15 x 500m / 1min rest

It seems like months since I did an interval session, so it probably is. I had to leave work early to get some vaccinations ready for a work trip to India at the end of next week, so was home slightly early and took the opportunity to train. 500m reps seemed like a good plan, and rather than the standard PP 5k format of 12 reps with 1min rest as I’ve done a couple of times earlier this year I thought as I’ve been giving other people 15 reps on this session I’d best do the same.

15 x 500m / 1min rest:
1:39.8 / 30
1:39.9 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.9 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.7 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.6 / 31
1:40.0 / 31
1:39.7 / 31
1:38.8 / 32

7500m = 24:56.0 / 1:39.7 / 31

So the general format here is that the total session distance is 1.5 times the target distance that the session is aimed at (5k). The rest periods I’ve been assigning other people on these are 1min for 500m reps, 1:20 for 600s, 1:40 for 750s and 2min for 1k reps. The idea is to do reps to equal 7500m in total, or as close under that as possible (not over). So 12 x 600m, 10 x 750m and 7 x 1k for the other 3 sessions in the sequence.

I just aimed for consistency today, not trying to neg split or to push hard in the final rep. Of course I was annoyed with number 13 to see the split change to 1:40.0 at the end with a poorly timed final stroke!

Alternating running and rowing

Despite not blogging for a while, I am still training. Life continues to be busy, so there is not a great variety in my training to write about, I’m just getting it done to keep fit and get fitter. I am enjoying alternating days of running and rowing at the moment. I don’t really enjoy running, but I do think that it is a useful skill to have. And the more I do it, the easier it gets, and therefore the less I hate doing it! What I do enjoy about it, though, is doing an activity with no data – I don’t wear a watch, so don’t measure distance, time or speed. I just go out of the back door, run for about 8k around a cross country loop, and eventually get back home. With no data it means I have no targets, and therefore I find it as easier activity for days when I get home from work and don’t really feel like training.

Erging wise, because time is somewhat lacking my current favorite session is a 10k split up as 8k steady (or at least not hard, it can be slightly negative split, or constant paced) followed by a fast last 2k. Here was today’s effort:

10k = 37:04.2 / 1:51.2 / 25
2k splits:
1:53.8 / 24
1:53.8 / 24
1:53.9 / 24
1:53.8 / 24
1:40.6 / 31 (6:42.4 last 2k)

You will notice a theme here, again not a difficult session mentally to go into when you’re cruising 80% of the distance. But these sessions are doing their job, and I am working hard for that final 2k. This session is very time efficient – no warm up needed, no rest periods between reps that take time, and a good solid period of hard work in the final 2k.

12 x 500m / 1min rest

Last time I rowed this session was on 26th March, with an average of 19:55.6 / 1:39.6 / 31. Today I decided to step down in groups of 3 reps, and negative split through the session.

12 x 500m / 1min rest:
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.8 / 31
1:39.1 / 31
1:39.1 / 31
1:39.0 / 31
1:38.4 / 32
1:38.3 / 32
1:38.3 / 32
1:37.7 / 33
1:36.7 / 34
1:33.8 / 35

6k = 19:39.8 / 1:38.3 / 32

That’s a big improvement in 3 weeks. I remember thinking last time I did the session that I was being ambitious going for sub 1:40 all the way through, and had to work hard to get it.

Half marathon – GB #1 ranked

After the tough interval session on Friday I felt tired when it came to training time yesterday. After a 3km warm up I just didn’t fancy any sort of session on the erg, even a slow distance piece. So after a quick change of clothes I went out for my first cross country run in perhaps 6 months, since the last time I did a park run last year. Running is not something I particularly enjoy, though I do like going out in the fresh air and doing something with no targets or numbers in mind. I don’t know how far the course is I run, and I don’t take a watch to know how quickly I’m running it. In the ball park of 30mins, and somewhere in the region of 7 to 8km.

I like to take a rest day on a Monday at the moment, as it is my longest working day of the week due to the traffic on my commute. So I came up with the bright idea of doing a half marathon. I’d not rowed for over 60mins in a long time (since last September it turned out), and needed a target to get me through it. I decided to go for a top 3 time in the GB 30-39 rankings, as the ranking year is up in a couple of weeks. As it turned out, on checking the world rankings on what time that meant I had to target, I was already in the number 3 spot with the last HM I did in September 2012! I had commited my mind though by now, so a HM it was to be. There was only one target left for it, the top spot. The time needed was a full 90seconds or so quicker than the last HM I’d done, and quicker than any of the hour rows I have done since. The ultimate target was to beat 78min14.8 seconds, or 1:51.2 pace. For me the only way to row a long distance piece with a specific pace target is to try to sit on or just under the target from start to finish. I don’t like to get to half way with any time to make up, and I don’t like to risk going out any harder than necessary and risk not finishing – why give yourself an excuse? Here is how it went:

10k in reps, harder than planned!

Today was to be 5k paced reps, and I couldn’t decide between 600m, 750m or 1k reps. So I thought I’d do something different and do a pyramid from 500 up to 1k, then back down to 500m. Then I decided while I’m doing that I may as well stick the 100 to 400m reps on the start and end. I knew it was going to be a little longer than the usual 6k for these type of reps, but didn’t bother working out how much longer when I decided on the session while doing my 5min warm up before it!

1min rest between all reps, which feels like way too much for the first few reps, and way too little for the long reps in the middle. The target was just slightly too fast for this session.

All reps with 1min rest between:
100m = 1:41.5 / 30 / 20.3
200m = 1:41.5 / 30 / 40.6
300m = 1:41.8 / 29 / 1:01.1
400m = 1:41.7 / 29 / 1:21.4
500m = 1:41.9 / 29 / 1:41.9
600m = 1:41.9 / 29 / 2:02.2
700m = 1:41.8 / 30 / 2:22.6
800m = 1:41.8 / 30 / 2:43.0
900m = 1:41.8 / 30 / 3:03.4 <– Already 4800m to this point
1000m = 1:42.8 / 30 / 3:25.7 <– Slowed pace by 1sec, now 5800m so normal total session distance
900m = 1:42.9 / 30 / 3:05.3
800m = 1:42.9 / 30 / 2:44.7
700m = 1:56.8 / 25 / 2:43.6 <– Threw up in my mouth a little pre rep, had to paddle
600m = 1:42.8 / 31 / 2:03.4
500m = 1:41.9 / 31 / 1:41.9<– Reps short enough to build pace from here
400m = 1:40.8 / 31 / 1:20.7
300m = 1:36.8 / 33 / 58.1 <– getting easier rep to rep even with increasing pace
200m = 1:29.5 / 37 / 35.8
100m = 1:25.0 / 42 / 17.0

10k = 34:12.9 / 1:42.6 / 30

All the way to the 900m rep under 1:42 pace was a reasonable achievement, and at that point I couldn’t see me making it to the end of the session if I tried to push that pace still. So I took a 1sec step back from the 1k, aiming to get through a couple more reps then start to build pace. After the 800m my lunch threatened a reappearance, and 1min rest isn’t long to swallow what comes up, so I decided on one paddled rep to recover. Overall not a bad session I think, though the slow rep hits the average enough to make it not look great overall.

New York on a wobbly seat

I spent the last week in New York. I’d only visited once before, back in 2007 when I went on a week long training camp with JamieP, who I was coaching at the time,  and didn’t really do much of the tourist stuff. This time we avoided the over priced tourist attractions such as the Empire State building and the museums that have high “recommended donation” fees, and instead did some of the less publicised stuff. Some of the highlights were: taking the East River commuter ferry, stopping 4 or 5 times in Brooklyn before getting off under the Brooklyn bridge and walking back across; the high line park that was built as a railway line, but is now just a park on the bridge (a mile or three long); the roof top terrace on our hotel, and some great eating spots.

The hotel restaurant was being re-done, so they opened up the penthouse suite as a lounge. So each day we got a takeaway lunch (from a great healthy place called Dig-In) and sat on a terrace out on the 19th floor of the hotel looking 2 blocks away to the Empire State building. We also managed to meet up with a couple of indoor rowers – Phil “the pirate / SirP” Morris (who lives about 25miles away from us!) was also in town for the week, so we met up with him and Mr and Mrs NavHaz for dinner one evening, which was good fun.

I also managed to make a trip to Mike Creamer’s personal training studio in SoHo to do a challenge series row with him. Mike tried to handicap me by giving me an erg both on slides, and with a wobbly core perform seat on it. I’ve never rowed more than a couple of strokes with the core perform before, and the combination of that and the slides felt like it would risk a capsize when attempting a tough 16m19s row. So we compromised and moved the slides, but I kept the wobbly seat (or rather we couldn’t get it to go out of wobbly mode…). It certainly adds an extra element when you’ve not rowed with it before. We put the session on rowpro, but unfortunately there were no other takers. I managed a 46**m row, or 1:44.9 average pace. I didn’t take down the results, so redid it slightly quicker today. Mike also runs an indoor rowing class as the prestigious 5th avenue crossfit gym, which even though it was one block from our hotel I didn’t walk past until the last day, so didn’t get in there at all – next time!

Got home yesterday, so today did another 16:19 just before dinner as I was too lazy to email Mike to get my score off the erg.

16m19s = 4687m / 1:44.4 / 29
4min splits:
1:44.5 / 28
1:45.0 / 28
1:44.9 / 29
1:44.1 / 29
1:34.0 / 35 (last 19sec)

Aim simply to flat pace at 1:45s and beat the 1:44.9 from last time. Can and will go faster this month.

An increase in training volume

As a change of training stimulus I have increased the volume of training for a few days. My comfort zone at the moment is 30-40min rows each day (and even then probably averaging 4 or 5 sessions a week), so by increasing to 60min rows it will be a good boost to the training effect. The aim for each of these was simply to get through the distance while working reasonably hard, so each was rowed in a slightly different format.

Friday:

60mins = 16088m / 1:51.8 / 26
10min splits:
1:52.3 / 26
1:52.4 / 26
1:52.5 / 26
1:52.4 / 26
1:52.3 / 26
1:49.2 / 28

The aim of this row was simply to go over 16km for the hour, so it was rowed as a flat pace with a faster last 10mins when the finish line was in sight.

Saturday:

60mins = 15945m / 1:52.8 / 26
10min splits:
1:54.8 / 24
1:53.6 / 25
1:53.3 / 26
1:52.4 / 26
1:52.3 / 27
1:50.7 / 28

Saturday’s row was done with a format I like to mentally break up the longer rows. The base pace of the row was a fairly comfortable 1:56 / 1:57, with 10+1 harder strokes at each 2.5min point. So after 2min30 I do 10 harder strokes, after 5mins I do 11 harder strokes, and so on throughout the hour. The mental games of just remembering how many strokes you have to do next time gets you through it!

Sunday:

60mins = 16047m / 1:52.1 / 26
10min splits:
1:52.1 / 25
1:52.1 / 25
1:52.6 / 26
1:52.4 / 26
1:52.2 / 27
1:51.4 / 27

And Sunday was an amalgamation of the two. A steady first 20mins, then the 10+1 format for the last 40mins (just because I couldn’t face the monotony of another 40mins otherwise!).

Monday is likely to be a rest day as I tends to be my longest work day, solely due to the traffic on my commute being worse than any other day! Last week I fell foul of doing an interval session on Monday after work that didn’t quite go to plan, so Monday is the best day to rest, and not go through the week fatigued!

Cycle 2 – 8 x 500m / 2r

8 x 500m / 2min rest:
1:35.9 / 34
1:35.9 / 34
1:35.9 / 34
1:35.9 / 34
1:36.0 / 34
1:35.9 / 34
1:35.9 / 34
1:35.4 / 35

4k = 12:46.8 / 1:35.8 / 34

The previous post stated the targets for this new rotation of core sessions. Each time the aim will be to follow the standard Pete Plan methodology and do all but the final rep at the average pace of the previous session. So last time this session averaged 1:36.0 hence the target this time of 1:36.0 for the first 7 reps (0.1 faster is ok, 0.1 slower is not). I say 0.1 slower is not ok, not because it changes the desired training effect, but just because if the first 7 reps were 0.1 slower the overall average would not have been faster, and so the target would not move on.

I’m happy with this today as I have some fair DOMS from doing some strength training on Friday afternoon. Cleans with 50kg and deadlifts with 100kg, each for 5 sets of 5 reps. I am going to try to get some basic compound strength exercises in once a week as well as the two core erg sessions.

Rotation 1 complete

I set out late January to rotate through the core Pete Plan sessions, but with minor modifications. It took me a month from first to last, but I have now completed the first rotation and so have some numbers to work from. The longer intervals were exactly as in the PP, but for the shorter intervals I replaced the speed pyramid with a 5 x 750m, and stepped the rest periods up from 2min for the 500s, to 3:30 for the 750s, and the standard 5min for the 1ks. The results of the 6 core sessions were:

27 Jan ’13: 8 x 500m / 2r = 12:48.3 / 1:36.0 / 34

1 Feb ’13: 5 x 1500m / 5r = 26:07.4 / 1:44.9 / 29

4 Feb ’13: 5 x 750m / 3:30r = 12:08.8 / 1:37.1 / 33

8 Feb ’13: 4 x 2k / 5r = 27:49.2 / 1:44.3 / 29

19 Feb ’13: 4 x 1k / 5r = 13:06.5 / 1:38.3 / 32

27 Feb ’13: 3k, 2.5k, 2k / 5r = 26:25.3 / 1:45.6 / 28

So today it is time to step back to the 8 x 500m, and aim to hit 1:36.0 from the start, hopefully with a fast last rep to beat the average. Being 5 weeks since the last effort, and without a big volume of training and having travelled with work in the mean time, I am not 100% confident of doing that. There is only one way to find out though.

4 x 2k

4 x 2k is one of the best and one of the worst sessions you can do. Mentally it is always challenging seeing 2000m on the monitor when you know you have to row it hard. Knowing there are still 3 more, then 2 more, then 1 more to go after this 2000m makes it especially mentally tough. But any session that is mentally tough it going to provide big training benefits.

A week ago I did the first of the Pete Plan longer rep sessions with the 5 x 1500m / 5min rest. For that session I targetted just under 1:45 pace with a fast last rep. Mental adaption is the biggest gain when you haven’t done hard interval training for some time, so despite being 8000m rather than 7500m total session distance, 3 rest periods rather than 4, and 33% longer reps, I decided to target the same pace for yesterday’s session.

4 x 2k / 5min rest:
6:59.4 / 1:44.8 / 29
6:59.6 / 1:44.9 / 29
6:59.2 / 1:44.8 / 30
6:50.9 / 1:42.7 / 31

8000m = 27:49.2 / 1:44.3 / 29

You can’t help but feel good when you achieve your target on this session, even if it is some way below the best you have done on it before. You can only do what you can do on the day though, and work from there.

The only other session of note earlier this week was a first attempt at this month’s CTC challenge, a straight 30mins:

30mins = 8317m / 1:48.2 / 27
5min splits:
1:47.9 / 28
1:47.9 / 28
1:51.0 / 25
1:49.8 / 25
1:47.9 / 27
1:44.6 / 29

It felt like too far to go after 10mins to maintain the pace, but I didn’t want to risk not finishing the session so decided to slow right down. Feeling better physically the mentally after a 5min “break” I managed to slowly pull the pace back down, and finish not too far off the initial target.

Now I head off to the US for another week of work. Washington DC tomorrow, Maryland on Monday, back to DC, then onwards to Pennsylvania before heading home on Thursday. Will I see an erg in any of the hotel gyms?