Pondering the Beginner Pete Plan

[Rowan McSheen]

Today should be a run day but there's a full-on Atlantic gale outside with cloud base at treetop height and horizontal rain. This is why I have the erg.

W2S5 3 x 8 mins at same pace as W1's 2 x 10 mins. First two reps slightly ahead of target at 2:11.8 and 2:11.7 and 25 spm, third rep focused on pushing the pace but holding stroke rate to 25 and came in at 2:10.7. Felt like a decent mid-level workout. Onwards and upwards.

[fancyoats]

W11S4 25:00 row

Pete doesn't offer pacing advice for this one, just says to play games trying to hold your pace for as many strokes in a row as you can. Last time I did a 25:00 session, I decided 3/4 of the way through that I wanted to hit 5000m, but fell a bit short (4991m), ended with 2:30.2 average. This time, I had 5000m as a goal in my mind from the beginning.



Thunderstorms last night, flood watch in effect - 100% RH. My gigantic fan makes the humidity a lot more bearable, I must say.

[Rowan McSheen]

I think I've finally figured out how to post images. Only been on this forum since 2014.

W3S1



6,000m, done at UT2. A little hr drift requiring pace adjustment in the latter stages, so 2:20.8 vs 2:18.7 for the previous 5,500m. But felt okay if rather sweaty on a warm day.

[fancyoats]

W11S5 3x1500m/3min rest
Target pace was 2:19.5 from week 8's session.



I had hoped to push harder in the final rep, but alas. I am at least proud of beating my time without the whole fly-and-die drama.

Today I was supposed to go to the open house of the local boat club, maybe get a chance to get on the water, but it got rescheduled for next weekend because of the weather. Unfortunately I have plans to go to NYC next weekend and so I'm going to miss out. Bummer. I hope there will be other chances.

Also my NYC weekend means I am either going to have to skip my rest day in order to get all 5 sessions in, or just skip the 5th session next week. Not sure which is better. Leaning toward rowing M-F and then the weekend will be guilt free. We'll see how the week shakes out.

[fancyoats]

I think I've finally figured out how to post images. Only been on this forum since 2014.

Congrats on saving yourself from typing all the numbers!!

[Sakly]

I think I've finally figured out how to post images. Only been on this forum since 2014.

Congrats on saving yourself from typing all the numbers!!

You can also copy the numbers from your logbook and paste here. Probably even faster than uploading a picture and paste the link.
Using the "code" BB-code will give you a clean look of the numbers.

Btw: good sessions for both of you

[Rowan McSheen]

W11S5 3x1500m/3min rest
Target pace was 2:19.5 from week 8's session.



I had hoped to push harder in the final rep, but alas. I am at least proud of beating my time without the whole fly-and-die drama.
...
Also my NYC weekend means I am either going to have to skip my rest day in order to get all 5 sessions in, or just skip the 5th session next week. Not sure which is better. Leaning toward rowing M-F and then the weekend will be guilt free. We'll see how the week shakes out.

Firstly, that's a hefty improvement on last time and a hefty negative split as well. You're doing something right.

Secondly, why not just resume where you left off when you're back from NYC? You don't have to make a BPP week fit a calendar week. I just methodically and pedantically take each workout in sequence regardless of day or week.

[fancyoats]

Firstly, that's a hefty improvement on last time and a hefty negative split as well. You're doing something right.

Thanks so much for these words of encouragement. I really appreciate them and want you to know that it means a lot

Secondly, why not just resume where you left off when you're back from NYC? You don't have to make a BPP week fit a calendar week. I just methodically and pedantically take each workout in sequence regardless of day or week.

I hadn’t considered that, maybe that’s the best thing to do. There is something tidy and satisfying about 1 week = 1 week, though, and knowing myself, I’m going to want to “catch up” so that the weeks are in alignment again.

[fancyoats]

W12S1 10000

This one felt better than last week.


94%RH

[Rowan McSheen]

Each split quicker than the previous, the very definition of negative splits. Looking good!

For me W3 S2, 2 x 2000m. The original instrux are to go 2 sec/500m quicker than the most recent distance piece but since that was UT2 I referred to the last UT1. For me this resulted in about the same pace as the previous 10-min and 8-min intervals but with twice as much rest, which didn't make sense for my purposes. So for the "BPP reimagined" I cut the rest to 2 minutes but in order to distinguish this session from those broadly similar time-based intervals I aimed for the prescribed 2 sec/500m quicker to 1500m (2:11.x/500m) and then another 2 sec quicker in the final 500. Which led to a satisfyingly sweaty mid-level workout with a little sting in the tail

[fancyoats]

W12S2 4x1500/3min rest



Overall, I held the same average as the 4x1500 I did on Saturday (2:18.2), but this time I feel like I really hit a wall in the last interval. Instead of boosting, I was struggling to maintain, and slipping. Could have been worse, but could have been better.

RH: 92%

[Rowan McSheen]

W3S3 6,000m



Taken at UT1 pace. The previous UT1 session was an outlier as it was a fair bit quicker than the one before. But today it happened again: 2:12.6 vs 2:13.2 last time. I started out at what I thought should be the right pace, about 2:14-2:15 but then picked it up as the heart rate had plenty in reserve. UT1 band is 120-130 bpm for me so it was in the right place from about halfway onwards. I attribute the improvement to the the liquid carbs ingested yesterday evening in the local pub. Must do more research into this.

[Dangerscouse]

I attribute the improvement to the the liquid carbs ingested yesterday evening in the local pub. Must do more research into this.

Never underestimate the benefits of occasionally relaxing with just enough booze. Also don't underestimate how much you've improved, as it can subtly creep up on you.

[Rowan McSheen]

Also don't underestimate how much you've improved, as it can subtly creep up on you.

Whatever the cause, I'll take it! My UT2 pace is slightly declining but I expect this to happen as the distances increase and hr drift becomes more of a factor, and it will likely apply to UT1 soon. More importantly, I have managed to shed 5 lb in recent weeks and am now at 170 lb, with the target being to scrape under 165 and into the lwt category. I need the ideal balance between refreshment in the local tavern speeding my performance and hindering weight loss

[fancyoats]

W12S3 3x10:00/2:00 rest

Instructions say to target your most recent 10k pace (2:34.9) for the first two, then "a little faster" on the third. Easy peasy.



I preserved my rest day yesterday, and I am looking forward to my own refreshments in NYC this weekend Maybe I'll try to fit the 5th session in when I get home Sunday night. I don't usually row at night, but if I do those intervals Sunday night, it'll give me an excuse to keep Monday's 10k on the easy side.

Only 82% RH this morning. So dry!