What Training Have You Done Today?

[JerekKruger]

@Henry - thanks for the words of support.

@Rod - sorry you didn't go as fast as you wanted but nicely done nonetheless.

[G-dub]

"Feeling low about other things" can definitely impact your energy as well as your willingness to "tough it out". Maybe addressing that which is making you feel low is where your focus and energy should be. Pull back on the erg and be like Anthony - go by what feels good and don't put pressure on results for awhile. Work, relationships, life (those other things) when not going well cause lots of stress and emotion that shouldn't be overlooked. Stress is stress - we can only carry so much at one time and adding to it with hard training doesn't help it go away it I don't think. Take it easy - live to fight another day when things feel better.

I'm sure I'm not saying anything earth shattering, but we can be stubborn sometimes and think we can barrel on through.

[G-dub]

Oh, forgot why I logged on:

3 x 10' this morning only UT1 ish along with some mobility work. I've really been getting into some exotic kettle bell work and it probably going to be the best thing I've ever done to stay upright and mobile.

Then went out on our lake for 10K with a mixed 8. What was really special was we have gotten 8-10" of snow over the last 30 hours, so the landscape setting was quite unique.

[AnimalNige]

Five hour bike ride in the bitter cold. Two punctures so finIshed on a flat.

Easy week due I think. I'll be doing 5k pieces as training sessions for instead of 10. Will makes Tuesday's a time trial though to see how I am.

[jbhop5857]

Good Day and Congrats to all you BRIC's out there,

Steady State 15k @2:07. Finished at 2:06.6 - HR never went over 145 and stayed mostly in the 139-141 range.

Have a nice evening, long day Sunday.

David

[jackarabit]

[Edward4492]

Good job Rod, it's extremely tough to get it just right on the day of the big event. You're splits looked dead on, very nicely paced. We're talking seconds here on a 7min, event. Don't be too hard on your self; you were 2-3s off. Great words from Glen, all of the life stressors go into the bin and need to be considered; there's a cumulative effect. You've logged some pretty brutal sessions, including some hard 60min efforts. Maybe taking a hair off of your edge? Romoli has been a beast for many years; he has an impressive record. You'll have another shot at him.

Getting back to those splits, your experience and focus shows. Look at Wiggins, appears like he freaked out a bit with the "false start" miscue then dug too deep (I'm guessing) and over-reacted. Looks to me like you got into your rythym and settled on the fastest number you could maintain even though it was a hair slower than what you hoped for. It's a perfect strategy, if you have anything left you can make up time at the end. If there's nothing left then you paced it just right on the day. This is all supposition on my part.....but I'm thinking WELL DONE!

[lindsayh]

This should be a relatively easy row for me, I've done this row at 1:55.7 splits before (at rate 20) and yet I really couldn't carry on today. I'm starting to think my collection of HDs recently might be more than just trying to go too fast. I've found it increasingly hard to maintain decent powers at all stroke rates. I'm not really sure what I should do. Any thoughts?

Tom I am with Jim a bit on this - I don't worry too much about HDs as there a lot more serious problems in the world - it is all training and you can learn about yourself too! I am an occasional and random HDer and just try something different to move on as bound to get better. Best to back off a bit and change the goals. Set off on a piece that you know that you will finish - either a steady UT1 type 10k started as a Just Row or maybe some shorter intervals where you can see the end of each one from the start (I like 10x 3'/1-2'r) but don't push too hard.
If there is other "stuff" happening in your life then the erg is defo therapeutic as well - keep it up!

[lindsayh]

Sunday morning
Well done to all the BRICers - ya gotta love a good day at the races - maybe 2018!

Hard interval session but conservative goals - really wanted to get to the end - see above
1k @2:15
30x 45"/75"R = 6543m @1:43.1
active rest 2700m
first 1:44 then all 1:42-3 but last 1:38.6
df120 (set low for me) sr31 319w mhr153 rpe7.5

[Rod]

@Rod - sorry you didn't go as fast as you wanted but nicely done nonetheless.

Good job Rod, it's extremely tough to get it just right on the day of the big event. You're splits looked dead on, very nicely paced. We're talking seconds here on a 7min, event. Don't be too hard on your self; you were 2-3s off. Great words from Glen, all of the life stressors go into the bin and need to be considered; there's a cumulative effect. You've logged some pretty brutal sessions, including some hard 60min efforts. Maybe taking a hair off of your edge? Romoli has been a beast for many years; he has an impressive record. You'll have another shot at him.

Getting back to those splits, your experience and focus shows. Look at Wiggins, appears like he freaked out a bit with the "false start" miscue then dug too deep (I'm guessing) and over-reacted. Looks to me like you got into your rythym and settled on the fastest number you could maintain even though it was a hair slower than what you hoped for. It's a perfect strategy, if you have anything left you can make up time at the end. If there's nothing left then you paced it just right on the day. This is all supposition on my part.....but I'm thinking WELL DONE!

Thank you Jerek and Ed, it was kind of you to post something. I didn't think anything I've done in training is to blame in fact I genuinly feel all the tough sessions I've mentioned on here have been highly beneficial so my lack of energy, especially in the last 500 is a bit of a mystery as my 2 weeks on the erg since the last competition have gone very well and I was nicely rested and fresh.

Maybe I was a little underweight as the scales told me I was only 72.3k/159lbs that morning which is the lightest I've ever been.

Oh well.....back to the grind to prepare for the world champs in the 18th of February.

[Dangerscouse]

@ Rod, it's a shame you didn't win but it was still a very good result. I can understand your disappointment but focus on the world's and just remember how close you were and still are to your target.

@ Tom, you defo need to make erging 'fun' again. The HDs will be having a more destructive effect on you at the moment as they get thrown in to the mix of feelings. Some great advice given by other people so hopefully you will pick something that works for you.

@ Lindsay, that looks like a very tough session with very good times.

[OtwSL]

British Championships

7:01.6 for Silver in the 60-64 Lightweights ...winner was 6:56.6 so was never going to beat that but disappointed with my time.(The winner was Italian so it's some consolation that I was top Brit I suppose).

I was tired all the way and had nothing for the last 500. That was 2 seconds slower than 2 weeks ago but I've no idea why as I was well rested and my training has been good.

My wife Carol Woodward got the Gold in the 55-59 Lwt's but was nearly 5 seconds slower than 2 weeks ago with 7:52.1

Oh well.....back to training and hope to be faster in the world championships in February.

Great job. It's only 2 seconds. That is nothing. Just an off day. Silver is still extremely respectable!

[Gammmmo]

Always annoying when u come up short on expectations, Rod. I know what that feels like when u feel u really ought to have gone quicker - case in point the Devon 5K I did back in Sept when I did the same time as the previous year and could tell immediately I was not on a good day. Having another comp to look forward to should help and in all likelihood you'll probably go better. If this stuff was easy it wouldn't be worth doing! Erg on...

P.S. I think your plan to use your current form to push your longer distances/times in the interim (assuming that won't affect your short distance prowess) is a good one as it'll give u a lift.

[lindsayh]

Thank you Jerek and Ed, it was kind of you to post something. I didn't think anything I've done in training is to blame in fact I genuinly feel all the tough sessions I've mentioned on here have been highly beneficial so my lack of energy, especially in the last 500 is a bit of a mystery as my 2 weeks on the erg since the last competition have gone very well and I was nicely rested and fresh.

Hi Rod and well done on the silver - time on the day is actually less important when it is a real race but still nice to nail it of course. I must say tho that from a long way away I was thinking that your last week or ten days was a bit intense - I modified my views on this after being in the same camp as you for a long time. When preparing for WIRC this year we had a thread here is some of the discussion - just a thought

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=152245

Yes I have always trained quite close to the race day without changing much but the IP and the ISS training guide are quite prescriptive and very keen to limit hard sessions even in the last ten days. Makes the point that you wont get fitter in that time and in fact the rest days allow the body to better use the training you have been doing to "super adapt". You can do your 6 sessions but they are surprisingly limited. It is not "sermon on the mount" material of course but it was written by elite coaches of elite rowers so has a fair bit of substance and worth considering.

"Tapering
For seven to ten days prior to an important competition you should taper off your training. Some people
think that to reduce training doses at this time will lead to a loss of fitness but this is not true. Training is a
combination of overload and super-compensation. This means that during exercise the body is brought to
the point of exhaustion and, during the recovery period, the body recuperates to a point of greater capacity
than before. The super-compensation period lasts for seven to ten days after the end of a training regime
and so any fears of a loss of condition are groundless. The best use of this time is to focus on race
strategy, getting the pre-race warm-up right, and polishing up technique. It is important to avoid the build
up of lactic acid close to competition. The longest single piece of high intensity work should not exceed 90
seconds. A couple of these at the beginning of the final week should be okay, cutting back to bursts of 30
seconds in the days immediately preceding competition. If preparing for a 2,000m race, we recommend
that the total number of hard strokes during the whole of the tapering period should not exceed 300.
An example of a week of tapering is shown below. This is the last week before a 2,000m race and
assumes that you have trained conscientiously for the event. You should find that you are able to do much
more work than is on the schedule. This is a good sign but do not give into the temptation to do too much.
You are tapering and should be getting rested and ready for your race, not making yourself overtired."

[JerekKruger]

Thank you Jerek and Ed, it was kind of you to post something. I didn't think anything I've done in training is to blame in fact I genuinly feel all the tough sessions I've mentioned on here have been highly beneficial so my lack of energy, especially in the last 500 is a bit of a mystery as my 2 weeks on the erg since the last competition have gone very well and I was nicely rested and fresh.

Maybe I was a little underweight as the scales told me I was only 72.3k/159lbs that morning which is the lightest I've ever been.

Could it be the beginning of a bug? The fact that both you and your wife went a little slower than expected might suggest some shared explanation like that. The weight thing would also seem like a possible explanation (it must be hard to juggle weight management as well as performance coming into a race, glad I'll never have to deal with that).

@ Tom, you defo need to make erging 'fun' again. The HDs will be having a more destructive effect on you at the moment as they get thrown in to the mix of feelings. Some great advice given by other people so hopefully you will pick something that works for you.

I think I'm going to take a break from the erg for a while and work on other things (for example, the skierg). It'll be a lot harder to be disappointed with my performance on a machine where I have no performance record. I'll then come back to erging sometime in January and ease back into it.