April CTC - The Sub 7 300m Sandwich

[Paul Victory]

A nice early announcement on the CTC for April.

The Sub 7 300m Sandwich.

1k - 300m - 300m - 300m - 300m - 1k / 2 minutes rest between each rep.

Standing start for the first rep, the following reps as you like.

Record the time for the 3200m, not including the rests.

More intervals! That final 1k sounds particularly nasty. Hard to know how you might pace that - a bit faster than 4 x 1k, but slower than 8 x 500m? Maybe 2k -1 or 2k - 2 pace?

[Rodger]

Hmm, looks nasty indeed.
I think that the pace will be close to (a little bit faster than) that of the October CTC, Fitness Matters' sting in the tail. That was 3250m in 4 intervals with 9' total rest. This one is 3200m in 5 intervals with 10' rest. Between 2k-2 and 2k-1 sounds about right.

[Iain]

I think the difficulty is knowing how much faster to go on the 300's without compromising the final 1k too much. Rugby Test is vicious, here the rest is shorter and final interval longer than that. Any thoughts?

- Iain

[Caratacus]

Gave this a bash today and found it very difficult to pace. Decided to start just under 1:50/500m but this was probably a little conservative. The 300m intervals in the middle felt quite easy but the last 1000m is a real killer!

3:37.1 1000 1:48.5 29
1:02.9 300 1:44.8 30
1:02.3 300 1:43.8 31
1:01.0 300 1:41.6 31
1:01.0 300 1:41.6 30
3:31.5 1000 1:45.7 28

11:15.8 3200 1:45.5 29

I'll definitely try again this month with more even pacing now I've got something to measure against. Looks like 2k- 1or2 is about right for pacing for anyone else trying this for the first time. Good luck

[Caratacus]

Just noticed that the last 1000m rep is a PB! Clearly the last PB wasn't very good, still I'll take that and have an all out bash at it soon and get a few more seconds off.

[Rob C]

Congrats on the PB, done in a very hard way =D

I thought's I'd find out if I'd like this any better than last month's challenge. I remain to be convinced and have decided that the CTC is all about sadists inflicting pain on masochists.

03:54.9 1000 26 01:57.4
01:06.7 300 27 01:51.1
01:06.8 300 26 01:51.3
01:07.2 300 26 01:52.0
01:06.3 300 26 01:50.5
03:54.9 1000 26 01:57.4

total time 12:16.7

Can't believe my first and last 1k were for exactly the same time. Perhaps I'll have to try out one of Plummy's OCD rows

[Paul Victory]

Well done Rob. I also decided to have a go at this today. No idea how to pace it, but decided to aim for 1:43 on the first 1,000m. That proved to be a real struggle and I just about managed t get the split down to 1:45 by sprinting the last 100m. The first 300m was also a bit of a struggle and I finished that in just over 1:40 average pace. The next couple of intervals felt better, but I eased back a bit on the final 300m in anticipation of a difficult final 1,000m. This wasn't quite as bad as I expected and I finished in 10:52.3 @ 1:41.9 pace. Splits were as follows:

Split Time Pace Rating
1000 3:30.1 1:45.05 32
300 1:00.1 1:40.17 33
300 0:59.3 1:38.83 33
300 0:57.9 1:36.50 34
300 0:59.3 1:38.83 33
1000 3:25.7 1:42.85 33

3200 10:52.3 1:41.92 33

[K_Cat]

Had a go, to get our first boat floating. I'll try again before the end of the month.

1000, 4:28.9, 2:14.4, 26spm (160 bpm)
300 , 1:17.8, 2:09.6, 27spm (162 bpm)
300 , 1:17.1, 2:08.5, 28spm (166 bpm)
300 , 1:16.7, 2:07.8, 29spm (168 bpm)
300 , 1:17.0, 2:08.3, 27spm (170 bpm)
1000, 4:27.6, 2:13.8, 26spm (173 bpm)

3200, 14:05.0, 2:12.0, 27spm

Peggy

[Recess]

Interesting to see that so far everyone on here goes faster in their last 1000m than their firs. (Or the same in Rob C's case). I'd have imagined a slower time due to exhaustion! Or maybe you're a lot more warmed up? Or is it just that you can now give it your all without worrying about following reps?

Well done to everyone anyway! Once my body is 100% healed, i'll have a go.

John

[Paul Victory]

Interesting to see that so far everyone on here goes faster in their last 1000m than their firs. (Or the same in Rob C's case). I'd have imagined a slower time due to exhaustion! Or maybe you're a lot more warmed up? Or is it just that you can now give it your all without worrying about following reps?

Well done to everyone anyway! Once my body is 100% healed, i'll have a go.

John

I know that in my case I was afraid of burning out, so I didn't totally flat out for the first 1,000m and I also eased off a bit for the final 300m. As you rightly point out, I was then able to give it my all in the final rep. I didn't really kill myself doing the challenge and could probably knock a few seconds off if prepared to take the pain.

Regarding who gets to chose the challenge, we were second in line for the July challenge. Forum Flyers and Gee Crew were next in line. In order to win the right to set the August challenge, we will need to be within 2 boats of the number floated by Forum Flyers and at least 5 ahead of the number floated by Gee Crew. It's been a while since we set the challenge, so it would be nice if we could float as many boats as possible this month.

Paul V

[Recess]

Well, Julie has done her part in helping float as many boats as possible. And a damn good effort too if you ask me! Considering the last time she was on the erg was the September '14 CTC - this is a great effort!

[Paul Victory]

Excellent CTC Julie. =D> =D> =D>

[plummy]

Er, hell of a good CTC Julie

When John said you had huge ability on the erg, he wasn't kidding

[plummy]

I wasn't going to have a go at this so early as my legs have felt tight all week but thought I could use last week's 2k speed as an indicator that there may be a bit of something left for an awkward interval set.

1000 - 3:41.1 ( 1:50.5 ) - already thinking I've gone off way too fast
300 - 1:03.5 ( 1:45.8 ) - silly boy - the 2 min rest was welcome after that
300 - 1:03.2 ( 1:45.3 ) - stop it - it hurts now
300 - 1:47.8 ( 1:47.8 ) - one wheel fell off,about the same time as my concentration and spm rate
300 - 1:44.3 ( 1:44.3 ) - no idea where that came from, just seemed to be over quickly
1000 - 3:41.8 ( 1:50.9 ) - had to ease off for 200 part way through. Heart rate max'd out

11:37.0 total ( 1:48.9 average )
5000m cool down in 22:22

[Rob C]

5000m cool down in 22:22

That's a cool down pace

[plummy]

5000m cool down in 22:22

That's a cool down pace

Yeah - only 22spm

[JonT]

Yippee - just beat plummy by 0.3 secs. That'll do for me!

Two lightweights in Boat II at the moment. Surely that bodes well

[dblinden]

Well, I tried. Optimistic in anticipation of this challenge. Had a Plan A - Do the 1K at 1:54-55 pace and the 300's at 1:49-50. Deal with the last 1K when I got there. Followed the plan exactly until half-way point. Just had nothing left in me; higher HR than usual and just gasping. Found no humor in this session. Had to DNF and had difficulty just doing an easy 2K afterwards to settle down. More disappointed than discouraged. I will try again. Outside all day earlier and allergy season is in full bloom in Atlanta, Ga. Not looking for an excuse, but just wondering. Maybe I will wear a hazmat suit until my next attempt.

Dennis L

[Paul Victory]

Well, I tried. Optimistic in anticipation of this challenge. Had a Plan A - Do the 1K at 1:54-55 pace and the 300's at 1:49-50. Deal with the last 1K when I got there. Followed the plan exactly until half-way point. Just had nothing left in me; higher HR than usual and just gasping. Found no humor in this session. Had to DNF and had difficulty just doing an easy 2K afterwards to settle down. More disappointed than discouraged. I will try again. Outside all day earlier and allergy season is in full bloom in Atlanta, Ga. Not looking for an excuse, but just wondering. Maybe I will wear a hazmat suit until my next attempt.

Dennis L

Great write up as always Dennis. =D> =D> =D> When I did it earlier this week, my sole objective was to set down a marker and I deliberately didn't push too hard early on. I suggest you take it a bit slower the next time and pick up after the half way mark if you feel you have anything extra in you.

[dblinden]

Paul - Appreciate the support and the positive suggestions. It's hard not to set high goals when you constantly read all of the amazing times others post. Next time I will try to be a little less self-delusional.

Dennis L

[plummy]

It's difficult sometimes not to be dragged into uncharted territory by the inspirational times of others. Sometimes they drag you forwards and sometimes drag you down.
In this game you are mostly chasing yourself so Paul's approach is a good one for the newer rowers i.e. go for something safe you know you can do, push towards the end maybeand then gauge how much harder you can push and how much earlier.

Sometimes you are the hammer, sometimes the nail - but it's all good feedback

[Paul Victory]

Paul - Appreciate the support and the positive suggestions. It's hard not to set high goals when you constantly read all of the amazing times others post. Next time I will try to be a little less self-delusional.

Dennis L

I don't think you were being self-delusional. You set yourself a challenging target and it didn't work out this time round. It happens to all of us quite often. And you need to challenge yourself from time to time if you really want to test your limits.

But for something like this month's CTC, where there are unusual intervals and consequent difficulty in assessing what might be an appropriate pace, I think it's better to start off with a bit in hand. You can always push yourself to the limit next time round when you have a better feel for what's involved.

Paul V

[JonT]

Had a Plan A - Do the 1K at 1:54-55 pace and the 300's at 1:49-50. Deal with the last 1K when I got there. Followed the plan exactly until half-way point. Just had nothing left in me; higher HR than usual and just gasping. Found no humor in this session. Had to DNF ... Maybe I will wear a hazmat suit until my next attempt.

Dennis L

Dennis - if it helps, I am very new to this too, especially the sprint stuff. My approach was to stick to my 2k pace for the 1k and my 1k pace for the 300m segments. It worked for me, though once again I was eyeing the bin at one point because I thought I was going to throw up (don't let that put you off!). The reason for using those times was (a) I really have no idea what I'm doing and wanted something to work with and (b) they felt like something I could work within reasonable comfortably, and if I had to add +1 +2 seconds to each segment then so be it. It's amazing how much a second off the target pace can make when things start to get tough.

The end result was I beat Plummy, which he has singularly chosen not to rise to

Try again and remember it's meant to be fun!!

Jon

[plummy]

The end result was I beat Plummy, which he has singularly chosen not to rise to
Jon

...yet!

...and you had a target to chase down - which I also now have

[dblinden]

A Tale of Two Rows or Row is Me; Chapter Two of the CTC April Exercise

It was time to take another bite of the April Subway challenge. Usually free advice isn't worth a lot, but not true if it is Free Spirit advice. I listened to and incorporated the suggestions offered and had a much better result this afternoon. Wasn't all that confident at the start because I had a good row yesterday after an all day rifle competition that was somewhat fatiguing. Had time for a short session so decided to do a steady state piece for 30 minutes. I rowed it at an even pace until the last five minutes when I upped the pace a bit realizing I was close to a personal best for that time period. My goal is to manage 7K for 30'; yesterday I reached 6910 (PB) without going at it as a time trial or a set pace in mind. Just what I fell into.

Today was Plan B - Add 5" to the 500 split times I attempted two days ago. Thus, 2:00 for the 1K's and 1:55 for the 300 M's. Here's what I got for splits today:
1k 1:58.7/500
300 1:54.1; 1:54.5; 1:53.3; 1:52.8
1K 1:58.8 Total time for challenge - 12'28"

HR was pegged on the rev limiter at the end and if the final interval was 1015 meters instead of 1000, I would not have made it. I exceeded the goal times by a bit and felt good about the effort and the final result. I never felt like stopping and I felt confident I would finish once past the half-way point. If a new category is added (short, old and light weight people designated by a lower case m in italics), I would be looking good right now in the standings.

I may make another attempt, but not for a while. Thanks for the help and encouragement. I will check back soon.

Regards - Dennis L