Pondering the Beginner Pete Plan

[Joris]

The target was completely conservative. I managed 4:17.x r22, 4:16.x r23, and 4:10.x r23 at UT1 (the first 2 lower end, the last one upper end). I should increase my intensity to AT (can speak a couple words pace). Perhaps I start at 2:07 and go lower, or even be more ambitious and try a 2:05-2:06 target.

I agree that the targets for the interval sessions seem often very conservative, at least when you're a complete novice. The plan suggests to start the first sessions modestly with the instruction to do reps that you can certainly hold for the complete session.
But as a novice I had no idea which pace I could manage for a complete session so I started with (in retrospect) unambitious splits of 2:16 for the 500m sprints and 2:23 for the first '2 x 10 min' session.

This, combined with the fact that, as a complete novice, fitness improves much quicker than for someone who already has a decent base level make me feel that the evolution in the interval sessions feel to conservative for me.

In retrospect, my feeling is that the targets in this plan are rather meant for people who already surpassed the huge novice gains and who have an idea about which rate they can row at. So I don't regret to have already started the plan this early, on the contrary, but I adapt the goals a bit to my own personal situation.

Thereby I use the mantra: 'use the steady state sessions for recovery so you can work hard on the interval sessions'.
So I just try to go hard on the interval sessions, not considering heart rate targets, and going slow/medium slow (below ut2) on the steady distances.
This makes a huge gap in splits between the steady state sessions and the interval sessions, but I don't think that this should be a problem?

Day 3 I will keep a 2:18 split but progressively lower the stroke rate to 18 or even 17, in preparation for my 1:59.x 20-minute r20 ~2 months later. I don't have high hopes for it but I will continue rowing more and refining my technique. That's my only hope...

Keep it going! If you maintain a constant split while distances increases, that's also progress!

PS. Wow Nomark. Your SS is mid 2:20s and yet your intervals are nearly 2:00. What a huge differenve! Meanwhile my SS is 2:18 at UT2 while I am struggling to get my intervals to 2:05 let alone 2:00 (tho to be fair I did the 2:05 one at upper UT1, not above AT). Your 2k is a 8:10, meanwhile... I am not sure if I have a 8:10 2k right now.

While I am still significantly slower in SS (though to be fair I plan to stick at UT2 pace and lower my stroke rate to 18) and especially intervals (beginners going sub 2:00 or close on intervals, versus my lagging 2:07 now) I have now closed part of the gap, and at least 20 minute r20 in a bit over 2 months does not seem delusional for now.

Yes, Nomark has nice results so far, but use it as an inspiration, not as a discouragement.
Also, like you said, intensity levels might be different. Everyone is different, so don't compare to much with others and follow the plan according to what's best for your body.

[Joris]

Anyway, onto today - week 3 day 2. 2k x2, 4min rest. I had a feeling that SS-2 seconds would be too slow and it was. Since I managed a (too fast) 5.5k SS- 6 seconds last week, it didn't feel like an interval session at all, so I sped up the second one. I don't know if the intention is to prepare with a speed that you can cope with over 3 or 4 reps in the future. Managed to get a good sweat on nonetheless and I could barely have imagined doing back to back 2ks a few weeks ago, so maybe the purpose of the workout today was a confidence boost and a see-how-far-youve-come-already type thing.

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Metres  Time	Pace	Watts	S/M	
4,000m	17:49.6	2:13.7	146     25
2,000m	9:19.7	2:19.9	128     24
2,000m	8:29.9	2:07.4	169     26
DF 127
SS pace 2:24

Happy enough with that. Splits are usually my favourite workout of the week, but this felt a bit like falling between two stools. Not quite fast enough to feel good but not SS metres either.

As I posted above, I also feel that the interval sessions where a steady state pace 'minus x seconds' is used as a target is too slow for novices like us.
Probably SS-2 seconds is ambitious for someone having a good base condition, but has to work on muscles or speed for further improvement.
But for us, novices, we can (or should?) do our interval sessions much faster than the steady state sessions, if not, it's not a proper training. At least, that's how I feel about it.

So, for the moment, when doing interval sessions, I'm not following Pete's advice on pacing when it is based on a steady state pace minus x seconds, but rather use his advice which he gives on some other interval sessions, namely: taking the average of a previous similar 'hard' interval session and try to beat that average on the last repetition. Or if meantime, this average also feels to slow, I'll lower it a bit more.

Not sure if this is the right approach, but for me it seems to work so far.

[iain]

I also feel that the interval sessions where a steady state pace 'minus x seconds' is used as a target is too slow for novices like us.

Probably SS-2 seconds is ambitious for someone having a good base condition, but has to work on muscles or speed for further improvement.
But for us, novices, we can (or should?) do our interval sessions much faster than the steady state sessions, if not, it's not a proper training. At least, that's how I feel about it.

So, for the moment, when doing interval sessions, I'm not following Pete's advice on pacing when it is based on a steady state pace minus x seconds, but rather use his advice which he gives on some other interval sessions, namely: taking the average of a previous similar 'hard' interval session and try to beat that average on the last repetition. Or if meantime, this average also feels to slow, I'll lower it a bit more.

Not sure if this is the right approach, but for me it seems to work so far.

Quite the contrary, I do long interval sessions at between 11 and 18S quicker than SS, although my SS is usually over an hour and often 2. I think the BPP is largely aimed at those who feel 5k is a lot of rowing so it doesn't push too hard early on for sessions that are only slightly shorter and possibly longer when warm up and cool down is included. Probably assumes that a novice will go faster than ideal initially as well. You approach seems sensible.

The one thing to be careful of is to try and maintain technical improvements from SS in the interval sessions. That might be another reason for not pushing too hard too soon on the assumption that bad habits are too recent to allow a "no caution" approach to intervals given all of us find technique deteriorates as we get close to our limits.

[Nomark]

So, for the moment, when doing interval sessions, I'm not following Pete's advice on pacing when it is based on a steady state pace minus x seconds, but rather use his advice which he gives on some other interval sessions, namely: taking the average of a previous similar 'hard' interval session and try to beat that average on the last repetition. Or if meantime, this average also feels to slow, I'll lower it a bit more.

Not sure if this is the right approach, but for me it seems to work so far.

Yes, it's either that or the aim of the plan is to give us big gains week to week at the start as it's new and big gains = big motivation to carry on! It's working for me lol I think you have the right approach though and I'm going to use it too going forward.

I have also read ahead for future weeks which is why I try and do my last interval as fast as possible even though it hasn't said that in the descriptions yet. I think the 'slow' pace will only be a problem for the first few weeks as every interval is new. Once I have a baseline like you I can use it as an average for the next time and then try and beat it on the last run to get a new baseline.

On to today : Week 3.3. 6k again at a low/mid 2-20s pace. Happy with the result, although my brain finds the initial distances when they appear on the screen a little daunting at first. I decided to mix it up in the middle with a slow rate split and a quick rate split at the same pace back to back. Not sure if it messes with the aims of the exercise, I was just amusing myself. For now I figure it's all about technique so if I can rate up and down and get familiar with the force required, it's all good. I like watching the Watt bar graph as I row. It helps me spot when I'm putting too much in or slacking on the drive. Might try the force curve next time.

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Metres  Time	Pace	Watts	S/M	
6,000m	28:25.5	2:22.1	122     23
1,200m	5:50.1 	2:25.8	113     24
1,200m	5:39.1	2:21.2	124     24
1,200m	5:38.1	2:20.8	125     19
1,200m	5:37.6	2:20.6	126     26
1,200m	5:40.6	2:21.9	122     23
DF 127
HR 147

Well earned rest day tomorrow!