According to Stravistix, I should be Fresh

Wednesday

This was supposed to be one of the last “hard” weeks before the World Rowing Masters Regatta. So after a complex day at work I drove to the rowing club. I was determined to do the 4x2km / 5min session. It hadn’t been so hard doing it a week ago.

But I was still feeling tired, even though Strava told me I am Fresh:

str

 

I think Strava being geared to endurance sports has some difficulty to estimate muscular fatigue that happens during a weekend of sprint racing. The other thing Stravistix doesn’t account for is driving a trailer, work related stress and lack of sleep. I am guilty of all three.

The Masters rowers made fun of me when I showed up with the Quiske gadget, a phone, and a SpeedCoach. They told me I should also take a battery pack with me to charge all that equipment.

They were right. When I set off, the SpeedCoach battery was 0/5. Luckily, the Garmin Forerunner was all charged up. But it wasn’t fun, because if the SpeedCoach would die during the 4x2k, I would have to switch to an alternative distance measurement.

There was a lot of wake and chop going on but despite being tired, I actually enjoyed the two first intervals. It’s fun to go at 26spm and just try to let the boat run. However, the third interval started out difficult. I was feeling the tiredness.

Then the SpeedCoach battery died on me and that was it. I decided to slowly row back to the dock.

20170824-174429-Sanders SpeedCoach 20170823 0609pm

Today, looking at the heart rate, I can see I was really tired, despite what Stravistix says. Look at the comparison with a week ago:

bokeh plot (91)

 

bokeh plot (90)

bokeh plot (89)

This morning, I woke up in time to go to the rowing club before work, but I decided to sleep for another ten minutes. I woke up an hour later. Well, I guess a rest day was due. Sometimes the plans don’t work out.

I did look at the Quiske boat acceleration and oar angle measurement:

acce

perf

blade

I took samples from the beginning and end of each interval. Looks pretty consistent to me.

Tomorrow: A gentle row before work. After work, back to the club to pick up the trailer and drive it for Breclav. Another weekend of racing.