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.