Building the History — The Road to Sub-6

I’ve been digging through my old rowing records. There are thousands of sessions, old Q-Power schedules, race results and a fair few blog posts to go through. The race times are the easy bit to find. Working out what I did in the weeks before them is where it gets interesting.

Take Bristol in 2014. I did a 6:04.6 2k, then a 2:54.9 1k and a 1:18.3 500m. I put all three in the blog at the time. The first line was still about being pipped by a tenth on the 2k. Three races in a day and there I was counting tenths.

The training logs give the results a bit more context. In one old 30r20 entry I’d said I was taking it easy that week. I did an easy half hour before work and then had a go at my age-group best at lunchtime. Putting the sessions back alongside the schedules should help me see where I followed the plan, where I wandered off it and what happened afterwards.

That’s what I want out of this. There are performances to rediscover, mistakes to revisit and bits of training that might still be useful now. As I work back towards a sub-six 2k, I’d like to know a bit more about what got me close in the first place.

I’m bringing the rowing data, coaching schedules, race results and old blogs together into one searchable record. I’ll share the interesting discoveries here as they turn up.

Don't Chase the Result. Earn the Reward. | 40r20 · HR Cap 146

40r20 | HR Cap 146 | Static

Ten thousand metres in forty minutes. A lovely round number, and exactly the sort of thing that can turn an easy row into something it was never meant to be.

Today at The Lee Lookout was 40 minutes at r20 on the static Concept2, with a 146 bpm ceiling. No pace target. No distance target. After yesterday's demanding 30r20, the job was controlled aerobic work.

The monitor was welcome to have other ideas.

The first five minutes came in at 1:59.4, then 1:59.0 and 1:58.3. As my heart rate climbed, I let the pace ease. By the final five minutes it was 2:02.2. No attempt to claw the split back. No heroic finish to rescue a round number.

It felt comfortable throughout. At 17.9°C and 66% humidity, I still finished very sweaty. Apparently controlled aerobic work doesn't come with a dry-shirt guarantee.

The final result was 10,014m in 40:00 — 1:59.8/500m, r20, 800 strokes. Garmin recorded an average heart rate of 135 and a maximum of 146. The distance had come without a hard finish.

That was the satisfying part. I hadn't turned the session into a test to get there.

On the Road to Sub-6, the aerobic work underneath the harder sessions matters. One row doesn't prove the base has suddenly grown, but respecting the purpose of these sessions gives that work a chance to accumulate. Chasing every number on the screen rather defeats the point.

The goal wasn't 10,000 metres. The goal was forty minutes of controlled aerobic work. The 10k was simply the reward for getting it right.

Don't chase the result. Earn the reward.

The Lookout Moves | 30r20 · Open HR

Back at The Lee Lookout: the work gym in Cork, overlooking the River Lee. The Great Hall is home. This is the work watch-post.

30:00 at r20: 7,919m, 1:53.6/500m, 600 strokes, DF131.

The previous proper 30r20, on 2 November, was 7,842m at 1:54.7. Seventy-seven metres more, from the same half-hour and the same stroke rate. Still going nowhere, but doing it a little better.

The first two splits were 1:54.0. Then 1:53.8, 1:53.7 and 1:53.1, before a small wobble through 1:53.6 and 1:53.9. The final 3:45 was the quickest: 1:52.6. Legs felt fine, breathing was good, and effort was around eight out of ten. Enough work to know about it.

The photographed displays showed 18.6–18.7°C and 62% humidity. Recorded alongside the result, rather than guessed afterwards.

In Q-Power terms, the 30r20 is a key benchmark for checking whether the aerobic base is widening. The steady metres build it; sustained work at twenty strokes a minute helps show whether that work is paying off. One better row is evidence of progress, not proof that the job is done.

The wider the base becomes, the higher the apex can eventually rise.

Forty Minutes, Forty-Nine Metres Short | 40r20 · HR Cap 146

Forty minutes on slides in The Great Hall — 9,951 m at r20, averaging 2:00.5/500m. Forty-nine metres short of the nice round number. The monitor has no appreciation for tidy endings.

The row felt fine throughout. Comfortable and controlled, with no unusual difficulty. Finishing that close to 10k was slightly frustrating, but I deliberately kept the effort where it was meant to be rather than chasing the distance.

The five-minute blocks were fairly even, between 1,240 and 1,249 m, all at r20. A little less distance towards the end, but the point was to keep this an easy row rather than turn the last few minutes into a test.

The previous 40-minute r20 slides row on 1 November finished at 9,998 m. So the round numbers are proving elusive on this particular session. Still, the takeaway was a comfortable forty minutes with the work kept under control.

The extra metres can wait. This one did the job it was meant to do.

40r20 | HR Cap 146 | Slides

2by5k 5r - Working on Weaknesses

I hate 5k rows.

Always have.

Not really sure why, but they’ve never sat right with me.

Which probably made today’s session exactly the one I needed.

2×5k

5:00 rest

r26

on slides

Rep 1:

18:40.5

1:52.0/500m

Avg HR 143

Max HR 155

Rep 2:

18:34.3

1:51.4/500m

Avg HR 157

Max HR 168

Total work:

10,000m

37:14.8

1:51.7/500m average

The main focus was the same as the recent 4×2k.

Don’t blast the start.

Don’t fade through the middle.

Don’t rely on a heroic finish to rescue the piece.

Pick the pace.

Sit on it.

Accept the grind.

Rep 1 was controlled.

Rep 2 was where it started to bite.

The heart rate stepped up, the breathing got heavier, and the mental bargaining started.

Back off a touch.

Take the pressure down.

You’ve already done enough.

Then The Pretender came on.

“What if I say I’ll never surrender?”

That was enough.

Hold the pace.

Keep moving.

Then squeeze.

The final 625m came down to 1:48.0.

Sweaty.

Spitty.

Done.

I still hate 5k rows.

But today I didn’t let that matter.

Holding Back to Move Forward

Lunchtime row at home.

60:00
14,802m
2:01.6/500m
r20
1,200 strokes
DF130
Avg HR 137

The important bit wasn’t the pace.

It was controlling it.

The first couple of splits were around 1:59–2:00, but as the heart rate started to rise I deliberately backed the pace away.

Not because the legs couldn’t do more.

Because that wasn’t the point.

The split progression tells the story:

1:59.4 — HR 132
1:59.3 — HR 137
2:00.3 — HR 137
2:00.9 — HR 139
2:02.3 — HR 139
2:03.4 — HR 139
2:03.7 — HR 140
2:03.2 — HR 140

The pace slowed.

The heart rate didn’t really move.

That was the session.

Sometimes progression isn’t about pulling harder.

Sometimes it’s about having enough control to hold back.

By keeping the heart rate contained, I could keep pushing the body forward without turning another aerobic session into a fight.

Restraint became progression.

Another hour into the base.

Hold Fast

After the last couple of days, tonight had one job.

Engine work.

60:00

14,936m

2:00.5/500m

r20

1,200 strokes

DF131

Avg HR 142

The interesting bit wasn’t really the distance.

It was the lack of cardiac drift.

The pace stayed locked around 2:00–2:01/500m.

HR went:

139

141

142

143

144

144

144

144

Once it settled, it barely moved.

Same pace.

Same rate.

Same power.

And through the second half, essentially the same cardiovascular cost.

That’s what I want from this sort of work.

Not just finishing the hour.

Finishing it efficiently.

After the recent harder sessions, this was back to widening the base.

The pace stayed locked.

The heart rate held.

Hold fast.