Jun 7 2016
Tuesday – 8x500m in the single
Last time I did this (on the water) was in July 2015. Then, I averaged 1:59.3 for pace at 28.5 spm. The training plan prescribed shorter sprint intervals, but I thought it would be interesting to do this standard row as a benchmark.
Today I arrived at the lake after another really busy day at work. We have a VP over from the US so lots of time spent in preparing presentations, then waiting for the vice president to arrive, presenting, etc.
When I launched, the lake was calm, but there was a southeast wind that gained strength during the row. This was a head/cross wind in intervals 1,2, 5 and 6 and a tailwind in intervals 3, 4, 7 and 8.
I tried to focus on technique and hold 30spm, irrespective of pace. I did the 500s like this:
- 10 strokes focus on “soft catch”
- 10 strokes focus on strong finish
- 10 strokes focus on the recovery (not too fast, not too slow, reach far enough)
- repeat
Interactive plot here: http://rowsandall.com/rowers/workout/306/interactiveplot
Workout Summary - 2016-06-07-1750.CSV
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS
--|09654|45:17.0|02:03.7|28.3|163.5|175.7|09.1
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|02854| 14:42 |02:34.6|19.8|140.0|164.0|09.8 - WU
02|00500| 01:55 |01:55.1|30.7|164.0|180.0|08.5 - headwind
03|00500| 01:59 |01:59.8|30.0|168.0|179.0|08.3
04|00500| 01:54 |01:54.2|30.5|170.0|180.0|08.6 - tailwind
05|00500| 01:58 |01:58.7|29.8|172.0|179.0|08.5
06|00500| 01:59 |01:59.5|30.6|166.0|179.0|08.2 - headwind
07|00500| 02:03 |02:03.7|30.6|171.0|180.0|07.9
08|00500| 01:55 |01:55.5|29.1|169.0|178.0|08.9 - tailwind
09|00500| 01:53 |01:53.0|32.4|171.0|181.0|08.2
10|02800| 14:59 |02:40.6|19.8|144.0|157.0|09.5 - CD
The first and fifth interval were from a standing start. The last interval was an attempt to empty the tanks by rowing the first 30 strokes at the usual 30spm, then increasing to 34spm.
Looks like a 1:58 average over the 500s to me, at a stroke rate of 30spm average. So not much better, not much worse than last year. Actually, my average heart rate seems to be higher. Not sure how happy I am with this benchmark.
Tomorrow: Flying to Brussels & rest day.
Thursday: Hotel gym
Friday: steady state
Saturday: Race heats or start practice
Sunday: Races (2km in single & eight)
Sep 20 2016
Monday: 8x500m OTW
This week is a weird week. In my preparation for the 6km head race of October 7, I plan this as an intensive week, but at the same time we are getting guests from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday morning. Therefore, I had to plan my training with all OTW and the most important sessions on Monday to Wednesday.
Originally I wanted to do a 4x2km but I changed to 8x500m in the last minute, for three reasons:
When I set out the lake was mirror flat, but as usual ripples started to form during the warming up.
I used the pre-programmed 8×500/2:30 rest from the SpeedCoach, failing to remember that the speedcoach doesn’t record data during the ‘rest’ period (they say that will be fixed in the next firmware update). The weather report for my location was:
Summary for your location at 2016-09-19T05:43:09Z: Mostly Cloudy. Temperature 54.19F/12.3C. Wind: 1.27 m/s. Wind Bearing: 22 degrees
I think that is about right. Seems consistent with my own observations.
Work Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|-SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-
01|00500| 01:58 |01:58.7| 27.3| 160 | 170 | 9.3 - tailwind
02|00500| 01:56 |01:56.5| 28.3| 165 | 174 | 9.1 - tailwind
03|00500| 01:58 |01:58.4| 27.9| 165 | 174 | 9.1 - tailwind
04|00500| 02:06 |02:06.0| 27.1| 167 | 175 | 8.8 - headwind
05|00500| 02:04 |02:04.5| 28.0| 167 | 176 | 8.6 - headwind
06|00500| 02:00 |02:00.5| 27.9| 163 | 173 | 8.9 - tailwind
07|00500| 01:59 |01:59.0| 27.7| 162 | 174 | 9.1 - tailwind
08|00500| 02:01 |02:01.2| 28.2| 160 | 172 | 8.8 - tailwind
Workout Summary
--|04000| 16:05 |02:00.6| 27.8| 164 | 176 | 8.9
The last time I did this workout was in June. Then I managed a 1:58 average at a stroke rate of 30spm. Today was a 2:01 average at 28spm. Sounds similar to me.
Also the pie chart looks similar:
I didn’t like how I was rowing. I had difficulty rating up and somehow I didn’t manage to get in the right rhythm. In the fourth rest period I understood why. I looked at my oarshaft and noticed I was rowing with a pair of sculls from our double. I have gotten used to the low-i sculls that I use in the single, and the normal sculls are now … different.
On rowsandall.com, I am working on a histogram of all erg strokes over a period of the past 12 months. Here is a prototype graph for my sessions:
The data are not really representative, because since the inception of rowsandall.com I have mainly rowed on the water, but still it’s an interesting graph to look at and see evolve over time. The beta testers had a lot of fun comparing each other’s graphs. One of the uses could be to check if you are really adhering to a polarized training plan.
By sanderroosendaal • Uncategorized • 1 • Tags: 8x500, lake, OTW, rowing, single, training