35 | 2:31.7 | 20.3 | 147.8 | 09.7 |
| 22:19.0 | 00167 | 01:20 | 3:59.5 | 20.3 | 138.5 | 06.2 |
| 23:39.0 | 02737 | 13:20 | 2:26.1 | 20.4 | 150.5 | 10.1 |
| 36:59.0 | 00150 | 02:02 | 6:46.7 | 18.6 | 132.9 | 04.0 |
| 39:01.0 | 02808 | 14:35 | 2:35.8 | 20.3 | 150.9 | 09.5 |
| 53:36.0 | 00140 | 01:48 | 6:25.7 | 19.4 | 137.1 | 04.0 |
| 55:24.0 | 02797 | 13:36 | 2:25.9 | 20.3 | 149.6 | 10.1 |
| 09:00.0 | 01198 | 06:34 | 2:44.4 | 21.3 | 142.4 | 08.6 |
| Tstart_ | Dist_ | Time_ | _Pace_ | SPM_ | avgHR | _DPS___ | Remarks
| 00:00.0 | 01243 | 08:14 | 3:18.7 | 15.6 | 113.6 | 09.7 | warmup
| 00:00.0 | 11226 | 56:06 | 2:29.9 | 20.3 | 149.7 | 09.8 | Mainset
| 00:00.0 | 00457 | 05:10 | 5:39.2 | 19.3 | 135.8 | 04.6 | rests
| 00:00.0 | 01198 | 06:34 | 2:44.4 | 21.3 | 142.4 | 08.6 | cool down
From RIM, 11226 in 56:07
The formula is
new cal factor = (old cal factor * true distance) / displayed distance
(0.962 * 11226) / 10821 = 0.998 (my new cal factor)
Look at that, I’ve gained 5 seconds of boat speed without working any harder!
Other than this, the workout was entirely unremarkable. My hands are a mess. I have blisters on my index fingers, and a bad one under the callous at the base of my ring finger. Today didn’t make them any worse, but my hands hurt a bit during the row. I must be gripping differently in the double and causing some trouble.
The wind was enough to be noticeable, but there wasn’t any chop (I love this river!) So, I set the pace by using the HR limit. If I got up to the limit, I would back off the pressure a bit to bring it back in line.
Tomorrow: Back to Quinsig. Another attempt at the grand hook workout. 6km with a big turn starting at about the 5km mark. Great practice for head racing!
It was pouring rain this morning. I decided to do an erg session instead of heading out to the river. It’s funny. I think last year, I probably would have scoffed at the elements and gone out anyway, but this year, I seem to feel a little different. Less driven perhaps. More normal perhaps. Who knows.
So, I got to the gym at work around 7AM and settled in for an endurance workout.
Plan:
After the sublime 40′ session last night, I was wondering what it would feel like today. I started even more conservatively than yesterday, with 4′ at 16, then 3′ at 17, etc up to 1′ at 19. Then I went into 10 minutes of flipping between 18 and 19. Despite the fact that I was rowing about 12W lower power through the first 20 minutes, my HR response was almost the same as yesterday. During the second 20 minutes, my session yesterday was 6W higher, but had a marginally lower HR. My RPE definitely matched the HR data. I felt like I was working a lot harder for it today.
Here is a graphical comparison (courtesy of rowsandall.com). The red trace was yesterday, and the blue trace today.
I am intrigued by the difference. I would love to tease apart the causes. Potential contributors:
It would take a while to really exercise all of these variables. But I think this points to a potential issue in many training approaches. At least for me, I don’t think it is valid to use a power @ 2mmol/l guideline that was measured in the afternoon for morning sessions or visa versa. Unless I can explain the causes for the difference.
Tomorrow: Back on Quinsig for another 4 x ( 5 x 2′ / 30″ paddle) / 3′ rest
Towards the end of the day, I was still feeling a bit unsatisfied by the interrupted morning session. It provided some HIT, but not nearly as much active time as I had hoped. I decided to do a shortish L4 session.
Of course I was not entirely prepared to do an erg session at work. I puyt back on my sweaty clothes from the morning, and rowed in socks, since my sneakers were at home, but it was a wonderful session. I felt strong.
Plan:
SO, I started with 2′ at r16, then 2′ at r17, then r18, then r19. I was just barely nudging up into the UT2 HR zone, so I pushed on to r20 and 200W for 2 minutes. The next 10 minutes I flipped back and forth between r19 and r20. My HR went up into the UT1 zone around the 20 minute mark and I decided to back off the power a bit, so I changed the middle 2 minutes down to a r18 (180W), and my HR came down nicely. So, for the rest of the workout, I just cycled between r18,r19, and r20.
It was a wonderful workout. I enjoyed every minute of it.
Weather: warm, humid. A bit misty. A light, shifty wind always seemed to be a headwind.
Plan:
Another session where things just didn’t seem to go very well. I tried to ignore pace and focus on my posture and technique, but the pace that I was ignoring just seemed to get slower and slower.
Tomorrow: Threshold session in a 2x with Joe out at Lake Quinsigamond. The goal will be to practice turns under pressure and get our technique more together at r26.
My idea is a few sets of figure eights. If we start at the beach and finish at the beach, they will be 2.5km long. If we start at the island, they will be 2k long. I’m thinking a 4x2k might be a good choice.
Only had 40 minutes for a quick erg session this morning before my doctor’s appointment this morning. It was humid as hell and this session was pure misery. Interestingly, a lactate measurement at the end yielded 1.2mmol/l.
At Crossfit Anaerobic again this morning. I got there a bit later and there were very few people there. I dragged an erg over in front of a truly enormous boxed fan. Really it had to be at least 6 feet in diameter and it was right in front of an open exterior door. I had the most wonderful breeze for the whole workout.
Plan:
I was dubious about how I would do today because I was out late for a big dinner (beer, wine, grappa, steak, appetizers, dessert). I felt hot and sweaty all night long as my body tried to metabolize all of that, and I woke up feeling less than my best. But just the walk from the hotel over to the crossfit box improved my mood and attitude. It’s a beautiful morning here.
The workout turned out just fine. I tried to hit 185W as close as I could, and I paid attention to my HR. It stayed nice and low through the whole workout, rising slowly to a maximum of about 150 by the end of the last interval. The average power for the session was 186.
This afternoon I am flying back to Boston, arriving after midnight. I’m planning to sleep in a bit on Friday. I’ll do a fletcher warmup and a couple of 500s as a partial taper for the race on Saturday. I’m pretty excited. I’ve never raced in a double before. I think it will be a blast!
Weather: Awesome. Clear, cool. A very light breeze from SW, barely noticeable until the last segment when it built enough to slow me down.
Plan:
I had trouble getting organized this morning. I was late leaving the house. I needed to stop on the way to the boathouse to use the bathroom. There was goose poop all over the dock (luckily I am now carrying a broom in my mobile boathouse). And I managed to forgot my “Bite Guards” in my duffel and didn’t realize it until I was twenty strokes from the dock. I wanted to row with them because I had some raw spots from the double yesterday that I didn’t want to irritate further. Oh well.
I am also still struggling with the speedcoach. I need to recalibrate the pace, and the HR pickup antenna has come loose from the bottom of the seat deck. It’s been a problem finding time to do this kind of routine stuff because I am pressed for time in the mornings during the week and skipping off to the cape on weekends. Oh well, I am more and more happy with the the way that RIM is working. The pace seems much more responsive than CrewNerd in the boat, and the live acceleration graph definitely keeps me focused on form later in each session. You can definitely tell from it when you are shortening the stroke, or rushing the catch and a myriad of other issues.
Today’s workout was almost entirely uneventful. I would like to be faster, but I have to be realistic about making progress when I have other priorities that reduce the time I have to train.
First Interval, for some reason HR data wasn’t working in RIM
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00010|01090|05:49|02:40.1| 19.6 | 000 |09.6|warmup
|01100|02969|14:24|02:25.5| 20.5 | 000 |10.0|rep #1
|04069|00076|01:12|07:53.7| 16.5 | 000 |03.8|turn
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00000|01090|05:49|02:40.1| 19.6 | 000 |09.6|warmup
|00000|02969|14:24|02:25.5| 20.5 | 000 |10.0|main set
|00000|00076|01:12|07:53.7| 16.5 | 000 |03.8|rests
So, I restarted RIM and that seemed to fix it. Here’s the data for the reps 2 through 4.
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00059|02909|14:18|02:27.5| 19.7 | 144 |10.3|rep #2
|02968|00061|01:10|09:33.8| 16.9 | 127 |03.1|turn
|03029|02939|14:12|02:24.9| 19.9 | 149 |10.4|rep #3
|05968|00036|00:52|12:02.2| 16.3 | 144 |02.6|turn
|06004|02956|15:09|02:33.8| 19.9 | 149 |09.8|rep #4
|08960|01130|06:31|02:53.0| 20.6 | 140 |08.4|back to dock
|Start|Dist_|Time_|_Pace__|_SPM__|avg HR|DPS_|Remarks
|00000|08804|43:39|02:28.7| 19.8 | 147 |10.2|main set
|00000|00097|02:02|10:28.9| 16.6 | 134 |02.9|rests
|00000|01130|06:31|02:53.0| 20.6 | 140 |08.4|cool down
Put all the reps together and the pace is 2:27.9. Not bad for the HR I guess.
Now I am on a plane over Oklahoma, on my way to LA. I have customer meetings tomorrow and Thursday morning. My plan is to drop in on Crossfit Anaerobic in Newport Beach and use an erg. My workout plan for the week is a bit disrupted, and I have my first head race this weekend.
The plan was
The new plan is
I’m not tapering for this race, I think it’s more important to keep working on endurance for the races later in the schedule.
Plans for any training down on the Cape this weekend were disrupted by other priorities. We had all kinds of appointments on Saturday morning, and the main mission for the day was to prepare the deck around the house for a coat of wood sealer. This took much longer than I was hoping because I vastly underestimated how much deck there was to prepare. (1400 SQ FT!) Anyway, by the time that was done, I was not in the mood to do much of anything beside hang out with my wife and drink a couple of beers.
I was thinking I could go for a row on Sunday morning, but when I woke up, it was blowing like crazy. The peak gust was 50mph (80km/h) and sustained winds were around 35mph (55km/h). I didn’t even like the thought of trying to pedal a bike into that kind of a headwind, so I decided to wait until the afternoon and just do an erg session.
But what session to do? I was planning on an early morning row in the Double with Joe on Monday morning, so I didn’t want anything too intense. And there was a fresh new box of lactate test strips that had just arrived. So, I quickly decided to do the same 10 minute step test that Sander did last week.
My protocol:
The purpose of the test is to help define an appropriate steady state intensity for endurance training. I suspect that it would be around 180-185W or so.
When yo put the data into a plot, it looks a bit weird. The test did not go entirely smoothly. I suspect the lactate test for 170 was contaminated with sweat, leading to a high reading. The one at 175 had to be redone due to an “E-4” (insufficient sample size). At 180, I also suspect contamination. The rest of the readings I think were good. I had my method down pretty smoothly by then and I was doing a good job cleaning my hands. I suspect that the inflection above 190W is totally legit. Based on this data, I could try to train at 190W, but I suspect that this would be a bit too intense. I did this test after a full rest day, and late in the afternoon (my best time of day). The temp was warm, but cooling down during the session.
I had plenty of time to think, and one of the things that occurred to me is that it is entirely plausible that it takes me 30 minutes to really warmup for a steady state session. Some of my best results a couple of seasons ago were when I eased into the first 20 minute session by starting at a lower power and then hitting target power for the second 20 minute piece. When I did that, I think I was able to hold higher “watts at 2.0 lactate”. I think I might make that my standard procedure over the winter.
So, 185W will be my training power for now. Next weekend, I think I will do a 90 minute session at 185W and do lactate tests every 10 minutes to see what happens. The hypothesis I am testing is that my lactate will initially rise toward 2.0, then fall back toward 1.0, hitting a trough around 40 minutes, and then start to rise again after 60 minutes.
Last night I reviewed my schedule for today and realized that I had an all day offsite meeting that I was scheduled to attend today. This made the logistics of doing an OTW session unworkable. Also, last night I made arrangements to meet up with my doubles partner on Friday morning for a training session on Lake Quinsigamond. I’m intending that to be an r24 Head Race Simulation type of session, so I changed today’s session from a hard, short interval session into an endurance session.
Plan:
Just like yesterday, this session was way, way harder than it should have been. Compare it to the session that I did on Monday at exactly the same power.
I tried to respect the HR cap at 157, and dropped the power down to 180 about halfway through the third 20′ piece, and to 182 for the whole 4th piece. It felt hard, but not all that hard, and I didn’t feel drained at the end.
Tomorrow: 5.5k @ r24 in a 2x on quinsig.
One annoying thing. I did the session on painsled, but after I finished, there was nothing in the painsled log. Good thing I had my wahoo fitness app as a backup, or else it would have been like I hadn’t worked out at all! 😉
Quantified Rowing 