double

Thusrsday

A nice recovery row in the single. I did do a little 10 Stroke sprint at the end to test the engines.

I didn’t get above 30 SPM though.

On Friday, I planned to go rowing after work, but there were a number of thunderstorms around Brno, so I worked longer instead and skipped a session.

Saturday

Heats day of the Moravian Championships, a 2k race on our own lake. No racing for me though, because I am only starting in the eight, which is a straight final.

i arrived already in the morning and helped clean up a bit of the mess from the club house reconstruction, because we had a boat christening ceremony.

We also had our club house open for the first time since the reconstruction started. The reconstruction is not finished, but we are seeing the end of the tunnel. Here are a few pictures of the day. Someone thought it was a good idea to take a picture of me with the Hollandia (a local yoghurt brand) logo.

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I think this is the first time that I publish a picture of a toilet on this blog.

In the evening, my doubles partner for Munich Euromasters, Kazimir (“Kazi “) Nedoba, arrived from Hodonin.

We took out our double and did a row that was mainly steady state’ but we did try out the engines a few times. During one of those speed bursts, we took the boat speed up to a 500m split of 1:34! In slight headwind. Not bad.

It was a delightful Row. We haven’t rowed together in two years, but it was immediately clear that we have very compatible technique. And Kazi has “boat feel”, he can do those tiny adjustments that make the stroke just right. Not everybody has that.

It was a bit too hectic to blog, so here is a summary.

Monday – Sprintervals

The plan called for 2x(8×40″/20″)/5min, at 32-34 strokes per minute. I eased that up a bit by shortening the interval length by 10 seconds and increasing the rest by 10 seconds. So 30″ on, 30″ off. I did that hoping that it would enable to focus on the quality of the workout.

I rowed this with our club president (who is a Masters A category rower, 32 years old) as a sparring partner. It was pretty exhausting but fun to do. At the end, we also did a few test starts. Rowed 11km in total.

Tuesday – Hiking

Tuesday was a holiday. We bought a one day ticket for all buses and trains in the region and traveled to Dolni Vestonice, hiked up to the castle, and then along the Palava Hills to Klentnice, where we had lunch at a beautifully restored vicarage turned restaurant.

We ended tasting wine in Mikulov:

Then we took the bus home.

Wednesday

A busy day at work, and when I arrived at the club, the trailer loading activity was in full swing. I figured it would be better to load my single now, when there were still people around to help, rather than doing it solo after a training. The eight training had been canceled for lack of eight rowers. I wonder if some of them knew there was a trailer to be loaded.

After the trailer loading I drove home where I did a short strength workout (mainly body weight).

Thursday

A row in the double with Romana. We rowed steady state up to the castle. This was the first time this year the double felt “heavy”. We did some technique exercises and that lightened up the stroke a bit. Something must have been slightly wrong with the timing. I completely forgot to wear a heart rate sensor. Another 12k of steady state in the bank.

Friday

No training. On Friday evening, we drove to Piestany for the upcoming weekend’s racing.