Pete Plan Thread

[jackarabit]

Re: the interval rest observations above, long rest (5' is about max; longer invites an undesirable cooldown) advantages lactate clearance, rested heart tissue, and "quality" of execution in terms of maintaining good technique and maximum pace over all reps. Short rest develops tolerance for lactate and incomplete heart function recovery--in other words the ability to maintain performance under severe cumulative stress. The rule of thumb: long time out from test or competition use short rest; close to comp use long rest. The takeaway for Pete Planners is up you to discover

[RWAGR]

Lovely David well done!

[mdpfirrman]

@ David -- you've inspired me a bit. My biggest regret (for over a year) is when I was doing the PP this solid, I didn't test. Before my planned race, I fell off the ledge and got sick multiple times. I might do a 2K TT this week too. Obviously, it won't compare to yours, but maybe, just maybe, I can set a PB?? I'd love sub 7:16/7:15. Would literally make my rowing year!

[JerekKruger]

Splits: Very clear to see where the improvement is needed:

140.4
141.6
143.1
143.8
144.2 *
145.3 **
147.2 ************
144.5

Given your splits I reckon you could have gone a bit faster. You went off too fast at the start and paid for it towards the end. When you do your race it's probably a good idea to keep the adrenaline in check and hold 1:44 for the first 1k before starting to open up into the second. That said, very good work.

[mitchel674]

Fantastic work David!! Your training has certainly paid off.

Mike, those 1500m interval times are impressive. I love how you came unglued at the end. Inspiring!

[jbhop5857]

Hey Tom -
Clearly, you are correct. Honestly, I knew it going into it, but I wanted to see if I could hold a 142.5 to get to 6:50. Learned my lesson on that one, but glad I did. However, that will be the goal for Crash -B in February. I have two races before that which I will not taper or really adjust training for, they are practice. The idea is a .5/500 decrease in time at those and then the 142.5 or whatever absolutely destroying myself will get me on that day.

I love the pain of rowing.
However, there has been a lot of it lately. I absolutely increased my interval split times too quickly in the start and am now paying the price. Even though my times are coming down, I am second guessing myself and not really looking forward to some of the next couple of weeks as I know how much it will hurt. I'm all in at this point, though, and will get a nice little break after Crash-B. I think a winter of steady state long stuff is in order. But, that is for another day.

When you test 2k, what is your strategy? Negative split?

Also, what do you do for a warm up? I know these are some questions not related to PP, but I think we are all trying to test 2k distance, so seems relevant.

Thanks

David

[JerekKruger]

Heh, I know that feeling. I tried for a 6:45 not that long ago and only just managed to limp in 0.3s below 7 minutes as a result of a HD. You slew the sub-7 demon and you got through it which is all that really matters in the end.

It might be that you're getting to the point where you've been following the Pete Plan for too long. I find it catches up to me after two cycles and starts to take a toll on me. I suspect that if you really wanted to run the Pete Plan long term you'd need to reduce the rate of progression on the intervals a fair bit and programme in easy cycles, but at that point I'd be inclined to do something different.

I've only ever done three 2ks. One was when I was 21: it was with the rest of my eight and I am fairly certain there was no strategy other than pull as hard as I could for as long as I could then limp my way over the finish line (otherwise known as fly and die). The second was my PB (done back in August) where I followed a fairly flat pacing (the 500m splits were 1:42.1, 1:44.7, 1:43.7, 1:42.8). The third was my recent HD fest where the 500m splits were 1:39.7, 1:41.3, 1:46.0, 1:52.2 (6:59.1 total).

If I were to row a 2k tomorrow I'd aim to 1:43/1:42 at about rate 28 (that's roughly my natural power at that stroke rate, though I'd let my stroke rate increase as the piece went on) for the first 1k then slowly bring the pressure up through the second, aiming for a 6:48 or a little better. I guess that counts as negative splitting, though fairly conservative negative splitting.

As for warm-up I'm pretty bad at doing a good warm up for pieces like this. At the very least I'd spend a few minutes doing Pick drills followed by a couple of kilometers of light rowing, then do some 10s and 20s at race pace, then do some light rowing before stopping and resting before the actual TT. Some people do much longer warm-ups than that.

[mdpfirrman]

@ David - I'm certainly not at your speed level, and I really only have around 5 all out 2Ks under my belt. But what I've learned is that the PP prepares you really well for a race! I break it down into the first 250, slightly ahead of target, the next 1250, just holding goal pace. I find it helps to know how long you can sprint when very tired! I know I can hold an all out sprint for around 300 meters. My PBs, I've probably held it a bit longer (but not much) because of adrenaline. When it hits 500, if I'm feeling decent, I'll speed up just slightly and then if I have more, hammer it in the last 300 or so. Something mentally about that last 500 if you've gone out controlled. You were probably about blind in that last 500 the way you started out! Took a lot to finish I'll bet! Looked incredibly painful the way you did it. With better pacing (like Tom mentioned), you should get near a 6:50. I'd target something reasonable (6:52 or so as your split pacing, divide that by four and keep it simple).

At 1000 left, if a 6:52 or so target is "soft", you'll know it. You can adjust at that 3rd 500 and slightly increase your speed (by around one second). You'd be amazed what ground you can make up in the last 500 if you have it in the tank. My first race was against a guy that was one of the best over 60 rowers in the US. He destroyed me. Massive guy. He ended up with a 6:47 (at 63)! I was way behind him (7:19 finish) but in the last 500 (what was left of it for him!), I closed just a tad on him. I was at a 1:51 average until the last 1000 and then realized I had more in me and the last 500 was probably in the low 1:40s. I was seeing high 1:30s on the machine occasionally (totally out of control) and was blown away at what I had left when I went out realistic but somewhat conservative.

Look up the Eddie Fletcher W/U. It's (roughly) 20 minutes, might be 22 minutes @ 18 SPM stuff around 30/35 seconds off your PB 2K pace. After around 10 minutes or so, you do some 10 to 15 second race pace mini speed ups. Like 3 or 4 speed ups total but very brief. Most is low rate, very easy, deliberate work.

[RowerGal]

WOW! Lots of good stuff happening in here today.

mitchel674 - I don't have much more to add to the good advice you have already received here except, as time goes on you get more "comfortable being uncomfortable" so you can keep a higher intensity for a bit longer and get back to work not fully recovered. For me, my HR does not come down to resting during a session's rest interval. But I did not start out rowing sessions that way. I am doing the 5x1500s this week and already dreading them. They are not my strength and they hurt.

@David - Congrats on the 2K PB! Gotta feel good.

@Mike - Seems to be some good 2K TT mojo going on at the moment should you wish to drink the Kool Aid! I am suppose to do a 2K next month for another challenge, but I didn't want to wait either. I was feeling strong in my workouts and didn't want the pressure to do it under someone else's timeline, so that is why I did mine this month. Good luck if you decide to do one. Also, strong work on the 1500s today. Nice drop on the average. That 4th one is where my wheels typically fall off. Knowing it is the last helps push me through #5.

I rowed long today and played with some gearing and shifted from SR20 to SR22 by 2K. Kept things interesting.

[RowerGal]

Well, that image didn't post right to my previous entry. Here is my row from today:

[hjs]

Splits: Very clear to see where the improvement is needed:

140.4
141.6
143.1
143.8
144.2 *
145.3 **
147.2 ************
144.5

Given your splits I reckon you could have gone a bit faster. You went off too fast at the start and paid for it towards the end. When you do your race it's probably a good idea to keep the adrenaline in check and hold 1:44 for the first 1k before starting to open up into the second. That said, very good work.

Indeed, key becomes pacing, feeling how fast you can go. I like to see a fast last 300, the last 600 you should up the rating, last 100m sprint with a sprintstroke. Work on those things during your speedsessions.

Saw you talk about your improvement, you are still far from done, every speedsession you have loads left in your last rep, as long as you have that you are not done. When you really have to push to stay on pace you reached your current max. Your current pacing is also a result of you not knowing what you can atm.

[mdpfirrman]

Well, that image didn't post right to my previous entry. Here is my row from today:

12K is hardcore for SS distance doing the Pete Plan for a 53 year old! I would know! I've cut my SS distances down to 10K. David is doing massive SS meters but he's young!

You can tell your experience in the consistency of your splits. After 3 plus years of rowing, I'm still not quite that consistent with my rates/SPM on longer rows. That's a sign of knowing your form well.

[jbhop5857]

@hjs - You are VERY on point. If I gave you the impression I am done, that is my bad wording. I have been amazed what my body has adapted to, but realize its just the surface. Once I get through the 6 cycles, I just want to change to a different plan for a bit before returning and crushing current times.
I also want to work on longer distance speed.
David

[hjs]

@hjs - You are VERY on point. If I gave you the impression I am done, that is my bad wording. I have been amazed what my body has adapted to, but realize its just the surface. Once I get through the 6 cycles, I just want to change to a different plan for a bit before returning and crushing current times.
I also want to work on longer distance speed.
David

I understood you are certainly not done, only saying you have a good bit left right now.

In the big picture you lots of room, not just looking at your current training, but overall fitness. Looking at times in the 6.30/40 range is very realistic.

[jbhop5857]

@hjs - thanks, I think you are right. I would honestly hope to do 6:30 if I can keep training appropriately.

David