The Road To Boston 2008

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » January 21st, 2008, 10:44 am

Great job yesterday Carla,

Get some rest if you need it, but theres nothing like active recovery. A good long row steady state does wonders for your recovery and gets that oxygen to those tired muscles!

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » January 21st, 2008, 12:27 pm

Rick, inspiration beyond words that you did more rowing yesterday. You are amazing.

Carla, you are very kind. The truth is I have severe anxiety about the race and can relate 100% to your sleepless night. I get this way every time. I often wonder if there will come a day when it doesn't affect me like this. I am doubtful. I appreciate your vote of confidence, but if I ever hit 7:10 it will come with at least another year of training. I would love anything under 7:19.9, but realize I am going to row only what I am able to row, and obsessing about it won't help.

I am back in the land of shaky, weak arms after another torturous strength training session yesterday. I am going to take Trevor's advice and try for an active recovery day. I'm OTW (in the rain it would seem) and will try for 50% pressure with good form. These arms are feeling pathetic. Just when I think I'm making progress, he raises the bar and makes it hard not to hurt enough to swear at him the next day. Like right now.

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » January 22nd, 2008, 8:48 am

Tough session last night even if it was a short one.

2245m 10:00.0 2:13.6 23spm (warmup)
0800m 02:44.7 1:43.0 36spm
2051m 10:00.0 2:26.2 18spm (cooldown)

Added another 100m onto my steady 1:43s and for the first time had doubts halfway along about finishing it. Hung on though and managed it (barely), so it will be on to 900m next time. Drag factor of 133, which now feels very heavy after all the erging at drags in the 80s and 90s. Went to my masseuse of some 23 years afterward for a deep muscle massage.

This morning it was back to the Hard Nock's Gym for the usual recovery 5km.

1120m 06:00.0 2:40.7 21spm (warmup)
5000m 23:05.9 2:18.6 22spm
1187m 06:00.0 2:3x.x 19spm (cooldown)

Very slow this morning, maybe some from the residual effects of the massage rendering me into a state of stupor, but mostly from carrying on a conversation with Dave and Gene as we all rehashed the race on Sunday. Both are looking forward optimistically to the CRASH-B's.

TomR · Post by **TomR** » January 22nd, 2008, 10:08 pm

I was going to do a 5k for the Flyers team challenge, but laid down my burden at the 3k mark.

Disgusted with myself, I added 2k, 1k, 500.

Total 6.5k at 1.57.7

Half-assed way to back into a workout.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » January 22nd, 2008, 10:52 pm

Tom, how's the shoulder?

Deb, you and I sound like twins, at least from a mental point of view! I wonder if it will ever be fun to compete. Right now, as I said to Yvette Sunday, I don't like to row...I like to have rowed

Rick,you are working out twice a day? whew....

Today was a tad lackluster but I put that mainly down to having worked till 9:30PM, missing rehearsal because of a computer crisis at work, then ate dinner, worked on some music and then volunteer stuff and so ended up getting to bed at 1:30, so 6:00 am came much too soon. Tonight....

4 x 1.5 AN
425 1:45.8/37
419 1:47.3/35
419 1:47.3/35
422 1:46.6/35

did the 3 x 10 squats. 100 lbs still feels like a load with the last 4 reps a struggle on every set.
Tomorrow is 2 x 13 UT1, I see no point in stopping. I guess this is an 'easy' week but next week looks 'easy' too. I'll sing a different tune in the morning, I'm sure.

ranger · Post by **ranger** » January 23rd, 2008, 4:12 am

I'm getting into race pace 500s in preparation for WIRC.

I am sure others are, too.

At race pace, I am rowing rowing right at 10MPS, so a 500m is 50 strokes.

A nice way to work your way back to maximal 500s, but get used to relaxing at race pace, too, is to do 30 strokes at race pace (for me, 1:34 @ 32 spm) and then go hard the last 20 strokes (e..g., for me, 1:30 @ 36 spm), to force your HR up repeatedly to some (very!) unfortable level.

I need to try to see 180+ bpm (repeatedly) before Toronto two weeks from now or I will find it hard to push through the middle of a 2K).

It take a while to get the old heart (I am 57 on Friday) thumping that hard--for me, a couple of weeks at least.

ranger

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » January 23rd, 2008, 8:54 am

seat5 wrote:
.....as I said to Yvette Sunday, I don't like to row...I like to have rowed

Aye, there's the rub. You can't have the latter without the former.

As my intensity and volume increase I'll be cutting down on the twice a day stuff. The plan for the immediate future is for doubles two out of every three days. I'll undoubtedly cut that further as CRASH-B's approach.

This morning, steady 7km:

0837m 04:00.0 2:23.3 21spm
7000m 29:13.9 2:05.3 24spm
0802m 04:00.0 2:29.5 18spm

S10MPS with the monitor covered except for meters. 47 degrees, 98df, ribs wrapped, George Thorogood & the Destroyers on the CD player. Felt better than yesterday, probably because of skipping the evening workout last night.
splits:
1000m 2:08.0 23spm
2000m 2:06.1 24spm
3000m 2:05.7 24spm
4000m 2:05.1 23spm
5000m 2:04.7 24spm
6000m 2:04.2 24spm
7000m 2:03.1 24spm

TomR · Post by **TomR** » January 23rd, 2008, 10:08 am

Carla,

The shoulder is ok, as long as I don't attempt to lift heavy objects over my head. It only took me six months to figure that out.

Take the easy week easy. Sometimes I think the mind benefits more than the body when you back off a touch. You did a hard 2k, and you don't recover from those immediately.

Even Rick skipped a workout.

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » January 23rd, 2008, 12:01 pm

Ranger, one of the top coaches at my club who trains men told me his favorite 2K training (at this point where the base training is done and they're working on that 2K time) is to do 4 x 500m at ideal race pace with shorter and shorter rests until you can row the 2K you want. I'm curious how many you do and what kind of rest you take, and whether you are doing them at your goal 2K or lower?

The IP plan is great, but since these 4 x 500m pieces tacked together ultimately seem like they are the race, I would love to hear what you are doing if you don't mind.

Bob, are you about ready for LB?

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » January 23rd, 2008, 5:16 pm

Deborah,

If I can just interject about 500s. I've found, both in my years running track and road races and in rowing that if you do 6-8 500s with only 1:40 or less rest, whatever you do in a workout you are almost guaranteed to be able to do in a race. This turned out to be true for me this last weekend. I did my 500s at 1:42 - 1:38 and rowed a 6:39. The 1:42s were probably a little slower than I should have gone, but I was still building confidence.

Todays workout:

5K in 18:00 1:48 avg.

10*300m, 1:40 rest:
1:37.5 29
1:37.0 30
1:36.6 29
1:35.8 29
1:36.8 29
1:36.8 29
1:36.6 29
1:35.0 31
1:33.6 32
1:33.0 32

1k cooldown

TomR · Post by **TomR** » January 23rd, 2008, 9:06 pm

6x500/ avg pace slightly faster than 1.49

Did the first 4 with 2 min rest. Then took about 6 min and did 2 more. HR on the final one was 162, about 90%, but I didn't have the gumption to do any more.

A few squats afterwards.

seat5 · Post by **seat5** » January 23rd, 2008, 10:39 pm

Today was supposed to be 2 x 13 ut1 but I just did it all in one piece.
6292 2:03.9/22 target 2:04.5

2:07.1
2:05.0
2:04.2
2:04.4
2:04.2
2:03.9
2:03.4
2:03.4
2:03.4
2:02.9
2:03.2
2:03.2
2:03.2

It felt fine. Squats after were as hard as ever.

Rowmaniac · Post by **Rowmaniac** » January 24th, 2008, 12:13 am

Thanks, Trevor. Sounds as if you had a great row on Sunday. I appreciate your insight on the rest intervals.

Carla, you definitely have me pegged. I love "to have rowed" for sure.

I did some timed pieces for my trainer today, and plan to pick up a few of the IP pieces Friday and Saturday. I guess I'm on some kind of hybrid path now, but it seems to be working so I'll try to pick the appropriate IP workouts each week and stick with those.

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » January 24th, 2008, 9:38 am

There seems to be a stray pothole or two in the road to Boston.

Last night I planned another 2km test, with the intention of holding 1:50.8 pace through 1600m then picking it up. During the warump though I felt bloated and very uncomfortable, and even my legs looked bigger than usual when I looked down at them. I gave it a shot anyway but bailed at 1000m.

1740m 8:00.0 2:17.9 22spm
1000m 3:41.5 1:50.8 32spm
1549m 8:00.0 2:35.4 18spm

My best guess was that I ate too much pizza at lunch and that it hadn't been thoroughly processed. Then the hypochondriac in me started worrying that I'm just overdoing things, or that age is catching up (my hearing and eyesight seem to have both deteriorated somewhat lately). Maybe it is SAD setting in (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I skipped supper since I wasn't the least bit hungry, laid down to watch the Celtics/Raptors basketball game, and fell asleep before the end of the first quarter.

This morning, after about 10 1/2 hours in bed, I wondered if I should skip the morning workout, but decided to test out the overeating theory. If it was just that then things should be fine today.

00416m 0:02:00.0 2:24.2 21spm
16000m 1:08:10.6 2:08.7 24spm
00376m 0:02:00.0 2:29.2 18spm

S10MPS with the monitor covered except for meters. 49 degrees F, 90df, ribs wrapped, Bat Out Of Hell II on the CD player (I just ordered Bat III on eBay yesterday and should have that available before long). Generally felt good. I'll skip the evening session, just because the 'long rows' are starting to get long enough to be a bit draining, and maybe try the 2km again tomorrow night.
splits:
02000m 2:12.2 22spm
04000m 2:09.8 23spm
06000m 2:08.7 23spm
08000m 2:07.6 24spm
10000m 2:06.9 24spm
12000m 2:06.1 24spm
14000m 2:05.7 24spm
16000m 2:05.3 24spm

TomR · Post by **TomR** » January 24th, 2008, 11:38 am

Hey Rick,

Now that your 2ks are starting to challenge you, do you think you would benefit from a longer warm-up before the trial?