40r18 HRR 70 (146) mind control

Well with the announcement of a large contingent of the University of Bristol Boat Club entering the fray in the Open on the 19^th at the http://indoor.bristolrowing.co.uk/startlist.php Bristol Indoor Rowing Challenge the race now feels all the more real (there was only 5 entrants in the open before – now 19) – that alongside the knowledge that I only have two more “red” sessions left and the mind starts to wander to imagining the start line at the race – not helpful when you are trying to keep the old HR down for a 40r18 HRR 70% (146) but having done a few of these I have a few techniques to keep the mind in check. Wasn’t feeling to great this morning – usual lack of sleep combined with a bit of a sore throat – ahhh race build up – got to love it. Also good to see Sub7 in the mix for the team event   

8by500 pain without the PB

After the 4by750's on Saturday my legs have not been the best of friends with me - I think they may well block me on Facebook now after putting them through the 8by500's at lunchtime  :roll:

 

My target as always was my PB of 1:29.9 which in actual fact was more 1:30.0 than 1:29.9 so 1:29.8 it was  :lol: went down and warmed up - leg still not "liking" me and dialled in 8by500's - the back up plan if the legs locked up was to take two minutes break and finish the set @24 on 1:39.8 pace.

 

It went as expected - first rep was as much about settling the nerves and finding the rhythm - second set was smooth - third set the legs started their complaints and feels like someone's turned down the oxygen levels in the air - fourth set and the battle was over - legs gone - was all I could do to get through - what was also annoying was that on the final stroke the first two reps showed a "pred finish" of 1:29 FFS

 

 

 

- so then it was time to bury the dead - and by that I mean man up - buck up and bury the legs on every single stroke - which was the way it went for the last four reps - after about 30 seconds the legs started their lactic burn and I just had to drive them through by will alone - no PB (0.4 seconds off) but plenty of MT points to take with me

 

*MT- Mental Toughness  :lol:

30r18 HRR 70% - late night erg

Get the training in while your competitors are sat watching TV - probably X-Factor - yuck

Just a recovery row to flush through the system - nothing too heavy - 30r18 HRR 146 (70%) bit annoyed I couldn't dip under 1:50 split - but there you go.

Was a bit warm/humid though

60r18 HRR 70% (146) honesty meters

Well bugger me I thought I'd be miles of on the erg - in fact it's only just now I've realised I PB'd it :lol: had a filter coffee about ten minutes before I started and kept thinking about upcoming races which kept pushing the HR up here and there - so had to bleed the pace now and then - the coffee seemed to ware off towards the end and I just beat my previous best of 1:52.0 from the 7th August a and that's with little low rate distance work recently :lol: ooo something good be cooking under my bonnet!

4by750 PB - a tale of two's

So today Q had lined up for us 4by750 3r oh then 15min rest and go again - so that's the first of the two's  :lol: Couple of interesting quotes I saw in the last couple of days - one by "wilmo1979" which was "you can do anything for a minute" the second Ollie had "it's not the legs that give up - its the head" (second of the two's) both of those quotes I used to get me through today. The third of the two's was the battle - today I was not simply battling two sets of 750's - today I was battling the 8by500 HD session from earlier in the week as well as todays fight. So it all lined up nicely.

 

Now I could of set off at lower than PB pace (which was set on the 5th Sep - and involved only one set of 750's) but where is the fun in that, plus I needed to prove something to myself, so with the PB target in mind I set off on the first (that is after the 5k warm up and small matter of cleaning the house all morning - glamorous hey) wasn't too bad and used the "you can do anything for a minute" to good affect in fact it worked so well I adjusted my sights so that instead of looking for the finish I was looking for a minute before it :lol: second rep was tough but manageable third one started to bite and thoughts turned to the HD - then to Ollie's quote - then to Wilmo - and then I was in the last minute - ok last rep and PB was still there - had to dig deep early on and hold hold hold - by the time I got over the line the legs and lungs where quiverin - do another set of those! No way

 

Amazing what a paddle can do and feeling a little better 15 minutes after wanting to crawl into a corner and have my mummy come get me I was off again. This time I reduced the target and after the first rep I thought maybe I reduced it too far - the second rep proved that the target was right though as I limped over the line. But then a bounce back happened and the third rep was solid - as was the fourth tough and hurt but I think I got that target right and managed a mild sprint for the line - job done

3by2k @24 r5

There is deffo fatigue in them there legs - could feel it almost from the get go. Target today was 30min TT pace @24 for three by 2k on 5min rest. So after a 1k warm up with bursts I set off into the first one - wanted to dip under the 1:40 split that I dream my 30min TT is (it's actually 1:40.7 at the mo) but I do think that the 1:40 is very close for me to crack.

 

Once I settled into it I was reasonably comfortable (although I have two minor issues at the mo - the middle finger on my left hand feels tight across the centre knuckle - has for a few weeks - think I strained it and the other is butt pains which I seem to have almost all the time) and hit just under my target which then set the target for the next 2k.

 

I paddled through some of the rest - stopping with a minute to go to allow the flywheel to stop before the start of the second rep. Again once I settled into it there was no real issue hitting the target and the same could be said for the third - well apart from I really could feel the tiredness in the legs :lol:

HD 8by500 1:30r

nope - legs did not co-operate on that one - first 4 at 1:29.7 - 5th was 1:30.2 - 6th one I almost got to the minute at 1:30 then the legs seized up - they started going on the third rep - the fourth was pretty tough - the fifth was brutal and the sixth ended the session - tried to go again after about two minutes and managed 30seconds before they gave up again - I think the issue is that I aren't getting the "easy/paddle" sessions in and therefore I'm not shifting the lactic out ?

funnily enough I'm not too down about it - I gave it all I had and on the day - another day I will have more