The Road To Boston 2008

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 29th, 2007, 6:58 pm

Yes, 2 min--now why does the 2 min rest feel so short and the 2 min row feel so LONG???

You've got me beat on these TRs, Deb. I'm doing them with my metrenome set on 30 as that's the slowest rate my old chart had (and I need to work on being able to rate higher--it's my worst failing.) So I did my 8 x 2 TR at 30 and they are all about a second slower than yours. I really hate this kind of workout! Your best was 9.45 mps, mine only 9.03.

av 1:50.9/30
541 1:50.9
542 1:50.7
540 1:51.1
542 1;50.7
539 1:51.3
539 1:51.3
542 1:50.7
540 1:51.1

I saved the 3 x 10 squats with 95 lbs till after so I would have no excuses for not meeting my target (1:51 from last year's chart for a 7:24.) The first set was horrible, second set better, the third set OK until the last 2 reps and then everything started shrieking "yibbidy yibbidy yibbidy yibbidy" (don't ask me that's what I seemed to hear in my head) but I finished the things! uhgh!

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » December 29th, 2007, 11:59 pm

Carla, I think your intervals were well done, most especially if you look at what you did only 10 days ago for only 5 x 2' TR. You pulled almost 1 second off your average split and did 3 more reps! That's the main focus: it's a moving target and clearly things are going to change a lot for each of us as we progress through the 8 weeks. I am looking for trends more than anything else on my end. If I can just see progress, then I know the IP plan is worth the effort.

I pulled some of my spreadsheets from last December, and it's hard to believe that one year ago today I was rowing a 2K in-- oh my gosh this is hard to digest-- 8:24.8. I realize I was only 5 months into erging at that point, but it helps to see that I've taken about 60 seconds off of my time in one year. I'll try to call up that fact when I am feeling like it's too much work to train. Now, of course, the big question is how much more I can do.

What you did with this plan last year re: 2K time reduction is more than inspiring, Carla. It's profoundly motivating at times when it just seems difficult to believe it will happen. Thanks.

Oh, and the Indian food was yummy! I like the food rewards almost as much as my dear dog, who is back to his healthy and rambunctious self again.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 30th, 2007, 5:23 pm

3 x 10 AT today, squats first. My legs felt heavy throughout the workout. Target AT is supposed to be 1:57--1:58. I had a hard time on the first piece, it was a bit slow, and then did better on the 2nd one. But on the third I handled down after 2 min; couldn't get the pace down below 2:00. I didn't want to just grind my way through it at a much slower pace than I was supposed to so I gave myself about 3 min rest and did the 3rd one. It was slow but better.

I don't know if 2 min rest is enough between these. Maybe it should be 3? What is anybody else using for rests between 10 min AT pieces?

2532 1:58.4/26
2543 1:57.9/26
2524 1:58.8/26

Tomorrow is my first AN workout. I missed the actual first one last week (8 x 1 min) and tomorrow is supposed to be 8 x 1:30. I think I'll do it with 4 at 1:30 and 4 at 1:00 to compromise.

I'm trying to fit everything in by listening to the symphony I'm learning (Brahms Symphony #1) while I row, to make it easier to learn, but to do that last 10' I switched to a rock and roll radio station--the Brahms was just too mellow!

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » December 30th, 2007, 8:56 pm

Carla I don't know if that is part of the IP or what, but IMO, you shouldn't do your squats before any hard workout. I do all my weights either on their own or after a workout.

My workout for the day:

AM: 9200m at 1:57

PM: 2 * 10 min: 1:50 and 1:52.
LP: 1.19

TomR · Post by **TomR** » December 30th, 2007, 11:20 pm

Weights Sat PM.

Those are some fine TR intervals, girls.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 30th, 2007, 11:34 pm

tdekoekkoek wrote:Carla I don't know if that is part of the IP or what, but IMO, you shouldn't do your squats before any hard workout. I do all my weights either on their own or after a workout.

My workout for the day:

AM: 9200m at 1:57

PM: 2 * 10 min: 1:50 and 1:52.
LP: 1.19

Not part of the IP.
I am just too lazy to get sweaty twice in the same day and end up showering 2 or 3 times...but now that I'm having more TR and AT and less UT1 and UT2 I may have to do the squats later in the day.

Out of curiosity, how did you come upon 9200m for a workout, was this a number of minutes at 1:57? How much rest between your 10 min pieces? and do you consider 1:50 AT I am guessing? And, for you LP, do you do a few very hard strokes every day and pick the lowest, or just do one massive pull, or what? (I've never done an LP--likely would tear my back apart.)

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » December 31st, 2007, 8:54 am

Carla,

Typically I'd do 50% of the work interval as a rest for AT. So, for 10' pieces, a 5' rest. So yeah, your 2' rest would have you gasping.

Also, I think tdekoekkoek is absolutely correct about putting the weights on their own or at least after the erging.

Also also, waking up to a stolen car can't help the mental state. I'd give you an 'A' for effort on the day.

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » December 31st, 2007, 12:17 pm

Carla, did I miss something about your car getting stolen? So sorry. I don't remember seeing you post that. Stress doesn't help the focus for sure.

I do 50% rest intervals for AT work. I did a bit of research and felt this was the consensus from those who seem to have written plans for winning teams. The intervals for TR were 1:1 ratio or 2 minutes work, 2 minutes rest as well. For the AN workouts, solid research results seem to indicate that up to 200% rest for very short and hard intervals is acceptable. When you get to the AN interval decisions, apparently the difference in the rest you choose dictates whether you are improving your power with shorter rest periods or your lactic acid tolerance with longer ones. I have my first AN workout tomorrow.

Yesterday I did 3 x 10' AT. Target was 2:00

159.9 2501m

159.9 2502m

159.8 2503m

w/u 2019m
c/d 2520m

Total 12,045m

My goal was to think about form, stick with the lowest AT band and not be tempted to "race vs. train" and the workout felt pretty good.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 31st, 2007, 12:54 pm

Okay, so that has been part of my trouble, then, not taking long enough rests. I was doing only 2 min rest between any AT intervals. That was ok a few weeks ago but not right after a TR workout, I guess! 2 min has been just fine for UT1 no matter how long the pieces are.

Today is my first AN & I'm scared!

I think you have it backwards on the power/lactic thing. Shorter rests would improve lactic tolerance and longer ones allow you to recover more for better power development. At least that seems more logical to me.

I posted about my car being stolen on a thread on the UK forum called "things that irritate me" in the Misc. section. We've got it back the same day, but it needs repair.

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » December 31st, 2007, 1:10 pm

You are right, Carla. The IP program makes it clear--I have it backward.

Longer rest = power work

Shorter rest = lactate tolerance.

Guess I haven't done enough short interval work for this to have mattered to me, anyway. I did 2' erg, 2' rest on the only TR workout I've had. So many more to do!

Good luck with the AN work! I am next. <gulp>

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 31st, 2007, 4:48 pm

Okay, so that's done. I sort of wimped out and did the first AN workout that I missed last week (8 x 1 instead of 8 x 1 1/2) as I was not sure I was ready for this intensity! However it went well. I did 2 min rests--I think 1 1/2 min rests would have been enough. As it was each minute was really fine except maybe the last 2 strokes which barely started to hurt.

2246 1:46.8/35 av (total) Target for old chart: 1:48.5--1:49; target for this year's chart: 1:47

I don't use the metrenome for these as it's sort of a mad thrash and if I need to rate higher to hit the pace I do it for these peices. Slowest rate is supposed to be 36, which for my target paces is way under 10 mps. This workout only averaged around 8 mps but this is the one kind of workout where I don't care.

280 1:47.1/38
279 1:47.5/35
275 1:49.0/34 yuck
282 1:46.3/35
282 1:46.3/35
280 1:47.1/34
282 1:46.3/34
285 1:45.2/36

I did my squats after and the last 2 reps I really wondered if I'd get back up. Then I shoveled 4 inches of mashed potato snow and water off the driveway and walks. That felt good.

Now to celebrate New Years--I'm home alone (kids either at school with friends, or up skiing in VT with Dave) and am looking forward to my annual goal setting ritual. It was exciting for me to pull out last year's sheet and find I had actually accomplished about 75% of the goals I had set, both athletically, musically, financially, at work, for church, as well asl just personal stuff. Some of these things have been hanging around on the goal list for a long, long, time, though! But I think if I keep on putting them on the list eventually I'll get around to them!

Happy New Year, everyone! Get charged up about your goals--2008 is going to be awesome!

edited to fix the rate on the 2nd one--had it as 25 spm--wow!

cynthia · Post by **cynthia** » December 31st, 2007, 6:12 pm

Well done today Carla and not to worry if the 3rd piece didn't co-operate. Was the rate really 25 on the 2nd?

In reading about your goals, I have to wonder: are you as intense about everything in your life as you are about rowing and music? Hats off to you!

I'm curious about a note you posted a few days ago regarding rate on your 2' pieces. I think you mentioned that you were working on getting the rate higher. As with the 1' pieces you did today, I would think that if you were to just focus on the speed you are trying to achieve the rate should take care of itself; and all the better if you don't let the rate get away from you. I did a bunch of 250's yesterday and I felt the rate was far too high. It was not pretty and I was a little ashamed of myself for letting it get that way. What I didn't recognize until I went back to write everything down was that after the first 2 or 3, my split remained very similar, but my rate increased to keep it there. I would have preferred to do them all at the same rate as the first few.

Happy New Year!

Cynthia

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » December 31st, 2007, 7:04 pm

Hi Cynthia,

oops, no, the 2nd one was at 35.
The "old" IP had 36--46 as the stroke rate for a pace of 1:48.5. The "new" IP doesn't specify a stroke rate at all, just heart rate. So while it seems the mps is low on these pieces I guess it's what I'm supposed to be doing. ? I don't think I can hit those paces at 10 mps, that is for sure.

What I meant by getting the stroke rate up is I have a tendency to not like rating above 26 or so--it seems to create a different kind of fatigue, the higher rate. I'm definitely trading rate for pace on AN stuff--which is what you end up doing at the end of every 2K, that last 300 m of just-get-over-the-&*&*^%finish line thrash.

The categories on my goal sheets are: Activities (for things I want to try, or things I want to get involved in but don't have specific achievement goals for yet), Creations-music (obviously for musical achievements, arts, crafts), Academic (frequently left empy), Physical Achievements, Spiritual/Relationship, Financial, Housekeeping, Major Projects, Acquisitions, Personal Habits, Business/Work. I'm not that intense about all of them, just the ones that are actual measurable goals. But I have found that if I at least write thing down that I wish I could accomplish, even if I don't focus on it as I do with rowing or violin, it stays on my mind and bugs me and is much more likely to happen! Some of them are things that can be done with routine and discipline, but those that are not , like attitude changes, etc., it just helps to acknowledge to yourself that you want to work on it. I used to do this with my whole family every New Years, and as they've grown up I'm the only one left doing it, which is too bad, but I love it! Along with the goal sheets we would fill out worksheets with things like, "Things I like about myself" (harder to fill out than its counterpart, "Things I want to change about myself".) We also would write little notes to each other member of the family saying what we appreciated about them in particular. I still email that...

TomR · Post by **TomR** » December 31st, 2007, 9:55 pm

AT 2x10, 5 min R

1.57.4 and 1.57.7

unpleasant experience. remind me why I'm doing this.

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » December 31st, 2007, 9:56 pm

seat5 wrote:
Out of curiosity, how did you come upon 9200m for a workout, was this a number of minutes at 1:57? How much rest between your 10 min pieces? and do you consider 1:50 AT I am guessing? And, for you LP, do you do a few very hard strokes every day and pick the lowest, or just do one massive pull, or what? (I've never done an LP--likely would tear my back apart.)

Hi Carla,

The 9200m is just a psychological game I'm playing: Earlier in the winter I was having such a hard time getting going. I was rowing for 10 minutes and stopping, completely pooped. So I started rowing 2400m as a minimum and told myself to add 400m to my minimum every so often. Now I'm up to 9200m. That way I didn't feel so discouraged that I had to row for an hour or something. I was in really good shape in early October race all the head races, and now I'm just still trying to get back to where I was.

I did my 10 minute pieces with 3 minute rest. As far as the 1:50s go, that's a little slower than my AT or at least what my AT should be, but it's all I could muster yesterday. As for the LP, I don't have any strategy really. Just started trying them since others were posting theirs. I've been doing mine by starting at steady state, then 4 to build into about a 40 rating.

Today:

1500 m warmup.

5*800m 1:43.9 - 1:43.0 1.50 rest.

BTW, I like your music choices. I've been listening to Rachmaninoff, but have to admit having to switch to Billy Joel and then The Killers to get a bit more intense.

Cheers and Happy New Year,

Trevor