what training have free spirits been doing today?

The forum for general banter about the team.

Moderator: The forum police - (nee naw)

User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

CamiCrew wrote:Well, lesson learned! So glad I went... would have missed a lot not being there yesterday. In the back of my mind, I thought I could still perform at paces close to my recent 2k test. Yes, my chest was rattly and ears not pressurizing properly, but i had no fever and otherwise felt good. Warmup felt good too. I was excited to be sitting at the start line. Of 3 people registered in my age group, only 1 other showed. We were grouped with a couple 30-39s, small group of onlookers & organizers... beautiful day in Southern Cal.

I'm not 100% sure what going pear shaped means ( I learned it here! ) but this 2k piece felt more like "from bad to worse." There was no pear-like improvement in the middle! First ten, fine, but by the end of the 1st 500 I was having trouble holding even my slowest target settle pace at 1:58. By the midpoint, the 2:00s and higher were cropping up -- my goal in the last test was not to even see 2:00 go by on the PM. My average drifted over 2:00 by the end, painful to watch as it felt like seeing 3 years of training and work dissolving before my eyes. :? :roll: So, I lost around 15 seconds? I couldn't bear to register the final time in my mind, I'll have to pull it up later.

And that's it. Not easy to talk about here -- I'm a private person. However: I'm proud I did it! Learning to convert a feeling of race anxiety into something positive like nervous excitement, is a goal for me. My consolation trinket? A silver medal with a little shiny erg person on it to accompany my gold from last year. :lol: And better -- a wonderful memory of a day with Christine and my 2 buddies who also raced.

And I have to tell you I left so inspired by my friend Don. When I met Don in a Learn to Row 6 years ago, he said rowing was on "his bucket list" of things to try. Yesterday morning he checked in to race (80-84 group), and they asked if he'd be racing lightweight. He said "oh, I don't know..." so they weighed him in at 164 -- one pound under. Don also had no idea that his race time of 8:27 qualified him by 3 seconds for the free plane ride to Boston. The look of surprise on his face when they handed him his gold and asked if he'd like to go to Boston was priceless. Of course he's going!

For reading this far I'll share with you Don's training secret: Night before the race? Pasta and a glass of wine, followed by ice cream. :lol: =D>
Congratulations Barbara. Sounds like a great day out and the time was always going to be a secondary consideration after the week you had. Well done for toughing it out and congratulations on the silver medal! =D> =D> =D>
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
User avatar
plummy
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Posts: 8306
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:17 am
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Sale, Cheshire, UK

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by plummy »

Great write up Barbara and well done on the result =D> =D> . Sorry for the slow response.
60 yrs old, 76kg, 5' 10"
43Mm metres rowed. Re-setting the bar much lower now. Getting too old for this malarky
Image
Dogma Dave
Spends too much time in the forum
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:00 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM5
Location: York, UK

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Dogma Dave »

Paul Victory wrote:
Dogma Dave wrote:Finally got off the mark for 2015 after extended periods of illness and idleness. It's good to be back... :-)
Wow! Talk about a blast from the past! Welcome back Dave. :mrgreen:
Cheers Paul 8)
Image
User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

Today was day one of my taper - 4 x 500m at 2k pace. I did my 2k warm up - 15 minutes @ around 2:00 pace with three 30 second bursts at 1:50, 1:45 and 1:40 pace after 9, 11 and 13 minutes. Total 3819m @ 1:57.8 pace. Then I did the 4 x 500 with standing starts - still working on how to improve my starts. Pace was 1:42.9/1:42.9/1:42.6/1:42.5, all at 33 SPM.

Having done this, I decided to have a go at a flat out 100m. :shock: Don't ask me why, it seemed like a good idea at the time. :roll: I set the DF to 156 and concentrated on getting a really fast start. First two splits were 2:05 and 1;40, so not great, but I did get down to 1:23 splits after about five strokes and more or less kept it there. I finished in 17.1 seconds to match my SB. I decided to have a second go and got the exact same result. So I put the damper up to ten - DF 196 (note to self - must clean flywheel :roll: ) and had a third go. I managed to knock a whole 0.1 second off my time. I decided that was enough as I had probably already overdone it with BIRC coming up on Sunday.

So I did 20 minutes cool down, but instead of doing it as just row, I set the time to 20 minutes to tie in with this month's CTC. I usually do my cool down at between 1:59 and 2:01 pace, but the fact that it was a timed piece made me go a bit faster, although I did manage to resist the temptation to pick things up as I got closer to the finish. I ended up with 5134m @ 1:56.9 pace.

Overall total for the day was 11,341 meters at an average pace of 1:53.8. Probably a slightly harder session overall than is necessary/advisable this close to a race.

Paul V
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
User avatar
Recess
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:35 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Glasgow
Contact:

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Recess »

Hey Paul,

Good sounding session. And that's a great 100 time!! My PB is 17.7 (though actually, I can't remember the last time I tried it - may be tomorrow). What rest are you taking in between the 500's?

Actually, it doesn't matter for this weekend coming, I'm not going to do it before Sunday. Today was my last hard effort I think - 1500m in 4:57 - which (unless my maths is wrong) hits my intended pace of 1:39. So provided someone can scream that last 500m out of me (see 'Overtraining' thread) I hope I can get close to 6:36.

Hope...

Tomorrow is 4k warm up, 1000m at 1:39 then 1k cool-down (I may tag on a 100m attempt, just to see how i do) Friday's a day off, and Saturday will be 6k at 2:00 with some 1:39 bursts in there alternating at 24 / 32 spm.

Almost there!!!

John
It's not how far you go... It's how go you far.
Image

Follow my training blog as I try to break a world record: http://johntherower.com
User avatar
gregsmith01748
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Posts: 1194
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 4:51 pm
I row on...: Model C with PM4
Location: Hopkinton, MA, USA

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by gregsmith01748 »

Paul: I'm slightly intimidated that your cool down pace is faster than my steady state aerobic pace! :oops:

I think 100s are a fine thing to do during a taper, as long as you don't pull something. The literature that I've read about tapering is that you want to keep the intensity up, but drastically cut back the volume through the final few days before the event.
Greg - Age: 53 H: 182cm W: 88Kg (should be 83Kg)
Image
Training blog: https://quantifiedrowing.wordpress.com/
User avatar
cweed
Dedicated and True Free Spirit
Posts: 1614
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:48 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM4
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by cweed »

CamiCrew wrote:Well, lesson learned! So glad I went... would have missed a lot not being there yesterday. In the back of my mind, I thought I could still perform at paces close to my recent 2k test. Yes, my chest was rattly and ears not pressurizing properly, but i had no fever and otherwise felt good. Warmup felt good too. I was excited to be sitting at the start line. Of 3 people registered in my age group, only 1 other showed. We were grouped with a couple 30-39s, small group of onlookers & organizers... beautiful day in Southern Cal.

I'm not 100% sure what going pear shaped means ( I learned it here! ) but this 2k piece felt more like "from bad to worse." There was no pear-like improvement in the middle! First ten, fine, but by the end of the 1st 500 I was having trouble holding even my slowest target settle pace at 1:58. By the midpoint, the 2:00s and higher were cropping up -- my goal in the last test was not to even see 2:00 go by on the PM. My average drifted over 2:00 by the end, painful to watch as it felt like seeing 3 years of training and work dissolving before my eyes. :? :roll: So, I lost around 15 seconds? I couldn't bear to register the final time in my mind, I'll have to pull it up later.

And that's it. Not easy to talk about here -- I'm a private person. However: I'm proud I did it! Learning to convert a feeling of race anxiety into something positive like nervous excitement, is a goal for me. My consolation trinket? A silver medal with a little shiny erg person on it to accompany my gold from last year. :lol: And better -- a wonderful memory of a day with Christine and my 2 buddies who also raced.
I'm so glad you went too! I know it was not the race you wanted to have but it was great to see you and chat with your OTW gang. Given that you were sick going into it, with the lungs compromised, it was a good showing and you can dangle that silver medal from your mirror proud of your ability to stick it out despite illness. Looking forward to seeing you at SDCC!
Christine - 46, 5'8" lightweight...only when I really need to be.
Image
User avatar
CamiCrew
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2017
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2017
Posts: 1138
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:59 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: California, USA

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by CamiCrew »

Thanks Rodger, Boris, Paul, Plummy, Christine! Appreciated your comments as I relived the day's ups & downs. :fsgrin: Was better, but still a solid case of bronchitis this week so I look back and laugh... wow, I really did go and sit at a race. Ah well, good times. No regrets.

Nice to see some fast training & race prep going on -- and return visitors! Keep up the great work!
-barbara

F Hwt 53 yrs 5'10"
User avatar
Jill
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Posts: 1970
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 1:37 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM5

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Jill »

cweed wrote: My consolation trinket? A silver medal with a little shiny erg person on it to accompany my gold from last year. And better -- a wonderful memory of a day with Christine and my 2 buddies who also raced.
Brave girl Barbara. =D>

Jill :)
User avatar
plummy
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Posts: 8306
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:17 am
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Sale, Cheshire, UK

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by plummy »

Heck - managed an hour and staggered over 14.5km (14511 to be precise). It was OK for 30 mins but was hanging on from then on. I used to be able to knock them out for fun!

24spm average

At least it's back over 14.5km - last week 14.3km felt like a near death experience!!
60 yrs old, 76kg, 5' 10"
43Mm metres rowed. Re-setting the bar much lower now. Getting too old for this malarky
Image
User avatar
strider77
Free Spirit forever
Posts: 6157
Joined: Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:43 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Near Brighton

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by strider77 »

Well done Dave, keep it up you are improving every row mate =D>
[b]67 5ft 10ins tall, 80k, proud to be a Free Spirit[/b]
[img]https://tinyurl.com/fsrsigs/fssig-285.png[/img]
dr3do
True Free Spirit
Posts: 645
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:13 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Berne, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by dr3do »

plummy wrote:Heck - managed an hour and staggered over 14.5km (14511 to be precise). It was OK for 30 mins but was hanging on from then on. I used to be able to knock them out for fun!
Did I miss it? :oops: What happened to you?
Liefcat
Free Spirit forever
Posts: 4151
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:24 am
I row on...: Model C with PM3

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Liefcat »

plummy wrote:Heck - managed an hour and staggered over 14.5km (14511 to be precise). It was OK for 30 mins but was hanging on from then on. I used to be able to knock them out for fun!

24spm average

At least it's back over 14.5km - last week 14.3km felt like a near death experience!!
Always nice to see improvement, David - well done :!: =D> =D>

Do you mix the hour with shorter pieces in the course of the week :?:
Image

Old enough to know better - young enough to do it anyway
User avatar
plummy
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Posts: 8306
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 8:17 am
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Sale, Cheshire, UK

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by plummy »

Pretty much everything I do now is 10k - 60 mins at lowish rate (20~24). 26 spm feels ridiculously fast unless I am doing a very short CTC challenge for example.

As I've stepped down from racing 2k's/miles (apart from EIRC where I will occupy a machine and go as fast as zero training will allow me) I only do longer stuff now.
60 yrs old, 76kg, 5' 10"
43Mm metres rowed. Re-setting the bar much lower now. Getting too old for this malarky
Image
User avatar
Daffy
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Posts: 1196
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:00 am
I row on...: Model D with PM3

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Daffy »

I am tending to do the longer steady stuff at the moment to get some sort of base fitness although I've done none for a few days. Reason for none is that I'm learning to ski - 8 hours over the weekend, then an hour yesterday - I'm wiped! It is getting easier, so hoping to get back to the erg tomorrow or over the weekend (but skiing again on Monday - I'm hooked! 8) )
Image
User avatar
Shang-Chi
Super Dedicated and Truly Free Spirit
Posts: 3517
Joined: Sun Aug 13, 2006 4:20 pm
Location: Copenhagen, Rødovre

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Shang-Chi »

Oh my God ! Haven't been training much for over a month i.e. since 14. Dec., only did a little some days ago. Went down and did 21099 meters in bits and pieces ! I'm totally out of shape! :lol: #-o I've been putting all my training at risk. I'm back at the beginning !
Image
User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

Got the all clear (sort of :roll: ) from my physio today. My back is better, but not fully recovered and I have been given some exercises to do before seeing him again next week. But he said I could do some hard sessions provided my back doesn't act up.

So I decided to have a go at this month's 2500m challenge for the IRL. I did my usual 15 minutes warm up, covering 3880m @ 1:55.9 pace and off I went. I didn't feel confident enough to do a 100% effort, but I tried to keep the pace below 1:48 and managed to achieve this and speed up a bit towards the end, finishing in 8:50.6 @ 1:46.1 pace. I subsequently discovered that this was my fastest ever 2500m, beating my (now defunct) Irish record for MHWT 50-59 by 3.3 seconds. :shock:

I finished with 4100m @1:58.3 pace and my back seems to be fine, so hopefully this means I can go back to a full training regime.

Paul V
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

Got the all clear (sort of :roll: ) from my physio today. My back is better, but not fully recovered and I have been given some exercises to do before seeing him again next week. But he said I could do some hard sessions provided my back doesn't act up.

So I decided to have a go at this month's 2500m challenge for the IRL. I did my usual 15 minutes warm up, covering 3880m @ 1:55.9 pace and off I went. I didn't feel confident enough to do a 100% effort, but I tried to keep the pace below 1:48 and managed to achieve this and speed up a bit towards the end, finishing in 8:50.6 @ 1:46.1 pace. I subsequently discovered that this was my fastest ever 2500m, beating my (now defunct) Irish record for MHWT 50-59 by 3.3 seconds. :shock:

I finished with 4100m @1:58.3 pace and my back seems to be fine, so hopefully this means I can go back to a full training regime.

Paul V
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
User avatar
Recess
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:35 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Glasgow
Contact:

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Recess »

Fantastic Paul! Listen to your body as you get back to full strength and you'll be flying as fast as you can again soon!

John
It's not how far you go... It's how go you far.
Image

Follow my training blog as I try to break a world record: http://johntherower.com
User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

Thanks John

Hope your preparation for Boston is going according to plan.

Paul V
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
User avatar
CamiCrew
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2017
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2017
Posts: 1138
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2011 8:59 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: California, USA

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by CamiCrew »

Had a good laugh today pulling up my 30 min piece in the RowPro logs. This was intended to be a steady state piece following a weekend of Sat/Sun workouts out on the water, a few hours of sand volleyball, and a charity row on the erg, among other meterage.

Target pace today was supposed to be 2:16. As you can see, that lasted about 10 minutes and the primal RowPro override switch kicked in due to another rower being tantalizingly in my sights. UGH! #-o There went the training plan. :lol: We finished 4 meters apart.

Image

Yesterday (Sunday) had a couple interesting workouts. First was an 8x500 on the water incrementing from 26 to 34 spm. I won't go into much water-y detail but I was in a Four (one oar each) that had 3 ladies and 1 tall, powerful guy, not on my side. :-({|= Compensating for the power imbalance was really interesting - we made adjustments after nearly every interval, not only to rigging (clams, spacers, seat position) but to body position and technique. By the final two 500m pieces, our boat was flying. Dialing in that power felt wonderful in the end, but wow - good hard work, that.

Sunday afternoon I put in a 30 minute piece for the Iron Oar Challenge. A friend pointed me at it (ironoar.org). It seems like maybe a crossfit-originated erg challenge? I wanted to do it because it benefits families of Special Ops personnel killed in the line of duty. Rowed that 30 min at a 2:05.6 pace for 7164 meters. Not a PB, but it felt great to put in meters for different reasons than my usual (selfish?) ones.

Cheers!
-barbara

F Hwt 53 yrs 5'10"
User avatar
Recess
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2015
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 1:35 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Glasgow
Contact:

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Recess »

Paul Victory wrote:Thanks John

Hope your preparation for Boston is going according to plan.

Paul V
I seem to always hit a training crisis around this stage before a race. This time, it's the "intercostal strain / stress fracture" issue, appearing on the right side of my ribs this time round. Painful, but hoping I can train (taper) through it at least until Sunday. Then take a week off before resuming training for the EIRC's.

But the biggest issue is that I've dropped to 130df to help my ribs, and yesterday when I tried to do a 1000m sprint at race pace, I blew up at 500m and changed to 4 x 500m instead. Could be over-training tiredness, or it could be that I'm uncomfortable with the cardio stress that 130 gives me vs 170. I'll try again today, and report back.

John
It's not how far you go... It's how go you far.
Image

Follow my training blog as I try to break a world record: http://johntherower.com
User avatar
Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
Posts: 10616
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 9:29 pm
I row on...: Model E with PM4
Location: Dublin

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by Paul Victory »

Recess wrote:
Paul Victory wrote:Thanks John

Hope your preparation for Boston is going according to plan.

Paul V
I seem to always hit a training crisis around this stage before a race. This time, it's the "intercostal strain / stress fracture" issue, appearing on the right side of my ribs this time round. Painful, but hoping I can train (taper) through it at least until Sunday. Then take a week off before resuming training for the EIRC's.

But the biggest issue is that I've dropped to 130df to help my ribs, and yesterday when I tried to do a 1000m sprint at race pace, I blew up at 500m and changed to 4 x 500m instead. Could be over-training tiredness, or it could be that I'm uncomfortable with the cardio stress that 130 gives me vs 170. I'll try again today, and report back.

John
At this stage, you should just be tapering and not putting any further strain on your body. You've put in the work, you're in great shape and you just need to look after yourself to make sure you arrive at the start line fit and healthy.

Regarding DF, you've made a very dramatic change and it will take some time to get fully used to the new setting. While I'm reluctant to suggest that you start tinkering this close to race day, have you considered setting the DF somewhere between your old 170 and your new 130?
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
Image
dr3do
True Free Spirit
Posts: 645
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:13 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Berne, Switzerland
Contact:

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by dr3do »

CamiCrew wrote:Target pace today was supposed to be 2:16. As you can see, that lasted about 10 minutes and the primal RowPro override switch kicked in due to another rower being tantalizingly in my sights. UGH! #-o There went the training plan. :lol: We finished 4 meters apart.
:mrgreen: :roll: :mrgreen:
User avatar
JonT
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2020
Posts: 1950
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2014 2:31 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5
Location: Bath, Somerset, UK

Re: what training have free spirits been doing today?

Post by JonT »

Today was the longest distance I have ever rowed since I started. 30k at 2:19. Really wasn't too bad. To keep things "interesting" I split it into 6x5k with each 5k slit into 1k stretches at 22-24-26-24-22 s/m.

The evil voices didn't kick in until 1,500 to go when they suggested that 30k wasn't really such a big deal and I'd probably done enough now by now. Believe me that 1,500m lasted a lifetime.
57 years old, 5"10', clinging on to 75kg and frustratingly but understandably inconsistent
Image
Post Reply