New Personal Best! Brag About That New Pb!

[Dangerscouse]

I think the 3 x 2,000 m failure was down to inexperience - based on the 2 x 2,500 m pace, I figured I could exchange those 500 m less for a 2 second increase of pace, but I misjudged it. If I'd shot for 2:01.0, I think I'd have scraped it!

Easily done, but it's usually down to your ego. In reality there's not much difference between them, and next time take the first one a bit cautiously, the second a bit faster (if possible) and the last one is whatever you can handle. You'll soon know on the first one what's possible.

I do admire your ability to go that far into the pain cave. That sounds really intense!

[Kerry1960]

An unexpected PB today. Aim was to do a fastish (for me) 5k at sub 2:10 pace. But I set off at well below that and felt good at 28spm. After a k I thought PB might be on and made it by 6 secs. Previous best 20:56 17th May.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
20:50.7 5,000m 2:05.0 179 915 29
4:15.8 1,000m 2:07.9 167 875 28
4:11.8 2,000m 2:05.9 175 903 28
4:13.3 3,000m 2:06.6 172 892 28
4:09.4 4,000m 2:04.7 180 921 29
4:00.5 5,000m 2:00.2 201 992 32

[Pendolino]

I think the 3 x 2,000 m failure was down to inexperience - based on the 2 x 2,500 m pace, I figured I could exchange those 500 m less for a 2 second increase of pace, but I misjudged it. If I'd shot for 2:01.0, I think I'd have scraped it!

Easily done, but it's usually down to your ego. In reality there's not much difference between them, and next time take the first one a bit cautiously, the second a bit faster (if possible) and the last one is whatever you can handle. You'll soon know on the first one what's possible.

I do admire your ability to go that far into the pain cave. That sounds really intense!

Cheers mate - I'm fairly well built but super unfit, so my limits are 100% governed by general breathing/cardiovascular factors as opposed to muscles giving up on me. I'd actually take muscular pain over lactic acid pain any day, but I'm always limited by the latter annoyingly! If my arms hadn't physically lost their oxygen supply, I'd have carried on haha

I think I'm getting to the point where I'll need to start thinking in 1/10s of seconds now, whereas up to now I've been knocking whole seconds off with gay abandon

It does feel good to finally be playing around the 2:00 mark though, I'm really focusing on making the intervals painful so I can slowly build towards holding that pace for longer, the next challenge obviously being to do it for 20 mins! My gut tells me that is many months away, though. I've noticed a huge climb between 2:10 and 2:00. Increasing from 2:20 to 2:10 was child's play, in contrast, at least at the sub 10k distances I'm doing!

I'd love to pull 1:45 for 30 minutes one day (nearly 8,600 m), but rule of cubes and all that, will take me decades!

Thanks for your awesome advice and engagement, I really appreciate it and every post has been really helpful

[Pendolino]

An unexpected PB today. Aim was to do a fastish (for me) 5k at sub 2:10 pace. But I set off at well below that and felt good at 28spm. After a k I thought PB might be on and made it by 6 secs. Previous best 20:56 17th May.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
20:50.7 5,000m 2:05.0 179 915 29
4:15.8 1,000m 2:07.9 167 875 28
4:11.8 2,000m 2:05.9 175 903 28
4:13.3 3,000m 2:06.6 172 892 28
4:09.4 4,000m 2:04.7 180 921 29
4:00.5 5,000m 2:00.2 201 992 32

Well done! I guess this, and my own experience above, shows that you truly can have good days and bad days, and they can reflect like night and day in your times

[Dangerscouse]

An unexpected PB today. Aim was to do a fastish (for me) 5k at sub 2:10 pace. But I set off at well below that and felt good at 28spm. After a k I thought PB might be on and made it by 6 secs. Previous best 20:56 17th May.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
20:50.7 5,000m 2:05.0 179 915 29
4:15.8 1,000m 2:07.9 167 875 28
4:11.8 2,000m 2:05.9 175 903 28
4:13.3 3,000m 2:06.6 172 892 28
4:09.4 4,000m 2:04.7 180 921 29
4:00.5 5,000m 2:00.2 201 992 32

That's great Kerry, especially that last 1k

[Kerry1960]

Thanks Stu. I can usually up the pace at the end although it probably means I'm not going hard enough in the first place! I think 20:30 before too long could be possible

[Dangerscouse]

Cheers mate - I'm fairly well built but super unfit, so my limits are 100% governed by general breathing/cardiovascular factors as opposed to muscles giving up on me. I'd actually take muscular pain over lactic acid pain any day, but I'm always limited by the latter annoyingly! If my arms hadn't physically lost their oxygen supply, I'd have carried on haha

I think I'm getting to the point where I'll need to start thinking in 1/10s of seconds now, whereas up to now I've been knocking whole seconds off with gay abandon

It does feel good to finally be playing around the 2:00 mark though, I'm really focusing on making the intervals painful so I can slowly build towards holding that pace for longer, the next challenge obviously being to do it for 20 mins! My gut tells me that is many months away, though. I've noticed a huge climb between 2:10 and 2:00. Increasing from 2:20 to 2:10 was child's play, in contrast, at least at the sub 10k distances I'm doing!

I'd love to pull 1:45 for 30 minutes one day (nearly 8,600 m), but rule of cubes and all that, will take me decades!

Thanks for your awesome advice and engagement, I really appreciate it and every post has been really helpful

This is a good and bad moment. It's good because you've pushed enough to reach the pinnacle of easy(ish) gains, and bad for the same reason

When you find your tipping point, it really is that small a difference at the wrong stage in a session can be the difference between glory and gory.

I don't think you're many months away from 2:00 pace, but it won't be next week either. Be patient and diligent with your training and keep it a good mixture of easy(ish) and hard, with a particular emphasis on easy(ish). It really sounds like you need to keep building your CV system, so plenty of long steady rows will be ideal.

Following something like the Pete Plan will be a good option, if you're not doing it already

[Dangerscouse]

Thanks Stu. I can usually up the pace at the end although it probably means I'm not going hard enough in the first place! I think 20:30 before too long could be possible

It's usually a good idea to be cautious and it's also motivation to go again when you know you could have gone faster. When you're on the absolute limit for too long it can paradoxically be quite a disincentive to go again.

[Pendolino]

Cheers mate - I'm fairly well built but super unfit, so my limits are 100% governed by general breathing/cardiovascular factors as opposed to muscles giving up on me. I'd actually take muscular pain over lactic acid pain any day, but I'm always limited by the latter annoyingly! If my arms hadn't physically lost their oxygen supply, I'd have carried on haha

I think I'm getting to the point where I'll need to start thinking in 1/10s of seconds now, whereas up to now I've been knocking whole seconds off with gay abandon

It does feel good to finally be playing around the 2:00 mark though, I'm really focusing on making the intervals painful so I can slowly build towards holding that pace for longer, the next challenge obviously being to do it for 20 mins! My gut tells me that is many months away, though. I've noticed a huge climb between 2:10 and 2:00. Increasing from 2:20 to 2:10 was child's play, in contrast, at least at the sub 10k distances I'm doing!

I'd love to pull 1:45 for 30 minutes one day (nearly 8,600 m), but rule of cubes and all that, will take me decades!

Thanks for your awesome advice and engagement, I really appreciate it and every post has been really helpful

This is a good and bad moment. It's good because you've pushed enough to reach the pinnacle of easy(ish) gains, and bad for the same reason

When you find your tipping point, it really is that small a difference at the wrong stage in a session can be the difference between glory and gory.

I don't think you're many months away from 2:00 pace, but it won't be next week either. Be patient and diligent with your training and keep it a good mixture of easy(ish) and hard, with a particular emphasis on easy(ish). It really sounds like you need to keep building your CV system, so plenty of long steady rows will be ideal.

Following something like the Pete Plan will be a good option, if you're not doing it already

Thanks for the vote of confidence re: getting the pace down! Honestly, months is my feeling too, although I just beat my previous 5k and did it in 20:45.0 exactly, and funnily enough only needed a minute or so of recovery, versus my usual 5 mins after going hard! Also, this is now faster than my 5k time 6 years ago, so between this and the 8k, I've well and truly edged beyond where I was before. Great feeling!

Also, just for fun, did a 100 m 'all-outer' - my time 3 months ago was 18.5 seconds, and I just did it in 18.1. Interestingly, when I did it back then, I was seriously out of breath afterwards. This time, almost nothing of note! I wasn't expecting huge gains for this given my build, - I'd say that 0.4 seconds was 80% down to technique, 20% perhaps a bit more relevant muscle mass! I'll be honest, I also feel a bit limited by my stability on the seat/not sliding off lol. When I first did it, I really drove away at an angle, which meant I went backwards but the seat did not

Really getting into this indoor rowing lark now!

[KeithT]

An unexpected PB today. Aim was to do a fastish (for me) 5k at sub 2:10 pace. But I set off at well below that and felt good at 28spm. After a k I thought PB might be on and made it by 6 secs. Previous best 20:56 17th May.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
20:50.7 5,000m 2:05.0 179 915 29
4:15.8 1,000m 2:07.9 167 875 28
4:11.8 2,000m 2:05.9 175 903 28
4:13.3 3,000m 2:06.6 172 892 28
4:09.4 4,000m 2:04.7 180 921 29
4:00.5 5,000m 2:00.2 201 992 32

Nice - the unexpected PBs are always fun. You really brought it home strong too so you should feel comfortable that you can go even faster.

[rleeden]

An unexpected 10K PB for me today - 40:16.1. I was aiming for 2:02.5 pace, but set off quicker for the 1km, felt OK and increased my pace slightly, and had some good energy left for a sprint for the last 1km. Really happy to have knocked 35 seconds off my PB, but now my mind has started wondering if I can go sub 40 mins ... that's going to hurt

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
40:16.1 10,000m 2:00.8 199 983 24 146
2:01.8 500m 2:01.8 194 966 24 125
2:01.7 1,000m 2:01.7 194 968 23 127
2:01.2 1,500m 2:01.2 197 976 22 137
2:01.2 2,000m 2:01.2 197 976 23 137
2:01.4 2,500m 2:01.4 196 973 23 136
2:01.2 3,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 140
2:01.3 3,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 141
2:01.1 4,000m 2:01.1 197 978 24 145
2:01.3 4,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 145
2:01.1 5,000m 2:01.1 197 978 25 147
2:01.2 5,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 148
2:01.2 6,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 150
2:01.2 6,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 153
2:01.2 7,000m 2:01.2 197 976 25 153
2:01.2 7,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 152
2:01.2 8,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 152
2:01.2 8,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 154
2:01.2 9,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 157
1:59.2 9,500m 1:59.2 207 1011 28 160
1:53.9 10,000m 1:53.9 237 1115 32 166

[Tandstad]

An unexpected 10K PB for me today - 40:16.1. I was aiming for 2:02.5 pace, but set off quicker for the 1km, felt OK and increased my pace slightly, and had some good energy left for a sprint for the last 1km. Really happy to have knocked 35 seconds off my PB, but now my mind has started wondering if I can go sub 40 mins ... that's going to hurt

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
40:16.1 10,000m 2:00.8 199 983 24 146
2:01.8 500m 2:01.8 194 966 24 125
2:01.7 1,000m 2:01.7 194 968 23 127
2:01.2 1,500m 2:01.2 197 976 22 137
2:01.2 2,000m 2:01.2 197 976 23 137
2:01.4 2,500m 2:01.4 196 973 23 136
2:01.2 3,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 140
2:01.3 3,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 141
2:01.1 4,000m 2:01.1 197 978 24 145
2:01.3 4,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 145
2:01.1 5,000m 2:01.1 197 978 25 147
2:01.2 5,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 148
2:01.2 6,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 150
2:01.2 6,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 153
2:01.2 7,000m 2:01.2 197 976 25 153
2:01.2 7,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 152
2:01.2 8,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 152
2:01.2 8,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 154
2:01.2 9,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 157
1:59.2 9,500m 1:59.2 207 1011 28 160
1:53.9 10,000m 1:53.9 237 1115 32 166

Good job with very strong finish! more to come for sure

[KeithT]

An unexpected 10K PB for me today - 40:16.1. I was aiming for 2:02.5 pace, but set off quicker for the 1km, felt OK and increased my pace slightly, and had some good energy left for a sprint for the last 1km. Really happy to have knocked 35 seconds off my PB, but now my mind has started wondering if I can go sub 40 mins ... that's going to hurt

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
40:16.1 10,000m 2:00.8 199 983 24 146
2:01.8 500m 2:01.8 194 966 24 125
2:01.7 1,000m 2:01.7 194 968 23 127
2:01.2 1,500m 2:01.2 197 976 22 137
2:01.2 2,000m 2:01.2 197 976 23 137
2:01.4 2,500m 2:01.4 196 973 23 136
2:01.2 3,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 140
2:01.3 3,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 141
2:01.1 4,000m 2:01.1 197 978 24 145
2:01.3 4,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 145
2:01.1 5,000m 2:01.1 197 978 25 147
2:01.2 5,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 148
2:01.2 6,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 150
2:01.2 6,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 153
2:01.2 7,000m 2:01.2 197 976 25 153
2:01.2 7,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 152
2:01.2 8,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 152
2:01.2 8,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 154
2:01.2 9,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 157
1:59.2 9,500m 1:59.2 207 1011 28 160
1:53.9 10,000m 1:53.9 237 1115 32 166

LOL - as soon as I saw the time I stared thinking you need to go sub 40:00 and then when I read the whole thing I definitely think that. But first that is massive improvement so well done. Very consistent pacing in the middle with a good finish.

[DavidA]

An unexpected PB today. Aim was to do a fastish (for me) 5k at sub 2:10 pace. But I set off at well below that and felt good at 28spm. After a k I thought PB might be on and made it by 6 secs. Previous best 20:56 17th May.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
20:50.7 5,000m 2:05.0 179 915 29
4:15.8 1,000m 2:07.9 167 875 28
4:11.8 2,000m 2:05.9 175 903 28
4:13.3 3,000m 2:06.6 172 892 28
4:09.4 4,000m 2:04.7 180 921 29
4:00.5 5,000m 2:00.2 201 992 32

Congratulations!
I find that some days the body is just ready to go. I never can tell when it will happen until I am in a row.

David

[DavidA]

An unexpected 10K PB for me today - 40:16.1. I was aiming for 2:02.5 pace, but set off quicker for the 1km, felt OK and increased my pace slightly, and had some good energy left for a sprint for the last 1km. Really happy to have knocked 35 seconds off my PB, but now my mind has started wondering if I can go sub 40 mins ... that's going to hurt

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal/Hr S/M
40:16.1 10,000m 2:00.8 199 983 24 146
2:01.8 500m 2:01.8 194 966 24 125
2:01.7 1,000m 2:01.7 194 968 23 127
2:01.2 1,500m 2:01.2 197 976 22 137
2:01.2 2,000m 2:01.2 197 976 23 137
2:01.4 2,500m 2:01.4 196 973 23 136
2:01.2 3,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 140
2:01.3 3,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 141
2:01.1 4,000m 2:01.1 197 978 24 145
2:01.3 4,500m 2:01.3 196 974 24 145
2:01.1 5,000m 2:01.1 197 978 25 147
2:01.2 5,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 148
2:01.2 6,000m 2:01.2 197 976 24 150
2:01.2 6,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 153
2:01.2 7,000m 2:01.2 197 976 25 153
2:01.2 7,500m 2:01.2 197 976 24 152
2:01.2 8,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 152
2:01.2 8,500m 2:01.2 197 976 25 154
2:01.2 9,000m 2:01.2 197 976 26 157
1:59.2 9,500m 1:59.2 207 1011 28 160
1:53.9 10,000m 1:53.9 237 1115 32 166

Congratulations!
Great PB. It definitely makes one want to aim for that 'so' close goal.
Good luck.

David