Pete Plan Thread

[bob.haffner]

Good job, Mike!

[RayOfSunshine]

BPP 23.3 15'x2 2r
Target 2:06.7 (2:00 adj for altitude) 1st 15', faster on 2nd

30:00.0-----7,185m-----2:05.2-----28
15:00.0-----3,571m-----2:06.0-----26
15:00.0-----3,613m-----2:04.5-----29

Felt really good the last 5' of the 1st interval until about 3 minutes to go in the 2nd interval (when I felt gassed). I was intentionally trying to lengthen my stroke at the catch. It felt uncomfortable like I was overreaching at first, but I noticed my pace drop from 2:06 to 2:04 with what seemed to be less effort. I also caught myself over exhaling on the drive and the recovery, so I tried to calmly breath and be more fluid.

I'm extremely stoked about the 29spm on the 2nd 15.

[m06w41]

Week 5 Row 3 last Saturday. Hiked 7m again with 20lb pack on Sunday so no rowing until I start week 6 tonight.

Saturday's row was tough. Heart rate was consistently in the mid to high 150s. Not sure why, sleep perhaps? Humidity? Diet? It really felt like a slog after the first 1000m even though I was going at a slower pace. Hopefully the 7500m won't be as grueling tonight.

Wife and I are doing the Dog Days challenge beginning tomorrow as it lines up with BPP distance conveniently this month. 6 more weeks until backpacking.

[mdpfirrman]

@ Ray - nice workout. Feels good when you have a nice session like that. Be cautious with lengthening the stroke at the catch. I found myself doing that a couple years ago and ended up doing a lot of overextending my knees over my ankles. Over time, I've personally found it's better for me to work on flexibility, using the heels creeping off the pad to signal the next stroke and bringing the finish a bit higher to naturally lengthen the stroke. I'm not much taller than you and I have relatively shorter arms/legs. My stroke length today averaged around 1.3 meters nearly the entire row on SS work. Loose hands/wrists and even perhaps the fingers at the catch do help a bit with a bit more length.

@ Tracy - there will be those days when you just can't explain why you feel off. Then you have days you feel you should be awful and you're stronger and you also don't know why. It ends up evening out more with experience but still applies to all.

W1/D3 of the 5K PP
SS today 10K Meters. Started out OK and slowed in the last 4K. Felt a bit drained myself. Ended up at around 2:12, which is really recovery mode for me. Finished that off with 15 minutes on the AirDyne as a CD so I could keep to the letter of the 5K PP. Even if I had felt great, I would have kept it at around 2:10 at the fastest. I like to keep the SS at around a 6 on a scale from 1 - 10 in terms of effort.

[RayOfSunshine]

BPP 23.4-- 10k
Take it easy, especially if you plan on doing the 5th session this week. Restrict the rate to 22 or less, with a corresponding pace target.

[bob.haffner]

Solid work, everyone!

I decided to take a week off of PP and test to see where I'm at

2k - 6:59.4
Bit rough, but aren't all 2ks? Went out a little hotf and started paying for it around 800m in. Oh well, it was a good workout. Might do a 1k later this week.

[m06w41]

Thanks Mike. I was pretty fatigued on Saturday when I rowed. Today was better - longer row and heartrate was mostly below 150...just funny how that all works.

Week 6 Row 1 - 7500 meters at a pace similar to what I started out at 6 weeks ago. Tired today but not gassed.

[RayOfSunshine]

BPP 23.5 4x2000m 2' rest

Everything felt fluid, so I went with it. Hard work is paying dividends.

7/22/18--------------------------8/1/18
8,000m---2:05.3---26---------2:02.0---28
2,000m---2:05.0---25---------2:02.9---27
2,000m---2:05.0---25---------2:01.9---27
2,000m---2:04.9---24---------2:02.3---28
2,000m---2:06.6---28---------2:00.8---28

This seems a bit odd, but my breathing technique seems to have changed without much thought. I'm doing a bigger exhale on my recovery and a smaller exhale starting a little bit after my drive has started. All I was doing was focusing on being smooth with easy breathing.

[mdpfirrman]

@ Bob - Congrats getting sub 7 again! That's my ultimate goal. That's impressive work already. Enjoy the off week!

@ Ray - nice work on the easy 10K and the 4 X 2K. Seems like you are getting really comfortable now at painful work, which is huge progress.

@ Tracy - it does get better as you saw. One day awful, the next row sometimes feeling great. Pretty consistent on that row.

Today was W1/D4 for me on the 5K PP (1500 X 4/4'). Last time I did this workout, 3 weeks ago, did a 1:58.9, so I was hoping to improve on that.

1:58.3 / 28
1:57.7 / 27
1:58.3 / 27
1:58.8 / 27

1:58.2 / 27 Avg.

Nice improvement overall, so I'm happy. .7 is a lot on this workout to improve. Not matching my numbers on the full PP, but this plan is different and that's not meant to be the hardest workout of the week. I have a 2K easy, 2K hard, 2K easy workout this week on Friday where you're supposed to push the most. I did feel gassed on the last one though. Again, this forum probably kept me from quitting on that last rep. I didn't have the HD demons too bad but I was tired. Definitely in need of some more easy SS tomorrow.

I'll say that the 5K PP is nearly as taxing as the full PP. If it's not, it's pretty close. Just different things that I'm working on -- aerobic endurance and AT work/lactic acid clearance and tolerance. That last rep was full on the edge. You do a lot of those in this plan, just gently pushing your boundaries. I'm seeing gradual improvements, despite the fact that I took three days off in the past two weeks before starting all over.

I am trying to do light lifting 3 X a week on top but I'm not getting crazy with that.

[Dangerscouse]

BPP 23.5 4x2000m 2' rest

Everything felt fluid, so I went with it. Hard work is paying dividends.

7/22/18--------------------------8/1/18
8,000m---2:05.3---26---------2:02.0---28
2,000m---2:05.0---25---------2:02.9---27
2,000m---2:05.0---25---------2:01.9---27
2,000m---2:04.9---24---------2:02.3---28
2,000m---2:06.6---28---------2:00.8---28

This seems a bit odd, but my breathing technique seems to have changed without much thought. I'm doing a bigger exhale on my recovery and a smaller exhale starting a little bit after my drive has started. All I was doing was focusing on being smooth with easy breathing.

Nailing your breathing technique is important as it does make the rowing easier. A big exhale on recovery is good as you can tense your abs to prepare for the drive

[mdpfirrman]

W1 / D5 of the 5K PP -- 10K SS again

First split was 2:11.5, rest were around 2:11.3. Very consistent - not too easy, not too hard. Average SR was 23/24 the entire time. Got a bit of a late start today, so I was only able to add in 10 minute CD on the Air Dyne Pro at the end of the 10K, for around 53/54 minutes of total SS time. I'm still incorporating the Air Dyne, but only for Cool Downs/fun, not for my 10K work. I'm trying to more sport specific as I work to lower my 5K time.

[RayOfSunshine]

@ Ray - nice workout. Feels good when you have a nice session like that. Be cautious with lengthening the stroke at the catch. I found myself doing that a couple years ago and ended up doing a lot of overextending my knees over my ankles. Over time, I've personally found it's better for me to work on flexibility, using the heels creeping off the pad to signal the next stroke and bringing the finish a bit higher to naturally lengthen the stroke. I'm not much taller than you and I have relatively shorter arms/legs. My stroke length today averaged around 1.3 meters nearly the entire row on SS work. Loose hands/wrists and even perhaps the fingers at the catch do help a bit with a bit more length.

@Mike Thanks. How many holes are showing on the foot plate for you? Are you very flexible?

When I started, I had to drop my feet (only 2 holes showing) so that I could get my shins to vertical. After a couple months, I moved it to 3 holes. Today on a restricted 12k SS, I really focused on form. At about 5k, my right foot was tingling a bit. I think my shins were going slightly past vertical. I took the straps off and raised my feet (4 holes showing). I think that moved my feet too far up as I was not quite getting my shins vertical. I'll do some light rowing tomorrow to figure it out.

@Stu The comment about engaging the abs at the catch was most useful. I was able to drop 2-3s per 500/m each stroke by just engaging my abs. It makes so much sense now that I've done it properly (or more proper than before).

[mdpfirrman]

@ Ray - I don't see myself as particularly flexible but perhaps I am more than I know. I have to fight to not go past vertical. It's an ongoing battle for me and the only thing that keeps me from doing it is realizing that as soon as I hit the balls of my feet, I need to start the drive.

I don't look at the holes, I just know I row on 4 on the footstraps. I used to row on 3 and ended up finding 4 was more comfortable over time. I think it does help me push off with my legs better.

Saw this video this morning. Wanted to look up who this guy was. Hold 3 WRs for marathon rowing. I was watching part of the Cross Fit games yesterday - the winner rowed a marathon in 2:40, which is pretty amazing (1:57 pace). I was curious how the Cross Fit guys compared to WR rowers. Not even close though still the CF guys are amazing. This guy has rowed marathons under 2:30, I think, in three age ranges over the years - 30 to 40, 40 to 50 and now over 60 (actually 2:32 for the over 60 WR, which is still really incredible). Antti Varis. Look at his stroke. He doesn't go near vertical before he starts his next stroke, yet it's long. He looks effortless as he's rowing at a 1:47 pace on a 100K row! Pretty amazing to me. Also a good example of not having to overextend to get a powerful stroke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjxuHJtMeE

[RayOfSunshine]

I don't look at the holes, I just know I row on 4 on the footstraps. I used to row on 3 and ended up finding 4 was more comfortable over time. I think it does help me push off with my legs better.

Look at his stroke. He doesn't go near vertical before he starts his next stroke, yet it's long. He looks effortless as he's rowing at a 1:47 pace on a 100K row! Pretty amazing to me. Also a good example of not having to overextend to get a powerful stroke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjxuHJtMeE

His heels just slightly come up as he transitions to the drive. It looks like his drive is in 2 pieces as the handle makes a "w" pattern on the route. It's not the smoothest I've seen, but that power is absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Oh, 4 on the footstraps has 2 holes showing. 2 on the footstraps has 4 holes showing.

[SowfLondonRower]

Week 3 of the BPP done!



As you can see, on the 5k I tried upping the s/r a little bit and it gave me some good speed. Didn't feel too tired at the end.

On the 6x500m today I tried to really push myself, and was pleased with how it turned out.