Chasing Stripes 012 — Back Under the Handle

EDS Awareness Month – #MoveForEDS

People with EDS often have to think differently about consistency and recovery. Progress isn’t always built through maximal sessions. Sometimes it’s built through controlled movement, repeatable work, and learning how to accumulate training without constantly crossing the line into fatigue.

Tonight was about exactly that.

First row since the 15th. No hero session. No forced pace. No chasing numbers for the sake of seeing them on a screen. Just thirty minutes of getting back into rhythm and reconnecting with the stroke properly.

30:00
7314m
2:03.0 average
r20
130 average HR

The important thing wasn’t the average pace. It was how the row settled.

The opening few minutes were just about finding movement again. Letting the flywheel spin. Letting the body remember the sequence. Legs first. Handle acceleration. Relaxed recovery. Nothing rushed.

Then the rhythm started building naturally.

2:05s became low 2:04s.
Low 2:04s became 2:03s.
Then the final quarter started edging towards 2:01 pace without any increase in rate.

That’s the part that matters.

The stroke rate never changed. The effort didn’t suddenly become aggressive. The speed came from connection and efficiency rather than forcing the machine.

That’s proper r20 rowing.

The heart rate profile told the story too. Controlled rise all session. No spikes. No panic. No hanging on. Just a steady aerobic climb into the low 140s by the finish.

Exactly where it should be.

The biggest positive was probably the feel of the row more than the numbers themselves. The handle stayed connected. Power application stayed smooth. No ugly pulling. No desperate finish. Just controlled pressure building stroke after stroke.

Built through control.

There’s a temptation after a few days away from the machine to “make up” for missed sessions. Usually that just turns into rowing emotionally instead of rowing intelligently.

Tonight wasn’t about proving fitness.

It was about rebuilding rhythm.

The aerobic base doesn’t come from smashing random sessions together. It comes from repeatable quality metres done consistently enough that the body adapts without constantly being dragged into fatigue.

That’s the foundation again now.

One controlled session at a time.

— Paul Buchanan
Beowulf Indoor Rowing Crew

Chasing Stripes 011 – Back In The Shed

 EDS Awareness Month – #MoveForEDS

People with EDS often have to approach recovery differently. Sometimes the biggest win is not smashing yourself into the ground, but learning when to rebuild through controlled movement, consistency and patience.

Back home. Back in the shed. Back on the erg.

The half marathon was two evenings ago in the hotel gym in Dublin. Yesterday morning was just a controlled half-hour row before travelling home, and tonight was about settling back into rhythm again without turning it into a battle session.

30:00

7347m

2:02.5/500m

r20

What stood out tonight was the control.

The rate barely moved from 20 for the entire row and the pace gradually tightened naturally as the session settled in. No forcing it. No chasing numbers. Just sitting behind the handle and letting the rhythm build.

The final section eased down through:

2:02.2 → 2:01.4 → 2:00.9

That’s the sort of low-rate pressure that matters. Controlled acceleration without needing to lift the rate.

The heart-rate receiver decided to throw another tantrum midway through the row, so the graphs look more dramatic than the session actually felt. Apparently I went from steady aerobic rowing to briefly flatlining before making a miraculous recovery...Technology.

The new shoes made their first proper appearance tonight too. Black with bright white stripes.

Accidentally very on-brand for Chasing Stripes.

These are the sessions that don’t look special from the outside, but they matter. Controlled metres. Repeatable work. Building durability again without waking the handle-down demons.

Just another layer added.

#ChasingStripes

#MoveForEDS

#Concept2

#IndoorRowing

#BeowulfIRC

# Chasing Stripes 010 – Hotel Gym Recovery Row

EDS Awareness Month – #MoveForEDS

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) doesn’t always look dramatic.

Sometimes it looks like pacing yourself properly. Sometimes it means backing off when ego wants to push harder. Sometimes it means understanding that consistency beats destruction.

Recovery matters. Rhythm matters. Listening to the body matters.

That’s what this session was about.

---

The morning after the hotel half marathon, there was a small opportunity for another row before heading home from Dublin. Nothing heroic planned. No target pace chasing. No “fitness test”.

Just 30 minutes of controlled aerobic work at r20.

The goal was simple:

keep the stroke smooth, keep the pressure even, and let the body absorb yesterday’s work instead of fighting it.

## Session Details

30:00 Continuous Row

Location: The Address Hotel Dublin

Rate: r20

- Distance: 6958m

- Average Pace: 2:09.3/500m

- Average HR: 125 bpm

- Max HR: 135 bpm

- Average Power: 162 watts

- Drag Factor: 126

- Stroke Count: 600

### Split

| Time | Distance | Pace | Rate | HR |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| 5:00 | 1159m | 2:09.4 | 20 | 118 |

| 10:00 | 1162m | 2:09.0 | 20 | 118 |

| 15:00 | 1163m | 2:08.9 | 20 | 127 |

| 20:00 | 1161m | 2:09.1 | 20 | 128 |

| 25:00 | 1154m | 2:09.9 | 20 | 130 |

| 30:00 | 1159m | 2:09.4 | 20 | 135 |

---

This was one of those rows where the graphs tell the story.

Power stayed almost completely flat.

Stroke rate barely moved.

Heart rate climbed gradually and predictably.

No spikes. No wrestling matches with the monitor. No panic.

Just controlled aerobic work.

The kind of session that used to sit quietly underneath the old RoadToSub6 training blocks. The sessions nobody notices individually, but the ones that quietly build durability over months.

And that’s probably the biggest lesson from this whole Chasing Stripes block so far:

Not every session needs to prove something.

Some sessions are there simply to keep the machine turning over. To reinforce rhythm. To build repeatable movement. To leave the erg feeling better than when you sat down.

Yesterday was about perseverance.

Today was about control.

Another stripe locked in.

Chasing Stripes 009 — Hotel Gym Half Marathon

Sometimes the best sessions are the ones that almost don’t happen.

Hotel gym. Late evening. No shed. No routine. No “perfect setup.”

Just a quiet opportunity to sit down on the erg and see if the body would settle into rhythm.

The target wasn’t speed.

The target was control.

21,097m.

90 minutes.

Heart-rate capped.

Low-rate work.

No drama.

The first half settled in nicely around 2:07–2:08 pace at r20 with the heart rate gradually building instead of spiking. Exactly the kind of session that matters long term — not flashy, not social-media pace chasing, just quality metres stacked patiently.

Then came the rough patch.

Around the hour mark the HR trace dipped hard from strap issues, and there was a small fade in rhythm through the fifth split. In older training blocks that kind of interruption could derail the whole session mentally. Tonight it was just acknowledged and absorbed. Handle down. Refocus. Build again.

That’s the difference.

The final quarter tightened back up into controlled 2:06–2:07 work while keeping the stroke rate disciplined. No sprint finish. No emptying the tank. Just steady pressure all the way to the line.

21,097m completed in 1:29:59.4.

Not a race piece.

Not a PB attempt.

Just another layer added to the aerobic base.

The kind of work that doesn’t look dramatic while you’re doing it — but quietly changes what you’re capable of later.

---

## Session Stats

- Half Marathon: 21,097m

- Time: 1:29:59.4

- Avg Pace: 2:08.0/500m

- Avg HR: 132 bpm

- Max HR: 189 bpm (strap spike/error)

- Avg Rate: 20 spm

- Avg Power: 168w

- Drag Factor: 126

- Training Effect: 3.5 Aerobic

- Location: The Address Hotel Dublin

---

## EDS Awareness Month — Zebra Fact #9

People with EDS often have to become experts in pacing, energy management, and recovery long before most others ever think about it.

Progress isn’t always about pushing harder.

Sometimes it’s about learning how to keep moving forward without crossing the line that sets you back.

Chasing Stripes 008 — Hotel Gym Miles

Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) are not just “being flexible.”

They are complex connective tissue disorders that can affect joints, skin, blood vessels, digestion, fatigue levels, autonomic function, healing, and day-to-day quality of life.

As part of the Move for EDS challenge and EDS Awareness Month, this morning’s session came from the gym in the Croke Park Hotel, Dublin.

No shed setup.

No familiar surroundings.

Just another chance to bank some controlled aerobic work and keep the consistency going.

Session Details

30:00

7194m

2:05.1 average pace

r20

179w average

Average HR: 128

Max HR: 149

Drag Factor: 134

Temperature: 18.6–18.7°C

Humidity: 46–47%

A very controlled aerobic row throughout:

smooth HR rise

stable power trace

disciplined rate control

slight negative split across the second half

Exactly the type of session that quietly builds durability without digging a hole.

The important thing with hotel gym sessions is simply getting the work done. Different erg, different environment, but the same goal: quality metres, controlled rhythm, consistency over hype.

One more row banked.

One more step forward.

One row at a time.

Chasing Stripes 007 — Quiet Work

May 10, 2026

EDS Awareness Month keeps pulling the same lesson back to the front: movement has to be repeatable, controlled, and sustainable.

Not every session needs to be a test. Sometimes the win is keeping the rhythm alive without adding unnecessary load.

This was one of those rows.

The weekend was busy. Communion preparations. Travel. A disrupted routine. Training had to fit around life rather than the other way around.

So the goal was simple:

Keep moving.

Keep it controlled.

Keep the aerobic engine alive.

30 minutes.

Rate 20.

No drama.

The opening few minutes were deliberately restrained. Low pressure through the legs. Relaxed hands. Just enough connection at the catch to keep the flywheel honest without dragging the heart rate upward.

The monitor sat around 2:07 pace for most of the opening half while the body settled into rhythm.

Nothing spectacular.

Exactly as intended.

Then the row started to come to life on its own.

The pace crept down naturally:

2:07.6

2:07.2

2:07.0

2:06.2

2:05.1

2:05.5

No attacking the split.

No forced push.

Just better connection and cleaner rhythm as the minutes accumulated.

That is what low-rate rowing teaches better than almost anything else: when you stop forcing speed, efficiency starts creating it for you.

The heart-rate trace told the same story. A gradual rise from warm-up territory into controlled low aerobic work, peaking late without the row turning into strain.

No spikes.

No chaos.

No panic rowing.

Just steady work.

Session notes

Time: 30:00

Distance: 7117m

Average pace: 2:06.4 /500m

Average rate: 20spm

Average HR: 126 bpm

Max HR: 144 bpm

Average power: 173w

Drag factor: 128

Training effect: 2.2 aerobic

Exercise load: 17

7117 metres at 2:06.4 pace for an average heart rate of 126 is a different row to where this block started only days ago.

That matters.

The flashy sessions get attention.

The quiet sessions build foundations.

Tonight was quiet work.

And quiet work still counts.

Chasing Stripes 006 — Flow

May is EDS Awareness Month, and one of the biggest lessons with EDS is that consistency usually beats intensity.

Tonight’s session was built around that idea.

No heroic pace targets.

No chasing numbers too early.

Just controlled work at r20 and letting the session develop naturally.

The original lunchtime row never happened, so this became an evening shed session instead. Sometimes training has to fit around work, family, fatigue, and life in general. The important thing is keeping the chain moving.

The plan was simple: hold rhythm, sit on pressure, and build gradually if the body allowed it.

That’s exactly how the row unfolded.

The opening 10 minutes were deliberately calm while the heart rate settled into the work. Stroke rate stayed locked at r20 almost the entire way through, power stayed smooth, and the pace slowly tightened across the session without forcing anything.

By the final five minutes the pace had naturally moved under 2:00/500m while the heart rate still stayed controlled.

That’s the sort of session that matters long term.

Not because it looks dramatic on paper, but because it builds repeatable aerobic strength without digging a recovery hole afterwards.

Main set: 30:00 @ r20

7372m

2:02.1 average

131 avg HR / 145 max HR

192w average

Drag factor 133

Including warm-up and cool-down, the total session came out at 40 minutes continuous work.

The graphs tell the story: steady HR drift, stable power, stable stroke rate, and a controlled late lift instead of a fade.

That’s proper low-rate aerobic rowing. Built through rhythm. Built through patience. Built through control.

With EDS, flow matters. Consistency matters. Smooth movement matters.

Another quality session banked.