training

prehrada 003

Oct 30 2015

Some deliveries, rowing, strength training

Some deliveries

My sportgraphics.com photos arrived and I picked them up yesterday. Last week I received an email from the Czech Post, telling me that my merchandise from the US had arrived and that they could do the customs for me if I mailed them the original invoice. So I did. Due to travel and public holidays, it wasn’t until yesterday that I could pick up the parcel.

It’s a framed picture of Romana and I doing our Mixed 2x in Hazewinkel and it will be a birthday present. The only downside is that Czech Post also charged VAT over the delivery costs … not sure if that is correct. Well, I discovered way to late to protest.

On Wednesday, Romana and I were discussing the resistance bands for strength training and in an impulse I ordered these ones from Amazon.co.uk. The German Amazon appears to have a lower quality German rip-off of the originals, so I ended up going to Amazon.co.uk. While I was there I also threw in the 2nd edition of Rowing Faster and clicked on next day delivery, which seems to be very reasonably priced on the UK Amazon, compared to the German Amazon.

The bands and the book were delivered to our neighbours yesterday. My sons immediately got hold of the bands and started to play/exercise with them. The idea is that I throw one or two bands and a door anchor in my luggage and I can do a hotel room workout. The other use is to have a “home gym” without having to create a weights room. We’ll see how it works out. The price is much more pleasant than the TRX stuff that is popular with the big guys in my rowing club, so the decision wasn’t that hard. I am only regretting a bit that I went for the anti-snap handles, instead of the bands that connect to the handles with carabiners, which seems a bit more foldable and flexible to me, especially if you want to combine two or more bands to one handle.

Wednesday being a public holiday, I am taking Thursday and Friday off to relax. The original plan was to go to the mountains and do some hiking and mountainbiking, but we decided to skip the longish drive and enjoy a few lazy days at home. After writing up this blog, I will relax on the couch and read Rowing Faster.

After breakfast we headed to the rowing club and I did two sessions, a 40 minute extensive row in the single and a strength session.

Row

Perfect conditions:

prehrada 001

prehrada 003

After the many reactions to yesterday’s blog, I decided to do a few tests, so I added a few 15 stroke pushes at >30spm to the session. I am glad to say that something of a double peak appears on my RIM analyses at higher stroke rates:

hurastroke

Strength Session

Three rounds in the rowing club weights room:

  1. Lat pull
  2. Bench press
  3. Row
  4. Back
  5. Sit ups
  6. Bench Press
  7. Biceps curl
  8. Bench pull
  9. Squat
  10. Push ups

I had to guess the weights a bit, as this was with free weights which is different than the hotel gym system. If I managed less than 10 repeats in the first round, I lowered the weight for round two. If I underestimated my own strength (pah!) and easily managed the 15 repeats, I increased the weight for the second round.

As the girls were still working out, I played a bit with the bodylastics bands and tried to find the equivalent exercises using the bands, and determine which band strength is the one to throw in my travel bag. The exercise were of course slightly different, but I am confident I can create a demanding strength workout using them.

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Erg 002

Oct 27 2015

Tuesday: 4x2km in Blagnac

Monday

Flying to Toulouse, this time through Zurich. A grandiose view on the Alps during the Fokker 100 flight from Zurich to Toulouse. Never boring.

In meetings all afternoon and evening. No training.

Tuesday

Up early after a night in a too warm hotel room. Couldn’t get the climate control to start cooling. Couldn’t open the window. I chose this hotel only because of the gym and C2 erg. Not sure if I will stay with this.

It was very warm in the gym as well but I wanted to finish a 4x2km session this time. This meant that, after a 2km warming up, I started conservatively, at 1:55 pace, with a 1:55 pace boat. I rowed the first 2km flat, with a few fast pace intervals when there was someone passing. The second to fourth row I changed strategy. I started with 10 strong strokes, then flat at 1:55, then a ten strokes push at the 1km mark, and rowing the final 500m a bit faster. In the last interval I wanted to be under 7:30, and succeeded.

I made a nice puddle under the erg.

Erg 002

I managed a nice 2km cooling down.

Erg 003

https://www.strava.com/activities/421107956

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Brno 009

Oct 25 2015

Saturday Run & Sunday Erg

Saturday

Two options for the training. If the weather would allow, an extensive steady state row. If there would be wind or chop or otherwise unfavorable conditions: a run.

We left home at 9:30 am in sunny but cold weather. However, the river valley and the lake were cloudy.

We arrived at the lake and the air temperature was +2 degrees C. Interestingly, there was no wind, but still chop and fog at the same time. Our lake has strange ways … Anyway, visibility was low, and on top of that, one of Romana’s girls had to be home early. We decided for the run. My debut as a running trainer.

The girls want to participate in a 5k run in two weeks, so a running training wouldn’t be a bad thing.

We did a 10 minute warming up, then a good stretching session. Then we ran 2.5km steady state towards the castle. After 2.5 km we stopped, walked for a few minutes, then got ready for the 2.5 km return run. I told the girls to do “Steigerung”, i.e. a push run. I would wait for them at every 500m mark (measured using my Garmin watch) and tell them to increase the pace. Both Iva and Lenka did this perfectly and they both managed to arrive at the 5k mark doing a good pace. I told them this is the way to negative split a 5k.

We ran the 2km back to the club, then did a good stretching session in the weights room.

https://www.strava.com/activities/419071513

Sunday

Having moved the running, planned for Sunday, to Saturday, today was a Rowing Day. However, Romana and I wanted to do something with the kids, so we would lack the time to drive to the lake, row, and drive back. So it had to be an erg session.

In the morning, we took the train to the Central Station, walked up to the Spilberk Castle to have a coffee there. This Spilberk castle was the heaviest prison in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We passed a monument for Italian freedom fighters imprisoned here, around the time Italy united:

Morti per la redenzione d’Italia nelle carceri dello Spielberg fvrono qvi sepolti Oroboni Fortvnato Villa Antonio Moretti Silvio Vincenti Giovanni … figli d’Italia terra da commissioni di stato segrete fvor di legge Austriache in svolo Italiano condannati a morte come carbonari

After the coffee at the castle we descended back to the city to be witnesses of the building of the new statue for Jost of Moravia, a controversial medieval ruler of Moravia:

Brno 012

Brno 001 Brno 003 Brno 007 Brno 009

On the erg, I did a 3×20 minute row. Have to find some better audio books to listen to during these boring rows. I did a play with stroke rates to break the boredom:

3x20b 3x20min

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Stadion Amsterdam 002

Oct 23 2015

Citius – Altius – Fortius & Ossenworst

Thursday

I flew to Brussels but then traveled on to Amsterdam with the Benelux train. This was a bit longer but a lot more economical than buying a last-minute ticket to Amsterdam. I had to be there for a funeral in the family.

Arrived an hour early so I took a strawl through the neighborhood around the cemetery. A five minute walk brought me to the 1928 Olympic Stadium:

Stadion Amsterdam 002
Entrance to Olympic Stadium. Badly readable on the picture is the Olympic motto: CITIUS – ALTIUS – FORTIUS
Stadion Amsterdam 001
1928 Amsterdam Olympic Stadium

Almost torn down in the 1980s but luckily conserved and restored in the sober, original design.

The reception afterwards was at de Veranda, so we parked at De Bosbaan, the Amsterdam rowing track where I have rowed so many trainings and races:

Then I went for dinner with my sister on the Zuidas (South Axis), the Amsterdam financial district, in a jazz restaurant called “Jazz on the South Ass”.

I am not the kind of person who tries to escape his roots as hard as he can. Even though I live 11 hours of driving from this place, it felt good to be back in a place where they know how to eat ossenworst and where z and s are pronounced the same way (as an s).

Ossenworst, an Amsterdam specialty

Then I took the Thalys to Brussels, arriving to my hotel at 10pm. I was pretty tired, having been up since 3am, but I couldn’t resist to have one Leffe and talk to the bar guy. I am a regular guest to this hotel. In bed at 11pm.

Friday

Up at 6:15 for the workout. I couldn’t really drag myself out of bed, feeling very sleepy, but I managed eventually, at 6:40.

The workout was simple. The motto was of course Citius – Altius – Fortius, with the emphasis on “stronger”: Fortius

10 minutes running on threadmill

10 minutes cycling

10 minutes ellyptical

3 rounds of strength exercises, weights adjusted to do 15 reps in each round:

  1. Shoulder press
  2. Bench press
  3. Bench pull
  4. Lat pull
  5. Leg extension
  6. Leg curl
  7. Push ups
  8. Sit ups
  9. Burpee
  10. Dorsal raise

Had to switch the order a few times because there was another person using the exercise machine.

After that, an Administrative Bore Meeting and then traveling home.

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Vienna 001

Oct 22 2015

Cycle, Row, Travel

Good morning. Six AM and I am at Vienna Airport again. This week’s business trip will be

Thursday: Amsterdam
Friday: Brussels
Weekend: Home
Monday: Toulouse
Tuesday: Toulouse

Great!

Yesterday I cycled home from work. I want to do cycle legs per week, but with the business trips it is difficult. My bicycle actually spent an entire week at work. When I rode it home, it was raining a little but the temperature was OK. I didn’t need gloves.

https://www.strava.com/activities/417479989

After that, I did an extensive steady state erg session. Warming up. Thirty minutes on Rowpro with 2 other chaps (got disconnected about 20 minutes in), then a cooling down. I had ambitions for a 2×30 minute but got bored.

30min

By the way, I wonder who approved the architecture of Vienna Airport terminal 3. Here’s what I don’t like about it:

  1. Not enough walking conveyor belts. I just got a gate change from F01 to F36. About 10 minutes of walking in my pace, but that could amount to about 20 for an old lady
  2. Toilets. You have to go down one level for the toilets. How convenient is that for disabled people?
  3. The colors. Everything is white, gray or black. You can see every scratch, every stain, and it makes a very dreary impression
  4. Endless distances. I walk pretty fast, but some people must spend a full hour between the arrival gate and the parking garage …
  5. Stupid architecture. I believe the architects gave this job to an intern. There are crazy “unsolved” places everywhere. Take for example this spot:

Vienna 001

This picture was taken from the F01 waiting area looking into the main space. The glass bit on the right are escalators  for passengers who arrive, get dropped one level below the departure gates, have to get up the escalator 2 levels to one level above the departure gate, then walk the entire length of the terminal, and finally go down 3 levels to the luggage belts. On the left is a black place that I suspect contains another set of stairs or escalators. The architects created a nice crawl-through corridor. I guess in the early days some passengers bumped their heads here, so they had to put warning tape on it and restrict the access to the useless area under the stairs.

A user experience that is way below average.

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30min

Oct 20 2015

Monday-Tuesday: Steady State and CTC

Monday

Wanted to row OTW but I had to finish something at work. It was raining hard when I had to drive to the club, and I was late already, would have to shorten the row because of the early darkness … so I did an OTE session.

Warming up, then a 30 minute rowpro session, then a cooling down. A bit under an hour in total. Time pressed.

30min


Workout Summary - Oct 20, 2015
--|Total|-Total-|--Avg--|-Avg-|Avg-|-Avg-|-Max-|-Avg|-Avg
--|Dist-|-Time--|-Pace--|Watts|SPM-|-HR--|-HR--|-DPS|-SPI
--|07255|30:00.0|02:04.0|183.4|22.1|156.4|167.0|11.0|08.3
Workout Details
#-|SDist|-Split-|-SPace-|Watts|SPM-|AvgHR|MaxHR|DPS-|-SPI|Comments
01|01205|05:00.0|02:04.5|181.6|21.6|136.1|147.0|11.2|08.4|
02|01226|05:00.0|02:02.3|191.2|22.4|156.0|161.0|10.9|08.5|
03|01216|05:00.0|02:03.4|186.4|22.0|160.0|164.0|11.1|08.5|
04|01207|05:00.0|02:04.3|182.2|22.2|160.1|164.0|10.9|08.2|
05|01206|05:00.0|02:04.4|182.0|22.0|163.6|166.0|11.0|08.3|
06|01195|05:00.0|02:05.5|177.1|22.2|162.2|167.0|10.8|08.0|

I did the 30 minutes at slightly higher power than the Friday session.

Tuesday – CTC

Again working late. I started this session close to 9pm. 15×1 minute on 1 minute rest, and actually quite enjoyed it. Targeted 1:45 which is around my 2k pace. It was nice to do some sprinty stuff after many steady state and distance sessions. Counted to 30 strokes. A sip of water after every 3 sets. Final three sets with closed eyes and imagining rowing the final 300m of a sprint race.

I did wear the heart rate belt but forgot to clip on the heart rate unit. 🙁

ctc

Tomorrow: Cycling and steady state.
Thursday: Fly to Brussels/Amsterdam
Friday: Short hotel fitness triathlon + weights

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Running 10-18-2015

Oct 18 2015

Sunday: Recovery Run & the wonders of Strava

Slept in, had a family brunch, then coffee, and then I went for a little run. Not a planned course, but making it up during the run. It was supposed to be a recovery run so I made sure I ran slowly.

rondje

rondjespm

Running 10-18-2015

Even though it was supposed to be a recovery run, I had to take a pretty steep climb that I call “killer climb”. It was either that or a detour of 4 km. This climb is about 4 minutes of steep uphill running, 600m with an average grade of 12%. Quite a good rowing spring race simulation.

Had to turn back at one point. I was following a new path created by forest workers, descending down a steep hill. It turned out to be a dead end.

Uploading the run to Strava reveals interesting facts. My “killer climb” turns out to be a “segment” so I can compare my results with other people who run this climb. Not many, it turns out:

killerclimb

Also, I can compare my own efforts:

killerclimb_own

Apparently, I have ran this stretch only 5 times. I believe I have done more of them.

https://www.strava.com/activities/415421037

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