Pete Plan Group - Startup Aug 20th thru 22nd

[G-dub]

Way to hang in there Gordo. Tough ride LW - I know the feeling.

SD - required 8K, 2:09, end HR @ 67%HRR (145), r20 + 30' run this morning

[john_n]

“aussieluke wrote: Just to correct your earlier post, it was pullups that I went from none to 5+ using GtG - that was a few years ago”
Luke - Thanks for correcting me. At least I remembered part of it correctly It’s the best approach I’ve tried… just using an hour timer. By “minimal shoes” for your run, do you mean the kind that have a sole to protect you from pebbles etc but which otherwise have no cushioning or arch support, so they are almost like being barefoot? If so, how do you like them?

Graham - Welcome to the Pete Plan “party,” as at least one other forum member has called it. Thanks for the kind words about things I’ve written. This forum has become a better and more consistent source of rowing inspiration for me, than listening to music while rowing. The highly experienced rowers, like Lindsay and others in the forum, put great value on technique and their results indicate its very worthwhile. Good thing to focus on between now and New Years’.

“paul45 wrote John n the r173 are the rest meters in between the reps”
Thanks Paul. Yes, that’s what I was assuming, that it was 173 meters. There seems to be variation in how various people use the r or the R relating to rowing sessions. I might be remembering it wrong (ask Luke, he can verify that I’ve remembered something wrong lately) but I seem to recall from somewhere, that the lower case r is usually used for rating and the upper case R is usually used for Rest and the way the number is formatted after the R indicating whether it is time or distance. So (if that is true, and I’m not certain it is…) then r173 would be a rating of 173 SPM, which is something only a hummingbird could do. Therefore I assumed it was rest, in meters. If I designate rest in meters I usually try to do it like this 5x1500 R500 for five intervals of 1500 meters with 500 meters of active rest or 5x1500 R5:00 for five intervals of 1500 meters with 5 minutes and zero seconds rest. Open to opinions on that. Those with competitive/crew OTW experience are probably the best authorities on it. It seems to work either way, since I've seen it used either way in the forum with r and R.

Lindsay - injecting some sprint intervals into PP now and then sounds like a version of Luke's great GTG idea. Nice way to spice up things, if they get boring, too. Some of what you did (the 10x20” R60”) reminds of Tabata intervals. A pace of 1:27.8 average for those is rather amazing.

“Bloodbuzz Corio wrote:
Thanks John, though that was 114 strokes at any of 2:10, 2:11 or 2:12 - no way I'm getting 100+ at a single pace!”
Thanks Rohan! That helps me feel a bit better about my the improvable consistency of my pacing, to know that you can’t lock it in like that for a streak of 114 strokes. I’m aware of the Karvonen method using HRR and have read that it’s better to use a percent of HRR than of HRmax. But I don’t have any opinion and scarcely any training background as a foundation for any opinion. Whatever you are doing is working great for you so “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” might be appropriate.

No matter whether a person prefers HRR or HRmax, either way you have to know HRmax which is a lot harder to be certain of than is resting HR. Using 75% HRR looks a lot safer, as far as avoiding overtraining, than using the same percentage of HRmax. There are books written on what you’re asking for opinions on, so… this should be interesting.

You were “feeling your oats” on that hard distance 7500m. Very nice looking, smooth upward slope on the graph.

Jack - Can you (or anyone else) help me understand what UT1 and UT2 are? I know AT is anaerobic threshold, but until visiting this forum, I’d never seen the terms UT1 and UT2. Looked them up once with a search engine and found a couple of confusing passages about them which included obvious typos but it called them “Utility Training” zones 1 and 2 (and then went on to contradict itself regarding them and I think the contradiction was due to a typo or few).

Ben - Nice 8K. After reading your description, I went to the BPP https://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/beginner-training/ to read his advice on what your session was supposed to be like, for week 11 day 3 and it sounds like Pete would have been very happy with what you did and graded you with an A on your Plan report card.

Street - Nice looking intervals and strong final 500m. You’re still smiling, so it was “good” destruction.

Glenn - your comment to Rohan that your HR depends on what you did the day before, reminds me of something I’ve noted. I don’t know how it affects any workouts, but I’ve noted that if I have any alcohol, my RHR will be higher during the night. We got a bottle of wine for a celebration a few days ago and I had one glass that evening (my wife had 1/2 glass). The next morning, I noticed RHR was 2 BPM higher than usual. I had a glass of wine again that evening and the next morning, once again RHR was 2 BPM higher. Last night I finished the bottle and had the last glass of wine and this morning RHR was about 10 BPM higher most of the night and only dipped down to 2 BPM higher than normal RHR for one single reading all night. Back to no-alcohol for me. (My wife says she likes me best when I’m sober, anyway…. ) Anyone else notice similar adverse affects after having one or more drinks? Good work, too, on that 8K SD with a topping of a 30 minute run afterwards.

I've noticed other things that adversely influence HR... such as taking too much of something that thins the blood, like aspirin and fish oil capsules (did that once and got irregular HR for most of the day). Eating a lot of sugar, too, elevates RHR just like I noticed that alcohol does.

Tim - Noticing that you progressively increased the pace quite a bit from first through 5th intervals. Looked at BPP to see what Pete wrote and read, “Aim for the same pace you managed back in week 7 on the first 7 reps, and then faster for the final rep” so I’m wondering if what he means is for you to aim for a constant pace for all of the first 7 and that that pace should be the average pace you achieved in week 7 on all 8 of those in week 7? Or you were you trying to do that same thing by negatively splitting and starting out a lot slower then accelerating through each, so that your overall average for the first 7 would be the same as the overall average for all 8 of week 7? I might be wrong, but until now I would have thought that what Pete wanted was for you to take the average pace for all 8 (not 7) of the 8x500 in week 7 and use that as the pace for each of the first 7 in week 11, then "go for broke" in the 8th. Less chance for the urge to HD that way. But that doesn’t seem to be what he wrote, unless its a typo. Opinions?

Paul’s comment about doing it strapless might be as a technique to help slow you down during the first 7. If you did and wanted the straps for the 8th, you could always cinch them up after the 7th.

Gordon - Congrats on “virtually” achieving a 2K PB! and after two immediately previous, 2Ks only about 1 second/500m slower! There's no doubt you could have, by a wide margin if it was a solo 2K. Feeling tired in the legs the morning after working hard in the 9.5K might be called “the dawn of the DOMS”. Good work.

Nov 2 Cycle 2 Week 2 Day 4
8K recovery session. My mind was wandering and I didn’t pay much attention to pace. Near the end, I used legs-only and kept each drive a bit less than 100% in order to slow the pace and pull its average down nearer the target of 2:18.
Targets in order of importance: 1. HR less than 75% max, 2. Rating 22 and 3. Pace: 2:18
Straps loose as usual, DF 135


Blogged it: http://etherealrowing.com/pete-plan-cyc ... k-1-day-4/

[jackarabit]

@ John N. re: UT HR zones:

UT2 HR-based training zone ( heard "utilization zone 2" which may or may not reference oxygen utilisation and also "low aerobic zone" or "aerobic endurance") defined as 45-60% of 2k power (watts) and/or 65-70% of HRR +RHR.

UT1 HR-based training zone ("high aerobic" or "intense aerobic") defined as 60-70% of 2k power and/or 70-80% of HRR + RHR.

Best explanation, generator, and tables @ Indoor Sports Services, UK. Gotta get back to the Series.

[aussieluke]

“aussieluke wrote: Just to correct your earlier post, it was pullups that I went from none to 5+ using GtG - that was a few years ago”
Luke - Thanks for correcting me. At least I remembered part of it correctly It’s the best approach I’ve tried… just using an hour timer. By “minimal shoes” for your run, do you mean the kind that have a sole to protect you from pebbles etc but which otherwise have no cushioning or arch support, so they are almost like being barefoot? If so, how do you like them?

Glad it's working out for you. Now you've gotten into it a bit, don't be afraid to ditch the timer and go by feel. Another good idea is the 'pushup grid' ...on a board or piece of paper, scribble out a grid say 4 x 4 with however many pushups you want to do that day, then just cross one out every time you do a set.

Note: not this many!

Screen-Shot-2015-10-22-at-1.09.jpg (22.28 KiB) Viewed 5523 times

I normally wear standard cushioned New Balance running shoes, but yesterday I wore my Inov8 195s which are about a 4mm sole and only a 3mm heel-toe drop, with no cushioning.

After not running for a while I'd like to make my running more 'free'. I got a bit bogged down with GPS phone apps, then running watch then heart rate, and worrying that my cusioned shoes were wearing out and not as comfortable... until there were so many things to worry about during a run it just got boring. Hve run in minimal shoes before and as long as you're careful it can be a lot more satisfying. I probably shouldn't have done over 7km yesterday though - feeling it today!

[jackarabit]

Tied 6-6, top of the 10th, rain delay, and ate all the popcorn.

[lindsayh]

Lindsay - injecting some sprint intervals into PP now and then sounds like a version of Luke's great GTG idea. Nice way to spice up things, if they get boring, too. Some of what you did (the 10x20” R60”) reminds of Tabata intervals. A pace of 1:27.8 average for those is rather amazing.
Jack - Can you (or anyone else) help me understand what UT1 and UT2 are? I know AT is anaerobic threshold, but until visiting this forum, I’d never seen the terms UT1 and UT2. Looked them up once with a search engine and found a couple of confusing passages about them which included obvious typos but it called them “Utility Training” zones 1 and 2 (and then went on to contradict itself regarding them and I think the contradiction was due to a typo or few).

Yes John one thing that is appearing for me with PP is that you don't spend any time well below 2km pace (which is probably a reasonable thing for the plan). I am missing that a bit as it has always been part of training for me and so did those Tabata like intervals as an antidote and as a warm up for racing starts for next week. I am sure that my top end speed is well off but will find out next week as doing some short stuff. (I should be way faster than 1:27.8 for that session with some good training I reckon as I have been <1:24 for 10 of those in recent past). The sprints will have to wait til after Boston (though there will be a 1km in November CTC and 500 racing)

My understanding of the training zones and UT1/2 etc is that they are a proxy for lactate levels and therefore are designed to keep your training aerobic or anaerobic and the like. They are by no means perfect but OK in practice as the measuring of blood lactates is a bit of a pain both literally and practically (Greg Smith has written a lot about it if you search for his threads here)
The ISS training guide is a pretty clear explanation as Jack has said above. https://indoorsportservices.co.uk/training/guide

[lindsayh]

Tied 6-6, top of the 10th, rain delay, and ate all the popcorn.

Jack are you a Cub or Indian ?
(just heard the Cubs got up in some sort of epic!!??) - I assume that is good news to some

[jackarabit]

108yr. World Series dry spell for Chitown broken early this AM. Good news for me! Although born and bred Buckeye (Ohio boy), never cared for the lamo loser Cleveland Indians. Always root for National League ballteams in the fall. Cubbies very special losers now winners again for the second time in two successive centuries and two successive millennia.

[lindsayh]

108yr. World Series dry spell for Chitown broken early this AM. Good news for me! Although born and bred Buckeye (Ohio boy), never cared for the lamo loser Cleveland Indians. Always root for National League ballteams in the fall. Cubbies very special losers now winners again for the second time in two successive centuries and two successive millennia.

Go the Cubs then!! (BTW the word "root" has a very different meaning in this part of the word and isn't used in polite company!)

PP2.4.4 tonite
hard distance intervals
2k w/u and c/d @2:15
4x 2km/5'R @1:49.6
goal all <1:50 hopefully and faster than last time 1:50.6 when I messed up the last @1:52
df130 sr29 266w PE 9/10 but in control (pace range 1:47-1:52) Really pleased
1:49.5 (154)
1:49.7 (160)
1:49.6 (164)
1:49.7 (166)

[jackarabit]

We would say "rut" Lindsay, particularly in reference to the mating season of deer. Polite (and acceptable to biologists) in that context. "Root, root, root for the home team. if they don't win it's a shame. . . . ," wouldn't offend anyone's maiden aunt in this country. My Grandma always said "Root hog or die!" and she wasn't known to be a big talker on the subject of sex.

[jackarabit]

Paul, pete doesn't gauge effort by heartrate but rather by pace.

[jackarabit]

John N. writes:

Paul’s comment about doing it strapless might be as a technique to help slow you down during the first 7. If you did and wanted the straps for the 8th, you could always cinch them up after the 7th.

Paul referencing HRM rather than tootsie tensioners. Pete does not gauge effort by heartrate but by pace. I think most of us are beginning to cotton on to that idear--I most surely have!

[aussieluke]

PP week 6 day 5

1000m warmup

2000m 1:44.3 6:57.4 r33 FINALLY!!!

1000m cooldown


Was not pretty. But got it done.

Goal was min 1:45 flat but ideally 1:44 until 300m to go then sprint.

10 hard strokes (dipped a little too hard into the 1:30s) got me to a 1:41 average for a while which let me back off a bit at 1:44 but the avg stayed lower for a while. By 1000m though my throat was getting dry and it wasn't so easy anymore. Had a push in the last 300 or so but it barely kept me below 1:45 by the end!

Confidence definitely boosted and next time will not be so nerve wracking that's for sure.

[Gammmmo]

PP week 6 day 5

1000m warmup

2000m 1:44.3 6:57.4 r33 FINALLY!!!

1000m cooldown


Was not pretty. But got it done.

Goal was min 1:45 flat but ideally 1:44 until 300m to go then sprint.

10 hard strokes (dipped a little too hard into the 1:30s) got me to a 1:41 average for a while which let me back off a bit at 1:44 but the avg stayed lower for a while. By 1000m though my throat was getting dry and it wasn't so easy anymore. Had a push in the last 300 or so but it barely kept me below 1:45 by the end!

Confidence definitely boosted and next time will not be so nerve wracking that's for sure.

well done Luke...barrier is now down!

[Pie Man]

congratulations Luke great result.