Steady state programming

[Dangerscouse]

You see max HR over 200? Way to go, I haven’t seen anything over 185 in a while and that includes some very hard Jiu Jitsu rounds and sprints. I am 40, 6 ft, 195lb (yeah, by bio needs to be updated) and in decent shape. My HR work is usually in the 125-135 range.

It really doesn't mean very much in terms of if it is high or low; it just is what it is. I know very good rowers (2k of 6:10ish) with a max of 165 and others who are equally as good with a max of 205. Imo all it is useful for is to check training zones and to some extent cardiac drift

[Shrew]

Yeah max HR is just a personal reference point, doesn't mean much more than that. If anything a high max HR probably just means a smaller heart / stroke volume.

I've settled on 2 x 15km 4 days/wk at a 2:08 split for the time being. A few joint and muscle niggles with the sudden volume increase which have mostly gone away. Average HR is 140bpm in the afternoon sessions and 150-160bpm in the mornings. Pretty big difference for identical workouts, probably down to blood pressure.

Added in the Pete Plan short and medium interval workouts on two the other days (thanks for that reference). If I did three days at high intensity, even without any other training involved, I think I'd struggle to recover because those anaerobic sessions really knock me around. Did an 8x500m @ 3 mins rest at an average of 1:38.7 split, last interval 1:37 and deep in oxygen debt. Combining that with the 5k time I seem to have a sub-7 2k surrounded at least.

I've been rowing at DF95-100 because that's as high as the gym machines would go. Increasing it slowly to avoid injuring myself, up to DF110 now. More just to find what works best rather than aiming for a particular target.

[mdpfirrman1]

Your approach is similar to mine. I've adapted the PP training to a couple of days a week myself. I'm doing close to 300K meters a month now and keep the SS work really slow. Someone on here (Mark I want to say) gave me a great tip on SS work a while ago. If the drift is more than 5%, you're likely starting out too fast. I thought that sounded crazy at first, likely because I was coming off a bad back injury and was so out of shape that only at 15 SPM could I do that (and I hate slow rate work!). But after three months of solid meters, I'm up to 19 or 20 SPM keeping the HR well in the UT2 zone and I'm starting to very slowly speed up.

[Shrew]

Coming off a rest day seemed to be a good opportunity to do a 2k to see where I'm at, started out a bit conservatively then wound it up over the last 1k. Could perhaps go a bit quicker with flatter pacing, earlier sprint and just getting used to the distance. But it feels like to go much faster I need more training in that high lactate state. Will leave that to one side for the time being, concentrate on SS for now and add it in later. I suppose an improved aerobic base never feels that obvious, it's always just there propping up the high end work. It all feels the same, only shifted down a split or two.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
6:50.3 2,000m 1:42.5 324 1416 28
1:42.5 500m 1:42.5 325 1418 29
1:44.0 1,000m 1:44.0 311 1370 27
1:43.3 1,500m 1:43.3 318 1392 27
1:40.5 2,000m 1:40.5 345 1486 28

[Shrew]

Progress a bit slower than I would have liked but times are coming down steadily, appreciate the advice here and all the good info in the training threads. Left to my own devices I'd have been doing 5ks three times a week and wondering I'd ever I go under 7 mins.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
6:45.3 2,000m 1:41.3 336 1457 29 181
1:41.1 500m 1:41.1 339 1465 30 175
1:41.9 1,000m 1:41.9 331 1438 28 182
1:41.5 1,500m 1:41.5 335 1451 28 185
1:40.9 2,000m 1:40.9 341 1472 28 184

[iangallagher]

Progress a bit slower than I would have liked but times are coming down steadily, appreciate the advice here and all the good info in the training threads. Left to my own devices I'd have been doing 5ks three times a week and wondering I'd ever I go under 7 mins.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
6:45.3 2,000m 1:41.3 336 1457 29 181
1:41.1 500m 1:41.1 339 1465 30 175
1:41.9 1,000m 1:41.9 331 1438 28 182
1:41.5 1,500m 1:41.5 335 1451 28 185
1:40.9 2,000m 1:40.9 341 1472 28 184

brilliant time! im targeting something like that too. How'd it feel??

[Shrew]

Thanks mate - it felt pretty horrible to be honest. Like I had less in the tank than the last effort, only the numbers were somehow better. I wanted to hold 1:41 and then wind it up in the last 500, but I was clinging onto mid-1:41s and barely had anything left at the end.

For reference, I've been doing 8x500m sets on 3:00 rest at bang on 1:38 pace which is roughly comparable to the sets you've posted in the Pete Plan thread. So you could expect a similar 2k time or a bit quicker?