Pondering the Beginner Pete Plan

[aegis]

Good job maintaining the pace, i hated the endurance intervals when I started. I still do.

[winniewinser]

BPP W11S2...8x500m/2'R...1:46.6 from 7x500.

Lacked enthusiasm to really do this but do it I did. I think it's the thought of pushing hard only to lose gains when away for a couple of weeks that is getting in my head. I need a reset on targets as I only restarted this for general fitness reasons and that seems to have gotten lost.

14:11.8 4,000m 1:46.4 290 1297 33
1:46.6 500m 1:46.6 289 1294 32
1:46.5 500m 1:46.5 290 1297 32
1:46.5 500m 1:46.5 290 1297 33
1:46.6 500m 1:46.6 289 1294 33
1:46.6 500m 1:46.6 289 1294 33
1:46.5 500m 1:46.5 290 1297 34
1:46.5 500m 1:46.5 290 1297 34
1:46.0 500m 1:46.0 294 1311 35

Maybe one more session before holibobs.

[fancyoats]

W8S3 8000m
This felt really good today - steady, gradual and firm.

[winniewinser]

BPP W11S3...8km but done on the Skierg for a change. Push a bit on the last 2k.

34:43.2 8,000m 2:10.2 159 845 36
8:45.4 2,000m 2:11.3 154 831 36
8:44.8 4,000m 2:11.2 155 833 36
8:44.3 6,000m 2:11.0 155 834 36
8:28.7 8,000m 2:07.1 170 885 38

[fancyoats]

W8S4 25 minute row
This was meant to be steady but I couldn't resist going hard in the last split. Maybe it sounds dumb, but I was trying to get to 5000m in the time limit. I fell just short.


Anyway, tomorrow's intervals make me want to hide. 3x1000m/3'r but aiming for the pace of the 7x500m from last week? Good lord.

[fancyoats]

W8S5 3x1000m/3'rest
Target pace: 2:13.1 (from the 7x500m/3'rest awhile back)
This seemed impossible, and the last interval felt pretty brutal. Overall I would say this was definitely a "fly and die" session. omg.

[Dangerscouse]

W8S5 3x1000m/3'rest
Target pace: 2:13.1 (from the 7x500m/3'rest awhile back)
This seemed impossible, and the last interval felt pretty brutal. Overall I would say this was definitely a "fly and die" session. omg.

That is a great fly & die example, but you also overshot your target by significant amount too, so I'm not surprised it was horrific.

When you're close to your tipping point even tenths of a second can make a difference so if the 7 x 500 & 2:13.1 was really tough, even 2:12.5 might have been a real challenge

[fancyoats]

W8S5 3x1000m/3'rest
Target pace: 2:13.1 (from the 7x500m/3'rest awhile back)
This seemed impossible, and the last interval felt pretty brutal. Overall I would say this was definitely a "fly and die" session. omg.

That is a great fly & die example, but you also overshot your target by significant amount too, so I'm not surprised it was horrific.

When you're close to your tipping point even tenths of a second can make a difference so if the 7 x 500 & 2:13.1 was really tough, even 2:12.5 might have been a real challenge

It’s still kind of a mystery to me how you all manage to dial in to a pace so precisely. To be honest, I didn’t have much faith in my ability to maintain even the 2:13.1 over the whole 1000m so I figured I’d better give it everything I could, kind of expecting to “fly and die” intentionally I guess, but also kind of afraid that if I let myself relax I’d slip way way down and not be able to get it back.

Even that third one where I “died” is below my target though. I dunno whether to feel proud about that or stupid for overshooting.

[Dangerscouse]

Even that third one where I “died” is below my target though. I dunno whether to feel proud about that or stupid for overshooting.

Progress is never linear and you need to make daft decisions to see where your limits are. I have made countless stupid ego dictated decisions, but as they say you win or you learn.

All things considered, finishing below your target for all of them is a good result. It's not ideal that you faded, but it's you finished it and that is always something to be proud of.

[aegis]

Just my own personal experience, early on with the BPP I've blew up on the longer intervals as it was really easy to overestimate what you think you can do. With more attempts you should get a better handle on what's really challenging but doable.

No one progresses in a straight line and as long as you're seeing improvements over time it's all good. It took me a year to get an increase of roughly 35 watts. I'd be happy to get that same amount this year.

[fancyoats]

W9S1 9000m
Today was just ok. Relative humidity is at 97% where I am. I am possibly a bit dehydrated as well as not having had a great sleep last night. Not that I am trying to make excuses for myself.

[Dangerscouse]

W9S1 9000m
Today was just ok. Relative humidity is at 97% where I am. I am possibly a bit dehydrated as well as not having had a great sleep last night. Not that I am trying to make excuses for myself.

RH of 97% will take a significant toll on you, especially with feeling tired. They're reasons, not excuses imo

[DaveD33]

Hi all - new guy (39M, 5'10"/215lbs, new to erging) here.

I've been rowing 4-5 days per week for about 2 months now and I'd like to start the BPP, but I don't where to start in terms of pacing. My primary goal is to improve my overall fitness.

So far, 90% of my workouts are steady state, with the other 10% being 60-90" intervals at ~80-90% effort followed by 1-2' rest to mimic playing hockey, my main athletic interest. Depending on how much time I have, I'll typically do 8-12k meters at 21-22spm and paces between 2:18 and 2:28 (experimenting to see how far I can go and how fast and how long it takes to recover). Subjectively, 2:28 feels like RPE of ~4/10 and at the end of the piece, I feel like I could do another 10k with relative ease. On the other hand, 10K at 2:18 feels more like RPE of ~6/10, and I feel it in my quads a bit the next day (not sore or painful per se, just the feeling of having worked hard).

With that information, is it possible to extrapolate good starting paces for the SS and interval pieces? I don't want to start off too aggressively and then not be able to progress per the plan, but I also don't want to go too easy. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Dave

[mitchel674]

Pace is such a personal thing. Pete's only advise is to focus on technique, efficiency and relaxation on these two steady state rows each week. I use those sessions to focus on my stroke and watch the force curve as I row at 22spm.

Sounds like 2:25 would be a good place for you to start your first 5000m row.

Remember: technique, efficiency and relaxation.

[fancyoats]

W9S2 4x800m/2'rest
target pace from the last time I did this session: 2:18.8 (which I did NOT overshoot this time )



Better sleep last night but we've got thunderstorms and 100% relative humidity. The air is so heavy, even with a fan. Ugh.