Three Months to 2k PB (3/1/15)

[Hillclimber]

The 2015 CRASH-Bs (March 1) are a little more than 12 weeks away, which means CRASH-B Satellites and other erg regattas all over will take place in about 10 weeks. So, I thought this would be a good place to share training strategies, progress, and frustrations toward your 2k Personal or Season Best.

For my part, I hammered out a 6:27 at CRASH-Bs in 2002 with terrible technique, poor upper body strength, and little to no clue about erg-specific training. I had been at the tail end of a few decades of USCF Cat 3 and Masters cycling, so the road race conditioning carried me through. (To put that time in perspective, the winner in my 40-44 age group knocked out a 6:00 flat - that's a humbling power differential of about 25%!)

I took up erging again last season, but suffered from multiple unexpected business trips, and a lot of other excuses I won't bore you with. Went to Boston anyway, and pulled off an incredibly painful 6:48.

Here's where I am now at the beginning of this 12-week hunt, and how I got here this season:

Erg - Sold my model B and picked up a tired Model C: Replaced almost everything, so it's all but a D now.

Training Plan - Mix of C2 Interactive Programme, Pete’s, Wolverine, and Eddie “B” Borysewicz’s bicycle training gospel: Bicycle Road Racing (some things stick with you, LOL)

Base Meters - After letting any conditioning from last year pitter away to nothing, I began training again August 1. Focused on piling up the meters at r 26-32 for first 10 weeks.

New Convert to Low Rating - Given my cycling background, my propensity is to rate up. But after reading here and other places about the value of low-rating for the erg - I always figured rate restricted work was for OTW, teamwork, precision, and all that - I gave this method a try beginning about 6 weeks ago for UT1 workouts of 3 x 4k at r22-24, 1:50.5 - 1:52.5, once- and twice-weekly. I hope to begin r20 work soon, at a similar pace once I’m confident I have the core strength. I’ve never been a weight lifter, and at 6-5, 208 am not exactly a hulk; that, combined with being 55, has made me hesitant to risk injury with the low r, strong pace efforts.
When I read about r20 30 minutes at >8000m I now say: Respect!

The Thrill of Big-Leap Improvements - A few weeks ago I hit 6:43 2k. Have recently set SBs in the 500, 1:28.7 and 1000, 3:08. And while I am fully aware that I'm still in the big leap-of-improvement stage, it sure is nice to see the times drop!

My goal for 2015 is a sub 6:30 2k. What's yours and how will you get there?


Damien

[Hillclimber]

Here's today's training - 8 x 500m, 2:10 rest, unrestricted r:

Pace Rate
1:39.5 33
1:39.2 33
1:39.5 33
1:38.7 33
1:37.7 33
1:37.2 33
1:36.8 33
1:35.7 34

1:37.8 avg.

I’d like to be averaging in the 1:35s by mid-February, with reps up to 12, and rest down to 1:50 or less.

[Cyclingman1]

Just a couple of miscellaneous observations.

You are at 1:47.6 for 5K and 1:40.7 for 2K. A stronger 5K would help 2K, say about 17:10 (1:43) for a 6:30 2K.

As far as Crash-B, you have some tough competition. The 55-59 winner, age 55, is back and the top two in 50-54 move up to 55 all with times under 6:18.

[Hillclimber]

Cyclingman, thanks for the advice re 5k. Gives me a pace to aim for in Feb.

I have not done a test in many weeks at 5k but am certainly eyeing about 17:30 next time I give that a go, within a few weeks.

Yes, the comp is tough in 55+ crash-b with those three 6:17s you mention. A hammer is not my objective. I'm fortunate to live a few hours from Boston, and have enjoyed the atmosphere of crash-b. My goals are to be in peak form, and successfully follow a solid race strategy toward a Season Best.

[Edward4492]

Interesting post. I'm a Cat 3, 10 years and 300 crits and road races, and too many broken ribs, clavicles, etc, to keep up with the cycling madness. Bicycle RR is a terribly tough sport, but there's nothing that compares to the shear intensity of a race-pace 2k. I'm your age (58) but race as a lightweight. Allowing for the weight and height difference we' re at a similar fitness level. I'm at 6:59 right now and want to go 6:56 at B's. In the LWT's that puts me near the top of the list. Right now there's several guys that will beat me if they go to B's and pull their usual numbers (Tom Phillips, Scott Pape, Paul Seibach for sure). But ya never know! My plan to get there is to start with the hard intervals (once a week of 1 x 4000m, 2 x 2500m and either 3x1000m or 6 x500m). The other three days, long and VERY easy (10k 2;10 pace). This topic has been beaten to death on the UT1 thread. I have dual goals of getting faster and maintaining my fringe lightweight position. Nothing revolutionary here, but one of my pet theories is that Master's LWTs fit a real niche mold. They need to be right at 165lbs with-out having to jump through restrictive diet or dehydration hoops. Tallish for their weight (I'm six foot). The best guys all have that leanish, long look to 'em (with exceptions like Rocket Roy Brooks). You sound like you have a great build for rowing, but in the heavies you have to go up against some monsters!

I do love this time of year. All of the serious erg'ers start to surface as the build up to Boston starts to gain traction. Looking forward to meeting some of the folks that have been posting here. Hopefully more guys (and gals) will start checkin' in.

[rhr]

Hi Damien,

We are both aiming for sub 6:30 / 2k this season.

Benchmark sessions to work off:
8x500m on R'3'30 @1:34.0
4x1k on R'5 1:38.5
5x750 on R3'30 1:37.0 ish
4x750m on R'3 1:36.5 ish
1k in 3:05

Key workout, IMO, is the 4x1k on R'5 at 2k + 1 sec. Very hard but very accurate for most.

As Jim mentioned sub 17:30 5k - 17:30 is probably a minimum, lower would be better. Looking at your current 5k time your 3x4k workouts and some 5x1500m (5k pace) and 4x2k (5k+0.5 sec) at quicker paces would help. I too am "quicker" at the short end relative to middle distances but am working on narrowing the differential.

Your estimate on the 8x500m on R'2 workout at 1:35's is spot on I think. I wouldn't let the rate for that workout go materially above 2k rate.

[hjs]

Damian, re rate 20 work, at this point its proberly not worth focussing much about it, its used to build base. In the run up to racing is to short notice to start with it now.
I would first focus on 5k paced work. Plus longer easy work and in the last 6 weeks go to 2k paced interval work.
5 k volume in the 7/8 k range of volume. Rest work 1/1
2k 4 k volume, rest above work time.

Rating, you could do some rate 24 work, this will build a strong stroke if you use a good enough pace. Btw for you height you cn certainly pull 8k rate 20. Stroke lenght plays a big role for rating. For a taller guy like yourself you can have a long stroke. Toprowers pull 9k plus rate 20 on 30 minutes. Top 50 plus guys 8500 plus.

Enjoy and good luck

[Hillclimber]

Thanks guys, these are great tips, just what I hoped for. Had been thinking mostly 500m - 1000m intervals and UT work, but will include the 5k pace work.
Not entirely convinced that mixing in 4 weeks or so if r20 1:50 would not have a positive impact. However, this is based on my strong response to 5 weeks of r22-24 as noted above. Could be I'm simply falling for the allure of low rate, solid work efforts as Edward noted. Some corollary to sweet 4 hour LSD bike rides I suppose.
Thanks again guys!
Damien

[Hillclimber]

re the 5k pacing suggestions toward a sub 1:45 5k pace: great insight, and after travel and a nasty cold am finally able to train hard again. today my first set of intervals headed toward improved 5k territory -
1500 1:47.1 r30 rest 4:00 HR UT2
1500 1:46.3 r30 rest 4:00 HR UT1
1500 1:45.0 r30 rest 4:00 HR AT
1500 1:44.1 r31 rest 4:00 HR AT up to lower TR

Any suggestions on beginning/target rest periods for 1500 intrvals with 5k endurance in mind??

I suppose the goal would be to maintain HR at an AT level for a 1:42 pace, in order to pull a sub 17:30. Good to have another target!

[Hillclimber]

Hi Damien,

We are both aiming for sub 6:30 / 2k this season.

Benchmark sessions to work off:
8x500m on R'3'30 @1:34.0
4x1k on R'5 1:38.5
5x750 on R3'30 1:37.0 ish
4x750m on R'3 1:36.5 ish
1k in 3:05

Key workout, IMO, is the 4x1k on R'5 at 2k + 1 sec. Very hard but very accurate for most.

As Jim mentioned sub 17:30 5k - 17:30 is probably a minimum, lower would be better. Looking at your current 5k time your 3x4k workouts and some 5x1500m (5k pace) and 4x2k (5k+0.5 sec) at quicker paces would help. I too am "quicker" at the short end relative to middle distances but am working on narrowing the differential.

Your estimate on the 8x500m on R'2 workout at 1:35's is spot on I think. I wouldn't let the rate for that workout go materially above 2k rate.

thanks rhr!
how are you calculating rest periods for the 500 - 1k intervals? i thought the strategy was to increase pace each weekly session while decreasing rest time for <1k intervals.
thanks, damien

[gregsmith01748]

You might want to google "Pete plan" and take a look at the intervals there. This plan has two interval sessions per week, one is short intervals at roughly race pace, the other is longer intervals at about a 5k pace.

The short intervals have a rest about 2x the work time. The long intervals have a rest about 1/2x to 1x the work time.

Getting close to a competition, I think it is better to keep the rests long and work on pushing the pace in each rep as hard as you can. There is no accumulated fatigue in a 2k race. There will be a lot of lactic acid to process. I suggest that you paddle during the rests.

[Hillclimber]

Greg, I'm well aware of the value of maintaining good interval rest periods as well as intense intervals as one gets to within, say, 8 days of an event as part of a taper.
And petes plan, sure i have read it. But I have seen strong performers posting rests of as short as 50 sec for 500 intervals.
So, how do you define fatigue? If it does not accumulate, why can I not maintain my current sb of 1:28 500m pace for an entire 2k? For that matter, why do intervals of distances shorter than 2k at all? Why not 4 x 2k at race pace?
Please accept the question in the spirit in which it is asked: I very much appreciate the input from experienced rowers here.
damien

[christopherregisryan]

Hi Damien. Good luck with your training and your goal. Shaving 18 seconds in a year would be amazing!! I am no more experienced than you so far be it from me to advise. But since you asked, here goes. My advice is to be very careful about overtraining during these last three months. The speed sessions you describe require good recovery periods in between. You are making great progress already versus last year and your cycling has given you a strong cardio base. The Pete Plan was written for younger athletes, who need less recovery time. It only looks for one speed interval session and one endurance interval session per week so I certainly wouldn't recommend doing much more than that. Make sure you get your rest and recovery time between intense workouts. For active rest, I do 30 minute incline treadmill walks with HR <135 to get my blood pumping and release a few endorphins.

I am going to follow Pete from here to March 1. Depending upon how I feel, I may take a rest week in late January before the CT Indoors for extra recovery time. My goal for Boston is to improve by a few seconds from last year's 6:40.2. I would love to get below 6:30 by the time I "graduate" to the 55-59 group. That gives me two years to get there. Right now I am doing the speed intervals at 2k + 2/3. I hope to grind my times down with each three week cycle. Endurance is my weak suit so I do think I can be a bit slower on these 4k speed workouts than most and still pull a decent 2k.

PS - I think we figured out that I was on the erg next to you at CRASH-B's last year. Are you coming to Easton for the CT Indoors? It is not a bad warmup race for Boston. Saugatuck Rowing Club sponsors it and the ergs are pretty good.

[Hillclimber]

hi Christopher, terrific to hear from you and thanks for the advice. I do recall your strong performance on the next door erg last year. Your endurance sure looked great that day as you moved right through me in the final 700m. Easton is indeed on my schedule. Might do Pellham also, thinking 14 days is an ideal recovery/training effect period between that and 3/1.

re treadmill for recovery: why not easy paddle for recovery? I know elite rowers mix in cycling for recovery, but assumed that was to give their back a rest from the many otw hours they pile up.
damien

[gregsmith01748]

Hi Damien,

I'm glad you are in the age bracket above me in the Crash-Bs. One less person to beat me in mine!

I based my statement about recovery time on something I read in the Interactive 2K training program over on the indoor sports website from the UK.

Recovery Time Between Intervals

Full recovery between intervals can be considered as taken place when the heart rate has fallen to warm up level (twice resting rate). The intensity of interval-training can be increased by working to 90% or even 80% of full recovery.

Resting Heart Rate = 45bpm.
Warm up rate = 90bpm.

100% recovery = 90bpm go again
90% recovery = 95bpm go again.
80% recovery = 99bpm go again.

The closer the recovery is towards 100%, the more the training will tend towards improving Power, while the closer the recovery is towards 80%, the more the training will tend towards improving lactate tolerance.

Reduced recovery is most effective at the beginning of an intensive interval-training period when intensity takes precedence over quality. Close to competition quality takes precedence over intensity and therefore full recovery is advisable.

So, specifically to your questions. What I meant by my statement is that when you are approaching a competition, that you want your training to emulate the race conditions as much as possible. In the race, you will start with a very low level of fatigue and build fatigue throughout the race. In interval training, if your rests are incomplete (that is that your HR has not come down to something like 220% of resting), then your pace will be lower in the next rep. I see the desired result of the short intervals as trying to pack on as many meters at race or faster as possible. You could definitely make a case for incomplete rest in long intervals as being beneficial for 5K training, but I am talking about 2K.