Sub 7 Indoor Rowing Club (UK)

[Rod]

Here's a bit of video of my 38spm 2k at WRIC;

https://youtu.be/hNm4erWgNT0?t=9518

[MPx]

Yeah, thanks for the link Rod. I did see that on the day. Obviously good to see you set off but a bit frustrating that you got no mention thereafter. Congrats on yet another BR (and to Carol on hers). Like them all, I know 4 min can be a real toughie at maximum chat!

Nice to see another relaxed 2k sub 6:45 Richard ... but you know I'm expecting you to go sub 6:30 sometime post birthday. When's your next serious outing?

Hope all good with the marathon Susan whether in Hamberg or somewhere less exotic!

As usual some mixed recent sessions for me:
25/2 Dumbbells and 30 @ 20 for 7557m
27/2 16x250r90 all rowed within half a second of each other for a 1:36.0 overall - a 0.2s improvement in avg pace over the last time - good!
1/3 Dumbbells and 30mins varipace for 7558m
2/3 3x2kr2 7:34.8 (1:53.7); 7:33.6 (1:53.4); 7:27.1 (1:51.8) for a 1:53.0 avg compared to a 1:53.7 avg last time out - useful improvement again.
3/3 CTC 2x15mins r3 Wasn't sure what to target, but quickly settled to a 1:55 pace which felt OK so went for a 3900 result. Fine for the first (3914; 1:55.0), but the demons set in early on the second and my pace dropped right off after a couple of minutes or so. Gradually built it back up and sprinted at the end, but even so only managed 3862 (1:56.5) on that half which is pretty disappointing.

[Rod]

Day one of my Half Marathon training plan (The ''Top & Bottom'' plan).


90 minutes.

Average pace..........2:01.4
Metres.................22,238
DF.......................104
SPM.....................33

Target was recent HM pace + 5 secs (2:02.0) so happy to have beaten that.

This was the top (endurance work) Tuesday will be a 4k (Bottom...speed work).

Thanks for the kind words on our records Mike and well done on your 3 x 2k improvement. Good effort on the CTC too, it's a creeping death one so you did well to hang on!

[MPx]

This was the top (endurance work) Tuesday will be a 4k (Bottom...speed work).

Really? Sounds like the opposite to me Rod - 90min is a real workout for the bottom whereas it should cope easily with your 4k effort

Thanks for the encouragement....

[Two Pudding Kid]

I did get to Hamburg and back - but hardly the best rested. Set out Thursday 2:30pm and returned back from Birmingham Airport having gone nowhere by midnight, (but with a ticket to Dusseldorf for Friday lunchtime). No guarantee on taxis due to the weather Friday so had to get to the airport the hard way by walking with a heavy suitcase, bus and train. Did eventually get to Dusseldorf although later than intended, and then had to find my own way to Hamburg, (forked out for a flight which I have now got to claim back). Arrived 10pm and up at 03:45 so no more than 4 hours official sleep but had catnapped anywhere I could enroute.

Brr -11c trek down to the rowing club for the race. Being the useless person that I am in walking on snow/ice especially pre-dawn and getting my butt out of the door I only arrived about 25 mins before the start at 07:35, looking like a zombie. Red eyes, bleeding lip from a blister caused by rushing hot coffee on Thursday which had now burst, and face absolutely frozen. Was already wearing my rowing kit under several layers so just got my nosh set up and ready to rock in time.

42195m on the clock and a long sitdown ahead. First hour was just a case of being careful, having revised my expectations of what I could do, and trying to warmup as went along. No real issues getting to the first drink point at 15k in, and going along nicely to the half marathon point in 1:40.49. Fully warmed up, but there was a cold draught blowing across as the windows were open for some fresh freezing air! Just the last 10k went a bit to pot, so my average dropped from 2:24.3 to 2:25.5 to finish. Hardly the style intended but just a case of slogging it out. Still got 6th out of 14 which I knew was the best I could hope for, (first 2 places were inside world record pace so extremely hard fought for the massive trophy on offer). I was 13.42% off the world record for us 50+ LWTS, (that is worked out on time and not power which would be less flattering). 3:24.35.0 result. After a hurried cold shower, (ouch), was time for the food mountain this event is famous for, (and what we come for of course)

Apart from seized up glutes making it hard to walk initially, I was shattered but fine, (still recovering so not going to do any exercise before the weekend) . Couldnt be asked to go out much on Saturday as it didnt get better than minus 5c, so sightseeing didnt happen apart from a short walk around the harbour on Sunday morning, (never expected to see massive chunks of ice floating about). Return flight easy peasy so back home for 7pm.

[Two Pudding Kid]

Where next - maybe the Italian Open 2k if they can get their online entry form to work, (seems rather last minute posting it only 5 weeks before the race). PS Dont know whether they will understand my explanation as my Italian is pretty non-existant, (can blag a bit of German when I have to but that wont help here). Midlands Championships 22 April - only 3 miles from home so no excuses for a crap performance there. https://www.b-row.co.uk/product/midland ... hips-2018/

[bojam]

Congrats TPK on the FM success ... tracked down the results to see how my time at home compared ok for age and weight, saw the stunning world record for the hour and the 30 min record. Saw the rewards for all

[MPx]

Nice going on the FM Susan, especially after such an ordeal getting there.

Training for me has been much as normal, but with a better night tonight.
4/3 Dumbbells and 30 mins varipace for 7557m
6/3 2kTT the regular start of my Tuesday sprint cycle. Hard physical labour day and mentally not prepared. Result 1k at 1:44.7 pace then blew and paddled in for 7:27.1 Shouldn't have bothered to get changed!
7/3 Dumbbells and 5k@20 in 19:49.1 (spot on!) @ 1:58.9
8/3 4x1k r3:30. Last time out in Jan I blew after 2 reps, time before in Dec an SB @ 1:46.8 avg. This time 1:46.9; 1:46.8; 1:46.7; 1:45.0 for a 1:46.3avg. Not only good to be an SB for the session but actually managed to neg split totally against current trends and form. Woooppeee woo!

[Rod]

Susan..............Congratulations on your fine Marathon row....and even bigger congratulations on overcoming such a nightmare journey to actually get there in the first place! I'm glad to hear the journey home was a lot easier! I've got all the details and have already written the report ready for next months newsletter.

Mike................Well done on the 4 x1k session, I know that one has been bugging you for a while (and me...I came to grief so badly on it in the lead up to the world champs that I had to give up on it!) so great to hear you've now got an SB for it!

[Rod]

5 x 2k with 2 minute recoveries

Average pace...................1:51.8
Average SPM....................35
DF................................115

Target was to just go at the same as recent best 10k pace (1:52.0) or faster if possible as I'm still trying to get over this blasted bug/lurgy.

Happy to have beaten the target but it was tough....very tough!

This is a ''build up'' session towards an attempt at the British 60-69 Lwt Half Marathon record (1:21:21.9...1:55.7 pace.) so will be 6 reps next time with 15 seconds shorter rests...but hopefully a faster pace.....so that's gonna be tough too!

[MPx]

Thanks for the encouragement Rod and very well done yourself on the 5x2k despite lurgy.

My training log:
9/3 AWL Pyramid. Tried to even pace it for a change. Mostly succeeded with a wobble at 800 on the way down. Recent best avg pace was 1:49.2 and this time a 1:50.2, but happy enough with that as I wasn't making up the time I usually do with a few sharp sprints on the short reps.
10/3 1kTT for the World Rowing Virtual Indoor Sprints. Not done a 1k for nearly a year so not sure how to pace it but thought I'd try something in the 1:37s. Made it most of the way, but died at the end for a 3:16.1. Happy enough with that coming 5th of 201 in the 60-69 fatties and top Brit.
12/3 Dumbells (aborted during first (lightest) round) and 30 mins SLOW for 7337m. Had a hard day lifting sleepers all day and was feeling it so allowed myself to bail out - not much choice really!
13/3 6x500r2. Last time managed a 1:40.6 avg 10:03.7 total time. This time 5x1:40.7/8 and a faster last for a 1:40.6 avg and 10:03.6 total time. I'm hanging a lot on that 0.1s overall time improvement!
14/3 Dumbbells and 30mins varipace for 7557m
17/3 10kTT for the IRL. I hate long pieces! I erroneously thought I had managed a 1:55.x paced 10k late last year. Set off at 1:54 pace but was feeling it badly at 4k in and had to slow. Second half was a painful (slow) grind but came in with a 38:58.1 @ 1:56.9avg pace (against an actual 1:56.4 pace last time - doh!). And I see I've got to do it again next month for the Sub7 ITC. B****r!

[Rod]

90 minutes

Metres.......................22,287
Average pace...............2:01.1
SPM..........................33
DF............................110

I'm glad to be going forwards again after going backward due to illness last week (just a 'bug').

This was 49 metres and 0.3 on average pace faster than last time I did this session 2 weeks ago so the Half Marathon plan is still working....just about!

On this evidence I should be ready for a crack at the British 60-60 Lightweight record of 1:21:21.9 (1:55.7 pace) in about 5-6 weeks....fingers crossed!

Mike................Great 1k...and top Brit....congrats!

Well done on the improvement on the 6 x 500 and for hanging on with the 10k...I know that's a wee bit further than you like to go....far more my sort of rarified air!

[Rod]

6 x 2k with 2 minute recoveries

Average time........................7:29.1
Average pace........................1:52.2
SPM...................................35
DF.....................................110

Progress...I think...although if it is it's not much.

Last week 5 reps of 2k in 1:51.8. This week 6 reps in 1:52.2 (same rest periods) but the last 2 reps were sheer hell and it was only an ''all out'' last 500 on the final one that got me under 1:53.

The fast HM that I want seems a long way off right now...just gotta keep plugging away....

[bisqeet]

jumping around a bit training wise.
weights, otw, indoor, etc.

last row is a few days back, so back on the iron horse. so today was good to jump back on.
25k cont.


maybe stress/fatigue - but HR running a little too high for this piece.
Ideally it should be about 10 bpm a little lower

[MPx]

WoooHoooo! Never thought I'd see such a thing having striven hard just to reach the dizzy heights of mid-table obscurity from the depths of "other British scores". But when I surprised myself by posting the top Brit time in my category for the recent virtual 1k competition I thought I'd check to see what the British record was. As expected, I was way off the pace (!)...but lurking a few lines lower was a very soft record for the 4min test. I emailed C2 with a link to my logged/ranked 4min from the Autumn and they have kindly recognised it as a new BR. I was tempted to keep schtum about it since otherwise I'll just bring it to the attention of the real fast people as an easy target for them, but that rather misses the point. For at least a few minutes I was a genuine British Record holder...and I will now always be that. Feels good!