30r20 open HR

Today was the one I’d been waiting for.

A proper 30r20.

No HR cap.

No holding back.

Just thirty minutes, twenty strokes a minute, and see where the engine is now.

The target going in was around 1:56.8/500m.

The result:

30:00

7,842m

1:54.7/500m

r20

600 strokes

DF 131

That’s a big jump from the last one:

7,568m

1:58.9/500m

So today was:

+274m

4.2 sec/500m faster

And every stroke counted.

Thirty minutes at r20 should be 600 strokes.

That’s exactly what it was.

The pacing was probably the bit I’m happiest with:

1:55.8

1:55.8

1:55.7

1:55.6

1:54.9

1:54.6

1:54.3

1:51.2

So no heroic opening.

No blowing up halfway.

Just gradually squeezing it harder and harder until the final 3:45 became a proper finish.

The HR trace looked sensible too, rising through the 130s and 140s and finishing around 163, rather than the random dropouts I’ve been getting from the HRM-200.

And yes, the Spotify soundtrack helped.

The Prodigy’s No Good (Start the Dance) landed right in the middle of the piece and fitted the mood perfectly.

That middle section is where a 30r20 gets interesting.

Too far in to feel fresh.

Too far out to start celebrating.

Just sit there and keep applying pressure.

This is also where the Q-Power idea starts to matter.

One benchmark moves, and the others have to respond.

The 30r20 had been lagging behind the recent 4×2k work.

Not anymore.

At 1:54.7, the aerobic base has just got wider.

And that’s the point of the pyramid.

The wider and stronger the base becomes, the higher the spire can eventually rise.

The next 4×2k target gets quicker.

The next layer gets added.

Still a long way from where I ultimately want to be.

But today widened the foundations.

And that gives us more height to build towards.