Pete Plan Group - Startup Aug 20th thru 22nd

[Kxthor911]

Paul and Jack, all that I meant by focusing on seconds is that for the time being I'm not trying to be to hard on myself in focusing on tenths of seconds. At this point in time I was choosing to focus on whole seconds on pacing so I do work to hard and then ease off to much. Should I try and focus on a tighter margin of maybe half a second? I'm all ears at this point y'all, not trying to seem ungrateful but also do not want to over extend at this point. Thanks Paul and Jack

[jackarabit]

Good stuff Nick, Glenn, Mike, Rohan.

If we go three cycles, everyone will have time for sick leave and getting a tuition free intro to one type of erg training Hartmut Dicke was out with the flu for a week plus summer 15 and tested at 26" below his previous tookay. And everyone takes turns saying Wir machen urlaub when the vac time comes. Rotate in or out as you must and do what you can when you can.

[jackarabit]

No problem, Nick. .3" spread in your 750s today. Very nice rendition. Wild pace fluctuations In the distance row didn't bother me much. Got to get the tune in your head in your own good time. Maybe you butcher it for a while and then get impatient with the Yes buts and begin to sing. Pete gave us the tune. You supply the axe. You wail on it or you don't.

[Kxthor911]

No problem, Nick. .3" spread in your 750s today. Very nice rendition. Wild pace fluctuations In the distance row didn't bother me much. Got to get the tune in your head in your own good time. Maybe you butcher it for a while and then get impatient with the Yes buts and begin to sing. Pete gave us the tune. You supply the axe. You wail on it or you don't.

I'm doing my best to follow so far. I think I just need a little time to settle in still. I am focusing, pacing is proving difficult at the moment.

[hjs]

Paul and Jack, all that I meant by focusing on seconds is that for the time being I'm not trying to be to hard on myself in focusing on tenths of seconds. At this point in time I was choosing to focus on whole seconds on pacing so I do work to hard and then ease off to much. Should I try and focus on a tighter margin of maybe half a second? I'm all ears at this point y'all, not trying to seem ungrateful but also do not want to over extend at this point. Thanks Paul and Jack

Being a newby, you will see fast gains, at least thats to be expected, so you certainly don,t have to look at pacing details, round numbers is small enough.

[S-man]

Lots of discussion on pacing for those of us new to this type of plan. FWIW, I've gone for a fairly measured start that's well within what I can do, as I'm thinking of this as more of a marathon than a sprint. Making steady gains over many months is going to be better for me than quickly hitting my limits and crashing and burning with lots of HDs. I also know I'm averse to pain , so gradually building up the mental strength to keep going will hopefully be another important benefit of taking my time. Having said that, if you want a quick training plan to get you to your (current) peak, I'm sure the PP is good for that too. Depends on how you want to use it. My plan: slow now, fast(er) by next spring
Sanz

[mudgeg]

Some very good points made about pacing and intensity on this thread. All of us PP beginners are coming from a different background - age, rowing experience, physiology, time and work constraints and health - so it makes no sense for us to try and compete/compare with each other. Sharing our experience of the Plan is what it is all about and benefitting from the wisdom of the more experienced guys which is why it is good we have a shared thread here.

We are doing this to challenge ourselves, enjoy our rowing experience more and get more out of life from the undoubted health benefits it brings. In this regard the beginners plan is a clear simple to follow route. I've been rowing seriously since March and just making it up as I go along but now I have clear targets, goals and a route to continuos improvement and how hard I push myself is up to me. We can be like the people we see in the gym riding a bike whilst reading a newspaper, bum shoving the erg back and forth for a few metres and pretending this will help us live forever or be at the opposite extreme and be sick in the corner! I prefer the challenge of pushing your personal limits and this is what the PP does - right now I am rowing fewer km but at a greater intensity, quality and pace and surely this is what it is all about. It's also about exploring better technique, pace strategies and yourself.

Us beginners must also be mindful that we are on a 24 week plan and right now this is only Week 2! We won't finish until February 2017. However, right now, I for one feel great, am enjoying the plan enormously and look forward to the challenge of each new session.

Gordon

[adam1882]

Wanted to say hello. I've just started week 3 of the beginner plan. Will be following along and chipping in when I can.

[mdpfirrman]

Regarding the flu / sickness. I got sick for the first time in probably six years last year while doing the plan. There's a lot of research out there how physically demanding training can leave your body susceptible to more illness and weaken your immune system. Personally, I take a 5000 IU Vit D daily along with some odorless garlic pills. I also added in Vit C too (1000 IU). If I feel run down after a session, I might even take a Vit E (I don't often take Vit E / Vit C together though because actually they are so effective together that they can reduce inflammation so much from training they can reduce your actual training gains). If I start feeling bad, zinc for 2/3 days. Doing this, I've been sick only once in the past seven years. Better percentages than the flu shot (though I'd encourage all to get that).

Your Steady State days should definitely be easier days. Like Glenn mentioned, that's vitally important. The interval days make you feel strong and it's hard to reign in the rows on the SS days but you really need to and reserve your energy for the interval sessions / timed day.

@ Gordon - So glad you (and others) are enjoying it. That's the whole idea of the thread. Looking forward to a few more joining us here next week (I think at least one that I know of is joining in next week).

[G-dub]

Good stuff Nick, Glenn, Mike, Rohan.

If we go three cycles, everyone will have time for sick leave and getting a tuition free intro to one type of erg training Hartmut Dicke was out with the flu for a week plus summer 15 and tested at 26" below his previous tookay. And everyone takes turns saying Wir machen urlaub when the vac time comes. Rotate in or out as you must and do what you can when you can.

Or, ideally, you don't get sick at all. It's not part of the program.

[Kxthor911]

I have a good friend that has been encouraging me throughout the process of me starting to get into shape. He has never rowed, but he says there are some similarities with running. He was a top 100 athlete going into college from high school in distance running. He says its normal for your body to get weaker because of all the stress we are putting on ourselves. Go with it, and when you start back from being ill give it a couple of days before you go 100%. Let your body adjust a little more slowly or you will be back right where you were. I'm writing this more for the newbies like myself, just trying to help.

[Kxthor911]

Gordon, great post. I agree that we should share our experiences with the plan from a newbie perspective, but I don't really have a desire to compete against y'all. I'm more just seeing what I can do this first go around.

[G-dub]

An unorthodox thought about pacing: for a while I was getting too wrapped up in it. As a way to get the focus back on feel and PE I would put tape over the pace and row by rate and PE. I only had to worry about strong strokes, good rythm, the feeling of the right amount of effort. The pace was what it was. That monitor can be very helpful and push you to go faster, but it also can absorb a bunch of attention that takes the session out of the body and into the head a little (if that makes sense). Comparing times to others every day does that too.

[Bloodbuzz Corio]

PP Cycle 1, Week 3, Day 5 - Hard Distance 6,000m - 23:10.6 - average pace 1:55.8

Strictly a PB by 6.9 seconds but also only the second time I've ever done 6k. Set out just aiming to see as many 1:56, 1:57 and 1:58s on the monitor as possible - aiming to being smooth and consistent.

First 10 500m splits were 1:56.8/7.2/7.2/6.1/6.2/6.5/5.8/7.1/6.5/6.7 - so perhaps not quite as smooth as I'd hoped - but was still feeling really good at this stage so started thinking a bit of a sprint over the last few hundred meters might not be a bad idea - 11th split was 1:55.5 then really wound it up with 300m to go (power a bit more than spm), and ended up doing the last 500m in 1:49.0. Had 8 of the 12 splits at 'only' 26spm (last 2 at 28).

HR got up to 194 in the final burst - but otherwise sat comfortably between week 1's 5k and last weeks 6k. Today's is the orange line in the chart below.

[mdpfirrman]

Very, very nice row Rohan - very strong indeed!

When I see your times, I have to constantly remember how tall you are and how much you weigh. Even more incredible for a guy that could enter races as a lightweight! My possibilities of being a lightweight are slim to none. I'm the same height as you but I'm probably only 14 or 15% body fat at 189 now. I'd have to actually lose muscle to be that light again (not something I'm willing to do). Your body fat must be ridiculously low to have that kind of power at your weight.