Sub 7 Indoor Rowing Club (UK)

[Amazing Amazon]

4 x 1k.5'r

Average pace..........1:43.4
SPM......................37
DF........................117

This is just about the most painful session going...well it is for me but it's good 2k race prep so gotta be done.. regularly!
Talk about being a glutton for punishment...just hope it pays off.
It did today as it was 0.2 on average pace faster than 2 weeks ago so good progress..and I'm still alive!

Rod, glutton for punishment indeed . Looking forward to seeing what you (and Carol ) will do over 2k in competition.

I'm afraid I've not been so dedicated over the last two weeks: first I sloped off for a week's relaxation, skiing in Switzerland and over into Italy (no gym at the hotel but did do a regular 500m in the pool each day when I got back from skiing), then having done a very steady 21:07.9 5k on Monday got a nasty attack of the sniffles so hoping to keep it off my chest did nothing on Tuesday or Wednesday. Did get out on the water in a double scull, followed by an hours swim, on Thursday; made an attempt to improve my 1 minute distance of Friday (but not quite there, with a collapse at the end to only manage 287m). Today was again out rowing, this time in a coxed four. Was due to race in our coastal sculls tomorrow but we've had to cancel because of the forecast gales, so will be back on the erg again tomorrow.

[Two Pudding Kid]

Marjorie – well done on your 4655m for the 20mins at max 20spm, and making use of high DF and spm for 294m in a manic minute. So close on your 100m attempts to improve on an already impressive 19.6 secs. Hope the weather allows you to continue OTW too. I dont expect that you lost any fitness due to your skiing trip and another week for you to to see off the sneezes before Manchester.

Mike – nice work on keeping to exactly 400 strokes on the C2CTC. Congratulations on your personal best 100m in 16.2 secs and 353m manic minute. Now the blood donation is out of the way it would be great to see the heart rate restricted sessions working for you.

Rod – if you can nail the predicted 2k near 6:50 at Manchester that would be the icing on the cake for all these focussed training sessions. Excellent personal best on the 10k TT and being 3rd fastest ever for 60-60 LWTs.

Me - just a 10k to go on Monday and that is the ergo done for this month - hope my back survives this time. Wattbike and stepups later today. Yesterdays 42:20 for 1 lap of a 2 lap parkrun was dire - walking is the thing that really shows me up, although my leg and glute power is improving.

[Rod]

Rod – if you can nail the predicted 2k near 6:50 at Manchester that would be the icing on the cake for all these focussed training sessions. Excellent personal best on the 10k TT and being 3rd fastest ever for 60-60 LWTs.

Thank you Susan.....but as I've mentioned before....Carol and I are not doing Manchester, it's too close to the World Champs in Long Beach on the 24th of Feb. so we want to stay at home and concentrate on training. I am planning to do a 2k time trial that day though....so will still be suffering!

[Amazing Amazon]

Having been a bit snooty this week I thought I really needed to check out my fitness - so today had a go at the 10k for the ITC - as expected,it was tough.

I was aiming to equal my SB of 42:33.2 (2:07.6 pace), done on 15th December (just after BRIC). That time I started at 2:08.5 pace, this time I was aiming to stay under 2:08 pace . Was well on course to beat the SB when I lost it big time about 4800m in, clawed back to target pace but had lost 3-4 seconds. After that it was more of a struggle, but did it in the end with a 42:30.4 (2:07.5 pace).

2k splits pace (spm) : 2:07.9 (28), 2:07.7 (28), 2:8.6 (28), 2:07.5 (28), 2:05.8 (29).

Having got that out of the way I will now concentrate doing on some shorter stuff in preparation for racing at EIRC in Manchester on Sunday 3rd February, SWIRC in Bideford on the 9th and WIRC in Long Beach on the 24th.

Rod and Carol, if I was in your situations (just gone up an age group, know I could set records) I wouldn't have avoided the available opportunities to race at 2k. Just doing WIRC to the exclusion of other races would just be putting too many eggs in one basket.

[Rod]

Rod and Carol, if I was in your situations (just gone up an age group, know I could set records) I wouldn't have avoided the available opportunities to race at 2k. Just doing WIRC to the exclusion of other races would just be putting too many eggs in one basket.

It would have been missing training and hassle with travel plus staying over that at our age now we can quite well do without!
It's also not long since Bric and having done plenty of competitions over the years then no, we don't feel we are ''putting all our eggs in one basket''.
You may feel you would have done that but we don't think it's best for us.

[Amazing Amazon]

Rod and Carol, if I was in your situations (just gone up an age group, know I could set records) I wouldn't have avoided the available opportunities to race at 2k. Just doing WIRC to the exclusion of other races would just be putting too many eggs in one basket.

It would have been missing training and hassle with travel plus staying over that at our age now we can quite well do without!
It's also not long since Bric and having done plenty of competitions over the years then no, we don't feel we are ''putting all our eggs in one basket''.
You may feel you would have done that but we don't think it's best for us.

Absolutely it's your choice what you do. Your sunny presences will still be missed in Manchester. .

[MPx]

Belated Happy Birthday Susan ... hope you enjoyed your 10k today!

Super 4x1k Rod - Sub 1:45 is very strong.

Looks like the "altitude training" has helped Marjorie - knocking a few seconds of an SB like you did on the 10k is always good.

I'm hoping I've reached the end of my decline for a while at least. Although still below my best, I had a breakthrough session tonight and actually negatively split it rather than starting well and then blowing up half way through (or before!). I'll use current averages rather than recent bests to set targets next time and hopefully build back from there. So:

23/1 Dumbbells and 8k @20 spm HR cap <140 in 32:59.8
24/1 3x1500 r5 - I should be sub 1:48 on these. Decided to try sub 1:50 and managed 1:49.9; 1:49.8; 1:49.2 for a 1:49.6 avg.
25/1 5x2k r2 @20 spm HR cap <140. Targetted 2:02 pace and managed them all at 8:07.9
27/1 Dumbbells and 8k @20 spm HR cap <140 in 32:59.3
28/1 8x500 r3:30 - I should be sub 1:40 on these, but last time blew early so decided to start sub 1:42. Managed 1:41.9/8/7/5/5/4/4 and 1:39.8 for a 1:41.3 avg. Even that slow it hurt a great deal, but at least it felt more like winning than loosing!

[Two Pudding Kid]

Majorie - great result on the 10k and new SB even when recovering from the lurgy. Hope you are raring to go Sunday and at the other events, (didn't spot Bideford as it would have been easier than rail replacement journey to St Austell that I am doing for the race on 23 Feb).

Mike - glad you are happier about your performance in the last few days, particularly yesterdays.

Me - did the 10k in a post-op best of 46:16.8. Steady all the way at 2:17 to 2:21 pace and 26-27spm. Didn't have back pain after so very happy to have achieved 2:19 pace. Not an SB - still got work to do to beat that 10k I did at the event organised by Rod and Carol in May/June. Winding down on training now so that I don't arrive with fatigue - I know how to do 2k in 8:39 so just need to get to it. Also got to be a salad muncher - closer to going over the LWT limit than I would like, (where did that skinnier 9st 4lb version of me go)

[Rod]

8 x 500. 3:30r

Average pace...............1:39.4
DF............................120
SPM..........................39

Faster on average pace than 10 days ago by 0.2 so more progress.....Just over a month to the world champs....still trying to squeeze a bit more out!

Mike........Good to see you're on the way back...you'll be sub 1:40 on the 500's soon enough...keep at 'em!

[Amazing Amazon]

Marjorie - great result on the 10k and new SB even when recovering from the lurgy. Hope you are raring to go Sunday and at the other events, (didn't spot Bideford as it would have been easier than rail replacement journey to St Austell that I am doing for the race on 23 Feb).

Susan, I don't think I'm fully recovered yet: OK on the lower intensity stuff (like that 10k) but proved pretty woeful on the sustained sprinty 6x500R2 I did today, running out of juice half way in with splits: 1:54.8, 1:54.7, 1:54.9, 1:59.9, 1:57.6, 1:57.4 for an average of 1:56.5. This time last year I could average 1:54.7 .

Sorry, I should have publicised Bideford a bit earlier. I could even have run you over. I also noticed a track maintenance problem with RR between Birmingham and Bristol, which is one reason I'm travelling up to Manchester via London this weekend (the other reason being the cost that CrossCountry were quoting).

Me - did the 10k in a post-op best of 46:16.8. Steady all the way at 2:17 to 2:21 pace and 26-27spm. Didn't have back pain after so very happy to have achieved 2:19 pace. Not an SB - still got work to do to beat that 10k I did at the event organised by Rod and Carol in May/June. Winding down on training now so that I don't arrive with fatigue - I know how to do 2k in 8:39 so just need to get to it. Also got to be a salad muncher - closer to going over the LWT limit than I would like, (where did that skinnier 9st 4lb version of me go) [/quote]

Obviously now you're recovering from your op you are putting on muscle susan.

[Amazing Amazon]

Rod, well done on yet another improved time for the 8x500R3:30. I expect that hurt.

As to me, after Tuesday's disappointing 6X500R2 I had a look back at what I was doing just before BRIC - a 6x500R2 that I stopped after 3 reps and a 1000m that I lost race pace 300m in and then limped home just inside 4 minutes . So with EIRC looming wht did I decide to do for this afternoon's effort - another 1000m of course .

1000m has been my most disappointing distance so far this year with a SB of just 3:54.6 (1:57.3 pace) done just before the Welsh IRC back in November and it has been doing my head in a bit as I know that I should be able to do it faster, but I keep breaking down when I try.

This time upped my initial pace and then hung on for a 3:53.0 (1:56.5 pace), with 250m splits at pace (spm): 1:56.8 (30), 1:57.4 (30), 1:57.0 (31), 1:54.8 (36), which was a useful improvement and while still only good enough for third now I'm within spitting distance of achieving a C2 log number 1 ranking (3:52.6) in the WH60-69 category .

Inevitably got rower's cough after. Just hoping the snow will stop and clear before I set off for Manchester on Saturday: at the moment doubt if I can get out of my drive and down to the station.

[Amazing Amazon]

Will be travelling to Manchester tomorrow so today was my last row before EIRC.

Today took a break from the sprinty stuff with a 6000m. Obtained a season's best with 25:02.6 (2:05.2 pace), an improvement of 10.6 seconds on my previous SB from November.

I would have liked to have gone under 25 minutes but lost it momentarily with 3500m to go.
1000m splits pace(spm): 2:05.5 (28), 2:05.6 (28), 2:06.5 (28), 2:05.8 (28), 2:05.4 (28), 2:02.3 (30).

[Rod]

5 x 750 3:30r

Av...........1:42.4
SPM.........37

Still improving.

This was 0.2 faster on average pace than 2 weeks ago.

20 days to go to the big race...and boy oh boy will I be happy when it's all over...this is painful...very, very painful!

2k is nowhere near my best distance...I want to get back to my beloved long distance stuff...gimme a 60 minute Time trial any day!

[MPx]

Well done on the 10k Susan. That's a long old haul for someone in recovery which suggests to me that you're already well along the path. Great stuff!

And very encouraging to see no less than two SBs in your run up to Manchester Marjorie - must have helped with confidence which is always half the battle! I've looked but not yet found the results from Manchester - hope it went well for you, Susan and anyone else we had there.

Loving those sprint intervals Rod. Just where I prefer to train - not all those boring long pieces that you go for! They do hurt though don't they?!

Excuses this week are twofold. I had a cold (I'm a bloke so it was man flu) but just a normal cold really! I tweaked my back pulling up brambles on Tuesday. Just a muscle pull, nothing serious, but it hurts and its off putting. So that aside what I have done is:
1/2 5x2k @ 20 spm and <140 HR. 41:13.3 or about 2:03.6 avg pace
2/2 Dumbbells and 8k @ 20 spm and <140 HR in 33:33.0
4/2 16x250 r90. Trying to set a realistic target I decided on sub 1:39s pace. Managed all of them in range and a slightly faster last for a 1:38.4 avg. Not bad and a good place to build from.
6/6 2801 @ 19 spm for the CTC. Found it very tough to achieve 19 - too much variation. In the end I settled on a pattern of 4 strokes in 15 secs then back to 20 spm for 45 secs. Resulted in 10:43.3 which is 1:54.8 pace and around or just slightly below my normal sort of placement in the field. But the results are likely to be anomalous this month as anyone that doesn't do it at the optional 19 spm will obviously be quicker.

[Rod]

2k Time Trial

Time............6:58.6
DF...............120
SPM.............37

A sub maximal 2k and given that I've felt badly ''burned out'' this week I'm happy enough with it.

Time to ease back a bit now as only 2 weeks to the race......fingers crossed it will be ''allright on the night'' as there's nothing more I can do now.

There are younger guys with faster times than me that have come up into my age group (60- 64 Lightweight...and I'm now 61!) so I've got my work cut out...it will be tough!

Mike...........Give me the long stuff any day! I hate the short sharp work that you have to do for 2k's and I really do dislike 2k races more and more so am going to take a break from doing them. No BRIC next year or any 2k comps....maybe I'll try again when I'm in the 65-69's. in 2023!