The Two Types of Training

[ranger]

Okay Rich, this is all very confusing to me. Back on September 27th (approximately page 6 of the original thread) you were talking about doing 8x500. You had already started doing these, and were cocking off about betting $2000 that you would post screen shots of your sessions.

You also had this to say on September 27th, 2009:

"1:45 @ 28 spm (11 SPI) is just my standard distance stroke these days."

I'm sure we could go back and find loads of evidence of you stating that you were doing distance rows even faster than that.

So what really confuses me is how you can do distance rowing at 1:45, but since you're not sharpened you can't even hold 1:47 pace for 2K?? Nothing adds up...what part(s) of the equation are you lying about?

I have explained my physical condition on Sunday. I just didn't have it. Too tired, I guess; and not yet fully prepared (in terms of heart rate).

I wasn't going 1:47. I have no interest in pulling a 2K at 1:47, which I do at 24 spm.

As I have mentioned, for the moment, I am pulling my 2K races at about 31 spm (1:37).

When I am rested and a little better prepared, I think I'll just pull the 2K right through at that, flat splits.

Then I will be ready for hard sharpening.

Briefly, at least, back in September, I had plans of going to BIRC. So I started to sharpen, however prematurely.

I decided pretty early on that I couldn't afford to go, though, so I just went back to my distance training and gave up the premature sharpening.

ranger

[Byron Drachman]

Rich. Your philosophy is pretty straightforward. Lots of endurance work to build a base. The more the work the bigger the base. Then lots of speed work to prepare for the aearobic and anarobic demands of a 2k.

What I can't understand is why you can't seem to get the second part right for a specific event. --snip--

Hi Kevin,

The huge base Ranger reports is as credible as his soon-to-be-just-as-soon-as-I-am-fully-trained 6:16 2K and FM@1:48. Remember he once posted a photo of his monitor when it was displaying total meters. It turned out he was averaging about 10K per day on the erg. We could probably bump that up to 11K per day if we add in the OTW meters he does during his very abbreviated (4 months) OTW season.

Byron

[ranger]

Rich's best rowing was in 2003. Whether he was stronger is not does not matter. He was faster.
Had he continued with the same style he might have clicked that 6:16 or close to it long ago,
but there is no chance of that now.

Entirely wrong, John.

There was no way for me to go faster in 2003.

I tried repeatedly, but just pulled the same.

I couldn't rate higher than 36 spm, and rowing badly, that came out to be only 1:37 spm (10.5 SPI).

My fitness was maximal.

The only way for me to improve was to learn to row more effectively and efficiently.

I needed to learn to get more out of each stroke, but with less effort.

As it turns out, I _wasn't_ any faster in 2003 than I was in 2006.

My last race in 2003, fully trained, was 6:32.

In 2006, I pulled 6:29.7 (without even preparing for it).

The difference.

By 2006, I was pulling 12 SPI, rather than 10.5 SPI.

I am now pulling 12.5 SPI.

At the same rate, you get about a second over 2K from each .1 SPI.

ranger

[snowleopard]

There was no way for me to go faster in 2003.

There's no way for you to go faster in 2010 either (or 2011, 12, 13, 14)

As I have mentioned, for the moment, I am pulling my 2K races at about 31 spm (1:37).

Wise up sparky, you are pulling your 2K races at 1:47 In case you were in a drug-induced coma, you made an eight hour roundtrip at the weekend to pull a 7:11. And let's not forget, your training never, ever makes you tired, stale, sore etc etc; your training prior to this walkabout was perfect; and yet again you were at weight prior to the previous day's workout.

What part of, "I'm a lying sack of bovine ordure" passes you by?

[DUThomas]

I have explained my physical condition on Sunday. I just didn't have it. Too tired, I guess; and not yet fully prepared (in terms of heart rate).

So after weeks and months of no sickness, no staleness, no tiredness, and generally being fresh (and probably as fragrant) as a daisy, you were too tired on race day? What a tough break.

I wasn't going 1:47.

True. Closer to 1:48, wasn't it?

As I have mentioned, for the moment, I am pulling my 2K races at about 31 spm (1:37).

Hilarious. "Races"? Plural?

[BrianStaff]

I wasn't going 1:47.

The erg is a truth machine

[Nosmo]

.......And let's not forget, your training never, ever makes you tired, stale, sore etc etc; your training prior to this walkabout was perfect; and yet again you were at weight prior to the previous day's workout.

What part of, "I'm a lying sack of bovine ordure" passes you by?

If you look back through the past three or more years of threads about ranger, you will see that this type of response never gets anywhere. Ranger likes to provoke responses and this is worse then most everything he writes. If you want to get banned or if you want to provoke ranger into getting banned then keep it up. Calling a mildly delusional attention seeking egomaniac nasty names doesn't make anyone look good (irony noted).

My take on this is that Ranger does actually believe he is one of the greatest ergers of all time and does believe he is capable of smashing the 55-59 lwt WR.
He actually believed he was capable of breaking 6:40 this weekend so he started off at a sub 1:40 pace. Since he was probably barely capable of breaking 6:50, he went out too fast and blew up. He has done this for years. In recent years he has raced many times and have mostly terrible races and a few decent ones. He is capable of racing well, but in general he is really a poor racer--he blows it way too often and doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes.

[aharmer]

"As I have mentioned, for the moment, I am pulling my 2K races at about 31 spm (1:37). "

What races are you pulling 31 & 1:37 in? From what you have stated numerous times, time trialing and racing in workouts is a waste of time. You obviously never did this at home. Was there another race (other than 2003) I missed where you pulled 1:37 at 31?

[BrianStaff]

ranger - are you still doing two races in Boston?

[DUThomas]

not yet fully prepared (in terms of heart rate)

In an earlier post, you stated that your heart wanted to maintain a steady state rate of 145 bpm. This seems odd to me. I was under the impression that one's heart rate continues to rise with increasing effort, and hits a plateau at one's maximum heart rate (and then drops to zero with even more effort ).

Assuming that 145 isn't your maximum heart rate (and I think you might have mentioned a higher number once or twice), isn't getting your heart rate above 145 bpm just a matter of pulling harder? Or are there mini-plateaus in one's heart rate even as the effort increases? Are there any studies on this?

[snowleopard]

.......And let's not forget, your training never, ever makes you tired, stale, sore etc etc; your training prior to this walkabout was perfect; and yet again you were at weight prior to the previous day's workout.

What part of, "I'm a lying sack of bovine ordure" passes you by?

If you look back through the past three or more years of threads about ranger, you will see that this type of response never gets anywhere. Ranger likes to provoke responses and this is worse then most everything he writes. If you want to get banned or if you want to provoke ranger into getting banned then keep it up. Calling a mildly delusional attention seeking egomaniac nasty names doesn't make anyone look good (irony noted).

Well you would have to be pretty dumb to imagine that posting anything on a ranger thread will get one "anywhere". And I don't think it needs three year's of hindsight (no offense btw).

I'll wait for the mods to turn up, thanks.

[ranger]

Since he was probably barely capable of breaking 6:50

Well, in terms of my base (my weight, my endurance, my aerobic capacity, my efficiency, my effectiveness, my training volume, etc.), I am capable of something pretty close to 6:16, I think.

I'll post times for some pieces that demonstrate this.

The best and easiest row for me that would do this, I think, would be 60min @ 1:44.

So, I'll see whether I can get that done soon.

I pull 1:44 @ 27 spm, a beautifully relaxed cadence.

The only remaining issue is just getting my heart rate up to max and getting used to rowing at high rates.

That isn't brain science.

It's simple and it is done very quickly.

You just do a lot of fast intervals, both short and long.

At some point in this training, my heart starts responding quickly to the work, rising to the occasion, to maximal frequency and capacity.

When that starts to happens, I'll just pull a 2K through, 1:37 @ 31/32 spm.

No further work needed.

Then I will be ready for some faster rowing (1:31 @ 38 spm) and the opportunity to grind that 2K time down another dozen seconds.

ranger

[ranger]

In an earlier post, you stated that your heart wanted to maintain a steady state rate of 145 bpm. This seems odd to me. I was under the impression that one's heart rate continues to rise with increasing effort, and hits a plateau at one's maximum heart rate (and then drops to zero with even more effort ).

That depends on what you train it to do.

I have done hundreds and hundreds of hours of UT2 work.

I now row 1:48 at just over UT2 (e.g., 150 bpm).

At the moment, because of this training, my heart locks so heavily into steady state when it gets to UT2 that it doesn't want to rise smoothly and quickly to my max HR.

That's death in a 2K.

You can't do a 2K at UT2.

If your heart locks down and refuses to rise, you _can't_ increase the work load.

You don't have the cadiac output you need to weather it.

ranger

[chgoss]

Since he was probably barely capable of breaking 6:50

Well, in terms of my base (my weight, my endurance, my aerobic capacity, my efficiency, my effectiveness, my training volume, etc.), I am capable of something pretty close to 6:16, I think. I'll post times for some pieces that demonstrate this. The best and easiest row for me that would do this, I think, would be 60min @ 1:44.

Rich: just to be clear, are you saying that you will be posting a screen shot of you doing 17,307meters in 60 min (an average pace of 1:44)?

just yes or no, not "should", or "predicts whatever". yes or no.

[ranger]

Are there any studies on this?

Who needs them?

I know what this feels like exactly, and it happens to me repeatedly in a 2K, if I am not fully prepared to race.

This has to do with my UT2 training volume (my extensive cross-training, etc.) and my stepwise (rather than rotating) training regimen.

I have been building up through the training bands rather than doing all of them simultaneously (as in the WP).

I haven't been training to race.

I have been trying to get better.

Different matter entirely.

Back to the topic of this thread, you get better by working on strength and quickness, basic fitness, technique (leverage, timing, rhythmicity, length, sequencing, etc.),and UT rowing.

You train to race by doing AT, TR, and AN rowing.

ranger