what training have free spirits been doing today?

[Iain]

Not sure why my Sunday post didn't get saved. Some great training by Spider, Mat, Ian and Aren. Wish I could say the same, but worst week's training for 2 months. Failures on faster sessions. One successful session was on Sunday although couldn't settle to the pace I wanted (DF 5 lower than recently as the blinds were on my C-Breeze!) But managed:

Time Distnc Rate Pace
15:00 3,157 17 02:22.5 - 7m over despite slowing to 2:26s at end, just couldn't get pace down at 17SpM
15:00 3,180 17 02:21.5 - Eventually settled for this, HR monitor went flat
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5 - seems to be taking longer than usual, constricted C-Breeze airflow really annoying
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5 - Really want to stop, RPE still low just sore and bored
15:00 3,181 17 02:21.5
2:00 25,417 17 02:21.6

Today went for strength session as variation. 12 x 20S R30 at DF 155 3 months ago 146.3 average after poor start:

Time Distnc Rate Pace Hrmax % HRmin %
00:20.0 96 30 01:44.2 150 81.5% 105 - weak start
00:20.0 97 30 01:43.1 155 84.2% 108 - more like it
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 160 87.0% 113 - best for some time
00:20.0 100 33 01:40.0 155 84.2% 111 - thought I had missed first stroke, must have just caught the end, extra stroke at high rating at start
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 163 88.6% 122 - HR finally reaches threshold levels
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 166 90.2% 122
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 164 89.1% 121
00:20.0 97 30 01:43.1 166 90.2% 120
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 167 90.8% 123
00:20.0 95 30 01:45.3 165 89.7% 125 - came off seat on 8th stroke, finished on rail!
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 167 90.8% 122
00:20.0 98 30 01:42.0 168 91.3% 125 - nothing left for bigger last
4:00 1170 30.3 1:42.6 168 91.3%

[Ian Bee]

Iain - had a similar weekend session. Wanted to do a FM but my mind had other plans. As for 20s reps - drastic contrast;

Spider - today's session for me was very similar.....

ReactNative-snapshot-image2129959456802125256~2.jpg (70.97 KiB) Viewed 1923 times

Binned my general targets a little slower than ultimately required to get a complete session on the boards for this week as this is always a slightly HD demon resident session for me for no particular realistic reason.... Added 2s to the targets across the board.

In the end, lots of head room to HR targets so perhaps should have had a more stern talk with myself

[Iain]

Ian, you are far more sensible than I am. Great to see how low your HRs are remaining at that pace. May do my PP session Friday at a reduced pace just to get back into it as I really need to keep the metres coming.

[spidermac]

Still some good sessions guys. Must be something in the air - sqeezed a 30minR20 in before a day in the hospital - felt alot harder than usual!!
wup - 1k
time dist spm HR split
06:00.0 1334 20 136 02:14.9
06:00.0 1334 20 139 02:14.9
06:00.0 1334 20 143 02:14.9
06:00.0 1334 20 146 02:14.9
06:00.0 1334 20 148 02:14.9
30:00.0 6667 20 142 02:14.9
CD - 1k
Done before taking my meds maybe the cause?

[Ian Bee]

Spider - 20spm is tough so well done for staying on with your customary consistency.

Iain - will check in on any PP results!

Today:

ReactNative-snapshot-image8102645501445950938~2.jpg (105.07 KiB) Viewed 1889 times

Made quite heavy weather of this one. While within HR cap, it was generally more taxing by that measure than a few weeks ago though perceived effort was not noticeably higher.

[ArenT]

spidermac: re. the warmup, yes, the more I look at the details of the program the more I think there are various errors in it (though the program overall is good).

Specfically, they intermix the following as if they are identical "% of your 2k pace" (or watts) and "% of your AT/threshold". Now of course there is simply no way these two are the same. A properly executed 2k should be WAYYY above threshold, at least for the last/second-half. An all-out effort should probably be basically above threshold the whole time, taking you into the red zone and holding on for last few hundred metres.

Anyway, correcting for this error leads to a slightly more sane warm-up ramp. It's still an aggressive ramp, but at least it isn't going ABOVE threshold power, which seemed odd. So I corrected for that...

---

spidermac, good set of 20' intervals there with a negative split. I always feel that a negative split workout is very satisfying.

---

Ian B., another punishing couple of 9:00/6:00 "over/under" style workouts. They should be extremely effective in developing your threshold power (or FTP in cycling parlance). Meanwhile your most recent 3x20' is another classic "FTP builder" style workout, hardly surprising you faced HD demons, done properly it should be extremely psychologically challenging more than anything else, with about 13 minutes to go or so in an interval it must feel rather like an eternity at that point.

---

Iain, what do you think of the C-Breeze? It looks like a sensible idea, I always end up having to switch on an electric fan unless it is extremely cold downstairs, as within about 10 minutes I am sweating profusely.

Don't know about the "failure" sessions, but the two workouts you've just posted look quality. 155 DF is pretty high, I should probably consider bumping mine up even more, looking at my recent "tabata" style workout the DF was around 140-ish.

---

I've had another good week/set of workouts (well, perhaps only one "weak" one where wasn't feeling it).


Monday 4th

Very easy Z1/recovery BikeErg session on TP Virtual. ~32 minutes / 141 watts for about 14km. Nothing too interesting here, main objective was to keep HR around a low (for me) 130bpm.

Tuesday 5th

Tabata style workout. This consisted of a "warm-up ramp" followed by:

- 4 sets of [ 7 x 20s on/20s rest ] with 1000m recovery between sets

Initially I'd tried to program 10x15s in ErgZone before realising the PM5 wouldn't accept it, due to recent firmware that means that 20s is the mininum interval. No big deal. Extremely happy with the results, started to get pretty tough to keep the target power as the sets wore on, also, it was always critical to get a rapid had start/first set of strokes into each interval otherwise targets soon became impossible. Pleased with my final 1:37 blast. Next time I might try lifting drag factor further into 150s. Note that here the "warm up ramp" intensity effort is now correct. Basically you go up to a final 500m at about threshold, which feels just right for getting everything pumped up but not too tiring.


There are far too many intervals for a sensible screenshot, so instead here is a data dump:

Code: Select all

Time	Meters	Pace	Watts	Cal/Hr	S/M	
45:11.8	10,226m	2:12.5	150	816	24	141
6:10.4	1,000m	3:05.2	55	489	33	97
2:07.3	500m	2:07.3	170	883	21	144
2:13.1	500m	2:13.1	148	810	20	147
2:01.9	500m	2:01.9	193	964	23	157
1:59.8	500m	1:59.8	204	1000	25	160
2:51.1	500m	2:51.1	70	540	19	125
0:20.0	94m	1:46.3	291	1300	27	143
r: 0:20	24m						
0:20.0	91m	1:49.8	264	1207	27	151
r: 0:20	46m						
0:20.0	96m	1:44.1	310	1365	30	157
r: 0:20	51m						
0:20.0	96m	1:44.1	310	1365	27	161
r: 0:20	52m						
0:20.0	96m	1:44.1	310	1365	27	162
r: 0:20	51m						
0:20.0	95m	1:45.2	300	1332	30	161
r: 0:20	50m						
0:20.0	94m	1:46.3	291	1300	30	162
r: 0:20	36m						
4:36.5	1,000m	2:18.2	132	755	21	143
0:20.0	95m	1:45.2	300	1332	30	155
r: 0:20	46m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	163
r: 0:20	46m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	164
r: 0:20	49m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	166
r: 0:20	50m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	167
r: 0:20	55m						
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	169
r: 0:20	51m						
0:20.0	97m	1:43.0	319	1399	30	167
r: 0:20	51m						
4:34.7	1,000m	2:17.3	135	764	21	141
0:20.0	97m	1:43.0	319	1399	30	158
r: 0:20	45m						
0:20.0	97m	1:43.0	319	1399	27	166
r: 0:20	51m						
0:20.0	97m	1:43.0	319	1399	30	169
r: 0:20	52m						
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	170
r: 0:20	51m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	171
r: 0:20	44m						
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	170
r: 0:20	48m						
0:20.0	96m	1:44.1	310	1365	33	169
r: 0:20	53m						
4:44.0	1,000m	2:22.0	122	720	21	142
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	159
r: 0:20	59m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	169
r: 0:20	50m						
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	171
r: 0:20	55m						
0:20.0	98m	1:42.0	329	1433	30	171
r: 0:20	55m						
0:20.0	99m	1:41.0	340	1468	30	171
r: 0:20	53m						
0:20.0	100m	1:40.0	350	1504	30	173
r: 0:20	57m						
0:20.0	103m	1:37.0	382	1616	30	176
r: 0:20	48m						
4:33.1	1,000m	2:16.5	137	773	21	145
r1,379m

Wednesday 6th

Probably didn't eat enough/properly during day, busy with work, late finish etc. meant that I changed plan and went for a run outside with headtorch, since it has been ages since I did a trail run. Pace was very easy but felt pretty heavy-legged/tardy. Anyway, no interesting "data" to report on this slow 35 minute jog in the woods.

Thursday 7th

Fantastic workout in terms of feeling today. Felt extremely good, in that zen type heavy-breathing where the effort paradoxically feels really good despite the discomfort. I recently treated myself to a proper rowing unisuit from Stich Rowing, and though not "necessary" for someone who only ever does indoor erging, I have to say it is by far the most comfortable thing I've erged in. Super high quality/comfortable/great fit etc. Anyway, workout today was a 5x7min AT/threshold piece, was fairly challenging but not brutally hard. Looking at Ian B.'s savage 9:00/6:00 workouts which are somewhat similar but much harder, and the HR %s (i.e. effort), perhaps I need to make mine a bit harder. My work intervals were set at 97% FTP, but my FTP might be a little bit conservative now.

OCD watchers may note that overall I did manage an exact 1750 total per interval, but fell short of OCD perfection through the crimes of being 1m too short on the first 7:00 block, and 1m too much on the last one, and even worse, the 1:59.9 mean I spoiled the otherwise perfect 2:00/24spm streak

[Iain]

Spider, well done on low HR OCD.

Ian, may have been heavy weather, but the 5k/FM row delivered at good HR as intended so success. Mission accomplished, knowing you were aware of my PP intention finally completed one (or at least one of Pete's sessions I do regularly), even managed my ego of holding a slower pace than I should be able to do for the first 3 intervals!

Aren, the ramp now makes more sense (although still looks long to me!) I normally row on DF 115, but need to increase this for strength workouts. I am now using 125 just to get used to heavier feel when muscles shot, but the faster pace when I inadvertently lowered it back shows this is better for me. I have used a C-Breeze for years now. Expensive for what they are (need to come from US), it definitely helps, but does need removing for sprints as messes up DF if it moves. A fan is better, especially as you may be able to aim this at your back and C-Breeze inadequate at higher temperatures.

Well done on Tabata's, not my favourite as I never have the power to get up to speed quickly after the brief rests (although I do note you used 20" rest rather than the more usual 10"). YOu might like to increase your rating a bit for at least some of these. 1:37 impressive, but you could manage much faster at 40+SPM!

5x7' looks good workout, what was the rest, 90S? I agree that next time you could manage a bit faster as your HR never reached AT.

[spidermac]

Mr Bee & Arent nice splits at those spm/HR`s. I have a C-breeze & used it one hot summer but found it disrupted the drag factor too much for my liking.
High RHR again today but decided to do a harder session than the normal 30min20.
Wup - 1k
Time dist spm HR split Prev
10:00.0 2260 18 158 02:12.7 - (2.14.0)
08:00.0 1840 20 163 02:10.4 - (2.11.7)
06:00.0 1400 22 168 02:08.5 - (2.08.
04:00.0 950 24 170 02:06.3 - (2.06.7)
02:00.0 490 26 168 02:02.4 - (2.03.4)
30:00.0 6937 20 165 02:09.7 - (2.10.6)
CD - 1k
Had to battle thro this & splits considerably slower at relevant spms than 15k waterfall a few day ago.

[Ian Bee]

I too have a c breeze. I only tend to use it during the "hotter" months, but otherwise I agree the niggles with messing with drag factors aren't worth the effort.

Aren - nice sequence of sessions. You may or may not have programmed ergzone with your max HR and resting HR as this may give you a better idea of your effort?

Spider - felt the pain but top effort for finishing.

Today marks the start of round two of my sessions, so now I (aside from a couple of HD and missed sessions) have some targets to aim at:

IMG_20241111_090200.jpg (52.52 KiB) Viewed 1823 times

Not much to be upset about here - lower HR, greater distance and less HR drift.

I think I was pacing myself last time

[Iain]

Spider well done for battling through. Still a faster session hitting serious ratings

Ian, training seems to have made a huge difference! WIll be interesting to see the effect at higher paces.

Really heavy legged through weekend, so 2 long LSDs. HR lowest I have seen for a long time but RPE much higher.

Today tried one of the EF sessions: 6'/9', but had to cut rest to 3' and the warm up. Unsure of pace so started based on 2:06 / 2:15, too conservative! See results below:

Time Distnc Rate Pace Hrmax % HRmin %
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 138 75.0% 091 49.5%
15:00 3,150 17 02:22.9 141 76.6% 132 71.7%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 139 75.5% 089 48.4% - break before
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 140 76.1% 133 72.3%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 141 76.6% 137 74.5%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 141 76.6% 136 73.9%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 144 78.3% 137 74.5%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 145 78.8% 138 75.0%
2:00 25202 17.0 2:22.8 145 78.8%

15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 137 74.5% 078 42.4%
15:00 3,150 17 02:22.9 142 77.2% 134 72.8%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 143 77.7% 134 72.8%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 143 77.7% 138 75.0%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 138 75.0% 095 51.6%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 140 76.1% 132 71.7%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 142 77.2% 136 73.9%
15:00 3,151 17 02:22.8 140 76.1% 134 72.8%
15:00 3,101 16 02:27.6 140 76.1% 131 71.2%
2:15 28302 16.9 2:23.1 143 77.7%

06:00.0 1,431 25 02:05.8 150 81.5% -- N/A - Pause while started mid-interval, mainly 2:04s to bring average back
09:00.0 2,001 20 02:14.9 149 81.0% 142 77.2%
06:00.0 1,432 24 02:05.7 160 87.0% 109 59.2%
09:00.0 2,001 20 02:14.9 156 84.8% 148 80.4%
06:00.0 1,451 26 02:04.1 165 89.7% 119 64.7% - allowed pushed pace as well under HR cap
09:00.0 2,001 20 02:14.9 158 85.9% 152 82.6%
06:00.0 1,470 26 02:02.4 167 90.8% 113 61.4% - Pushed HR harder
09:00.0 2,051 21 02:11.6 161 87.5% 155 84.2% - Finished to come in a bit under cap - higher HR at start before it settled.
24:00.0 5783 25.3 2:04.5 167 90.8%
36:00.0 8054 20.3 2:14.1 161 87.5%

[spidermac]

The two ian/iains putting in the metres as per!
Arent - getting an OCD wout involves a bit of luck as often I see perfect OCD on the PM3 then when I downlaod it to a spreadsheet its different!!! Looks close enuff to me!!!

[Emander]

I decided to have an easy row just to test how the rib was feeling. It still gave me some discomfort, but depending on how it feels tomorrow I might mix in some rowing with the cycling I've done in the mean time.

Skärmbild 2024-11-11 191144.png (45.29 KiB) Viewed 1793 times

[ArenT]

Nice to see everyone is keeping up the quality training.

Alas, as is inevitable once in a while, my highly satisfying training sequence/progress unfortunately got interrupted by the dreaded factor that eventually always (but fortunately only rarely) strikes: illness. So no attempt at the SkiErg 1000m challenge.

Friday 9th

- Easy-ish random spin on the BikeErg using TP Virtual.

Too little sleep and super-long workday (I woke up early, couldn't get back to sleep, so just switched on the computer and coded away) meant that by evening I was pretty tired and felt a bit physically tired. With no real mental energy left, just decided to do a "spin the legs in an easy way however I like" for one hour.

Unfortunately I didn't realise at the time that the poor sleep and fatigue was in fact due to... Covid. Or at least, I'm fairly confident it is, as it gave me the exact/identical symptoms as last time, just a bit milder. It catches me out (I only realise later) as it springs a weird trap:

a) First night, feel a bit fever-ish, headachey, not good
b) Morning, wake up, feel fine. Almost 100% in fact, figure it is a one-night only thing (incorrectly)
c) Evening, comes back, but worse, catching you off-guard
d) Following day, ill, just generally no energy/achy/cold sweats, headache, massive lethargy, poor appetite (except for sugary/junk stuff)
e) Next day, pretty much recovered but tired

It's the only illness I've had with this exact weird "double hit" scenario that makes you think you're fine then comes back again. Otherwise it just feels like annoying low-grade flu. I've never ever had any of the other typical symptoms people have with it, e.g. coughing or sore throat or tight chest etc. Seems almost impossible to avoid it, usual circulation, devilishly efficient infectious capability.

Anyway, that was my weekend, more annoying than anything else, as it meant I spent all of Sunday doing nothing other than vegetating watching streaming series almost the entire afternoon/evening (no energy/concentration for anything else), and of course complete rest/no training (did go for walk in woods however).

Monday 12th

- 4770m easy on Rowerg

Pace about 2:15-2:20, never took HR above 140.

Very good/deep sleep (after two very bad nights) and proper appetite again meant felt nearly back to normal. Just tired, so today was a first "recovery workout" to ease back in. Will do a harder but no more than "moderate" steady-state workout tomorrow, then should resume harder efforts from Wednesday.

Why 4770m? Well, it is almost as if the universe had carefully aligned this for me, but that was the distance to 1 million for my season this year (that really started in ~August), so seemed feted as a perfect short/easy/gentle row back to health.

[zootMutant]

It's been a while.

My main activity these days is hiking. Last year I was hiking 2x/week, maybe 10 miles per day, with about 3300' of elevation gain. This year I've been slacking off quite a bit and decided I needed a goal... go to Colorado next fall and hike for 10 days.

I need to up my game.

Two months ago I started walking at work: 20 min before work, 20 min during work, 20 min after work... down and up a big hill. Comes to about 70 flights of stairs per day. The goal with walking (and hiking) is to always keep my heart rate under contol. My daily walks should never go over 125 bpm. (Hiking can drift up to 138 bpm, or higher, depending on the length and purpose of the hike.)

Last month I added in strength training.

This month I'm adding in rowing. Slowly building up legs, back, arms, shoulders while keeping heart rate low. Maybe 3x per week to start. Once I feel that I'm not going to injure myself (January?), I'll start uping the pace and adding in sprint intervals.

Today, a slow L4 (just because I LOVE the Wolverine Plan!)

30 min, using 2:08 as my reference pace
3x 10' @ 168 strokes = 2'/2'/2'/2'/2' ... 16/18/16/18/16 spm ... 2:40/2:35
expected avg pace = 2:37.9

time dist spm split +/- ------------------------------------------ 10:00 1913 16.8 2:36.8 +14m 10:00 1915 16.8 2:36.6 +16m 10:00 1918 16.8 2:36.4 +19m ------------------------------------------ 30:00 5746 16.8 2:36.6 +49m

Average HR 111, Max HR 123

Easy pace, but legs, back, and hands are sore. A long way to go, yet.

Cheers,
zoot

[Iain]

Eric, good to see you are feeling better, hope to see you back again soon.

Aren, sorry to hear about your covid, annoying, but in a week or so it sounds as if you will be back to normal.

Zoot, great to hear from you again. Can't remember your HRmax, so not sure on how hard that L4 was. I always found L4s tough (hence staying on a Pete'ish plan to avoid them). Hope this is one of many.

UT1 for me, I think that is the lowest HR I have done for this session:

Time Distnc Rate Pace Hrmax % HRmin %
15:00 3,331 19 02:15.1 146 79.3% 078 42.4%
15:00 3,331 19 02:15.1 152 82.6% 143 77.7%
15:00 3,331 19 02:15.1 153 83.2% 148 80.4%
15:00 3,331 19 02:15.1 154 83.7% 148 80.4%
15:00 3,331 19 02:15.1 153 83.2% 145 78.8%
1:15 16654 19.0 2:15.1 154 83.7%

[Ian Bee]

Iain – two very high value LSDs there. I’m certainly seeing benefit from that end of the training. The drop in temperature has meddle a little with my RPE vs HR (and for the latter I’m cautiously of the opinion that the readings are not quite as stable?). Interesting to digest your run from the 6/9 – as has been evident I’m very much of the school of thought to have a complete session as a line in the sand, and you have a good base to push from next time.
Emander – steady as she goes with the rib.
Aren – Well done on your million! – particularly after a bout of covid.
Zoot – nice to see you around, and a nice wide range of activities.
Today:

20241112_090452.jpg (97.81 KiB) Viewed 1743 times

As Iain mused steady state is one thing, fast pace is another. Felt very rested this morning so built myself up for a decent run on this session. First run through of this in August was actually pretty reasonable, though tailed off a tiny amount towards the end.
This time through it was reasonably consistent for both the marathon and 5k segments, with a slightly lower average HR (though the peak HR was a touch higher). Within the HR cap overall though - RPE was no worse than previous runs and, again, the marathon sections are sitting nicely as pre-recovery.

[spidermac]

ArenT wishing u a speedy recovery.
Zoot great to see u back.
Ian same as u I like to have a target as otherwise I am tempted to overestimate my fitness!
Iain nice UT1/OCD session.
After last 2 days something a bit longer & slower.
Wup - 1k
Time dist spm HR split
06:00.0 1333 20 137 02:15.0
06:00.0 1334 20 139 02:14.9
06:00.0 1333 20 141 02:15.0
06:00.0 1334 20 142 02:14.9
06:00.0 1334 20 145 02:14.9
06:00.0 1336 20 148 02:14.7 - ehhh?
06:00.0 1334 20 147 02:14.9
06:00.0 1333 20 148 02:15.0
06:00.0 1334 20 149 02:14.9
06:00.0 1333 20 148 02:15.0
01:00:00 13333 20 144 02:15.0
CD - 1k
Not my usual consistency but i`ll take it as was contemplating a rest day.

[Iain]

Ian, clear improvement there with a faster pace at both paces and HR recovering more on the drop in pace. I am a little surprised that you are comparing back to August when you did this session on 7/11, but I guess the sessions around the 2 occasions may be different. I was thinking of repeating at slightly faster paces as I was significantly under the caps and was guessing at the correct paces. No intention to do the whole plan as I will not be able to row anything useful (for 60-72 mins anyway) at 75% HRmax. NOt a fan of the HM & 10k intervals either, so may stick to this one session or perhaps try one with more of the work at the faster pace.

I was surprised how hard the second interval felt. Not sure whether it was the tiredness of my legs after 3 successive sessions or rowing for longer (notwithstanding that much is at a modest pace even for me). I was seriously wondering whether I could complete all 4 3' into the second interval, but in he event the third was no worse and absent the cap, I could have pushed the last harder. Next on the agenda is 10 x 1'r1' to prepare for the CTC, but fully expect to return to this fairly soon.

Spider, well done on the Hr R20. OCD is a nice game, but the odd tenth makes little difference in the end!

[zootMutant]

Iain -- pretty darn consistent!

Ian -- what is RPE? perceived level of exertion? Are you on the EF marathon plan? Those 6'/9' intervals look familiar. HR very nice compared with Aug, especially those 9' marathon segments. Nice recovery. The last time I did these, there was no drop in HR.

Spider -- very consistent for you, too!

@Iain - I'm not sure what my max HR is, but it's probably around 165. (220-age=165; 208-0.7*resting HR=164; during a brutal (aerobic) training hike last week I hit 154). So, my L4s are solidly in the 'recovery' zone... slightly harder than taking a day off.

L4s for me have always been about technique. I estimate my 2k pace at around 2:08 (167 watts). According to the WP, my target for the 168s should be at around 2:36 (91 watts) or about 55% of my 2k power. As I work through the plan, the sessions will become harder and harder, but at this stage I'm just focused on the nitty gritty... building callouses on my hands, engaging my core at the catch, bending from the hips instead of rounding my back, making each rep the same.

The biggest problem I have is: when I'm tired (the last sprint interval or the end of a 2k) my form goes to shit and I end up compensating for tired legs by pulling harder with my arms and back. That's when I get injured. So the L4s are more like meditation (for me) -- just a focus on technique... with a change-up every few minutes. Time flies.

Cheers,

[Iain]

Thanks Zoot. To be fair I haven't done L4s for years and am much better at regulating my rating and pace now. I did find that the L4 tables gave brutal paces for the highest ratings 'though. I also found that I spent so long trying to achieve the right rate and pace together that I hadn't got time to concentrate on form. Also I like to get into a rhythm and no sooner had I settled to target and I was changing it again! But that is from someone who has an extended leanback that I have failed to correct. I found that once I establish a rhythm then form dictates SPI and so correcting pace or rate can be done by sharpening technique so it might work better for me now. As for HR mine does not appear to track the norm. Having pushed very hard at the end of many TTs of varying distances I have hit 184 a number of times and so it is close to or actually my HRMax. That said, EF's Marathon plan (which is what Ian is following and where I borrowed my 9/6 session) calls for FM pace at below 75% HRmax. I am getting closer to doing FM+8 at around this for 30' but FM pace quickly exceeds 80%. From excessive contemplation of HR traces I believe my AT is 162-165 (88-90% HRMax) and UT2 (Aerobic) threshold around 142, 77% of HRmax.

I think everyone's form goes AWOL at the end of all out pieces. I usually finish with barely 1/4 slide as my legs no longer respond, so pulling with back and arms is essential. For me atleast this doesn't cause injuries, what makes these more likely is dropping my hands so that I jerk the catch. So at the end I concentrate on upping the rating and throwing my hands forward and upward after the finish.

Today felt mainly recovered and can't row tomorrow so tempted to do my next interval session. But as yesterday was moderately hard and I have been feeling muscularly tired I toned this to an LSD. AGain struggled to settle at recent pace so settled at extra 10m/15' and 1SpM slower. Surprised at OCD on first attempt at these numbers, surprisingly comfortable although clearly tiring as initially had to conciously soften the stroke to hit target, while 45+ min in I was having to slow the stroke as seeing 17s and needed to concentrate on legs to get pace at the lower rating at target.

Time Distnc Rate Pace Hrmax % HRmin %
15:00 3,161 16 02:22.4 136 73.9% 087 47.3%
15:00 3,161 16 02:22.4 139 75.5% 133 72.3%
15:00 3,161 16 02:22.4 144 78.3% 136 73.9%
15:00 3,161 16 02:22.4 143 77.7% 138 75.0%
15:00 3,161 16 02:22.4 141 76.6% 137 74.5%
1:15 15804 16.0 2:22.4 144 78.3%

[Ian Bee]

Iain – I suppose I’m playing tricks on myself: the overall session rotation is 12 weeks (though in reality it is 4 weeks repeated as you’ve flagged), so I am indeed trying to compare with the same point on the cycle. In part my logic is to really smooth out the need to push the pace too fast, as for once that really isn’t the objective (rather I’d like to bed down the HM/FM pace which the plan is intended to improve). I completely agree that the session does appear to hit fairly early in the reps, but the repetition is really helping psychologically. Nice well regulated session.
Zoot – yes: that is the thrust. I recall comparing notes with a fell runner and they were very much of the opinion that perceived effort was much more important than HR/bands or otherwise. I’m on the fence to be honest, and would rather know that my HR is spiking/not recovering etc so I can do the sensible thing and stop, irrespective of whether I happen to “feel“ fine.
Today:

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On this point in the first cycle of sessions, I overcooked and HD’d (though did complete later in the programme). Hence, I too a measured view of targets and ultimately held back for the 10k middle rep (ended +2s) and fell into slightly slower pace on the final rep (+0.5s).
Within the HR cap for the session, but I would think had I pushed to meet the target for the 10k rep it would not have ended well. Food for thought.

[Iain]

As hinted at but not said explicitly above, I am cynical at blanket HR prescriptions. IIRC some people have Anaerobic threshold as high as 92% HRR against about 85% for me. Not sure how performing at that level compares in fatigue, but it suggests to me that different %ages may apply to different people. I take the caps to mean you can push to top of AT on 5k, upto but within AT on 10k etc. But unsure whether that was his intention. But for some it will be at a reduced intrinsic intensity while for others it will lead to overtraining!

[Mat]

It would appear that in respect of my training on the erg, the only thing in which i can remain consistent is my inconsistency!

Humbled by the duration and quality of sessions from Iain and Ian (even if Iain remains his own biggest critic) as you continue to prepare for your assault on that crazy record
Similarly Spider - great training even as you work around ongoing treatment
Aren seemingly manages to mix up training across multi-disciplines with far greater effectiveness that I'm managing right now
Glad to hear you're back on the rower Zoot and that the rib is improving Eric. If my experience of rowing after breaking a rib is anything to go by, there will be an element of rowing through discomfort if you're not to take an inordinately long time away from the erg

Back on the 3 x 12' r 2' for me this morning, and whilst the CBA demons continued to buzz around the head, I once again managed to get through all three intervals with a slight improvement in pace from the previous time (0.6/500 overall) and pretty consistent heart rate

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[Ian Bee]

That's a tough session to repeat (and see improvement from) Mat

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I recall treating this one as a low key session last time through, and hence the difference in pace is largely down to putting the required amount of effort in. This time through was manageable though not much room to push the pace.

[Iain]

Nicely done Mat

Ian, don't fancy doing that twice in 3 days, I don't think I have the mental discipline to moderate my pace and we crash horribly. Are the instructions the same for both, or does Eddie cut you some slack this time around?