1 minute r20 with video plus catch up on yesterdays sessions

I got yesterday's training in (2by25min and 2by1min) also managed the three one minutes today (1:30.3 was best) but had to cut short the 30 min r18 70%

Control the controllable - HM r22 HRR 75% ish....

Well life has thrown another swerve ball at me last week - unable to say what exactly for a week or so but lets just say it's another life changing event - so two things I can do - curl up and cry or stand up and try and take that one step at a time - as this month is Movember and as I have signed up to ROWvember  set up by Cameron Nichol

Globally, the rate of suicide is alarmingly high, particularly in men. Too many men are ‘toughing it out’, keeping their feelings to themselves and struggling in silence. The Movember Foundation is aiming to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25% by 2030, and I want to help them get there. Help me stop men dying too young.

 so with that in mind and the upcoming "Crazy Bear" challenge of rowing a HM which is

As usual the challenge is to row or ski 30 Half Marathons in 44 days on either a Concept2 rowing machine or ski-erg. Starting 10th November at 00:05 running through till Finishing 24th December at 23:55 Start & finish times will run in accordance with your own Time Zone

I decided to have a try at a HM to see where I am - the back got the OK to go last Thursday and on Friday I did two 20 minute pieces with no ill effects so at least that's one thing going the right way....

Also I took in my PM5 to the gym which meant I could hook up my HR to the screen as well as the Fenix watch :o)

AM Weights - PM 30r20 70% HRR + 500m Controlled

in the gym this morning and went through the Tuesday weights routine with an increase in the weights for the main piece - so

5 min warm up on bike and some stretches

Squat - Barx5, 50kgx4, 65kgx3, 70kgx2, 80kgx1

           85kgx5x3

Overhead Press - Barx5, 15kgx4, 20kgx3, 25kgx2, 30kgx1

           35kgx5x3

Deadlift  - Barx5, 65kgx4, 70kgx3, 80kgx2, 90kgx1

           100kgx1

(all the above are using the olympic bar so total weight is weight plus 20 - eg deadlift is actually 120kg or 264lb)

Lat Pulldown 3x6x100kg

Lunchtime and I got in for a 30r20 70% HRR which I enjoyed - although it was quite funny as my mind drifted now and then to the possibility of racing which saw the HR spike by about 5 beats lol

Followed up by a 500m r32 target was 1:26.0 - got the power down early and tried to keep good length while controlling the rate

4by2k 4r r24 - So much data - I'm in heaven

So weighed in this morning and down to 112.9 from 115.5 at the weekend - I realise this isn't a "true" weight loss but it's keeping me happy. On Q's schedule was 4by2k 5r which I wouldn't fit into lunch but figured if I dropped the 5 minutes rest to 4 I could get it done before getting to my desk at 8am - I did - just - no warm up though.. Target was 30min TT +2 - well I ain't in a PB 30 min shape so had to make a best guess - I decided on 1:45 pace (although I doubt I could get a 30min at 1:43 currently) set off and first rep was pretty easy - even without a warm up. Second rep and I had a intense pain in my left shoulder at the recovery stage - went on for a few minutes and almost stopped as the pain was pretty bad but it went again so all good. Third rep and found I was going well so 4th rep was a initial target of sub 1:44 - beat that - good sweat on at the end :o)

Now look at all the data - with the Fenix3 picking up the stroke rate from your wrist it gives a good overview of the info.

6:59.2 1:44.8 r24 157
6:58.4 1:44.6 r24 166
6:57.2 1:44.3 r24 169
6:51.6 1:42.9 r24 177

Withings - Weight

PM5 screen shots

Garmin 910xt and Fenix3

Garmin Connect from Fenix3

 Concept2 Logbook - Ergdata download

(Graph includes "rest" hence the odd flat lines)

Don't chase the sunset - prepare for the sunrise 30r20 70% HRR

So after two to three weeks of struggling with a combination of flu/chest infection and coming off a back of mixed/messing training after the Irish indoors (due to lack of motivation) which in itself came of the back of months of struggling after the back operation – which came after months of pain – today – the 5^th April marks a time when I am going to stop chasing the sunset (i.e. the heights of what I had in terms of where I was personally in my “erg fitness”) and look to build for a new day – a new sunrise. I have quite a lot of “stuff” to deal with outside of the training – looking after the Mrs as best I can, new baby due August, a three and a half year old whom I wouldn’t deny a second of my time to, my four dogs, the house and chores, full time work (with a possibility of moving location and so losing the gym) but none of that is too bad and I’m sure I’ll work my way round it … somehow. Of course I still have to deal with the training aspect itself – I’ve gained weight 115.5kg at the weekend (probably the kick I needed) and I have a continuous ache/pain in my back and legs – well actually my left leg has been pretty numb to the tough since before the operation – but get odd pains and tingles which I suppose I am hyper aware of. Still – I want my sunrise and so I will do what I know works during the dark hours of distance training to nail it – starting with the base build – 30r20 70% HRR crap in terms of distance – fantastic in terms of training and getting me started. Also ergdata has a new release (this is beta test on android but believe it’s live on iphone) and once the piece is loaded to the C2 logbook you click on the magnifying glass next to the piece and you get stroke rate, splits, HR ert (see pictures) - and it now records every stroke which you can download!!

Onwards and upwards!!!

Ergdata upload displayed on PC

Ergdata info displayed on Sony Z3 smart phone