Bike n row

Today was the east Cork harbour marathon which I completed last year and met some wonderful runners in doing so. This year it did cross my mind a few times to enter as it's literally on my doorstep but for once I did the sensible thing and didn't enter. I did however jump on my mountain bike to go see if I could support and bumped into one of the ladies I ran with last year just after the halfway mark. Three hours later I got home and about two hours after that had a opportunity to do a thirty minute row. Possibly pushed it a little harder than I should lol but the "fitness" isn't going to come back easily...

This is my church This is where I heal my hurts - 30r20 200m

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts

After a long absence from the erg and a even longer absence from the "Temple Of Q" this afternoon I started back. A long and mostly boring road ahead of rate controlled HR limit rows but I know that's how the results will come. It's also where I heal my hurts. So today I start with a 30r20 aiming at a 75% HRR but allowed it to drift up a little. Felt sick a few times but that's what happens when you are out for so long. For a bit of fun at the end I did reasonably controlled CTC (200m) drag 140 just pushed on the pressure.

CTC 10 by 30 seconds 60 seconds rest

Well managed to get a second session today - not quite what I hoped for pace wise but happy i stuck with it and finished the stroke rate reading isn't correct I'd say I maxed out at 34spm and have noticed that the monitor is throwing in odd numbers and counties extra stokes need to video it and get onto concept2

60r20 75% HRR (ish) 2 by 1 min 1r

Did this session a couple of days ago but didn't get chance to blog it, got in the gym this morning to find the HR strap wouldn't pick up so used the pace from three days ago for the 60min as a base (1:54.9) sat happily sweating away at that and then the two by 1 min on 1 min rest aimed at a little faster than two days ago - just to increase some blood. Felt good to


"I don't quit when I'm tired I finish when I'm done" was today's motto











From three days ago

The slow rows will continue until fitness resumes 60r20 75%

Same session this morning as yesterday with a slightly better result - it doesn't have to be better every day but it's encouraging when it is - had a little issue just after half way when the air con in the gym stopped so hopped off quickly to flick it on again

Onwards and upwards

The real restart 60r20 75%HRR

And let's hope this is as slow as it goes - into gym earlish had place to myself until just before I left popped new Netflix series on and off I set - at any other time since I stated rowing seriously had I seen the splits as bad as they where today I would have thought I was extremely ill.. It's a start and a completion of a piece - one step at a time.

Starter for 10 ... 10by30s 1m r r20 May CTC

Well it's been a while - life taking its toll and although I keep trying to get back into it I admit without the routine of a job to go it's been tough - I've started so many times in the last few months but stopped eve quicker, so maybe keeping account of myself may help.

It was a year yesterday since we had our sons Louis's diagnosis of Edwards Syndrome (Friday the 13th of May) and he battled on until just before his birth on the 13th July. So I once again had some reflections on life and once again I know I need to row for my own balance.

Other more recent happenings have been diagnosed with suspected Carpel Tunnel Syndrome which I first really discovered the last time I started to try and row again and we also sadly lost one of our dogs to doggy heaven. I checked my erg monitor this morning - last time I rowed was the 26th April - I also rowed on the 25th - for 30 minutes each time, prior to that it was March....

So where to start - well with the pains in the wrists a long slow one wasn't gonna help so as I knew that the current CTC is short reps I plumped for that to get the fun going in me. Deciding to be sesible I went with R20 and figured I should be good for 1:35 pace if not a little more. Into the gym at 9am and after the majority of my standard warm-up - which normally en-tales a max HR of 160 (I hit 180 without the high end sprint today....)

So not feeling hugely confident of I set and with a standing start hit 1:41 on the first stroke - hmm - 1:24 on the second and then settled in through the line at 167m with exactly 10 strokes. Then the fun began, with the monitor/ergdata for some reason at the end of the second rep even though I counted out ten strokes it came up with 11.... I noticed this again on the third but I had the erg lifting of the floor and so put it down to that I also noticed the monitor flicked up a 1:13 pace - odd at 20 spm .... on the 8th stroke.... something not right here.

The fourth rep it was getting daft and now I can see the ergdata it's showing I hit 1:13 pace on three of the strokes - it also recorded 13 strokes! So again putting it down to the erg lifting of the floor at the front I got up and walked over to grab two 20kg plates to hold the erg down. Funny how that takes it out of you in the middle of these kind of rows lol

That seemed to settle the issues of miscounting and pace out but it also took the stiing out my legs and so I slipped to just over 1:30 pace and at the end I was on 1:32 - still something to get me going and a target for next time so job done.