New Wolverine Plan Thread

[gregsmith01748]

Hi Kevin,

I think you are right. I don't think I pulled back enough on the total strokes when I changed my reference pace.

I'm going to scale back a bit and make sure that I can nail the workouts for a couple of weeks.

[gregsmith01748]

Whoo Hoo, it's interval day!

L1 4 x 1K target pace 1:43.0 (for reference, my best 2k pace is 1:43.8)
actual splits
--> 1:42.9
--> 1:41.8
--> 1:43.0 (was pulling 1:41 at first, but blew up at the 500m mark)
--> 1:42.8 (negative splits 1:44 for first 500, 1:42 for second)

4K warmup (power 10s at 500m intervals)
1K active rest at 2:15r16 after each 1K interval

[KevJGK]

Nice going Greg.

You obviously have the potential to get that 2k down around the 06:50 mark in the not too distant future.

I am very envious.

[gregsmith01748]

Today I learned the importance of not changing two things at once.

I really struggled with my last L4, so I decided to back off the total number of strokes. When I sat down on the erg, I also did a quick check of the drag factor and discovered that I was working at a DF of about 130. Rereading the wolverine plan materials, I had seen that...

"As a matter of policy, always adjust drag factor to ~ 115 for Level 4"

So who am I to ignore such a plainly worded command, so I did. Anyway, today's workout was far more pleasant. I still left a puddle under the erg, but I did not struggle to maintain the prescribed SPM rates and covered ~50 more meters per 10 minute segment than the calculated reference pace would have delivered.

I think this had a lot more to do with the change in drag factor than backing off the stroke total, but I have no real clue. I guess time will tell.

Todays workout:
2 x 40min
Each 40 minute chunk consisting of 168 / 196 / 168 / 196
About 3 minutes between the two 40 minute sessions
reference pace 1:44

As always, I had to really concentrate to get down to 16 SPM, but did OK in most of the segments. By the end, I had exceeded the planned total distance by 431 meters, with an actual total distance of 19661 meters.

Next L4, the drag factor will definitely stay at 115, and I will probably push the 168s up to something a bit higher.

After working out, I did some searching in the forum and found that Bill had posted about lower drag factors making a significant difference for L4 sessions. I guess one day, I will have to work though the "Physics of Ergometers" to work out why.

Tomorrow: L2...

[gregsmith01748]

L2 - 3K / 2.5K / 2K / 1.5K
Target Pace: 1:52
Actual Pace
3K - 1:51.7
2.5K - 1:51.8
2K - 1:51.3
1.5K - 1:49.4

4K warmup with power 10s at each 500m mark
1.5K active rest after each segment @ 2:15r16

[gregsmith01748]

Today: L4 - 2 x 40 min sets

176 / 196 / 176 / 196 repeated twice with 5 minutes between sets
reference pace: 1:44

Plan dist: 19363m, actual: 19782m
basically all 2m splits were on target in terms of SPM.

I did something different today. I'm basically a rowing luddite, but I set up to log 2 minutes splits and then after the workout, I transferred data from my log card to excel. It was nice to be able to check the SPM and pace for each split.

[Bob S.]

I did something different today. I'm basically a rowing luddite, but I set up to log 2 minutes splits and then after the workout, I transferred data from my log card to excel. It was nice to be able to check the SPM and pace for each split.

I like to use a lot of splits myself. I think of it as "oversplitting," but I like to be able to check my HR records in as much detail as possible. The only disadvantage I can see to it is that it probably fills up the log card a lot faster. That doesn't matter to me, since I transfer the data to a spreadsheet (yes, excel) when it gets close to full and just erase the data from the card for reuse. Then the old log card data is stored on my hard drive where I have more than enough storage space.

Bob S.

[gregsmith01748]

I'm off to Taiwan for business, so no erging for the next few days.

Went for a run yesterday.

Today, on a layover at SFO, I found a health club near the airport with concept2s and did a half marathon L3.

21097m - 1:23:07.2 (1:58.2)

The machine was NOT loved. I set the drag factor, but it felt rough on both the pull and recovery. The rollers on the seat were either worn or dirty and so the seat motion was bumpy as well.

There were 3 machines right next to each other, and I grabbed the best of the three. The other two had very wobbly seats. It was interesting seeing a parade of people coming and using the other rowing machines. All of them slammed the damper to 10. Rowed about 35 SPM. and pulled splits around 4:00 and walked away after about 5 minutes.

It made me a little sad to see, because I'll bet these folks end up not liking the experience of rowing, due to a lack of instruction on technique. Maybe the good folks at Concept2 should include some kind of interactive stroke coaching in the new PM model to help people out?

[DavidA]

I'm off to Taiwan for business, so no erging for the next few days.

Went for a run yesterday.

Today, on a layover at SFO, I found a health club near the airport with concept2s and did a half marathon L3.

21097m - 1:23:07.2 (1:58.2)

The machine was NOT loved. I set the drag factor, but it felt rough on both the pull and recovery. The rollers on the seat were either worn or dirty and so the seat motion was bumpy as well.

There were 3 machines right next to each other, and I grabbed the best of the three. The other two had very wobbly seats. It was interesting seeing a parade of people coming and using the other rowing machines. All of them slammed the damper to 10. Rowed about 35 SPM. and pulled splits around 4:00 and walked away after about 5 minutes.

It made me a little sad to see, because I'll bet these folks end up not liking the experience of rowing, due to a lack of instruction on technique. Maybe the good folks at Concept2 should include some kind of interactive stroke coaching in the new PM model to help people out?

Wow, you managed to get a PB by quite a bit on a machine in such bad shape . Imagine what you could do on a nice machine!
That was a worthwhile stopover

David

[gregsmith01748]

I am really pumped about how things are going using the WP. Having the structure that enforces a balance of speed work, endurance and the evil L4 workouts seems to be a big help. I think the low rate L4 workouts are the key. Pulling the mandated splits at such low SPMs has done a lot for for the power I can put in a stroke. And it sure makes 60 to 80 minutes of rowing go by a lot faster when you are constantly tuning your rate up and down.

All that being said, I will definitely be on the lookout for health clubs with concept2 machines in the future. Even if the machine was not in the best shape, at least it worked.

[gregsmith01748]

I got back from Taiwan on Friday morning.

While I was there, I did 60 minutes of boring cardio each morning in the hotel fitness center.
Friday: L4 - 2 x 40 min.
176 / 196 / 176 / 196
176 / 196 / 176 / 196
ref pace: 1:44
total distance: 19599
Not a bad way to get back into it.

Saturday: L3 - 21097m 1:23:49.9 (started fast, but faded gradually)

Sunday: L4 - 2 x 40min.
176 / 200 / 178 / 202
176 / 200^ / 178 / 204
ref pace: 1:44
Total distance: 20023

This workout really mixed it up in terms of pacing and interval durations to see how fast I could get into the pacing groove for each interval. I had a blast with the first 40 minutes, I was hitting the stroke rates and finished 380 meters ahead of the pace. In the secdond set, the 200^ really kicked my butt, after that I was barely hitting the splits and my pacing was pretty sloppy. I thought the last "204" would never end. I do NOT like the segments that have the 3,3,3,1 length intervals.

Good to be back to training after my trip.

[gregsmith01748]

L1 Intervals. Ughh.

4 x 1K, 1K active rest between
1:46.7
1:46.2
1:48.0
1:46.9

Just miserable. I rowed yesterday around 6PM, and then this morning around 7AM. I guess I need more recovery time than that. Felt weak and my times were slow. I wanted to run with splits around 1:43, but the best I managed was 1:46.2 and that was a struggle.

I guess I'll dial it back a notch for tomorrow.

[gregsmith01748]

Yesterday I did an L4 workout. I'm liking the 2 x 40min format. The ability to stretch, and walk around a bit in the middle is pretty good for me. I only stop for about a minute or 2 between the 40 minute sets. I am still working with a reference pace of 1:44.

I decided I wanted a challenge, so I did the same sequence (176 / 196 / 186 / 206) twice. These are all 10 minute sets with 2 minute intervals.
The rates for them are as follows:
176: 16,18,20,18,16
196: 18,20,22,20,18
186: 17,19,21,19,17
206: 19,21,23,21,19
It was pretty cool because these intervals are all pyramids, and the first half are all even rates and the second half all odd. It is also increasing difficulty as it went along. It was like running on rolling hills. I really was paying attention to making the stroke rates and the splits as exact as I could. I was able to hit within 25 to 50 meters of the target distance for each interval. In all cases, I logged too many meters. It's funny how hard it is for me to see the PM show a split that drifts at all higher than the target, but I'm OK with it being low.

Today: L2 3K / 2.5K / 2K / 1.5K. I used the target pace of 1:51. I paddled at 2:15 pace between intervals for 1500m.
Results:
3K - 1:50.1 (thought I was gonna die!)
2.5K - 1:50.8 (still recovering from the 3K)
2K - 1:50.6 (feel good)
1.5K - 1:49.0 (went for it after the half way point)

Question for WP people: What kinds of warm ups do you do for your workouts?
I do not warm up for L3 or L4. For L1 and L2, I do slow 4K, with a power-10 every 500 meters. I'd be interested in any other ideas, because sometimes I wonder if I am working the warmup too hard or not hard enough.

Thanks!

[KevJGK]

Hi Greg

Eddie Fletcher has written a very comprehensive article on warmups for a 2k which I use for my L1 sessions as well although I abbreviate it a lot for L2s. You should find it interesting reading.

http://www.fletchersportscience.co.uk/s ... b4aed725cd

[gregsmith01748]

Thanks for the link. I will definitely try it out for my next interval session. I might cut it down a bit too.

Today: L4 60 min 6 x10 min segments
176 / 196 / 200 / 176 / 196 / 200^
ref pace: 1:44

Hit the distance goals within ~+25 meters for each segment. Boy the 200^ is tough. The last 4 minutes is at 1:57 / 22SPM. I left a nice puddle under the erg, so I guess it was a good workout.