What Was Your Work Out Today?

After improving my 2020 1 mile time yesterday I thought I only need to surpass my 5k time and run a 10k for this year, but deemed it unlikely. Well... today I somehow improved my 5k time by 0.08min/km despite being slightly sick and despite having a hurting hip. I guess my running streak is taking it's toll. Day 17. Three more days needed for a silly virtual badge, and then I stop.

yirara wrote: »

After improving my 2020 1 mile time yesterday I thought I only need to surpass my 5k time and run a 10k for this year, but deemed it unlikely. Well... today I somehow improved my 5k time by 0.08min/km despite being slightly sick and despite having a hurting hip. I guess my running streak is taking it's toll. Day 17. Three more days needed for a silly virtual badge, and then I stop.

I respect your determination! No way I'm going to be trying to achieve a streak and push pace or duration (much) at the same time. I'm doing the annual Concept 2 Holiday Challenge atm, and sad experience in past years has taught me I'm better off slogging away at it consistently, mostly moderate SS. (I even got a Holiday Challenge training program from one of my most-admired coaches, and recognized after looking at it that it was risky for me in this context, even though it would result in performance improvement for sure . . . I mean, if I didn't fail out. 😐)

In general, I think it's a good strategy to include intensity in a workout program, to vary workouts, to push pace part of the time, and that sort of thing . . . but for me (maybe partly because of age, or late start getting active a couple decades ago in my 40s?), if I do that in parallel with a somewhat-challenging duration on a (near-) daily schedule, it heads South way too easily (excess fatigue, injury).

Go, you: I'll look forward to seeing you post here, when you hit your streak goal!

AnnPT77 wrote: »

yirara wrote: »

After improving my 2020 1 mile time yesterday I thought I only need to surpass my 5k time and run a 10k for this year, but deemed it unlikely. Well... today I somehow improved my 5k time by 0.08min/km despite being slightly sick and despite having a hurting hip. I guess my running streak is taking it's toll. Day 17. Three more days needed for a silly virtual badge, and then I stop.

I respect your determination! No way I'm going to be trying to achieve a streak and push pace or duration (much) at the same time. I'm doing the annual Concept 2 Holiday Challenge atm, and sad experience in past years has taught me I'm better off slogging away at it consistently, mostly moderate SS. (I even got a Holiday Challenge training program from one of my most-admired coaches, and recognized after looking at it that it was risky for me in this context, even though it would result in performance improvement for sure . . . I mean, if I didn't fail out. 😐)

In general, I think it's a good strategy to include intensity in a workout program, to vary workouts, to push pace part of the time, and that sort of thing . . . but for me (maybe partly because of age, or late start getting active a couple decades ago in my 40s?), if I do that in parallel with a somewhat-challenging duration on a (near-) daily schedule, it heads South way too easily (excess fatigue, injury).

Go, you: I'll look forward to seeing you post here, when you hit your streak goal!

I know what I'm doing is utterly ridiculous, and also somewhat dangerous. I seem to get pace records nearly automatically when I have a lot to think about. And I currently do. I might just do 3 more relaxed very short runs to get this streak over with, and then enjoy a few days off. At least it has taught me a lot about my body, and the limited energy that I have.

Another 8916m on the C2 rowerg, the usual 4 x (2k on, 2" off/CD) format.

For fun (?), decided to pick up the pace just a little, starting midway through the end of the first 2k, but only down from WU-ish pace at start to somewhere 2:20-2:30 by the end. I still tried for at least close to 10m/stroke, but let SPM and HR do whatever.

Second 2k, started around there, and wrapped up the final few hundred to thousand meters at around 2:15. Average for that whole 2k was 2:19.4 pace, at 23SPM. About halfway through that 2k, I hit around 80% HR reserve (around 155-ish bpm) and peaked at 165 (midway between 85% & 90%). I haven't max tested in years, but those % estimates seem reasonably correlated with RPE.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't truly race pace, partly because I went on to do the remaining 2 x 2k at or just a jot faster than yesterday's 3rd/4th paces, 2:33.4 and 2:31.2 (and at only maybe a couple/few BPM higher HR). I've never done an actual race and felt like I wanted to (or could!) keep going with another 2 x 2k, even at moderate SS. 😆

Happily, I'm not seeing much effect from the early-stage COPD a Spring scan claimed, maybe just a tiny bit different lung sensation . . . though that could be imaginary/hypochondriacal.

Garmin saw this (though I'd take that SPM estimate with a grain of salt):



For interpretation purposes, I row out 5 strokes on each 2' "rest", and resume rowing after a drink of water, so normally row back in for 30"-1'ish before the next 2k officially starts, then row out the last 2' "rest" as CD. That also means my paces for the pieces (after the very first one) have a tiny bit faster pace than if I'd cold-started each.

Sydney cummings arm push today.
Yesterday was leg day and I feel it tonight 😣

Lord Jesus bless you all 💙

Super slow 10K today. I finally synced my meters from ErgData to the logbook to see where I am on the Holiday Challenge. I'm at 115K meters so far, which is light compared to last Spring when I was doing 240K to 300K a month, but I'm just getting back into rowing again and splitting work with the Assault Bike and LateralX.

I should hit 10M meters lifetime in a few months (I'm already over it now, I didn't really know about the logbook for my first couple of years erging).

8998 C2 rowing machine meters. On the technique side, working on adding better upper body extension (right out of the finish via arms-away/body-over) to the steady upper body at the start of the drive. Split results are nice (just a couple seconds improvement, no drama) but at an effort/HR cost. Playing with breathing, wish it made a difference, but I'm doubtful!😆

Just stuck with > 10m/stroke, HR < 145 (around 70%), experimented with what splits would keep it close to that. Ended up with 2:32.0 for the 8K part, HR peak at 144. Unsurprisingly, required slightly slower splits with each successive 2k piece, to counteract HR drift. 86% of the Garmin workout duration in Z3, none over.

Because I'm an idiot, I finished the workout at midnight. 😐 Now eating dinner. 🙄

At 168,717 for the holiday challenge, around 3 days ahead (if I were doing a 7-day schedule). Vaguely considering an extra day off tomorrow. It's the day to pick up my order of special-order, limited-release holiday stout from a favorite local brewery (available starting 4PM) . . . .

MikePfirrman wrote: »

@AnnPT77 -- looks like a great interval workout! It feels good, occasionally, to blow out some smoke, so to speak, and really put the pedal down and let your engine that you've worked so hard to build loose. Looks like you did a great job of that. I'm doing that regularly but I'm no where near race ready physically.

No affects from the COPD showing on that, though I wouldn't doubt you have a bit of rowers' cough today from that one!

Thanks, @MikePfirrman. Tiny bit of cough after, but not much. After actual races, I'm normally coughing pretty hard to some extent the whole rest of the day (did so going back years). That's another thing that makes me think the 2:19 was not race pace, barely any cough. (Whether I could hold actual race intensity for a whole 2k is a whole other question . . . about endurance, of course. Dunno. For sure I'd drop the 10m+/stroke ambitions, and take the SPM into the 30s.)

I do like to mix in some intensity, but out of sheer conservatism don't do much of that during the Holiday Challenge. I know that's minor total volume for a lot of people (probably including you), but at this age and stage I'm cautious about cumulative stress from all one activity that's done every day. Sometimes some pre-existing problem points (knees, low back) get aggravated. Sometimes under-recovery starts to make me feel draggy. My key goal right now is persistence. Probably do some more intensity later in Winter, when lower frequency/volume of machine rowing.

Usually, in summer, we do max-effort-ish intervals on the water, power 10s/20s with moderate steady state between, increasing the power bits and decreasing the SS bit, over the course of the season as it feels good, when the weather isn't challenging (no mega choppy water). I mostly think about maintaining/building base, on the erg. Recreational athletes have the luxury of not pushing the boundaries, and that's where I am now, for sure - by choice.

Envy that your outdoor weather is improving . . . in a better year, I'd be contemplating visiting my SIL in your city, sometime over the Winter, for a few days. Not this year, though.

Compromised with (or compromised? 😉) myself, and machine rowed 2 x 2k today instead of the standard 4x. So, 4482m, inclusive. I dislike fasted workouts, but I did it before breakfast, shortly after getting up. 2:32.0 split at 20spm, average . . . but ugh.

yirara wrote: »

Yay, I finished my 20 day running streak and got the stupid virtual badge!
And not only that, during those 20 days I somehow managed to improve all my running distances from earlier this year. I kind of stopped running at the end of May and only started again in November. And: Today I ran a 10k, which is a very long run for little energy me! Woohoo!

Congratulations! That, plus the good life-managing stuff you mentioned over on your other thread: You're winning at being you, I think. Nice! 🙂

1HugoG wrote: »

I bladed 11 miles in a little over an hour.
Then I went home to an Indian dinner feast...
There goes my workout!

Dunno . . . good Indian feast . . . almost always worth it. Pass the onion kulcha, please; um, and some chutney/pickle? Can we have rasmalai for dessert, pretty please? I'll row extra to earn that!

100 Fwd Jump Rope
15 KBell Swing
15 Strict Press
10 Pull-ups
40 Straight Leg Raises

10/6/2
Mil Press
Curls
Front Raises
Preacher Curls
Rear Delts
Hammer Curls
Lateral Raises
Waiter Curls
Rope to Face


Sporty 40 Abs
Supine Bike/Knee Tucks/Crunches/Hanging Leg Raises/Hip Lifts/ Straight Leg Situps/Flutter Kicks/ Sit-ups/ Banded Wood Choppers/ Banded Crunches

So.. I ran 10km yesterday and wanted to rest today. So... I went to a cute little town for a bit of sightseeing, and to a geocache some 5km over a drafty dike and back. And then limped back into the bus home. Resting might have been the better choice. But I had a fab day!

20 minutes on the Stairmaster followed by 5 minutes on Jacobs Ladder. I want to get up to 15-20 minutes on the ladder. I also did lift some weights with the ab crunch machine, and used the cables and easy curl bar to target my biceps and triceps.

I'm 42 years old , 6 foot and 227 pounds, qnd headed down to a strong 200 pounds eventually.

Today is the winter solstice here. My running website gives me a stupid virtual badge if I run through both sunrise and sunset. Got sunrise, even though it was right after getting up and I generally never work out before after dinner. Not a nice run, but I got it Now if there would have been a nice sunrise instead of grey in grey...

Yes, got the sunset run to get the winter solstice badge. In the pouring rain and with lots more wind than I'd like. On the flip side, I got a new best 12 minute without warming up time ever

Nah, I need to slow down. My hip has been hurting for a few days, and still does. And I really wanted to use the 11 days I have off between 24. and new year first week to go hiking and exploring.