Pete Plan Thread

[RowerGal]

You will beat me to sub 8:00 for sure!

Ehhhh, I don't know about that. I had 3:30 rest where you had only 2:00. A significant difference, I think. Funny thing about time goals. Others see opportunities that I sometimes don't. Mainly, because of this rock that sits on top of my shoulders ....

@David, I am hoping to go 8:05 or less sometime in February. Am open to taper and approach if anyone wants to weigh in.

[RayOfSunshine]

@ Mike - I noticed 2k was soft as well. Those times are from 2004! I want to figure out how to add an extra row for season best. I think I will do a 2k after the BPP to see where I stand. I did one a couple weeks after purchasing my C2 and it was bad, real bad. 8:42.5. My C2 arrived near the end of November and I weighed 230 when I started the BPP 6 weeks ago.
Distance Time Pace Standing Date
2,000m 8:42.5 2:10.6 12/15/17
5,000m 22:22.5 2:14.2 01/03/18
6,000m 26:17.4 2:11.4 01/10/18
6,104m 30:00.0 2:27.4 12/13/17
10,000m 49:09.9 2:27.5 11/29/17

@ RowerGal - Oh, I'm very happy with my workouts now (that I listened to everyone). There's a difference between SS and PB Tomorrow is a 5k and I'll do what the plan says. 5k at 2:18 pace for 1/2 then pick up 1s when I can.

[rascott]

BPP 12.2 - 4 x 1500m / 3min rest

Rest Distance 77m
Rest Time 12:00.0
Overall Distance 6,077m
Overall Time 37:57.2
Average Watts 160
Calories Per Hour 850
Stroke Rate 22
Stroke Count 601
Drag Factor 111

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
25:57.2 6,000m 2:09.7 160 850 22 131
6:30.6 1,500m 2:10.2 159 845 22 126
6:30.6 1,500m 2:10.2 159 845 23 130
6:30.7 1,500m 2:10.2 158 845 23 132
6:25.3 1,500m 2:08.4 165 868 23 139

Guidance was to keep 1st 3 intervals to average pace of last time this was rowed which for me was 2:10.2 on 6th Jan....achieved that on the 1st 3 then did 2:08.4 on the last

[RowerGal]

Hey BPPers & FPPers,
Has anyone used the DONATE button on The Pete Plan site recently (within the last year) with success or know if it is still legit by word of mouth?

[mdpfirrman]

Hey BPPers & FPPers,
Has anyone used the DONATE button on The Pete Plan site recently (within the last year) with success or know if it is still legit by word of mouth?

I have. It's in British Pounds. Marston is from the UK and I only know of one blog that is the Pete Plan Lunch Hour blog. It looked secure and looks fine to me.

Nice work Ray. 10K is a decent distance. Your fitness is coming back.

@ Robert - your finish looked solid! Hope that the pelvis recovery is going well. I'm impressed with you even taking this on so soon.

@ RowerGal - I've heard a lot of debates about tapering. After all, it's not a marathon, it's a 2K. Most I've seen don't do AT work the week of the race (or in your case TT). Some have said at least not for 72 hours before a race (not doing AT/intermediate interval work). Most all I've read also say lessen your meters by around 30% to 40% the week before a race. I also take the day off before a race (some say do a quick sprint or two, like 250m, they day before and take off two days before the race instead). I know most like to do fast, short sprints the week before a race too. I like that myself. This approach has worked for me in the last two years (my only races). My first year was a PB by around 7 seconds and last year I was testing horribly before the race (around 7:30) and still managed to tie my PB at that time (7:19).

[JerekKruger]

Hey BPPers & FPPers,
Has anyone used the DONATE button on The Pete Plan site recently (within the last year) with success or know if it is still legit by word of mouth?

I haven't donated, but I did get in contact with Pete a while back via the email address on his blog and he replied, so I think the page is still legitimate and his.

[rascott]

@ Robert - your finish looked solid! Hope that the pelvis recovery is going well. I'm impressed with you even taking this on so soon.

Thanks Mike...the pelvis itself is solid, plenty of screws and plates holding it together. I'll post an x ray when I figure out how. The issue is the imbalance between the hip muscles (adductors, abductors , glutes etc) on each side. Crash was April 17, zimmer frame and crutches until around September 17, lots of hydro and physiotherapy, then just trying to have the discipline to do the exercises daily which is hard when you start feeling normal again. I don't think I'm limping any more but there is still weakness on my left side. I was non weight bearing/touch only for about 4 months so I guess its not too surprising its taken a further 4 months to recover. One of the nurses did say it would take a year. Good news is the rowing is no impact and very doable with this injury - all the physios gave rowing the thumbs up. Also cycling. Running is not recommended and feels "wrong" when I try and jog a few steps.

[jackarabit]

RowerGal writes:

@Mike - Jealous of your taper mode. Today, for the first time, I struggled getting to the erg. Got the job done, but am hoping it was just an "off" moment and I will be able to press on through til early March. I plan to do a TT for the 2K and the 500m sometime next month. Maybe a 5K too, but it is less of a priority. Can't wait to see your results for this weekend.

You also say in post excerpted above that you are starting cycle 6 PP. David (jhop) is another current planner who is over 15 weeks of PP and hasn’t suffered Pete Paralysis. Neither of you should tempt that bug to bite! If you grph your progress, when the slope of pace improvement is decreasing or null, leave the table and cash your chips. If you aren’t scheduled for a race venu, you can pick the moment to test. Give it a couple days to check the effect on recovery time of the 15x3’. If the inner mule continues to balk, do something short and sharp and the following day warm up slowly and thoroughly and test. Carpe diem!!

[RowerGal]

@Mike & @Tom - Thanks for the info re: Donate button. @Mike - Thanks for the input on the taper. I have tried a couple of different ways so was wondering what others did. Didn't have any numbers to work with either (ie: 30-40% decrease in meters) so that is also very helpful.

You also say in post excerpted above that you are starting cycle 6 PP. David (jhop) is another current planner who is over 15 weeks of PP and hasn’t suffered Pete Paralysis. Neither of you should tempt that bug to bite! If you grph your progress, when the slope of pace improvement is decreasing or null, leave the table and cash your chips. If you aren’t scheduled for a race venu, you can pick the moment to test. Give it a couple days to check the effect on recovery time of the 15x3’. If the inner mule continues to balk, do something short and sharp and the following day warm up slowly and thoroughly and test. Carpe diem!!

@jackarabit - Love the term "Pete Paralysis". Have not heard that one yet. @David is bullet-proof, I think. Me, not so much. I also didn't even think about possibly not being quite recovered from the 15x3' workout. Your analysis and recommendations are sound. So far my workout times are still decreasing ... anywhere between a few tenths to a full second or more, so I think it may be more mental, perhaps boredom, setting in. Going to re-evaluate my going forward plan at the end of this week.

Cycle 6/Week 1/Day 2
8020m @2:29 SR16 Strapless
I tried one of the Wolverine L4 10' sequences (168/172/168/172) for 40 mins. I screwed up the 3rd sequence by rowing one 2min piece @ SR17, but it was interesting to see how those are done.

[JerekKruger]

@David, I am hoping to go 8:05 or less sometime in February. Am open to taper and approach if anyone wants to weigh in.

Given your recent speed interval sessions I think you should be able to hit 8:04, maybe even a little faster if the day is right.

How did you find the L4 session? I did them for a bit a while back and enjoyed them, the rate changes and targets give you something to focus on which makes long sessions more interesting (I used to stick a bit of paper with the cumulative stroke count for each phase on it to my monitor and really focused on hitting them perfectly). That said I found I tended to end up going harder on average than if I did a simply 40 minutes at rate 18 say and eventually had to stop.

[mdpfirrman]

If you go by the actual paces suggested by the Wolverine plan when doing L4 work, it's hard stuff. I've replaced the TT day with Wolverine work before but not SS work with L4 work. L4, if done at the suggested paces, is hardly SS work, it's much harder for anything over 20/22 SPM. I'd have to stick to 16/18 to keep it where I'm not working really hard. I've only done it a few times (and it's been a while ago) but I might try it again soon. I understand it much better now than I used to years ago. I prefer the simplicity of the PP (maybe just because I'm lazy).

I think the fact that at least you stuck to the really low rate stuff doing the L4 was smart, though.

[RayOfSunshine]

Week 6.4 BPP
5k - followed the instructions and set my SB (although it's only the 3rd 5k I've done ) Did 1st 2500 @ 2:18 then took 1 sec off where I could (basically every 250 until the end when I took off more).
Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
22:12.6 5,000m 2:13.2 148 808 23
0:54.0 200m 2:15.0 142 789 24
0:55.4 400m 2:18.5 132 753 23
0:55.1 600m 2:17.7 134 760 24
0:55.2 800m 2:18.0 133 758 23
0:55.1 1,000m 2:17.7 134 760 22
0:55.7 1,200m 2:19.2 130 745 23
0:54.9 1,400m 2:17.2 135 765 23
0:55.1 1,600m 2:17.7 134 760 22
0:55.3 1,800m 2:18.2 132 755 23
0:55.0 2,000m 2:17.5 135 763 22
0:54.9 2,200m 2:17.2 135 765 22
0:55.2 2,400m 2:18.0 133 758 22
0:54.4 2,600m 2:16.0 139 778 22
0:54.2 2,800m 2:15.5 141 783 22
0:53.9 3,000m 2:14.7 143 792 22
0:53.5 3,200m 2:13.7 146 803 24
0:53.3 3,400m 2:13.2 148 808 23
0:52.9 3,600m 2:12.2 151 820 23
0:52.3 3,800m 2:10.7 157 838 22
0:52.2 4,000m 2:10.5 157 841 23
0:51.6 4,200m 2:09.0 163 860 23
0:51.0 4,400m 2:07.5 169 880 24
0:49.3 4,600m 2:03.2 187 942 23
0:47.6 4,800m 1:59.0 208 1014 25
0:46.7 5,000m 1:56.7 220 1056 26

[rascott]

BPP 12.3 - 3 x 10min / 2min rest

1st 2 at Monday's 10K pace, 3rd interval a bit faster

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M Ave HR
30:00.0 6,826m 2:11.8 153 825 22 127
10:00.0 2,260m 2:12.7 150 814 22 121
10:00.0 2,259m 2:12.8 149 814 23 126
10:00.0 2,307m 2:10.0 159 847 23 134

Unusual to be counting down seconds rather than the usual metres...nearly put the handle down just before the end of the first interval thinking it was metres running down to zero...

[mitchel674]

BPP 12.3 - 3 x 10min / 2min rest

1st 2 at Monday's 10K pace, 3rd interval a bit faster

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M Ave HR
30:00.0 6,826m 2:11.8 153 825 22 127
10:00.0 2,260m 2:12.7 150 814 22 121
10:00.0 2,259m 2:12.8 149 814 23 126
10:00.0 2,307m 2:10.0 159 847 23 134

Unusual to be counting down seconds rather than the usual metres...nearly put the handle down just before the end of the first interval thinking it was metres running down to zero...

Nice work there.

I just did the BPP week 19 identical workout 3 x 10min, r2.

My target pace was 2:07 which I held nicely for the first two intervals. I really lagged on the last and was only able to muster 2:09. It didn't help that I had a 90 minute tennis lesson before rowing. I've also decided that I don't like timed intervals. I do much better with interval distances. Having a distance target is much more motivating for me than just rowing a certain length of time.

[RowerGal]

Given your recent speed interval sessions I think you should be able to hit 8:04, maybe even a little faster if the day is right.
How did you find the L4 session? I did them for a bit a while back and enjoyed them, the rate changes and targets give you something to focus on which makes long sessions more interesting (I used to stick a bit of paper with the cumulative stroke count for each phase on it to my monitor and really focused on hitting them perfectly). That said I found I tended to end up going harder on average than if I did a simply 40 minutes at rate 18 say and eventually had to stop.

@Jerek - Thanks for your input. That is about the range I was thinking as well. Here's hoping ...
I didn't find the particular L4 session I chose to be too physically demanding since I chose the easiest option and the paces for me were pretty forgiving, even rowing it strapless. I really think I can nail it this weekend when I do the same session again for 60'. I actually "forgot" what 2 minute SR interval I was suppose to be on when I did the 17 SR. Must have been daydreaming or something. It takes quite a bit of concentration. The 2 mins goes by quickly and it is tough to bury an extra stroke like you might be able to in a longer interval of 1000+ meters. I like your idea of putting a piece of paper to catch the exact SR counts. Hadn't thought of that. Will give that a try this weekend.
@Mike - I totally agree with you on the not-so-simple set up of the L4s! For the past 2 weeks I have been reading the Wolverine Plan notes & charts, reviewing all of Mike Caston's commentary, and searching the old C2 Wolverine Plan forum to see if I could get a better understanding of them and their set up. Will have to see if I make it up to the faster paces this season and see how those go. I want to make sure I am doing them correctly before I add any speed to the mix. Plus, the *rule* is to not increase the stroke counts until you have succeeded with the previous, so I will be a good soldier. Yes, thank goodness for the simplicity of the Pete Plan!! I am back to 5x1500m on 5:00 RI later today.
@Rascott - Nice work on the 3x10mins. It is a whole different mental game with time (vs meters) workouts for me. No matter how fast you go, the end doesn't get any closer any faster. Takes some time to adjust to them.