MaxDev's Erging (and other things) Blog
My training using the Concept 2 indoor rower, and other subjects of interest to me.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Pushing the envelope, showing off, or not wanting to lose face?
The last few weeks have been unbelievably busy with a new work contract, so I haven't had a chance to write about the rowing. I have, however, managed to prevent the job from interfering too much with actually doing the rowing, which is the most important thing.
The current training regime now sees me doing three sessions a week after work between Monday and Thursday, generally of a half marathon or similar distance (between 20 and 25 km) and one or two sessions at the weekend, one of which is a longer distance (either 30 km or a full marathon). This roughly 100 km/week metre diet seems to be continuing to reap rewards in building fitness and endurance, and the last week has seen some giant strides forward in converting this into PBs, with 2% or better improvements to the one hour, half marathon and 30 km, as well as a number of shorter distance/time PBs as well.
I think in part though, this has to be attributed to the relative novelty of rowing in public (at my local council gym, since I've had to temporarily relocate due to work, and haven't brought my C2 with me) and the effect it has on the way I row, which I find is a world away from rowing in the privacy of your garage.
At home, no-one is there to see you easing off when the going gets a bit tough, and neither is there anyone to come and sit alongside you (either to see whether they can pull a lower split than you, which always gives me a real burst of adrenalin, or just to do a piece at their own pace, which also seems to make me row better, for no obvious reason that I can determine, other than perhaps a desire to look good, or maybe not look bad?).
Without this external influence, I think it would have taken me far longer to muster the resolve to achieve some of my recent PBs, which have seen me maintain splits for something like a half marathon which a few months ago I would have considered it a stretch to maintain for even 5 km.
It will be interesting to see whether I can set new PBs (or even get close to some of the recently set ones) once I return to my garage and rowing alone. Physically I will certainly be capable of it, but without the fear of losing face, will I still have the incentive?
The current training regime now sees me doing three sessions a week after work between Monday and Thursday, generally of a half marathon or similar distance (between 20 and 25 km) and one or two sessions at the weekend, one of which is a longer distance (either 30 km or a full marathon). This roughly 100 km/week metre diet seems to be continuing to reap rewards in building fitness and endurance, and the last week has seen some giant strides forward in converting this into PBs, with 2% or better improvements to the one hour, half marathon and 30 km, as well as a number of shorter distance/time PBs as well.
I think in part though, this has to be attributed to the relative novelty of rowing in public (at my local council gym, since I've had to temporarily relocate due to work, and haven't brought my C2 with me) and the effect it has on the way I row, which I find is a world away from rowing in the privacy of your garage.
At home, no-one is there to see you easing off when the going gets a bit tough, and neither is there anyone to come and sit alongside you (either to see whether they can pull a lower split than you, which always gives me a real burst of adrenalin, or just to do a piece at their own pace, which also seems to make me row better, for no obvious reason that I can determine, other than perhaps a desire to look good, or maybe not look bad?).
Without this external influence, I think it would have taken me far longer to muster the resolve to achieve some of my recent PBs, which have seen me maintain splits for something like a half marathon which a few months ago I would have considered it a stretch to maintain for even 5 km.
It will be interesting to see whether I can set new PBs (or even get close to some of the recently set ones) once I return to my garage and rowing alone. Physically I will certainly be capable of it, but without the fear of losing face, will I still have the incentive?
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