Pondering the Beginner Pete Plan

[Nomark]

Week 14.1 10k. I thought about 13.5 but didn't mainly because I'm scared of doing 3x2000m at 2:00. Only half joking. Seriously because I think SS is more beneficial for me right now and also week 14.2 is 3x2000m and I don't see the point of doing it twice so closely together (unless something untoward happens like with my 4x1500, but we can cross that bridge if we come to it!).

I was planning on taking it a bit slower today as a proper SS, but my brain had other ideas and I settled into an easy quickosh pace with a bit of a sprint finish. My fastest official 10k (slower than the first 10 of my HM though).

2k reps tomorrow or Tuesday

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Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
44:13.7	10,000	2:12.6	150	815	21
8:58.6	2,000	2:14.6	143	793	21
8:53.5	4,000	2:13.3	148	807	21
9:02.8	6,000	2:15.7	140	782	21
8:52.7	8,000	2:13.1	148	809	21
8:26.1	10,000	2:06.5	173	894	22

[DJ1972]

Week 16.1
10500m – Oh no, an increase in distance again! 10000m is a great longer distance training session for indoor rowers, but going “over distance” sometimes and rowing a bit further brings the 10000m further inside your capability range.

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48:14.7	10,500	2:17.8	134	759	20	138
27:34.2	6,000	2:17.8	134	759	20	139
r: 2:00	12						
20:40.5	4,500	2:17.8	134	760	20	137
r12

All in UT2, I cannot complain. The 2 min rest is really useful and somehow HR went down in the 2nd interval.
Tomorrow a difficult 5x1500m. Last week 4x1500m of week 15.5 was on target.

[DJ1972]

Week 16.2:
5 x 1500m / 3min rest – Did you have a taster of this session last week on the optional session? If not, look back to week 13 and the 3 x 2000m session. Aim for the same pace as you achieved then.

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Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M	
29:46.4	7,500	1:59.0	207	1013	25	165
5:57.5	1,500	1:59.1	207	1011	25	157
r: 3:00	18						
5:57.7	1,500	1:59.2	206	1010	24	164
r: 3:00	13						
5:57.6	1,500	1:59.2	207	1011	25	167
r: 3:00	14						
5:57.3	1,500	1:59.1	207	1013	25	167
r: 3:00	20						
5:56.4	1,500	1:58.8	209	1018	26	170
r65			

Not a great session for me, but target of 1:59.3 completed. Very difficult session in terms of distance versus number of intervals and I understand the purpose of it for the 2k.

[DJ1972]

Week 16.3
30min – Aim for the same pace you achieved on the 10000m row in week 15. 30mins is less time than it took you to cover 10000m, so you should have some energy left to speed up in the final minutes.

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Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M	
30:00.0	7,154	2:05.8	176	904	20	158
6:00.0	1,432	2:05.6	176	906	20	152
12:00.0	1,433	2:05.6	177	907	20	156
18:00.0	1,430	2:05.8	175	903	20	160
24:00.0	1,429	2:05.9	175	902	20	162
30:00.0	1,431	2:05.7	176	905	20	164

Again, I made the decision to do a 30R20 for strength and technique building. I think that30R20 should be added as an optional session in the plan.

I was targeting 2:06.7 considering I completed the 5x1500m less than 24 h before. 8 hours at the office, I needed to stretch my legs...very happy wiht the result. I am lucky that recovery is not an issue for me and I have no back pain or injuries.

As a reference and comparison, August 2024 when it all started with a 2k trial.

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Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M
8:22.9	2,000	2:05.7	176	906	26
2:01.1	500	2:01.1	197	978	27
2:06.2	1,000	2:06.2	174	899	26
2:09.5	1,500	2:09.5	161	854	26
2:06.0	2,000	2:06.0	175	902	28

[Nomark]

As a reference and comparison, August 2024 when it all started with a 2k trial.

Wow! That is seriously impressive. 30r20 at the same pace as your all out 2k 16 weeks later. I bet you can't wait to do a 2k again at some point and really see what the improvement is.

I've been off the erg for a few days. Walking up and down the garden and filling an 8 yard skip with earth and rubble is my "cross training" this week

[PleaseLockIn]

Crazy. I tried a 9000m with a max power 10 at r20 and only held around 1:55 *facepalm*

My connection with the rower is next to nothing- even collapsing at the front. No wonder when I tried holding 2:15 r20 at the end my HR shot up to 180s

https://log.concept2.com/profile/2501432/log/99961386

damn. I came off a minor sprain. I need to step it up!

[reuben]

Week 16.2:
5 x 1500m / 3min rest – Did you have a taster of this session last week on the optional session? If not, look back to week 13 and the 3 x 2000m session. Aim for the same pace as you achieved then.
...
Very difficult session in terms of distance versus number of intervals and I understand the purpose of it for the 2k.

Yeah, when I saw this on the schedule, I wasn't enthused. I looked back at my 3x2k 4r session and saw decent numbers (for me), but also the highest heart rate I've seen since I started rowing late last year - I had to add 5 bpm to my estimate of my max heart rate after that, as I went past previous numbers.

So I decided to go 1 second slower than Pete's suggestion of my previous 3x2k pace and see how it would go. I won't say that it was fun, but it was manageable, and I was able to add 1-2 spm compared to the 3x2k session, which was a personal side goal as I try to become more comfortable with higher stroke rates. And like you, "I understand the purpose of it for the 2k."

There was some wonkiness after the first interval, and while the broad numbers in my c2 log look about right, the graphs of intervals 2-5 are all messed up. Some sort of PM5-ergdata issue, I suppose. No big deal.

I've noticed that for distance intervals like this Pete tends to allow about 1 minute rest / 500m - 2k => 4min, 1.5k => 3 min, etc., at least once we're past the first few weeks and have built up some vague semblance of technique, endurance, and power. This should become useful when I start to make up my own interval sessions, although honestly I'll probably just pick something from the BPP or PP that seems to fit my current level, which I'm thinking is any week with a ~10k SS session.

[reuben]

max power 10

What is this?

[PleaseLockIn]

max power 10

What is this?

The maximum power you can sustain for 10 strokes in a row (10 strokes in a row max). In my university they do this at rate 20.

Got it to 1:55 r20 which isn’t good. The team does at least low 1:40s on it at r20. To be fair my legs did move first and a lot of my power leaked to the ground not in the machine. But it’s a big sign I need to step it up.

PS did a max watts test after, 426W approximately. Just slightly off from the 30 min free rate world record for one stroke.

[Sakly]

max power 10

What is this?

10 big power strokes as strong as you can.

Crazy. I tried a 9000m with a max power 10 at r20 and only held around 1:55 *facepalm*

My connection with the rower is next to nothing- even collapsing at the front. No wonder when I tried holding 2:15 r20 at the end my HR shot up to 180s

https://log.concept2.com/profile/2501432/log/99961386

damn. I came off a minor sprain. I need to step it up!

I think I wrote this already some time ago. If you want to train strong strokes, train strong strokes and not a 9000m.
Focus on one thing at a time, don't mix it, as this has less (to no) value.
Our current internal team challenge is a 20 times 1min on/off at r24. This is a great workout to train big strokes. Focus on 24 very big strokes, don't rush, feel the connection to the machine at the catch, focus on good leg drive first and a strong hip hinge following. Drive the pace down as much as possible. Take the minute rest to get some really deep breaths and recover, to attack the next one and next one and so on.
A steady session has another goal and should be treated differently.

[Dangerscouse]

max power 10

What is this?

10 big power strokes as strong as you can.

Crazy. I tried a 9000m with a max power 10 at r20 and only held around 1:55 *facepalm*

My connection with the rower is next to nothing- even collapsing at the front. No wonder when I tried holding 2:15 r20 at the end my HR shot up to 180s

https://log.concept2.com/profile/2501432/log/99961386

damn. I came off a minor sprain. I need to step it up!

I think I wrote this already some time ago. If you want to train strong strokes, train strong strokes and not a 9000m.
Focus on one thing at a time, don't mix it, as this has less (to no) value.
Our current internal team challenge is a 20 times 1min on/off at r24. This is a great workout to train big strokes. Focus on 24 very big strokes, don't rush, feel the connection to the machine at the catch, focus on good leg drive first and a strong hip hinge following. Drive the pace down as much as possible. Take the minute rest to get some really deep breaths and recover, to attack the next one and next one and so on.
A steady session has another goal and should be treated differently.

I do agree with you Sascha, but power 10s, as I understand it, are standard for University OTW training, so I'm not sure that there's the ability to change the training, regardless of the benefits, unless there's total discretion?

The one minute on / one off at r24 or 30r20 are great suggestions

[p_b82]

The maximum power you can sustain for 10 strokes in a row (10 strokes in a row max). In my university they do this at rate 20.

Got it to 1:55 r20 which isn’t good. The team does at least low 1:40s on it at r20. To be fair my legs did move first and a lot of my power leaked to the ground not in the machine. But it’s a big sign I need to step it up.

PS did a max watts test after, 426W approximately. Just slightly off from the 30 min free rate world record for one stroke.

I think your statement you held 1:55 for 10 strokes is not entirely true, your graph shows you held 1:55 for 14s; which is about half the time needed for 10 strokes at r20
It might be semantics but "holding a pace" isn't the same as once I pushed for 10 strokes the best I managed was X pace.
you also didn't stick at 20spm either according to PM5 maths in your plot.

I'm not trying to nitpick to be mean, but if you're targetting specific goals & then declaring them, you need to be honest with yourself first and foremost.

And what do you mean "my legs moved first" - your legs should move first - so I really don't understand that comment as to mitigate something.

What's the rating of the 426W? - a number on it's own doesn't give much context - if for example it was low 40's you've probably got more left on the table, as being smaller/lighter you ought to be able to get up to the high 40's low 50's. (maybe even higher). if it was in the 50's then you've leaked a lot of power by rating up and dropping stroke quality etc.

Again not as a yardstick for you to compare, but my highest power I've seen was at r47, but my best Wmin was at r42 and there was only 22W difference between the two.
I have managed to hit 50spm as well - but less max power than the above strokes - which means I either need to practice really high rates, or mid 40's is my sweet spot. (or both)

[Sakly]

I do agree with you Sascha, but power 10s, as I understand it, are standard for University OTW training, so I'm not sure that there's the ability to change the training, regardless of the benefits, unless there's total discretion?

The one minute on / one off at r24 or 30r20 are great suggestions

I think you are right with the power 10s, I typically have to do the same in my dragonboat trainings where this is also a typical part.
I only wanted to point out, that you cannot expect a good result/pace of power 10s during your session, when you never train strong strokes specifically. And PleaseLockIn stated several times he cannot get power in his strokes and does not know how to reach his goals for the rate 20 test, but I never saw a training log, when he really focused on this goal in a specific session. And this advice was given several times now, but it feels like he's ignoring them.

[DJ1972]

Crazy. I tried a 9000m with a max power 10 at r20 and only held around 1:55 *facepalm*

My connection with the rower is next to nothing- even collapsing at the front. No wonder when I tried holding 2:15 r20 at the end my HR shot up to 180s

https://log.concept2.com/profile/2501432/log/99961386

damn. I came off a minor sprain. I need to step it up!

Why did you choose this thread as I am quite confused about the thread you chose to talk about your 'experience' about unrelated BPP workout ?

[Nomark]

[This should become useful when I start to make up my own interval sessions, although honestly I'll probably just pick something from the BPP or PP that seems to fit my current level, which I'm thinking is any week with a ~10k SS session.

I've been thinking ahead as well (because I'm impatient!) and the last 4 weeks of the BPP on a loop looks like it could work for a few rounds. 10-12k steady state as well as some long intervals and all the shorter intervals covered (500,, 800, 1k, 1.5k, 2k).