Pete Plan Autumn 2015

[G-dub]

Absolutely, it's a celebration of all the hard work you've done. I think there was ten or so in my age group and there was two guys way faster, one guy a little bit faster and then the rest of us all stretched out time wise. But at the end we could all look at each other and go "man, that sucked," and feel the same way about it. And you will buzz for a couple of days after - at least I did.

PS - I would read past posts about racing starts. It will be a little different and it's worth knowing about.

[mdpfirrman]

Thanks Chris / Glenn. Yeah, I plan on just enjoying the experience. I had to give up trail running nearly two years ago because of a chronic case of runner's knee that wouldn't go away. I was actually worse as a runner than I am a rower (though I'm probably built better for running - just bad knees). I took up rowing because I couldn't run the miles I used to any longer but there's a competitive side to me that also needs to be satisfied and the indoor regattas seem perfect for that. Same with running (as you mention Glenn). Though I was usually in the top part of the bottom 1/3 of runners, even the top runners would talk to you and you all had the common interest that you had just tackled a 4 or 6 mile trail run. I'm sure that rowing is much the same way.

I'll also check into race start threads too. I would imagine you want to start quick but settle in quickly too to a pace you know you can handle.

For me, my PB currently is a 7:30 (don't have the exact numbers because I actually got that on the front end of my PB 5K when I didn't know much about pacing before I started PP). I'm shooting for a 7:20 or under (which is about what my PP numbers now are projecting). I'll probably look up the pacing for that and start fast the first 10 strokes or so and then try to settle in until the last 400 or 500 meters and then go all out.

[G-dub]

The tricky part is that at an event you are a little more keyed up so being smart the first 500 helps. As you've read, there is a lot of passion around pacing strategy, so you will have to decide what's best for you. But I am pretty sure that being a half to a second above pace for the first 500 to 800 makes for a more enjoyable ride. And get on that pace as soon as can, no sense burning matches at the start. You will feel much better at the turn and probably have a nice reserve to finish on. Good news is that you are used to hanging on after too fast a start, so you probably won't go wrong either way!

[Bob S.]

Be careful. Just don't let that additional adrenaline fool you. It is sort of deceptive in that the first 500m can feel easy. Save it for the last 500m when you really need it.

[jackarabit]

Mike, I think you'll race the way you trained intervals and will go out too fast. Please prove me wrong but if not, you have shown the ability to stay with it, so do that, best of luck, and confusion to the enemy (those immediately adjacent may chase your split and find they don't have your tolerance for lactate).

"We'll do what we've done." --John Barth, Sabbatical

"Perfect practise makes perfect performance." --Mike McIntosh, longtime wing shooter

"The right way is not the only way." --Bass Jackward

[mdpfirrman]

Thanks all for the advice. Found some really helpful information on the forums. I think after reading into it, it will probably be best just to get up to speed (or just slightly ahead of target pace) for the first 500m, then into target the next 1100 or so and then go for it more or less on the last 300 to 400m.

Always appreciate the nuggets Jack. I thoroughly enjoy them! Oh, and Glenn, your Bowie reference too was appreciated. He's all over my playlist. Thanks Bob, I'm watching out for that. I'll try not to let it get to me.

Today was steady state work day - 9000m. Got a bit bored and probably pushed a little hard toward the end but not too over the top. Low 2:13 pace (PB plus 21 or so). HR was under 150 until the last 3000m. Probably let it get too high the last 1K meters.

I think my issue Jack on the positive splits has been I start out too fast thinking that I'm not going to be able to hit a mark. Then I slow down a bit at the end of the interval and figure out I just went 1 second faster than I was supposed to. I'm getting into better habits of late - not starting out any interval like a moron - trying to be more consistent throughout the entire interval (see yesterday's workout as an example). The other issue I have is I tended to (in the past) set too low of target paces based on not PP or on actual 2K times but where I think I'm at right now. Inferring where I'm at now from other times (longer distances) is a mistake. I think my cardio is better than my power. It's not accurate to project where I should be on a 2K, for instance, off of a solid 10K time.

My stubborn side wants to go out at 1:49 for the first 500m and then see if I can hold a 1:50 until around 500m from the end and go for it. Probably not a wise strategy. That would be trying to drop 12 seconds off of my actual PB (albeit a while ago). I'm thinking about more like a 1:51 (first 500m), then holding a 1:52 (next 1100 or 1200) and if I can get to 400m or 300m feeling good, I'll really go for broke. That may not get me to 7:20, but I'll not have an incredibly miserable experience either.

The other question I have is should I go all out tomorrow (on my timed PP day) to see what I can do on a 2K and leave let guesswork. Or is it too close to race day (the 14th of February) to try an all out 2K and still be at my best in two weeks?

[jackarabit]

Mike Pfirrman writes:

The other question I have is should I go all out tomorrow (on my timed PP day) to see what I can do on a 2K and leave let guesswork. Or is it too close to race day (the 14th of February) . . .

Mike, I've never raced but I did what felt to me like an all in test last July. Did another a week later and dropped 5+ seconds overall. I recall feeling closer to death after the first. I spitballed a couple of strategies but de facto pacing was frontloaded to the point of insanity in both tests. Purely anecdotal; I have no idea if the energy banks were topped off?

[G-dub]

Mike, there is no right answer I don't think. Some like to do a 1250-1500 the week before to see how it feels. I've heard of doing a rate restricted one, say 28 or so, to keep the effort at 90-95% too. Two weeks out would leave plenty of room for recovery, but you also would be doing less fast meters on that training day (say instead of 8 X 500).

One thing you might think about is dropping the either the hard distance and/or the endurance intervals for the next two weeks and focus on the race pace work. I don't know if it's totally right, but I am doing two "speed" intervals each week all as close to my goal pace for the race as I can. One is less demanding (say 2-3K of work time) but still provides time at pace, the other is longer 800-1K length intervals to get 3.5-4K of work at pace (assuming I can finish them!). The rest of the week is recovery pace rows. Finally, you may want your last ball buster to happen the Saturday before.

[hjs]

Mike Pfirrman writes:

The other question I have is should I go all out tomorrow (on my timed PP day) to see what I can do on a 2K and leave let guesswork. Or is it too close to race day (the 14th of February) . . .

Mike, I've never raced but I did what felt to me like an all in test last July. Did another a week later and dropped 5+ seconds overall. I recall feeling closer to death after the first. I spitballed a couple of strategies but de facto pacing was frontloaded to the point of insanity in both tests. Purely anecdotal; I have no idea if the energy banks were topped off?

Penty of time for the race. A few hard sessions now are just what you need, if you already start tapering you will start loosing fitness. 10 days before the race a 4x1k and 7 days before again a speedsession are fine. 4 days before a last somewhat on reserve sesh.
Knowing what you can and having a good raceplan is very usefull.

[mdpfirrman]

Thanks all. I actually wasn't planning on tapering much except the Friday before. My PP session the Friday before has been 10K relatively hard (not all out but at decent pace - like 80% to 85%). I think what I'll do is test tomorrow then, with a longer cool down and W/U just to get some meters in and then normal PP next two weeks but cut down the Friday before the race from SS UT1 to SS UT2 and then take Saturday off, race Sunday.

At test tomorrow it is. That's exciting. A bit of a respite from PP (but not much of a deviation).

[mdpfirrman]

I think Jack would have been proud of the execution today of my test 2K. I even did the Eddie Fletcher 2K W/U (based on my 7:30 PB time last time) before.

1:50.5 / 29 / 166
1:51.8 / 28 / 167
1:52.4 / 28 / 170
1:51.4 / 29 / 172

7:26.1 / 1:51.5 / 28 / 168 (a new PB by four seconds) - I even figured out how to find the verification code for the log to rank it -- Yeah!

Part of my was a bit disappointed that I didn't hit 7:22.5, which would put me in the top 75th percentile for 50 and over, but I guess I can't complain about a four second drop either. Before doing PP, I was in pretty decent aerobic shape already. I think actually, it's my power that need to catch up to the aerobic strength that I have (but I have room to improve on both significantly).

This certainly gives me a much more concrete idea of pacing for the upcoming race. Thanks all! With the Fletcher WU and the 2K, it's still keeping in spirit with today's timed workout on PP too.

[hjs]

Very nice, well paced gives you a good idea. Point to work on in the future is the rating, but for now don,t worry about it.

[G-dub]

Great stuff Mike! It's never not satisfying to get a PB! Nice confidence booster too. You'll do great at the event.

[christopherregisryan]

Well done, Mike. Plenty more improvement to come. Enjoy your PRs when you achieve them. They get progressively harder to attain and therefore they happen less frequently. - Chris

[jackarabit]

Mike, you proved me wrong. Reined it in just a bit on the first 5C, did you? Less than 2" spread in the split times! Good on you and congratulations. Hope this test firms up your race plan for the best shot at a great time.