Date: May 3rd, 2026
Day 2 of the Chasing Stripes series, and the theme was control.
This row was planned for May 2nd, but the day turned into its own kind of training: coaching my son’s rugby, joining in with a kids versus parents game, concreting in the garden, and a few household jobs.
So today I was not starting fresh.
There was fatigue in the body, but the aim was simple: complete the row under the conditions set — controlled rate, controlled heart rate, and no chasing pace.
The Session
40:00 RowErg
Structure:
5:00 warm-up
30:00 steady main row
5:00 cool-down
Distance: 9,328m
Pace: 2:08.6 /500m
Stroke Rate: 20 spm
Average Heart Rate: 125 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 136 bpm
Drag Factor: 128
The Row
Today was not about speed.
It was about restraint.
The goal was to keep the effort aerobic, hold the rate around 20, and let the pace be whatever it needed to be to keep the heart rate under control.
That meant not chasing 2:04 or 2:05.
It meant accepting 2:08–2:09 because that was the right effort for today.
The heart rate stayed where it needed to be. The stroke rate stayed steady. The session stayed inside the box.
That was the win.
Zebra Fact #2 – Control
People with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome often need to move with more control to protect their joints from strain or injury.
That ties directly into today’s row.
Controlled movement matters.
Not every session needs to be harder, faster, or more impressive. Sometimes the important part is keeping the body within safe limits and doing the work without tipping over the edge.
Why This Matters
EDS Awareness Month is about helping people understand what EDS means in real life.
For many people with EDS, movement has to be managed carefully. Fatigue, repetition, and poor control can all increase the risk of pain, injury, or joints moving where they should not.
Today’s row was a simple example of that idea in training.
I was tired before I started, so the session had to be managed.
Control over ego.
Control over pace.
Control over effort.
Learn More
You can learn more about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome here:
https://www.ehlers-danlos.com
Day 2 done.
Conditions respected.
Chasing stripes, one controlled row at a time.
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