Pete Plan Thread

[mitchel674]

Started the PP today. Mostly because I miss being active in this thread after completing the BPP last month.

Day one is 8x500m, r3.5. The pace was targeted as 3 seconds faster than my PB on the 2k which is 2:04. I warmed up with an easy 2k. I just could not keep my pace at 2:01 for the first 7 intervals. Gave it what I had left on the last interval. Cooled down with an easy 1k.



I'm hoping the PP will get me below 8 minutes for my next 2k TT.

[RayOfSunshine]

Started the PP today. Mostly because I miss being active in this thread after completing the BPP last month.

Day one is 8x500m, r3.5. The pace was targeted as 3 seconds faster than my PB on the 2k which is 2:04. I warmed up with an easy 2k. I just could not keep my pace at 2:01 for the first 7 intervals. Gave it what I had left on the last interval. Cooled down with an easy 1k.


I'm hoping the PP will get me below 8 minutes for my next 2k TT.

Welcome back! You crushed that workout. I def see a sub 8 very soon for you.

[Rownan]

I started the beginner Pete Plan last night. One question I had: the notes on completing the sessions advise looking back at 'average pace' for previous sessions of the same distance. What exactly does 'average pace' mean? Should I just use the split?

[JerekKruger]

I started the beginner Pete Plan last night. One question I had: the notes on completing the sessions advise looking back at 'average pace' for previous sessions of the same distance. What exactly does 'average pace' mean? Should I just use the split?

Yep, split is synonymous with pace in this case so if your first 5k took you, say, 22 minutes that means an average split of 2:12 and Pete's advice is to try to hold as close to 2:12 for the entire thing (obviously it'll vary a bit, unless you're a machine).

By the way, a piece of advice I tend to give for the BPP is to be a little conservative with the longer rows. If your first 5k was an all out affair leaving nothing in the tank then you're going to struggle to follow Pete's advice to keep the same average pace as the distance increases. There's a bit of experimenting to be done and I'm sure it varies from person to person, but I'd go with a challenging pace that forces you to breath heavily but that doesn't leave you feeling completely spent at the end.

[mitchel674]

I started the beginner Pete Plan last night. One question I had: the notes on completing the sessions advise looking back at 'average pace' for previous sessions of the same distance. What exactly does 'average pace' mean? Should I just use the split?

Yep, split is synonymous with pace in this case so if your first 5k took you, say, 22 minutes that means an average split of 2:12 and Pete's advice is to try to hold as close to 2:12 for the entire thing (obviously it'll vary a bit, unless you're a machine).

By the way, a piece of advice I tend to give for the BPP is to be a little conservative with the longer rows. If your first 5k was an all out affair leaving nothing in the tank then you're going to struggle to follow Pete's advice to keep the same average pace as the distance increases. There's a bit of experimenting to be done and I'm sure it varies from person to person, but I'd go with a challenging pace that forces you to breath heavily but that doesn't leave you feeling completely spent at the end.

Tom brings up a good point about your pacing in the BPP. It does ramp up the distance pretty quickly. If you start out too fast in your early rows, you will find yourself with some unrealistic pacing very quickly which can be frustrating and demoralizing.

Keep posting your progress on this thread. Great motivator.

[Rownan]

Thanks both - that's really helpful. I prob have been rowing without a plan for 2/3 months now, 3/4 times a week. That said I did the 5k at a slightly higher watts than usual average. I guess like a lot of exercise it can be tough to find the right point that isn't too hard to sustain but isn't too easy either. I might have to wait and see as I go through the plan. I was pretty shattered last session but hard to say. Still getting numbness on longer rows which is a bit irritating as well. Only towards the end, I have the C2 seat pad but it's not great, might shop around.

[mitchel674]

Yesterday was my first long row in week 1 of PP. I also had personal training to follow, so I elected to go just 8k and my target pace was supposed to be 2:15. Pete suggests these rows should be 22-25 spm. I've just spent the last month only at 20spm. It was a challenge for me to stay at 2:15 at 23spm. I simply could not go that slow! I wound up at 2:!3 for the 8k.

Today I am dreading the 5 x 1500, r5. Supposed to target 2:08 for this which seems a bit daunting to me. I'm counting on the 5 minutes of rest to pull me through all 5 intervals.

[JerekKruger]

@Rownan - as long as you're not likely to be demoralised by needing to reduce your pace a bit as the distance increases it's not a big deal. I wasn't and ended up quitting at, if I remember correctly, 7000m or 7500m because I couldn't keep up the pace I'd set on the first week

Where's the numbness by the way? I sometimes find the lower part of my right leg goes a bit numb, which suggests pressure on nerves servicing that area. Given my right hip is a bit misaligned (working on it) it's not all that surprising. It doesn't actually stop me from completing rows but it's pretty uncomfortable when it happens.

@Mitchel - obviously it's up to you, but I wouldn't feel bound to Pete's advice on rates. A lot of people do the three longer rows at lower rates than what he recommends (I used to do them at 18).

Good luck with the 5x1500m. My advice: try to pace each interval flatly (go out too fast and you'll pay for it), avoid trying to beat your target on the first four, and do at least some very light rowing between the intervals (I usually start rowing very lightly from about 4:30 remaining until 2:00 remaining). I find that if I don't do the last of these my body sort of shuts down and it makes the first ~300m of the next interval really unpleasant whilst my body restarts all the processes needed to burn energy.

[Rownan]

Always numbness in the right leg - sometimes it's like calf area other times thigh or butt - it can be a bit freaky as I can stand up after rowing and the leg is very numb, but if I walk around a bit or even sit on a comfortable chair for a short while it loosens out again. I dunno if it's something in my technique or my body that means it's only ever the right side that it happens. I do know I'm majorly inflexible, for whatever reason - just always have been, really tight hamstrings, I've discovered that when working with a personal trainer a few years ago but also generally just notice it. Again hard to say if that's connected.

The time it takes for numbness to happen is longer and longer so I'm not too worried, just might mean having to stop for a minute in some particularly long sessions.

[rascott]

back after a few days away from the erg...

BPP 20.4 - 10000m, focusing on technique, rate limited and not worrying about pace



Good to be back although my hands have softened up in 5 days!

[mitchel674]

back after a few days away from the erg...

BPP 20.4 - 10000m, focusing on technique, rate limited and not worrying about pace


Good to be back although my hands have softened up in 5 days!

Good to hop back on with a 10k.

My 5x1500m was rough earlier in the week. I was able to hit and even beat my 2:06 target on the first four rows. By the fifth row I was gassed and could barely manage 2:10. This was my fear on this piece even with the 5 minutes of rest. Perhaps I was just a bit too hot on the first four.

Long, steady row yesterday was a nice change of pace 10k at 2:13 at 22spm.

Today will be the hard 5k row. Pete says to aim for a rate above 25spm. I'm going to aim for 2:09 at 26spm.

[Mikdavand]

Hi Everyone

I'M starting a PP on Monday. I've just started to row on a regular basis. Got 5 weeks in (5 days a week... mostly 5000-6000m with some interval days) and lost 5 pounds. Almost everyday I see a new PB although the gains are getting much less...lol. Been researching various plans and decided to jump in with both feet. I've pretty much been a sloth for 20 years so it was time to do something. Looking forward to the various workouts. Last non-PP row this morning... 15000m in 1:10:58... wasn't as bad as I expected... lol... went out way too slow I think. Last 3 slits (500m) were 2:10.7, 2:04.1 and 2:02.1

[rascott]

hi Michael welcome, good luck with the PP! I'm on week 20 of the Beginners PP and I think its given me a very solid grounding but I do wonder if I could have improved quicker by jumping into the full PP. Will be good to see how you get on.

Just completed the following...

BPP 20.5 - 8 x 500m / 2min rest

Aim was to beat my previous average of 2:00.7 from about 4 weeks ago. I took the approach of aiming to beat that split on intervals 1-7 then go flat out on number 8. Pete says this is a good 2K predictor. I'd welcome people's views on this given my numbers below. I would hope to squeeze a bit more out of a 2K than 1:59 but we will see soon enough when I do a 2K test after I've finished the BPP.



EDIT - there is a final 8 x 500/2r in week 23, so this will provide the 2K target pace

[RayOfSunshine]

I'd welcome people's views on this given my numbers below. I would hope to squeeze a bit more out of a 2K than 1:59 but we will see soon enough when I do a 2K test after I've finished the BPP.


EDIT - there is a final 8 x 500/2r in week 23, so this will provide the 2K target pace

Using your 10k (which looks most recent) and Paul's Law http://www.machars.net/ultimate.php , it puts you at 1:57.7. I don't know how accurate Paul's Law is, but I've heard others say it's pretty good when comparing "like" races (e.g. 1k & 2k). 10k seems a bit of a gap. I'm a better at shorter pieces, so I'd have to adjust a little.

[rascott]

Thanks Ray - I wasn’t aware of Paul’s Law. Will take a look