Mental breakdown during training today

[kwayker]

Hey guys, Male, 22 , 148 lbs, 6';
Started rowing about 4-5 months ago. Current 2k time is around 7:20. I'm trying to get to sub 7 by end of august. My workout plan is roughly copied from wolverine plan, in addition to at least 2 lifting sessions a week (Bench, deadlift, squat machine) to add some muscle mass. Some recent background: on Sunday i did a 10k and scored average split of 2:03.8; Monday i did 6x500 with 2 mins rest, first 5 pieces i had an average split between 1:41 to 1:44, the 6th piece i got a 1:46.8; Yesterday, i did 2x 20 mins and then a 10 min piece (steady state) - average splits: 2:02.9, 2:01.8, 2:00.8 respectively. And then today, i did a lifting routine in the morning, and then after work i was supposed to do 3k - 2.5k - 1k; i did the 3k (1:52.9 average split), started the 2.5 k and completely broke down about 500 meters in......i had no motivation to push on whatsoever and my knees felt really fatigued. I figured i'd at least do a 30 minute steady state but i kept pulling 2:09 splits, just got discouraged and left after 3 mins.....i feel like shit right now. If anyone else has encountered this or has some advice as to how to proceed, it would be very much appreciated. In hindsight, i think it really started on monday when i was supposed to do 8x500 but i left after the 6th one......again, any help/constructive criticism would be great. Thanks in advance

[jamesg]

Take a rest and do some distance at low rate but fastìsh pace, concentrating on style so that the boat goes a long way each stroke. Make your hips work too, not just your knees.
What are your normal ratings?

[Griparn]

It seems like you havent given yourself time to recover between sessions. You have a set date to achive a sub 7 2k, I understand you want to get in as much work as possible.

My suggestion would be to cut down some of the work you do and add in some more rest days where you fuel up and allow yourself to fullt recover. I dont know your training background, but maybe you have been building up training volume too fast. How about sleep and food? Lots of factors to consider. You'll reach your goal Im sure, you seem like a motivated guy!

Just my two cents.

/Another sub 7 hunter

[Gammmmo]

Just because you are following a plan you cannot always predict how your mind/body will perform on a particular day - often there is a difference EVEN WHEN the build up has been identical. My advice to you is to play the long game - sub7 for a 2KM is good and popular target and one which you are almost certainly capable of - but don't pressure yourself into achieving it by a certain date. Instead focus on your plan but make the paces and workouts a bit more fluid i.e. stick to it but on a daily basis be prepared to alter it depending on how you feel. In time you will learn when your mind is lying to you and when you can push through, and conversely when to back off. It's keeping to a plan OVER TIME and getting gradual improvement with your body that counts. Hard work will get you where you want in time, but would you want things to be seamless all along? If anything is worth having it has to be difficult! Erg on...

[hjs]

Overreaching, sleep well, eat well, but don,t train hard for a while. You will recover.
Take a full week very easy, lifting included.

[H2O]

What you are doing does not seem excessive.
If it happens to me that I have to get out of a piece, I get off, take a break
and try again (at a slower pace). View the problem as an opportunity and row for a while while feeling awful. You will feel awful during an all out 2K.

[hjs]

What you are doing does not seem excessive.
If it happens to me that I have to get out of a piece, I get off, take a break
and try again (at a slower pace). View the problem as an opportunity and row for a while while feeling awful. You will feel awful during an all out 2K.

Yeah, keep on digging, deeper and deeper

[vepjan]

I had similar experince last week. I think your approach to 8x500/r2 is a bit too ambitious. It seems like you are going all out in first intervals. Your 2k split is 1.50 and for this session I typically do 2k-3 which for you would be 1.47 split. Keep that same pace for all 8 reps. If able to do so you could take another second off and another or you could try a new 2k to adjust the pace. For the 3k, 2.5k, 2k I would do around 2.02 split based on your current 2k (it is an AT workout) and keep same pace throughout. All interval workouts should not be all out efforts.

[G-dub]

I might add that your steady state paces are very aggressive relative to your current 2K pace. They may be what is burying you. 2:00-2:02 for 2 x 20' is high UT1/AT for me and I currently have 18 seconds on you in terms of 2K pace. After a rest, try pulling those back to 2:10 or so (notice that you said 2:09 was to be a lame pace and you couldn't keep it up on that 30' piece). You should be able to breath easy and feel like you could do more after these.

[Anth_F]

It has been covered by the other replies, but yes take some good rest. I have started feeling fatigued myself on the erg lately due to adding mountain biking into my training!! I'm resting up completely today.

[mdpfirrman]

Something useful I read in US Rowing magazine last year. It was a couple of coaches that said to track your resting heart rate. Know what it is. If it starts to creep up on you, you're overtraining. When asked what they recommend with overtraining, they said to back off the lifting and the hard pieces and just do easier SS work only. Glenn mentioned it above, but your SS seems a bit aggressive. At least if you're doing the SS pieces (not too aggressively), you'll recover and not lose much (if any) aerobic capacity.

You and I are roughly the same 2K times currently. SS for me is around a 2:08 at 10K and a 2:09/2:10 at 12K. Yesterday, I was feeling a bit over-trained myself (I'm in the midst of increasing my volume from around 55K a week to 70K a week). I did a 12K at 2:12 yesterday. I don't post a ton of these type workouts on here because it's easy to get caught up in the comparisons. Last year, I was putting up numbers on the Pete Plan that were 2 full seconds faster (per 500m!) than my 7:20 current 2K. When I looked back over my training, I was doing the most volume that I had ever done last year when I was doing so well and my SS pieces were 2 seconds SLOWER than they were this Spring when I was struggling to hit my 7:19 again (I just did a test and did a 7:26). For me, that 80/20 training works. Going slower to get faster. Once recovered, keep your fast work fast and your slower/longer work only modestly challenging.

[jackarabit]

Agree with vepjan and G-dub that you are pacing your workouts based on your target 2k rather than current--1:45 rather than 1:50. This plus volume load is unsustainable. Mental breakdown? No, your central governor broke the donkey and is only disappointed that both now have to walk. Hay, water, rest, listen to donkey.

[vepjan]

I use a spreadsheet to calculate training bands. I can send it to you if you wish (PM me).
Use it if you want to and just ignore it if you would rather use some other approach. I have plugged
in 7:20.0 and it calculates the zones based on watts. Here is the output:
% of watts Split Zone
45.00% 02:23.5 UT2
50.00% 02:18.6
55.00% 02:14.3
60.00% 02:10.4 UT1
65.00% 02:07.0
70.00% 02:03.9 AT
75.00% 02:01.1
80.00% 01:58.5 TR
85.00% 01:56.1
90.00% 01:53.9
95.00% 01:51.9
100.00% 01:50.0
105.00% 01:48.2 AN
110.00% 01:46.6
115.00% 01:45.0

Once I improve the 2k I just plug in the new time to update the zones
Note, that these training zones are not precise cutoffs, but rather guidelines.

Then Steady State is UT1 or UT2 (no faster than 2:03.9)
You 4x2k or 3k,2.5k,2k are AT traning (no faster than 1:58.5, but more like 2:02)
Your intervals 8x500 should be AN training while 5x800 and 4x1000
probably fall at the higher end of TR borderline AN.

I think the rest you need now is more to recover mentally (probably you do not feel like sitting
on a sliding seat right now).

[G-dub]

I think Steady State should be 55-60% of 2K watts, so 2:10-2:14 seems right. You would be able to go a little longer too.

[lwtguy]

This happens to me every few months. It's tough training alone even if you are following a plan. We are the same age and almost similar weight. I just have the benefit of 10 years of rowing experience to help me figure out what I'm doing.

When I end up in those situations, the first thing I do is try to push through at an easier pace (it could be stroke rate, splits, or both). If that isn't doing it for me, I will stop the workout entirely and try to "salvage" it. This just means that I'll will do something more fun or mentally easier. Maybe I'll do some 40" blasters at r24. Maybe I'll do some really light steady state. Hell, you could even play the Fish Game! If, after all of that I still can't bring myself to finish it, stop the workout. Shower. Get a beer and some good food. Sit on your ass for a few hours and enjoy the rest of your day.

The next day be prepared for a good workout.