Varying Performance

[HeartWins]

Hi, I have never posted before and I am not sure if my post is appropriate for this forum. However, I really need some help and I am feeling severely frustrated with my training. I'll try to provide as much context as possible.

After spring season, I started looking for a summer training schedule. I am pretty ignorant when it comes to designing a training regiment for myself. I found a collegiate summer training schedule was designed for their women's team and have been following it for the past nine weeks. First off, I am a male and I did realize that it was for the women's team. The reason why I chose this regiment was because it involved both lifting and erging, plus a solid 6 sessions a week. My coach just told us to focus on lifting this summer and possibly running long distances. I thought I needed something more cadio involved, so I chose that schedule. The schedule involved erging longer distances/times with altering rates between 16, 18, and 20 spm.

Starting the training off, you have to choose a goal 12k pace which you work up to. I chose mine as a 1:52.

FYI: My 2k before summer was a 6:39.1 (1:39.8 split) and my 6k before the summer was a 21:15 (1:46.3 split). I weighed about 155 lbs when I pulled those times.

So far I gained almost ten pounds and have increased my cadio workouts to far more intense sessions. I have increased my running pace from 6 mph for 30' to 8.5 mph for 30'. I bike or run for 30 minutes after each lift. Also, I can hold much lower splits than the suggested splits now.

At 20 spm I can now hold a 1:52 (started at 1:56)
At 18 spm I can now hold a 1:56 (started at 1:59)
At 16 spm I can now hold a 2:00 (started at 2:04)

So up until now I have felt accomplished and very satisfied with how I have come along.

Every Sunday you pull a piece that is 500 meters longer than the previous Sunday's session. The starting distance was 7.5k meters. My goal 12k split is a 1:52 and so far in my training I have yet to pull a Sunday piece higher than a 1:50.5 so I am feeling good about that. Today there was something different. I had to do 5x1500m and with a 5:00 rest. The training says to try to shoot for 7 seconds below your goal 12k pace. These were my results:

Split | SPM | TIME | DF
1. 1:43.7 | 29 | 5:11.1 | 120 (felt really good)
2. 1:48.6 | 28 | 5:29.9 | 120 (felt absolutely awful)
3. 1:44.3 | 29 | 5:13.0 | 109 (felt clean)
4. 1:49.5 | 27 | 5:28.6 | 115 (awful)
5. 1:48.1 | 27 | 5:24.4 | 109 (awful)

I changed my drag factor between pieces because I thought since I haven't been doing anaerobic workouts lately that I needed less resistance.

After just getting done with that workout I feel completely discouraged. My goal for this summer was to be able to pull a 6k sub 21:00. I realize everyone has bad days and good days, but this just completely has me stunned. I only had two pieces that were where I wanted to be. I couldn't believe how bad it felt. I lifted yesterday instead of Friday and I know that could play a factor, but I don't think it played that big of a role.

I have gained a decent amount of muscle this summer so I thought I would be prepared to hold a solid 1:45 for this piece.

I know this workout it meant to hurt and feel intense, but I just feel that I should have a deep enough reserve by now to tackle this workout.

I have been biking instead of running lately thinking it will condition my legs more. I feel like I have come so far in my training only to pull myself further from my 6k goal.

Anyone have any suggestions or advice for whipping me into shape?

Thank you for your time.

[capnbenzo]

So up until now I have felt accomplished and very satisfied with how I have come along.

Heart,

From your post it sounds like you've had a very productive summer and made some great gains. I would suggest doing your best to not let one workout ruin that for you. I've been in your situation before, and my solution was to hit the next week's training hard, and come back and give the 5 x 1500 another shot in a week or two. In between, experiment and find a drag factor which works for you, then sit down and attack the workout and hit your target pace from the first piece.

Also, I've found that if I have a bad day in which I perform far below where I think my fitness should allow me, it's likely due to diet, hydration, or rest. I would look back at the preceding 1 or 2 days and ask myself if I was well rested, well fed, and well hydrated. I would also experiment with longer warmups. If I blow up, it's usually due to one of those reasons.

Good luck!

[Nosmo]

In addition to Capnbenzo excellent advice...

If you feel bad and lack confidence, next time you do the 5x1500, make sure you do it after an easy day, and do the first four at a pace you know you can do. Last time you averaged 1:46.8, so choose that pace and don't go any faster, then do the last as fast as you can. Chances are it will feel much too easy the first interval. Don't worry about. Then take you average time for that session and start there for the following 5x1500.

[HeartWins]

Thanks for the replies. I am already feeling better about it. I usually try not to let a bad workout get to me, but I've just been on this high for the past nine weeks with seeing so much improvement. However, eventually reality will hit.

I am definitely going to take what you guys said and run with it. Thanks.

-Heart

[iain]

I am not in your league, but as an avid reader / contributor to this and the UK Forum, many people find that they cannot instantly change the type of wokouts they are doing. There is a big difference between doing all of your work at 16-20 SPM and expecting to up the rating to high 20's and keep it there. This would seem that you have just lost a little sharpness while developing endurance. Perceived wisdom is that this will return quite quickly with some more intense workouts so you have nothing to worry about.

In addition, having blown up many times during these type of "long" intervals, much of the difference may be mental. It is much harder to hang on after going off too hard and so the tendency is to die more than is strickly necessary. This blows the confidence and so you achieve less than you could. I'm sure that when you follow Nosmo's advice, you will see significant improvements. "knowing" that you can finish helps so much mentally and the last rep always seems easier even if the 4th seemed hard, so gains come with this pacing despite yourself.

Hope the training continues to go well.

- Iain

[jamesg]

HW, in general, we can only recover and get fitter at a certain rate, during rest after work. So there's no point in doing more than the amount we can recover from in the given rest time.
Doing more, you overtrain and go backwards. Your coach near enough said just that.
More specifically, what's the point of doing 5x1500 when you're almost a year away from racing?
The best option during the summer is to have some fun: go sculling, kayaking, bike, swim. All long-distance real things where what counts is technique and endurance.

[Nosmo]

I have gained a decent amount of muscle this summer so I thought I would be prepared to hold a solid 1:45 for this piece.

If you thought this was the case you should have done the first one at slightly slower then 1:45. Not sub 1:44! You most likely would have gotten three in at about a 1:45, had trouble on the fourth and may have gutted out the fifth. You would have felt better about the workout.

More specifically, what's the point of doing 5x1500 when you're almost a year away from racing?

I think Mike Caviston will disagree with you here: from http://www.concept2.com/forums/wolverine_plan.htm

Another feature of the Plan is that it doesn’t vary much throughout the year. There are different levels of intensity for various workouts which range from short pieces at race pace and cadence, to much longer pieces at lower ratings and power outputs. But all workouts will be performed throughout all portions of the year in roughly the same proportions (with the exception of a little less race-pace work in September and October). This is different from some approaches to training, which might label the fall as a time for laying an "aerobic foundation", the winter as a period for "general conditioning", and the spring as a time for "specific race preparation". In fact, effective training should always be geared toward specific race preparation. It is not possible to completely isolate and separate different aspects of physiology, training them separately and sequentially, expecting gains in one area to persist when moving on to another area. This would be analogous to expecting an infant to grow by first maturing its skeleton, then its muscles, and then its vital organs. In fact, their growths are interdependent and each must mature in conjunction with the others. (Some tissues do mature at slightly different rates, but there must be a certain proportionality, and the same is true for training.)

Furthermore when one does a lot of intervals through out the year, one learns how to pace oneself much better then just a couple of months of intense efforts. It is really important to have the experience of knowing how hard one can go at every distance and how to adjust the pace based on how one is feeling.

[HeartWins]

Nosmo, good catch. The program I found is actually based off the Wolverine Plan. I am going to start throwing some more long intervals in my schedule, while keeping the long distance workouts in as well. I appreciate all the replies.

[Nosmo]

Nosmo, good catch. The program I found is actually based off the Wolverine Plan. I am going to start throwing some more long intervals in my schedule, while keeping the long distance workouts in as well. I appreciate all the replies.

Mike Caviston wrote that for his crews he alternates the L1 and L2 intervals in Sept and Oct, one day a week for intervals. You might consider doing the same. Another option depending on your temperament and experience is to start off with the L2's once a week, and then after a while add the L1's every other week. I would do the latter after a long lay off, but that is just me.

I'm always interested what people come up with for a plan. Is a plan you found available on the web? (only one I know based off the WP is the Pete Plan).

I really like the WP the first time I read it. Much of his philosophy is very similar to mine. To me it makes more sense then any other I've read. This year my program has been very close to the WP. Only reason it is not the WP now, is that I've got an OTW marathon in two weeks so I've made a few changes to prepare for that.

[atblsb]

At this point in the year my focus is on longer rows (10,000 - 12,000 meters) at 17-18 seconds above my targeted race pace (1:30). Additionally, each week I incorporate a 4:00 off / 1:00 on routine or a more intense shorter piece (6,000 meters). Lastly, I perform a circuit weight training program for both my legs and arms after my rowing routine. I have limited time each day and the rowing always takes priority. Beginning in mid-September I will start adding more speed workouts into my program. My goal for the 2009 season is sub 6:00.

Andrew Benko