Pete Plan 2017

[mdpfirrman]

Lowering the drag I think to increese spm is not the way to go. It a technique matter.

Re wolverine, l4 sessions are 40/70 min, and those are rate changes, at least 4spm difference per section. Just pulling pieces at lower rates at fix rate is a good bit different Mike.

Getting stronger is never a bad thing, but in the end, aerobic fitness is key on 2k.

I don't disagree Henry. My DF has been set too high, though. Whether or not that's been a good idea, perhaps not. I couldn't manage a 2K full out on DF of 170 or so... That's what I've been doing some of my SS rows on (roughly).

[hjs]

Lowering the drag I think to increese spm is not the way to go. It a technique matter.

Re wolverine, l4 sessions are 40/70 min, and those are rate changes, at least 4spm difference per section. Just pulling pieces at lower rates at fix rate is a good bit different Mike.

Getting stronger is never a bad thing, but in the end, aerobic fitness is key on 2k.

I don't disagree Henry. My DF has been set too high, though. Whether or not that's been a good idea, perhaps not. I couldn't manage a 2K full out on DF of 170 or so... That's what I've been doing some of my SS rows on (roughly).

For 2k using a high drag doesn,t make much sense if you ask me. It messes up your stroke. Gives a very lazy stroke.

[hepting]

Dyson - you don't need to do 500m at race pace, you'll drain a lot of energy doing that. Around 15 to 20 minutes, slow SPM (around 18), roughly 30 seconds slower than your 2K pace. Mix in a few 10 second to 15 second speed ups near the end every 2 to 3 minutes. That's it.

Fair point - though I have found doing a 500 at my 2k pace - about 20 minutes before a test is helpful. Before that I do about 5 minutes slow pace, and afterwards slow SS with some pauses for stretching and water etc.. This seems to get my muscles warm-up with plenty of time to fully recover. It is also short enough to avoid any lasting fatigue. I've tested some different methods and that seems to work best for me. Having said that I agree this might not work for everyone - personal preference does play a part here.

[IefTheChief]

2K max test for me today!

PP C3W3D5, 2,000m max test

7:24.8 2,000m 1:51.2 255 1176 29
1:45.3 500m 1:45.3 300 1331 30
1:52.6 1,000m 1:52.6 245 1142 28
1:52.9 1,500m 1:52.9 243 1135 29
1:54.0 2,000m 1:54.0 236 1111 30

@mike, thank you for your sound advice as always, the 2:25/18 warm up worked very well for me! Also your tip to start aggressively was gold. Struggled to keep the power in the last 500m so instead increased the spm to keep the speed. Did 3K @ 2:25 cooling down.

For the rest, nothing to say except that I'm very happy with this

[hepting]

2K max test for me today!

PP C3W3D5, 2,000m max test

7:24.8 2,000m 1:51.2 255 1176 29
1:45.3 500m 1:45.3 300 1331 30
1:52.6 1,000m 1:52.6 245 1142 28
1:52.9 1,500m 1:52.9 243 1135 29
1:54.0 2,000m 1:54.0 236 1111 30

@mike, thank you for your sound advice as always, the 2:25/18 warm up worked very well for me! Also your tip to start aggressively was gold. Struggled to keep the power in the last 500m so instead increased the spm to keep the speed. Did 3K @ 2:25 cooling down.

For the rest, nothing to say except that I'm very happy with this

well done! I do agree with Paul though - you might have taken the painful way home with that first 500 pace... but regardless congrats on putting in the work.

[IefTheChief]

@Paul yes I hear you and I think you're right. I didn't look at the PM for the first 20 strokes, then saw 1:40 avg. I then decreased being afraid I was going to blow up (even though I don't think I was). Now I really know how a max test feels I think I can plan better next time. Think my 1:55 aim was too low, next time I think it should target 1:50 or lower.

[mdpfirrman]

2K max test for me today!

PP C3W3D5, 2,000m max test

7:24.8 2,000m 1:51.2 255 1176 29
1:45.3 500m 1:45.3 300 1331 30
1:52.6 1,000m 1:52.6 245 1142 28
1:52.9 1,500m 1:52.9 243 1135 29
1:54.0 2,000m 1:54.0 236 1111 30

@mike, thank you for your sound advice as always, the 2:25/18 warm up worked very well for me! Also your tip to start aggressively was gold. Struggled to keep the power in the last 500m so instead increased the spm to keep the speed. Did 3K @ 2:25 cooling down.

For the rest, nothing to say except that I'm very happy with this

Wow Ivo! Great time. That was REALLY aggressive on the front end! Personally (and everyone is different), I like to count out around 20 strokes faster on the start and then settle in to my middle "pace" then. The way you did it is impressive, though. If someone shoots out that fast, sometimes they HD on the back end. For you to have the mental fortitude to keep it up is impressive. That's strong. I think if you had settled in just a bit sooner, you might have had something left at the end. Fantastic time! You have to be happy with that.

Did my "hard" row today (PP W1D5) -- well, couldn't have gone worse. I did a lift (not a terribly heavy one but a lot of leg work prior to rowing). I can't remember in the fall if I was doing leg work before the hard row or just upper body work. I do know I used to take a five minute break or more before rowing. I guess I was hell bent on trying to row immediately after my lift today (while my HR was still elevated).

(from my workout log today)
5K (hard row day PP)
21:35 / 5000 / 2:09.5 / 21
1000 / 1:58.8 / 24
1000 / 1:59.8 / 23
1000 / 2:24.4 / 19
1000 / 2:11.1 / 22
1000 / 2:13.4 / 21

Pretty much died on 3rd 1000. Had absolutely nothing left. Been eating vegan all week. Lost four pounds in two weeks. Perhaps that's it. I don't know. Hard to say. Been doing a lot of low SPM work. Maybe I've lost some of my cardio ability. Hard to say but this was a terrible row. Also, incredibly hot (it seemed) in the gym today.

(End of Log)

Well, that pretty much sums up how I feel about today. I pretty much had to stop three times to let my HR settle down as I was maxed out by 2000 meters. I'll have to sort this out. Maybe it's I'm not eating enough (see the weight loss). I've been mostly eating vegan, whole foods diet this week. I have been supplementing some with vegan protein powder. I probably need to add back in organic eggs and get some more protein / calories in me. I've been working / training hard. I did set the DF to around 124 today, so it wasn't that (down from maybe 155 - I checked where I was the other day and it wasn't as high as I thought. It was around 155 or so when I was doing the low SPM work). Without stopping to catch my breath, I probably would have had around a 24 today but couldn't manage to keep that up with as high as my HR was.

[IefTheChief]

Mike, the mental strength came from my boys who shouted me through the really hard bit (I asked them to be my supporters). That sure helped! Sorry you had such a difficult row today. Maybe you're too early in the plan to expect good results? Bet you that in a few weeks things will be much better.

Paul, next time I will have a better idea what my flat pace is, I really had no idea this first time. I now have a marker: 1:51.0, my avg pace of this row.

Thanks Dyson, good luck with your own test!

[mudgeg]

Not strictly BPP but thought I would just check back in after a period of absence. Cold/flu virus hit me hard for the last ten days and still got a lot of crap on my chest and a cough.

However, anxious to get back and feeling overweight and generally rubbish having done absolutely nothing, did a slow 10k without even bothering with pace (set the monitor to calories). Outcome was as follows:

46:09.6 / 10000 / 2:18.4

2000 @ 2:22.4
2000 @ 2:20.2
2000 @ 2:19.7
2000 @ 2:18.9
2000 @ 2:11.5

Spent the whole day in my office trying to talk myself out of it but in the end glad I fronted up and did it. Reckon I have another week to ten days to get rid of the residual effects and then I don't know what. Think the virus was latent for a while because I was out of sorts for a couple of weeks before that. I've clearly lost a bit of fitness and any suggestions about a routine for getting back gratefully received, given that I reached the end of the BPP. Mentally I am not prepared to repeat the last couple of weeks of the BPP but also don't feel ready now to transition to the PP straight away.

[optimuswolf]

Hi everyone - well done on the workouts and especially to IeftheChief for that 2k - smashed your target and as others have said, you'll do even better with more even pacing!

Couple of sessions to report

C1 W1 S2 8k SS
33:47.0 8,000m 2:06.6 23
6:45.7 1,600m 2:06.7 22
6:46.0 3,200m 2:06.8 23
6:45.9 4,800m 2:06.8 23
6:46.2 6,400m 2:06.9 23
6:43.2 8,000m 2:06.0 23

I felt a bit leggy after the speed work the previous day, but form wasn't bad. I've decided to tweak my schedule to include one shorter SS at 20 max SPM and one longer at 23 max. This is after reading an article someone pointed me too on another thread and adds a bit more interest.

C1 W1 S3 5x1500/5r (target 1:58.5)

29:28.8 7,500m 1:57.9 24
5:55.4 1,500m 1:58.4 23
5:54.9 1,500m 1:58.3 24
5:54.9 1,500m 1:58.3 24
5:53.6 1,500m 1:57.8 25
5:50.0 1,500m 1:56.6 26

First time doing this session - very rewarding workout although is a bit long - anything much over 30mins is not ideal. I took the pacing from my best 5k and it was about right. I upped the last two reps but couldn't have sustained much less over the whole set.

5k Run tomorrow. I'll make sure to check my drag settings next time. I se tthe damper at 6 the first time I sat on the machine and it hasn't moved since.

Hope everyone enjoys some easter chocolate with all those calories you've been burning. Especially you Mike....

[mdpfirrman]

Gordon - lots of light SS work like you did today. If you feel exhausted or have a set back, take another day off. When you start to feel not challenged by the SS work, you'll know it. You will lose some progress. The older we get, unfortunately, the faster the aerobic stuff leaves us. It will come back though. It's a marathon, not a sprint. You've gained a lot of overall fitness. When I have terrible rows like today, I keep that in mind. Five years ago, I wouldn't have even attempted what I did today - no way! The fact that I expect to be able to lift for 40 minutes and then walk over to the rower and row a sub 20 minute 5K says a lot about my ill conceived confidence these days! You were smart taking some time off despite the set back. If you start back too soon when it's in your lungs, it can develop into pneumonia.

@ Dean - I'm dairy free! I do actually enjoy some dark chocolate on occasion. My wife is extremely allergic to dairy and I gave it up a year and a half ago. That is something I don't cheat on (sounds silly but it was she give up dairy or feel ill all the time and me giving it up knowing I didn't have to helped her tremendously). Might have to make some homemade stuff with dairy free chocolate (there are some good ones believe it or not!).

[hepting]

Okay Ivo - you got me off my butt in my office and onto my erg for my first 2k try in 10+ years... thanks for that! (note sarcasm )

It hurt (a lot) - and I had little to no sprint left at the end - so suspect this is not far off my current best effort. A lot of work ahead to drop 13.6 seconds and lose a ton of weight - but I am going to give it a shot!

Time: 7:13.5

500 splits
#1 - 1:47.3
#2 - 1:47.9
#3 - 1:48.4
#4 - 1:49.9

Avg: 1:48.4

[Litewait]

Managed 8,000m @ 2:15.1 without the back giving out. Still hurts a bit so most of the row was making sure only the lower half of my body and core are involved in the drive. Faster than the normal recovery row and the heart was pumping, ramped it up to 25/26 SPM which helped.

@gordon - welcome back to the pond.
@dyson - nice job, you will get there for sure.

[mdpfirrman]

Fantastic result Dyson! That's really, really solid. All that aerobic you did years ago in your old rowing days didn't completely go away. It was still there hiding somewhere! Those first two splits were aggressive!

Tim - glad that the back is holding up OK.

[IefTheChief]

Okay Ivo - you got me off my butt in my office and onto my erg for my first 2k try in 10+ years... thanks for that! (note sarcasm )

It hurt (a lot) - and I had little to no sprint left at the end - so suspect this is not far off my current best effort. A lot of work ahead to drop 13.6 seconds and lose a ton of weight - but I am going to give it a shot!

Time: 7:13.5

500 splits
#1 - 1:47.3
#2 - 1:47.9
#3 - 1:48.4
#4 - 1:49.9

Avg: 1:48.4

Im still on recovery from Ivo's 2k

Very well done, job done Dyson.

Great result Gordon, well done! Nicely paced, some people here can learn from that

Paul, me too, very much so