Pete Plan Thread

[scottsaz1]

BPP 5.2 4x800/2' r

Really proud of this session - went out with a plan to finish 1 second faster than the avg of my last 3x1000 and did just that. Tried a few different strategies for each of the splits. For the 1st and 3rd I started out with power 10s, settling into the target pace. The 2nd and 4th I rowed at my target, tried to keep it there, but sprinted the last 150m. Overall happy with the negative splits, though the last one was very challenging and had to dig deep for that last 150.

[RayOfSunshine]

Great work Scott!

[Dangerscouse]

I did the same as Mitchel (and many other newbies) during the BPP. If I was doing the BPP again, I'd probably pick a HR cap (say 150) or pace cap (say 2:10) and use that for steady states for the next few weeks. As the distance increased, I'd keep the cap and try to lower the one I didn't cap.

Yep, been trying to stay within my UT1 band of 146-155, obviously unsuccessful lol. Tomorrow I have another 7k and will row with that in mind. Thanks for the advice!

It's always better to cap HR if there's a choice as it's a quantifiable measurement in terms of seeing improvements in pace at a given HR. You can't compare anything if you cap the pace.

Admittedly HR can be affected by a number of other issues e.g. dehydration, heat, general stress etc so don't assume you're not improving if your HR doesn't drop over time as it will need more of a range of sessions.

[RayOfSunshine]

[
It's always better to cap HR if there's a choice as it's a quantifiable measurement in terms of seeing improvements in pace at a given HR. You can't compare anything if you cap the pace.

I've never actually capped the pace, but the idea would be to compare the average HR.

[scottsaz1]

[
It's always better to cap HR if there's a choice as it's a quantifiable measurement in terms of seeing improvements in pace at a given HR. You can't compare anything if you cap the pace.

Admittedly HR can be affected by a number of other issues e.g. dehydration, heat, general stress etc so don't assume you're not improving if your HR doesn't drop over time as it will need more of a range of sessions.

I've never actually capped the pace, but the idea would be to compare the average HR.

This is helpful, especially considering tracking quantifiable goals - thank very much!!

Did my next 7k this morning - BPP 5.3 - did this one with the intent to stay within my UT1 band 146-155, while keeping the rating low. The HR reading is a little misleading - I was crossing between 154-157 for most of the last two splits and had to really back off to keep under 155. Ended up about 5 secs slower than the last 7k.

Will maintain this strategy for the longer sessions.

[mitchel674]

Did my next 7k this morning - BPP 5.3 - did this one with the intent to stay within my UT1 band 146-155, while keeping the rating low. The HR reading is a little misleading - I was crossing between 154-157 for most of the last two splits and had to really back off to keep under 155. Ended up about 5 secs slower than the last 7k.

Will maintain this strategy for the longer sessions.

Scott, this looks much better. Notice how much more consistent you are here and you were able to keep your HR in you intended zone. Well done.

And Kudos to you on your 4x800mm. Nice times there for sure, but there is little time for basking in the glow of these pieces in any of the Pete Plans. You will have to beat that average time before you know it in week 9.

[scottsaz1]

Scott, this looks much better. Notice how much more consistent you are here and you were able to keep your HR in you intended zone. Well done.

And Kudos to you on your 4x800mm. Nice times there for sure, but there is little time for basking in the glow of these pieces in any of the Pete Plans. You will have to beat that average time before you know it in week 9.

Thanks It felt good. Week 9? Heck, next week is 3x2000

[RayOfSunshine]

Did my next 7k this morning - BPP 5.3 - did this one with the intent to stay within my UT1 band 146-155, while keeping the rating low. The HR reading is a little misleading - I was crossing between 154-157 for most of the last two splits and had to really back off to keep under 155. Ended up about 5 secs slower than the last 7k.

Will maintain this strategy for the longer sessions.

Solid work! I never knew much about cardiac drift until I started doing these heart rate capped sessions. The more fit I become, the more gradual the heart rate creeps.

[scottsaz1]

Solid work! I never knew much about cardiac drift until I started doing these heart rate capped sessions. The more fit I become, the more gradual the heart rate creeps.

It is a little frustrating, especially when you know you can go faster/pull harder. It takes a long time to hit the cap, but then it's a constant back and forth. Fitness is certainly a factor

[RayOfSunshine]

First SkiErg in 16 days. I set a couple PBs on the rower. It's so nice being able to switch it up. It's pretty cool knowing that I was grinding through the BPP for the rower a year ago. Hopefully, I'll make the same sort of improvements.

[roy649]

I decided to try the HR cap this week. This is week 4 of BPP for me. For my first 6500, I planned to start at 2:15 and end up at 2:13. For the second 6500, earlier today, I planned to start at 2:14 and hold that as long as I could, with a 135 HR cap (top of my aerobic zone based on C2's THRR formula). I hit 135 halfway through, and slowly bled off speed for the rest of the piece, ending up at around 2:20.

• First row
• Second row

The second row certainly felt less hard near the end. I imagine that'll be even more of an effect as the pieces get longer. I guess at this point, the idea is to keep holding 2:14 capped at HR 135 until I get to the point where I can hold 2:14 for the whole piece. Then try picking up the pace.

[RayOfSunshine]

I decided to try the HR cap this week. This is week 4 of BPP for me. For my first 6500, I planned to start at 2:15 and end up at 2:13. For the second 6500, earlier today, I planned to start at 2:14 and hold that as long as I could, with a 135 HR cap (top of my aerobic zone based on C2's THRR formula). I hit 135 halfway through, and slowly bled off speed for the rest of the piece, ending up at around 2:20.

• First row
• Second row

The second row certainly felt less hard near the end. I imagine that'll be even more of an effect as the pieces get longer. I guess at this point, the idea is to keep holding 2:14 capped at HR 135 until I get to the point where I can hold 2:14 for the whole piece. Then try picking up the pace.

Nice work Roy! Rod got me hooked on doing these long HR capped pieces. I've been doing 60' rows capped at 133. I've been moving the drag factor around, etc. My PB was the other day at DF =112. Yesterday was my 2nd best at 12,884. When I first started doing this last fall, I was around 12,500. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere for the last 2 months then BAM... I went above 13k. My aerobic capacity and my form (efficiency) are both noticeably better. I can't believe it, but I actually enjoy doing these longer HR capped rows now.

NOTE you can change the splits. On the PM5, you can have 50. On older PMs, I think the limit is 30. I break the 60' into 30 intervals. For 10k or less, I'd probably break it up in 250m intervals.

[Dangerscouse]

My only comment about the longer HR capped sessions as beneficial as they are is to make sure that you regularly still do tougher sessions.

You can all too easily get used to the easiness of it all and slip back into your comfort zone.

[scottsaz1]

BPP 6.1 7500m

Wanted to push myself a little on this one, so I upped the rate to r21 and planned to stay within high UT1 / AT (155-161). Felt really good - actually can start to feel the impacts of improved fitness - took longer to get up to target HR, and needed less backing off to keep it under 160. Again sprinted the last 250m to feed the ego a bit

[scottsaz1]

BPP 6.2, 3x2000m/4' rest

So I mistakenly forgot to set the rest period on the PM5, so it kind of messed up the rhythm of the session. Had to create a new workout for the 2nd and 3rd intervals

In any case, the first 2k felt really good - I didn't feel that it was anywhere close to an "all out" and had plenty left in the tank. About 500m into the second - hello Mr. Lactic Acid! Wow....hit me like a truck. Had to struggle through the middle 1k and eke out a last 150m sprint. Same on the 3rd.

Overall these felt better than the 2x2000m from a few weeks ago.