Rowsandall

Nov 8 2015

A run in the sun

It was warm!

Romana and I drove to the rowing club with the plan to do an outing in the double. We arrived to see this:

Dream conditions. However, the dock is missing. We are rowing on a reservoir and in the winter the water level is gradually lowered. We usually remove our big dock in the fall and replace it with a small dock for pairs, doubles and singles. Yesterday, we did the first step, but the second one wasn’t done.

Not a problem for me. On the close-up you can see the little “beach” area where you can wade in.

Yes, you get very cold feet but it’s worth it … I wasn’t able to convince Romana to do so. She did a row in the erg room while I ran a 10k along the reservoir. I had too many clothes on so it was a very hot run. I sweated a lot.

Somehow, my Garmin Forerunner didn’t catch the GPS coordinates, which is very weird. It functioned normally, indicating distance, heart rate and pace during the run, but I wasn’t able to put the run on the map. Disappointing.

https://www.strava.com/activities/428650699

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 2 • Tags: rowing, running, training

Nov 7 2015

Low SPM OTW training

Skipped training on Friday because of work and because the flu shot nurse told me “no exercise, no alcohol”. OK.

The training schedule said running, but I had to bring my sons to the rowing club and the water was mirror flat, so I changed my mind.

It was raining a bit and about 7 degrees C. Not bad weather, actually. I tied an old bicycle inner tube around the shell and started rowing. Perfect exercise for technique. Everything slows down. Pace drops by about 30 seconds per 500m and the run of the boat is nice and slow, so you have enough time to set up each stroke perfectly, especially on this flat water. It’s also good for strength.

| Tstart_ | Tstop__ | Dist_ | Time_ | Pace__ | _SPM | avg HR | max HR | DPS | Remarks | 00:00.0 | 45:00.0 | 07615 | 45:00 | 02:57.3 | 15.7 | 136 | 148 | 10.8 | with band | 45:00.0 | 15:00.0 | 05718 | 30:00 | 02:37.4 | 18.3 | 140 | 153 | 10.4 | normal

After 45 minutes I removed the tube and rowed normally. When I arrived back at the club, the summer dock was being cleared away and the winter dock wasn’t prepared yet, so I had to step into the water. It was quite cold. During the 2 minutes or so that I needed to get out the sculls, my clothes, my phone and the XGPS160, my feet were freezing, almost starting to cramp. A good reminder of how it is when you fall in during a winter row. Unpleasant, to say the least.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny and reaching 17 degrees. The plan is to go in the double with Romana and I almost can’t wait. A nice fast boat after so many kilometers on the erg and the single. It will be a nice training.

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 1 • Tags: lake, OTW, rowing, single, steady state, strength, training

Nov 5 2015

Wednesday: Cycle / Thursday: Erg + “Weights”

Wednesday

Just rode home from work on the bicycle. Because of the darkness, I decided to try a new route, straight through the center of the town. My traditional route is less busy but also has a few bike paths that are badly illuminated. I have enough lights on my bike to be seen, but I cannot use it to avoid holes in a dirt bike track in the dark.

It was better than I thought. I ended up riding at about the same speed as the trams, and faster than the cars.

https://www.strava.com/activities/426401831

In time, it is not longer.

Thursday

30 minutes on the erg, just a slow row.

Then three rounds of “weights” at home, using body weight and the Bodylastics(TM) bands.

Biceps Curl (blue band)
Squat (black band)
press up
sit ups
pistol squat
pull up
squat (black band)
dips
dorsal raise
“bench press” (blue band and actually “inclined chest press”)
row (orange band)

15 repeats for each exercise (15 per leg for the pistol squats) and three rounds. I had to look up the fancy English names for some of the exercises, so I hope I got them right. “Pistol squat” is what I would call in prosaic Dutch “kniebuigingen op een been” (knee bending on one leg).

The strength training took me about 40 minutes to complete. I am wondering if I should do one longer session per week or three 15 minute ones after the extensive steady state OTE rows.

In the nerdy section, I worked on my excel list of strength exercises. I have more than hundred of them now. I have information on recommended weight and equipment needed and main muscles trained. Then I created a pivot table which will come in handy when I need to improvise a weight/body weight circuit. It will be good for inspiration when stuck a hotel. Within a few seconds I can create a suggested list of workouts given the equipment available, ordered by muscle group worked. Probably doesn’t save a lot of time, but I enjoy creating something that gives the impression of being organized.

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 2 • Tags: concept2, erg, OTE, strength, training

Nov 3 2015

15k recovery boring row and flu shot question

I had steady state on the schedule and originally planned to do a 3x20min row. Then I found a 15k planned row on RowPro at exactly the right time. Signed up for it. There were two of us.

Lost connection at almost 4km in. Lost some time trying to reconnect during the row.

After 10k my podcast stopped, so I had to switch on the radio. I really need to sign up for some educative listening. I checked “the teaching company” as recommended by Greg, but was overwhelmed with the choice of courses, and the price of the more interesting ones. I guess I will just sign up for a cheap one with good reviews and try it out.

When I completed the row, I got a RowPro window telling me that the connection was lost during the row, and that was it. No option to save stroke data. So I am left with just the bare data.

Average HR 143 bpm. Average pace 2:08.2 including the breaks. Most of the time I was going at 2:04 – 2:07.

On Friday morning I will get my annual flu shot. I have been trying to get information about training on the day of the flu shot. My original plan has a strength session there. Romana tells me I should take total rest. I am thinking of moving the weights session to Thursday and do a gentle row on Friday. Any thougts from the readers?

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 5 • Tags: concept2, erg, flu shot, OTE, rowing, steady state, training

Nov 2 2015

Waterfall After Dinner

In a comment to yesterday’s blog, Greg Smith of Quantified Rowing fame encouraged me to follow my dreams. I guess even in my dreams my wishes are relatively small, like in a song by Daniel Landa. Here are English lyrics in my bad English translation:

I am grateful for the chance
that there is heaven after life
where they give you a dry blanket
and maybe they have nice trees there
and clean toilets, I would appreciate those

The song is about a guy waiting to be rescued after a car accident. That’s a slightly more serious situation than being uncomfortable during an erg session. Still I can very much relate to feeling lucky with a dry blanket, dry socks, clean toilets …

The day started with another bike ride to work. It was cold initially, but after 10 minutes it was OK. Strava tells me I broke my record for Na Lesnou nadrazi (towards Lesna railway station). I know exactly why. At Kralovo Pole railway station, another cyclist entered from the park and rode in front of me. On the Strava segment Za Kociankou which is a “false flat”, I passed him, which meant that on the climb to the Lesna station I had to stay in front of him.

In the afternoon, I left the bike at work and took the train home. After dinner it was time for the dreaded Wolverine/Pete Plan Waterfall session: 3km, 2.5km, 2km at 5 minutes rest.

After a 2km warming up with some “speed” bursts (at 24spm, 28spm and 30spm), I started. Knowing the Handle Down risk, I took the 3km very conservatively. As a precaution, I also played one of my favorite erg music lists, Rowbeats #1, which has quite the right rhythm for L2 sessions, enabling you to forget that you still have 2230m to go and just take it stroke after stroke on the beat of the music.

I also started the 2.5km carefully. I usually give up a session somewhere at the beginning of the second interval. About a kilometer into the 2.5km I lost the fear and started to pull. The final 2km was fun.

Workout Summary - Nov 02, 2015 --|Total|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg|-Avg --|Dist-|-Pace--|Watts|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS|-SPI --|07500|01:52.9|243.3|26.5|168.4|183.0|10.0|09.2 Workout Details

#-|SDist|-SPace-|Watts|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-|-SPI|Comments 01|00500|01:54.4|233.5|25.2|141.5|158.0|10.4|09.3|3km 02|00500|01:54.6|232.6|25.1|160.5|164.0|10.4|09.3| 03|00500|01:54.1|235.3|25.8|165.6|168.0|10.2|09.1| 04|00500|01:54.2|234.8|25.2|168.0|171.0|10.4|09.3| 05|00500|01:54.1|235.8|25.8|171.1|173.0|10.2|09.1| 06|00500|01:54.6|232.8|26.2|173.1|174.0|10.0|08.9|

07|00500|01:54.0|235.9|26.3|154.4|173.0|10.0|09.0|2.5km 08|00500|01:54.0|236.4|26.3|170.0|172.0|10.0|09.0| 09|00500|01:53.6|239.0|26.4|173.1|175.0|10.0|09.0| 10|00500|01:51.9|249.8|26.3|176.4|178.0|10.2|09.5| 11|00500|01:50.7|257.7|27.6|179.3|180.0|09.8|09.3|

12|00500|01:51.6|252.1|27.4|158.4|180.0|09.8|09.2|2km 13|00500|01:52.7|244.3|27.1|174.0|177.0|09.8|09.0| 14|00500|01:51.5|252.5|27.4|178.1|181.0|09.8|09.2| 15|00500|01:47.2|284.1|30.2|180.8|183.0|09.3|09.4|

Happy with the result.

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 1 • Tags: concept2, erg, L2, OTE, pete plan, rowing, training

Nov 1 2015

Oak and Final Masters Ranking

Another gorgeous fall day. A bit more windy than yesterday. Time for my traditional Sunday run. After a busy morning, it was 1pm before I found time to run. Decided to do a shorter round, basically just a circle around the house. It is a nice run with a steep climb through an oak forest. At some points I was running in a quite deep layer of oak leaves:

The climb to Velka Baba is quite a long one, and steep at places:

The Czech Rowing Association has published the final standings in the Masters Ranking:

So an eigth place overall, with 91 points from 12 qualifying races. Not bad. Also happy with the overall third place in the C category.

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 10 • Tags: running, training

Oct 31 2015

Rowing in a Dream

It was misty when I set off but the sun soon cleared the fog. It was beautiful weather. I did a steady state towards the castle and back, interrupted many times because I had to take pictures. The kind of day when you know why you row …

Sunny - canyon towards castle — Sunny – canyon towards castle

When I arrived at Veveří castle I rowed into a mist bank, and I took many pictures. I cannot decide which one is the best, so I show a few of them:

The foot bridge is nice in itself:

Then I rowed back through the canyon:

From Wikipedia:

According to legend, the castle Veveří (“squirrel” in Czech) was founded by Přemyslid DukeConrad of Brno in the middle of the 11th Century, then only as a hunting lodge. Nevertheless, the first credible recorded mention about the castle is from the years 1213 and 1222, when King Přemysl Otakar I used the fortified castle as a prison for rebellious peers. Initially, it was apparently a wooden residence situated near the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary west of the present compound. In the 1220s a stone castle on the extremity of the rocky promontory behind a deep moat cut out of the rock started to grow. The so-called keep is the only structure which has remained well-preserved from this oldest building stage.

King Jan of Luxembourg pledged the castle to nobleman Jan of Vartemberk in 1311, but his son, Margrave of Moravia Charles (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV), received the property as a debt settlement in 1335. Charles´ younger brother, Margrave Jan Jindřich (John Henry), then took a fancy for Veveří Castle. He was responsible for the building of its rear part with two towers and an outer ward. In the central area around the keep, he developed the main palace, which included a large hall and the Chapel of St. Prokop (later of St. Wenceslaus). The present appearance of the compound is the result of these building activities, giving the castle its basic silhouette of a medieval fortress.

And from the Czech Tourism web site:

For several centuries treasure hunters have taken turns in the Moravian castle Veveří near Brno. Legend has it that the Templars of France brought their valuables right there after the liquidation of the order in 1307. The treasure of the guardians of the biggest secrets of human history, however, has not been found to this day. Recent research on Veveří, though, has confirmed the existence of an underground space under the church near the castle and assumes their secret connection.According to mystery experts, there is a cipher of the name Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templar Order, above the entrance to the church.

One of the most important politicians of the 20th century is also connected with the Veveří castle. Winston Churchill stayed there three times with his friend, the former owner of the castle Baron de Foresta.

Quite a good place to row to!

Training wise this was 12km in the UT1 HR band.

By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 2 • Tags: lake, OTW, river, rowing, single, steady state, training

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A run in the sun

Low SPM OTW training

Wednesday: Cycle / Thursday: Erg + “Weights”

15k recovery boring row and flu shot question

Waterfall After Dinner

Oak and Final Masters Ranking

Rowing in a Dream

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