My new training programme

[kirbyt]

This week was a total bust training-wise anyway. Christmas Day I had not one but two of my scary migraines one at 7 in the morning and one at 5 in the evening just as we sat down to Christmas dinner. So no workouts Tuesday or Wednesday and no intervals for the rest of the week and today I tried to break 8k for the half hour but my heart was never in it and I slowed down with about 9 minutes to go. My head is feeling a lot clearer now and maybe the easy week will set me up for some good sessions this week.

[Grobi]

Sorry to hear about the migrane Kirby! I hope new year's eve has blown away the pain and you can continue your training. You've made impressive progress so far, stick with it!

[kirbyt]

Thanks, Peter. Some host I was. House full of relatives, beautiful turkey dinner on the table and I go off to my bedroom to lie down. My head was foggy for almost a week but yesterday I felt much better, much clearer.

[kirbyt]

Things did not really go according to plan this past week. I blew up in the third rep of the 3x5'/4' rest although my pace was maybe a little ambitious at 1:45.7ish. My heart was really not in the sprints and I gave up after doing only five of them in i think around 1:38.8 pace. I had not slept properly for two nights running due to my daughter's need to record a demo on her bass for admission to university...at midnight. She sounds great but midnight...seriously? Then yesterday I did the ctc 17' at 1:48.8 pace instead of a half hour. The training effect was probably not that different I suppose. Anyway, this week I might change up the intervals as I seem to be hitting a wall.

[kirbyt]

I decided to change things up a little on the interval front this week. Long int. on Tues. was 2x10'/ rest 5' . The thinking for pace was a couple seconds slower than the 5' pieces. I was too tired I think due to working overtime the day before so after the first piece was done at 1:47.9-r29 I decided the second would be a kind of hardish tempo piece with a stepup format rating 20-22-24-26-28 increases at 2' minute intervals. Came out at 1:54.5/r24 avg. Meh. Thursday's change was to lengthen the speed intervals considerably to 90"/90"rest x6 reps. Given the 1:1 ratio I was a little crazy to do the first three reps at 1:40.5 pace and slowed down a great deal to 41.8/43.6/43.9 all reps in the 33-34 rating range. The overall average was 1:41.7 which is what I'll try to beat next week. I bailed on my hard half hour today with about 6' to go averaging 1:50.3--just wimped out I'm afraid but I really think that last year's 8200m is coming into view.

[Grobi]

Hi Kirby,

some great training going on so far. I think this:

but I really think that last year's 8200m is coming into view.

shows that it pays off!

[strider77]

Fantastic progress KIrby - well done =D>

[Thomas W-P]

Interesting that we're both coming back at the same time. And as usual you're somewhat faster. Sigh.

>8000 for 30 minutes would be good for me. Not done that for a while.

I'm interested in the work change. Are you now doing the large offices because you get first choice?

[kirbyt]

Thanks, Peter and Alan. I don't know if I'm really always faster than you, Thomas, but the longer pieces definitely work to my advantage. About my work :

I'm interested in the work change. Are you now doing the large offices because you get first choice?

We've been warned about saying things in the social media but I doubt they're monitoring this particular site anyway, more likely things like Facebook and Twitter. So here goes: we are undergoing something they call postal transformation in an attempt to modernise and combat the inevitable erosion of lettermail due to electronic billing, e-mail,etc. The big nasty secret, though, is that they quietly increased the size of our routes by about 20% and subsequently reduced the workforce by that amount. Also in an attempt to save space they have implemented what they call a "wave" system of sharing workspace: half the workforce starts at 8(wave1) and half at 10(wave2) two people sharing one desk or workspace in corporatespeak. I am a Wave2 which by and large I prefer although delivering later in the day in the winter has been challenging (sunset is 4:30 at its worst ). One side benefit of walking 20+ km with a weighted pack every day is that I got back to lightweight in a hurry.
Sorry for the long explanation but you asked.

[Thomas W-P]

And I was interested. My vision of you enjoying a coffee in the post room of some tower block did die a sad death when I read that.

How's it going? I'm struggling at the moment. Baled on a 10k today. Body was willing, mind was weak.

[kirbyt]

Thanks for asking Thomas. I meant to put a few posts in here a while back. February 1 I went to Italy with Jen for three weeks. Lots of fun was had, got to practice my begintermediate Italian and crazy driving skills and we saw countless old churches and ancient ruins but I'm afraid I didn't manage 1 rowing stroke. Back to square one, this past week I just did what I could to get back in the swing of things. I'll probably get back to the programme late in March.

[Thomas W-P]

I love driving in Italy. Crazy but fun. 3 weeks isn't too long. You'll be back within 6.

[kirbyt]

Okay. Here we go again. I'm kind of back at my plan. The right elbow is again causing me some real grief but I will try various things to remedy that as I go. Alas, I am again a rather small heavyweight, maybe 76-77kg range right now. I eat like a genius until about 6 o'clock and then like a ravenous idiot after that.
This week I did: 3x5'/rest 4' on Tue
10x1'/rest 1' on Thurs
Hard half hour on Sun
3x5'
1:52.6/r27
1:52.4/r26
1:52.3/r26
1:52.2/r27
1:51.5/r28
Avg 1:52.2/r26
10x1'
Avg. 1:45.4/r29
30'
7777m/1:55.7/r25
A long way to go but that's the fun part. Improving after 2 or 3 months is the hard part.

[millie]

Alas, I am again a rather small heavyweight, maybe 76-77kg range right now

Welcome to the 'fat lightweight' club Kirby
Good luck with the training - looks like a solid week so far

[kirbyt]

Thanks Millie. Hopefully the faster training will keep the weight down now.

[Wolfmiester]

Welcome back Mr T.
I'm curious, how does a genius normally eat then

[kirbyt]

Welcome back Mr T.
I'm curious, how does a genius normally eat then

Well, Steve, a genius wakes up and eats a bowl of steel cut oats with a tiny bit of sugar and skim milk. Then he brings mashed sweet potatoes, two bananas, two apples and a kiwi with him to work for snacks. All high fibre low GI sort of stuff. Genius. Eat like that and you'll live forever. Unfortunately, there is the matter of that hungry idiot who comes home and eats bread, cheese and every tasty thing he can find.

[kirbyt]

Week 2 of the holiday recovery plan went well generally. Except I fell down on some ice at work and drove my left elbow into the concrete. The poor homeowners at that house are going to have to patch that bit now. Same elbow I fell on 23 years ago when I was a rookie. The joint no longer comes to a point but apparently there is no fracture or bone chips in there. Anyway the bruising does not seem to get in the way of erging.
Tues. 5x5'/rest4'. Last week I erroneously called this 3x5' but it was 5x5'
Avg. 1:51.1/r26 full neg splits last one @1:49.4 r28

Thurs. 10 x1'/rest1'
Avg. 1:43.1/r31 not too tough yet just easing in

Sunday
30' hard
7906m avg. 1:53.8/r26 felt good and strong today.

Turned fifty on Friday. Made me feel down for a while but i'm starting to come to terms with it.

[Shang-Chi]

Sunday
30' hard
7906m avg. 1:53.8/r26 felt good and strong today.

Great pace Kirbyt! =D> =D> =D>

Turned fifty on Friday. Made me feel down for a while but i'm starting to come to terms with it.

Happy Birthday Well We're all going the same way!

[kirbyt]

Thanks for the kind words, Mikkel. The elbow is generally healing well, but I really slammed it pretty hard, so lots of tenderness still. Anyway, the training progresses. Same core workouts for now and they're starting to get tough already.
Tues 5x5'/4' rest
1:50.7-r28/1:50.4-r28/1:50.3-r28/1:50.2-r29/1:49.8-r30 avg.1:50.3 r28
Happy with the steady neg splits though the range is a little large still. Will I ever be able to get these sub 1:45 at age 50? No idea just yet.
Thurs 10x1'/1' rest
First one @1:43.0 and r31 last one@1:41.0 r33 avg 1:42.1r31.
There is still a fair bit of rating room here as 1' sprints could/should be done at R36ish.
Sun Hard half hour
7981-1:52.7-r28
This one is the real test that proves whether the intervals are making me fitter and it definitely passed with flying colours today. A little high on the rating but the pulling felt smooth and light. They may be hard but intervals rock.

[Grobi]

Belated happy birthday Kirby! Don't worry about getting 50, there's a whole new age group for you, show them how proper rowing is done!

They may be hard but intervals rock.

Absolutely, intervals have the best training effect imho, as long as you put in some longer pieces from time to time for mental strength. But you're doing that anyway, very nice 30 minutes by the way! I very much doubt I could do a sub 1:53 pace over 30 minutes right now.

[strider77]

The plan looks very effective KIrby and you are certainly doing well for a 50yo youngster =D>

[kirbyt]

Thanks for the words, Peter and Alan. I don't know about the new age group, Peter, looking at the 50's and even 55's lwts at Crash-b I'd say I'm still pretty slow. But onwards and upwards...this week the usual intervals:
5x5'/4' rest
1:49.8-r27/1:49.8-r28/1:49.7-r28/1:49.6-r29/1:49.4-r29 avg.=1:49.6-r28
Met my goal of all under 1:50 even though rate was slightly high
10x1'/1' rest
First was 1:42.0 but I pulled a muscle in my neck. Still continued on to a 1:41.3/r32 average. Would like to go all sub 1:40 before moving on from these.
30' hard. 7827m-1:54.9-r26. Slowed down with under 5' to go and 1:52.2 avg I really should have been able to will this one home but no biggie, next week I'll get 8k I think. I had a migraine on Wednesday, came into work but went home after an hour feeling a little dizzy thinking that dizzy+ice on sidewalks= bad idea. I recovered very well on thursday so Happy enough with that.

[strider77]

Nice intervals Kirby =D>

I agree I bet your 30 mins is back on the money next time

[kirbyt]

Thanks, Alan, I may have been a little full of myself with last week's prediction as today's effort proved. Anyway, on wth the show:
5x5'/4' rest ended up with 1:48.8-48.8-48.6-48.6-48.3 rating going up slowly from r27 on the first to r30 on the last. Avg. was 1:48.6 and r28
1x1'/1' rest was done at 1:41.1 avg. and rating in the 32-34 range.
Today's hard half featured yet another slowdown this time with just over 6 minutes to go...physically I believe 8k is there but mentally not quite yet. I'll get there.