The Road to Boston 2007

TomR · Post by **TomR** » November 30th, 2006, 9:09 pm

30r20/2.02.4/hr 162

0.2/500 faster than last week. HR the same. 17 meters farther.

Perhaps these workouts can turn a frog into a prince. There's got to be some reason to do them.

Tom

Anne · Post by **Anne** » November 30th, 2006, 11:15 pm

Turn you into a prince? Lately mine have turned me into the mean wicked witch of the west!!

Tomorrow will be better, I hope!
Anne
Making changes to a stroke is almost tougher than changing a golf swing.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » November 30th, 2006, 11:23 pm

TomR wrote:30r20/2.02.4/hr 162

0.2/500 faster than last week. HR the same. 17 meters farther.

Perhaps these workouts can turn a frog into a prince. There's got to be some reason to do them.

Tom

I would feel really great about the way those 30220s are going if I were you! Obviously a good gain in fitness if you are going faster at the same rate and heart rate.

whaskell · Post by **whaskell** » December 1st, 2006, 6:06 am

Thursday morning
10min WU 2198m
UT1 3x14min / max pace 1:54.5 / 22 - 24spm
Target: 3x14min / avg pace 1:57.0 / 23spm / 2:50 rest
Actual: 14min / 1:56.9 / 24 / 3594m
Actual: 14min / 1:56.9 / 24 / 2594m
Actual: 14min / 1:56.9 / 24 / 2594m
Total: 12523m

Felt beat today - legs tired, no energy. It took all I had not to put the handle down. Day off tomorrow. I've been getting up at 4:30 am to get these longer UT1 workouts in before work. I think it may be taking its toll. I don't have another option at this point.

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » December 1st, 2006, 9:30 am

Nice progress on those 30@20's Tom. I'm not the least bit tempted to try them. When that was the CTC challenge earlier this year I think that I hurt my right kneee doing them. (I don't just think that I hurt my right knee, I did. I think that the 30@20 was what did it.) Perhaps I'm just too fragile.

3 X 12' UT1 (3'r)

2160m w/u in 10'

12' 2963m 2:01.5 22spm 136hr (recovered to 77hr during rest)
12' 2975m 2:01.0 22spm 146hr (rec. to 85hr)
12' 2987m 2:00.5 22spm 152hr (rec. to 88hr)

1028m c/d in 5'

Standard erg, 117df, 65 degrees, 46rhr. Just for laughs I observed how my HR dropped in the first minute after each interval. It dropped 50 beats after the first rep, 44 beats after the 2nd, and 39 beats after the 3rd. Also, the drag factor was lower today without me touching the damper. A few degrees warmer in the room meant a little lower drag.

Up to 62,870m in the Holiday Challenge. Tomorrow is a scheduled day off after six straight. Sunday is a scheduled 2km test for the IP.

Rick

zubeldia · Post by **zubeldia** » December 1st, 2006, 12:42 pm

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if I'm going to Boston but I'm following the IP so hope it's okay to contribute here (I'm about 6 weeks in).

Planned 2X 10mins AT @ 2:16 spm 26

Actual: 15 mins warm-up
10mins 2:15.6 spm 25
4r
10mins 2:15.6 spm 25
15mins cool down

Best,
Z

njsurfboats · Post by **njsurfboats** » December 1st, 2006, 1:58 pm

Friday:

hopped on the stationary bike for about 40 minutes this morning, just to read a book and loosen my legs up after yesterday's workout, heart rate never climbed above 90bpm.

in the afternoon: so yes I was planning on doing an easy HM but I can tell what my body is ready to do when I'm warming up and my legs were definitely ready to go (probably had something to do with no morning practice on thursday). So the raw score was 79:42.2, average split 1:53.3, average rating 23-24. Sat down and decided to hold 1:54 up til 10k; from there tried to hold 1:51-1:52 for the first 250 or so of every 1,000, which dare I say made the piece almost enjoyable. Had a good warm-up, cool-down and good stretching. We'll see how excited I feel about 2x6k tomorrow; especially after morning practice in the 1x, I'll probably bag it and just get some good lifting in.

Bob S. · Post by **Bob S.** » December 1st, 2006, 8:25 pm

Seem to be back on track again — more or less. Did the regular treadmill bit yesterday, but had a shortened weight session. Today I had a choice of 3x10’AT or 4x4’TR. I’ll naturally go for distance over speed anytime, so I choose the former.

Goals: Pace, 2:11.3-2:18.2. Rate, 26-28.

I decided to try to maintain a steady pace 2:13-2:14, use the longer stroke that I have been trying to adjust to, and just let the rate float. Results:

Warmup: 21’rate pyramid, 3’ea @ 12/15/18/20/18/15/12. 4409m, 2:22.8/500 ave. 126bpm ave. Normal except for HR of 154 in middle 3’ segment (2:13.9/500).

1st — 2251m (2:13.2), 22spm, 148bpm.
2nd — 2255m (2:13.0), 24spm, 148bpm.
3rd — 2255m (2:13.0), 23spm, 148bpm.

Cool down: 10’ @ 12spm. 1896m (2:38.2), 131bpm ave.

I was pleased to get decent consistency in the paces and the rates were reasonably consistent as well, even though they were far below what AT calls for. Within each piece, with 1’splits, there was also the consistency that I had been hoping for. Distances per minute were in the 224-226 range in the first piece, started at 222 and 223 in the second piece, but held at 225-226 for the last 8 minutes, and stayed at 224-226 in the third, except for a bump in the 9th minute to 227.

The rates were similar. 1st piece, 3’@ 24, 5’@ 23, and 2’@ 21. In the 2nd and 3rd pieces they stayed in the range 23-25.

My HR was also consistent, although higher than I would like. In each piece it was about 120 after 1 minute, 130 after 2, and in the 150s for the last 8 minutes.

Bob S.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » December 2nd, 2006, 12:04 am

Welcome Z. Glad to have you joining us with the IP plan even if you aren't heading to Boston. I've been on the road for 4 months now and am not sure if I will get there--had planned to race in Cincinnati instead. But, lately, during those moments on the erg when I need to motivate myself with the idea of a reward

I've thought of meeting everyone in Boston.

The slight change in technique has caused my calf muscles to complain. Loudly! Going down steps is mighty painful, but I think my stroke is more powerful (I now strap in on the largest foot size so as to not bend my foot as much and get more power--make sense???) Anyway, the good news is that my AT row was faster than in the past

and HR stayed the same. It may have been a result of any number of factors, but I'll give the coaching session the credit.

Workout 8x2' AT- rest 3 minutes....goal 2:03
Actual 2:02.3 ; 30 sr; 180 HR
Last week the 2x6' AT was 2:04.6 with a 180 HR
My HR drops to sub 100 within 1 minute of a workout, if any of you worry about how high it gets....
Anne
Oh, this has been a hard IP week and I still have one workout to do.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » December 2nd, 2006, 8:19 am

Correction to last night's post-- those were TR workouts not ATs - Perhaps the new technique zapped my brain....(I can only fantasize about AT sessions at 2:03!)

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » December 2nd, 2006, 9:30 am

Glad to have you travel the road with us zubeldia. Welcome.

Bob, I'm doing much the same thing with AT at the moment, doing only about 24spm as I ease back into the program. I'm sure as I have to speed up the paces that the stroke rate will get up to the 26-28 that is called for. But for now I'll settle for methodically increasing in small increments.

Anne, I'd highly recommend going to Boston. Even if just once, it's good to put faces and voices to the names on the forum. Then you can "read" a tone of voice into some of the postings.

Scheduled day off from the erg today.

Rick

zubeldia · Post by **zubeldia** » December 2nd, 2006, 10:17 am

Thanks, Anne and Rick!

Anne - I'm curious about the changes you've made to your foot-plate position as mine is placed a little randomly.

Rick - I keep meaning to contact you about the race you organise... Boston might be a bit daunting for me at the moment.

Training today was meant to be 3x7mins AT @ 2:16 but added a 3 x 10mins @ UT1 pace.

Actual
10mins warmup (rest between all intervals 3.30 minutes)
7mins @ 2:15.6 sr 25
7mins @ 2:15.3 sr 25
7mins @ 2:15.3 sr 26
10mins @ 2:21.2 sr 22
10mins @ 2:20.7 sr 22
10mins @ 2:20.7 sr 23
10mins Cool down

Long session and all intervals a bit quick.. hopefully a sign that my fitness is improving.
Z

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 2nd, 2006, 11:55 am

Welcome Zubeldia! I do hope you come to Rick's race. I went last year just to see it and meet people and this year plan to row.

Anne, by "largest foot size" do you mean you are lowering your feet so more holes show above your feet, or are you just strapping in your larger foot? As a rule I find I get more power if I raise my feet higher, not if I lower them. But if it's working then do it!

Yesterday was 2 x 8' AT, max 1:58, it was again no trouble to go faster at them (well, except for the last 45 secs of each interval.) 5K w/u.

On slides, unstrapped
2063 1:56.3/26
2053 1:56.9/26

I'm behind about 15,000m on my Holiday Challenge--not sure I'm going to make it this year, because I am trying to stay focused on the IP and if I screw around doing extra stuff the IP workouts may suffer. Are you guys having the same problem?

I had thought I had screwed up my IP schedule but if the big race is on 2/25 than I'm fine. My schedule has me racing on 2/23 but that's not much variation, I'll just start the last week a little later than usual, or something.

Bob S. · Post by **Bob S.** » December 2nd, 2006, 12:59 pm

Anne wrote:Correction to last night's post-- those were TR workouts not ATs - Perhaps the new technique zapped my brain....(I can only fantasize about AT sessions at 2:03!)

You really did have me wondering, since I thought that we were almost on the same track, i.e. a 2k base of about 8:16.

Bob S.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » December 2nd, 2006, 6:02 pm

As to the foot position, I previously had 2-3 holes showing as I thought it allowed me to have a better push-off. I guess the problem was that I never shifted my weight far enough down to my heels--and it could have just been that I was sloppy (and while I would always intend to use the legs as much as possible, I'd wear out) . Anyway, by having no holes showing, theoretically, there should be more foot surface to push me through the drive (and hopefully some "hang"). I still begin the drive with the heel lifted (on my toes) but I just get my foot flat faster---so there is more "push".

Warning.... I am the LAST person to be offering advice (unless of course you are one of my children or my spouse). And, the coach spent a fair amount of time scoping out my particular form before making changes. So, the modification may have been done because I wasn't using my legs enough.....or because my arms and legs are so long...

Hope that was clear. I didn't erg today ---between my still sore calves and a strength building class, I'd had enough!