30r20 Returns

Today’s business in the work gym was simple.

A return to the 30r20.

No grand claims. No chasing ghosts. Just a straightforward objective: hold sub-2:00 pace, rate 20, and finish the job.

Result:

30:00

7,568m

1:58.9/500m

20 spm

600 strokes

208 watts

Drag factor 134

In summary: sub-2:00 achieved, job done.

The pacing was pleasingly consistent, and the finish was the strongest part of the piece. That, in itself, is evidence that the outing was controlled rather than reckless.

As for the heart-rate data, it failed partway through and descended into fiction. At various points it suggested I was rowing hard while apparently only barely alive. Accordingly, the HR file is dismissed without further comment.

The real point is this: the hard 30r20 is back.

This session was not about old personal bests. It was about re-establishing contact with a session that tells the truth. A proper 30r20 has a habit of showing you, with admirable clarity, where the line between life and near death is.

Today, I found that line again.

Proceedings will continue.