Interval Questions

[gibinux]

I have two interval questions I am hoping someone can help out with.

1) In terms of the actual "start time" of the interval, are you penalized for starting early? I found out the hard way that you can't take a longer rest, but can you start early to avoid that? Or is part of the fun that you're essentially completing 10 individual segments with a countdown?

2) My understanding of doing intervals is that it is supposed to be a more intense pace than normal. My question here is - should I still try to aim for a consistent pace on the intervals and not try to overdo it? Should my pace/stroke rate be similar for all 10 intervals, or should you go as fast/hard as you can? My thinking here is that if my typical pace is 1:55 at 25 SPM without doing intervals, should I be trying to shave a few seconds of my pace off, but keep stroke rate and pace consistent? If so, is there any sort of guidance on how much faster/more intense it should be?

[Dangerscouse]

There's only one benefit of starting early, and that's that you'll be starting at a faster pace so there's a small advantage. The distance / time you need to row will remain the same, but if you start after the rest time expires, your average pace will be a lot higher and you'll waste energy getting it down to your target pace.

Details are very important for the second question. What distance are the 10 intervals distances, and what is the rest period? Or are they different?

When you say 1:55 pace at r25, what distance / time is this for?

[gibinux]

Sorry... that's 10 x 500 m with 1 minute rests. I'm able to hit about 1:50 in intervals with this rest, but closer to 1:55 in a non-stop 5k.

So my takeaway is the clock/distance doesn't start until the rest clock hits zero, but you could ramp up your speed from those initial two or three strokes to get your pace where you want it when the green light goes?

[Cyclist2]

So my takeaway is the clock/distance doesn't start until the rest clock hits zero, but you could ramp up your speed from those initial two or three strokes to get your pace where you want it when the green light goes?

Right. I use the last 10 rest seconds to slowly get the flywheel moving, and that gets my timing right so that when the clock hits zero I can take a good, strong first stroke of the interval, with the flywheel already spinning. That records a pace well below what I'm aiming for and it slowly comes up, but that is easier than starting from a stopped flywheel and having to work it down during the interval. Of course, if you're looking for starts practice, then a stopped flywheel is what you want to start the interval.

As far as pacing, the Pete Plan description is pretty good; i.e. do the first trial of intervals at a pace you know you can maintain for all of them, but then on the last interval, empty the tank. That will drop the average pace for the set. Then that average will be your starting pace the next time you do them. Repeat.

[Dangerscouse]

Sorry... that's 10 x 500 m with 1 minute rests. I'm able to hit about 1:50 in intervals with this rest, but closer to 1:55 in a non-stop 5k.

So my takeaway is the clock/distance doesn't start until the rest clock hits zero, but you could ramp up your speed from those initial two or three strokes to get your pace where you want it when the green light goes?

One minute rest isn't much, but it suits some of us more than others, so if you can hold a 1:50 pace for ten intervals you've got the right pace. As Mark suggests, try and empty the tank on the last interval. I always aim for consistency on all but the last one.

I'd suggest starting to slowly row from maybe ten seconds out, or at least six seconds, and you're aiming to be hitting the catch on zero. If you're aiming for 1:50 pace, it could easily be sub 1:40 for the first few strokes, but that will soon level out as you settle into it.

[gibinux]

Great - thanks guys.

[hikeplusrow]

So my takeaway is the clock/distance doesn't start until the rest clock hits zero, but you could ramp up your speed from those initial two or three strokes to get your pace where you want it when the green light goes?

Right. I use the last 10 rest seconds to slowly get the flywheel moving, and that gets my timing right so that when the clock hits zero I can take a good, strong first stroke of the interval, with the flywheel already spinning. That records a pace well below what I'm aiming for and it slowly comes up, but that is easier than starting from a stopped flywheel and having to work it down during the interval. Of course, if you're looking for starts practice, then a stopped flywheel is what you want to start the interval.

As far as pacing, the Pete Plan description is pretty good; i.e. do the first trial of intervals at a pace you know you can maintain for all of them, but then on the last interval, empty the tank. That will drop the average pace for the set. Then that average will be your starting pace the next time you do them. Repeat.

Also, with rolling starts, you're less likely to injure yourself than you are with big starting efforts from a stopped/stopped (ish) flywheel.

[jamesg]

One minute is a short recovery time that will not drop Lactate much. So the effect according the Interactive Plan site is to improve Lactate removal rate (aka Tolerance). So they have to be done fast to get HR and Lactate up. But ten is a lot; one might think once Lactate is high, job done.

A typical mid plan week in a 26 week Level 3 2k plan is:

14 2x16'UT1 3x7'AT 4x2'TR 2x8'AT 2x4'TR

AT is at 70-80% of 2k test Watts, TR 80-105%.

[iain]

For those unfamiliar, the metres only start when the flywheel is being accelerated (at least on the PM3 antique I have), so there is actually a penalty for finishing a stroke just before the end of the rest interval. For the best time, you should try and be mid-drive on the start.

Re pace, intervals can obviously be done quicker than the same total done continuously, so you should aim to go quicker for a hard session, but to reduce the intensity, you could do an all out pace with breaks. As for Pete's approach, I use similar, but if the pace is close to your maximum, this will quickly get too hard (particularly with lower reps) as some days you won't be able to hit target. IIRC Mike initially used this approach, but changed to a small increase each time you do the same session to maintain the progression.

[hikeplusrow]

For those unfamiliar, the metres only start when the flywheel is being accelerated (at least on the PM3 antique I have), so there is actually a penalty for finishing a stroke just before the end of the rest interval. For the best time, you should try and be mid-drive on the start.

Re pace, intervals can obviously be done quicker than the same total done continuously, so you should aim to go quicker for a hard session, but to reduce the intensity, you could do an all out pace with breaks. As for Pete's approach, I use similar, but if the pace is close to your maximum, this will quickly get too hard (particularly with lower reps) as some days you won't be able to hit target. IIRC Mike initially used this approach, but changed to a small increase each time you do the same session to maintain the progression.

I like to have a target pace for intervals, rather than adopt the approach of going as hard as possible for each interval. I find the latter demotivating. The key is that the intervals are performed at a pace which is faster than if the cumulative total of the intervals were performed as a continuous piece. How much faster will depend on the length of both the interval and the recovery.

[gibinux]

For those unfamiliar, the metres only start when the flywheel is being accelerated (at least on the PM3 antique I have), so there is actually a penalty for finishing a stroke just before the end of the rest interval. For the best time, you should try and be mid-drive on the start.

Re pace, intervals can obviously be done quicker than the same total done continuously, so you should aim to go quicker for a hard session, but to reduce the intensity, you could do an all out pace with breaks. As for Pete's approach, I use similar, but if the pace is close to your maximum, this will quickly get too hard (particularly with lower reps) as some days you won't be able to hit target. IIRC Mike initially used this approach, but changed to a small increase each time you do the same session to maintain the progression.

I like to have a target pace for intervals, rather than adopt the approach of going as hard as possible for each interval. I find the latter demotivating. The key is that the intervals are performed at a pace which is faster than if the cumulative total of the intervals were performed as a continuous piece. How much faster will depend on the length of both the interval and the recovery.

This was actually my initial thinking. Going all out is too over the place for me, but if I target a pace that is a faster than my normal pace at the same distance and try to keep that consistent, it may help to improve my normal pace. Then as that normal pace moves up, I move the interval pace up accordingly.

[hikeplusrow]

For those unfamiliar, the metres only start when the flywheel is being accelerated (at least on the PM3 antique I have), so there is actually a penalty for finishing a stroke just before the end of the rest interval. For the best time, you should try and be mid-drive on the start.

Re pace, intervals can obviously be done quicker than the same total done continuously, so you should aim to go quicker for a hard session, but to reduce the intensity, you could do an all out pace with breaks. As for Pete's approach, I use similar, but if the pace is close to your maximum, this will quickly get too hard (particularly with lower reps) as some days you won't be able to hit target. IIRC Mike initially used this approach, but changed to a small increase each time you do the same session to maintain the progression.

I like to have a target pace for intervals, rather than adopt the approach of going as hard as possible for each interval. I find the latter demotivating. The key is that the intervals are performed at a pace which is faster than if the cumulative total of the intervals were performed as a continuous piece. How much faster will depend on the length of both the interval and the recovery.

This was actually my initial thinking. Going all out is too over the place for me, but if I target a pace that is a faster than my normal pace at the same distance and try to keep that consistent, it may help to improve my normal pace. Then as that normal pace moves up, I move the interval pace up accordingly.

Exactly right. That's what I do.