Friday was the 2500m for the Concept2UK Challenge Series for February (What a beast that is) - 10:30.1 @ 2:06 for Anita, 8:35 @1:43 for Me.
I was a little bit disappointed as I felt I had a 1:40 in me, but made the foolish choice of Drag 10 (Approx 195 DF) - In future I will only use the for 500m or less, I've just become too used to lower DF distance work.
Anita felt the same, and as such we are planning to give this another go on Wednesday next week.
Onto earlier today - a 4hr Time Trial.
Firstly me, because Anita definitely takes centre stage after an amazing row.
I did 52628m (2:16.9) - Again I was fine up until 2hrs (2:03 pace) then the switch turned to off position an everything started to become an issue; the blisters on my left hand meaning I couldn't grip the handle properly, blistered left heel (New trainers being ordered later), pain in my right knee and a pulled right forearm/bicep after favouring my right side during the second half of the row.
It was very useful as I now have a new goal for the 100k - Finish!! I'd like to come in under 8 hours if at all possible, and to do so I'll be going at much slower (2:10) than I was planning before today.
Now to Anita.
50028m (2:23.9) with just 2 breaks (At 2hrs and 3hrs) totaling no more than 4 minutes. She is noww crashed on the sofa beside me, but during the row she was the personification of focus, and was amazing controlled at approx 2:22 rowing pace throughout. She now has a new target - Finish! - She said she was completely spent at that pace, so will try to maintain 2:25 rowing pace to come in under 2:30.
Anita seems to be built for endurance, lots of slow-twitch muscle fibres, Diabeticly sped-up energy transport system. I'm the opposite, and I seem to struggle getting energy from food during a row. I will Finish however!! And so will Anita!!!!
Saturday 25 February 2012
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Day 80 - Distance rather than Time
A change of tack tonight.
Anita did a 1.5k warmup, 10k main piece and a 1.5km cool down.
Her WU and CD were at 2:19.8 and 2:28.9, but her main 10k was the second fastest she has ever done, 44:49.9 @ 2:14.4 average. It was a very powerful piece of rowing, even though she at 7k started to suffer at the 2:15ish pace. She brought it home magnificently, and shows that even after 2 weeks off she is still very much on it :)
I did a 5k WU, 6k main piece and a 5k CD
The WU and CD were at 1:55.7 and 2:02 respectively - In fact I think the 'WU' was a bit too fast, problem is I felt so good when I was doing it :)
The 6k piece was a 21:36.8, 1:48.1 pace, and a PB by 44 seconds. The 6k PB was one of the last (Just the 1k and 500m left) dating before the start of training in October, so it was nice to go out and blow a few cobwebs away with it tonight. The pacing wasn't particularly good (Went through 1.5k at 1:44.7, 3k at 1:47.1) but I know I can get this (And the 30 minute piece) down to near 1:46 pace in short order.
Anita & I have also discussed Saturday today - We have decided to do a 4hr test, in the way we would do the first 4hrs of the 100k. Anita is thinking about minimal breaks at 15k, me at 10k. Our targets are sub 8:20 for Anita now (Sub 2:30) and approx 6:50 for me (2:03) so we will row to those protocols.
Anita - 13k
Andy - 16k
Cumulative - 2846083m (1768.8 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Gmina Dukla, Poland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukla
Anita did a 1.5k warmup, 10k main piece and a 1.5km cool down.
Her WU and CD were at 2:19.8 and 2:28.9, but her main 10k was the second fastest she has ever done, 44:49.9 @ 2:14.4 average. It was a very powerful piece of rowing, even though she at 7k started to suffer at the 2:15ish pace. She brought it home magnificently, and shows that even after 2 weeks off she is still very much on it :)
I did a 5k WU, 6k main piece and a 5k CD
The WU and CD were at 1:55.7 and 2:02 respectively - In fact I think the 'WU' was a bit too fast, problem is I felt so good when I was doing it :)
The 6k piece was a 21:36.8, 1:48.1 pace, and a PB by 44 seconds. The 6k PB was one of the last (Just the 1k and 500m left) dating before the start of training in October, so it was nice to go out and blow a few cobwebs away with it tonight. The pacing wasn't particularly good (Went through 1.5k at 1:44.7, 3k at 1:47.1) but I know I can get this (And the 30 minute piece) down to near 1:46 pace in short order.
Anita & I have also discussed Saturday today - We have decided to do a 4hr test, in the way we would do the first 4hrs of the 100k. Anita is thinking about minimal breaks at 15k, me at 10k. Our targets are sub 8:20 for Anita now (Sub 2:30) and approx 6:50 for me (2:03) so we will row to those protocols.
Anita - 13k
Andy - 16k
Cumulative - 2846083m (1768.8 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Gmina Dukla, Poland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukla
Monday 20 February 2012
Day 79 - Back on it.....
3 x 20' with a 20' Cross Trainer Cool-Down tonight, our first workout in 2 weeks, 1 week planned rest (Went to watch Billy Connolly at the Ipswich Regent, he was amazing!!, and a 4-day SQL Server 2008 R2 course in London) and 1 not so planned (Just felt run-down and vaguely ill).
Anita put down a 2:17, 2:18 and 2:18.9 for her 3 intervals. Anita felt like her heart rate was too high, and her recovery time for the pieces was too long, but this is too be expected after a couple of weeks off. She however didn't feel like she overdid it, so I reckon we should be back at peak within a week or so.
I did a 1:51.1, 1:59.5 and 1:57.4. The 1:51 was at 150 drag, with the other 2 at 130. It felt really good to be back in the gym!!
Anita also started the fundraising at work today, collecting about £130 in sponsorship!!! The last big push has started :)
Anita - 13048m
Andy - 15534m
Cumulative - 2817083m (1750.8 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester
Finish - Ladomirová, Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladomirov%C3%A1
Anita put down a 2:17, 2:18 and 2:18.9 for her 3 intervals. Anita felt like her heart rate was too high, and her recovery time for the pieces was too long, but this is too be expected after a couple of weeks off. She however didn't feel like she overdid it, so I reckon we should be back at peak within a week or so.
I did a 1:51.1, 1:59.5 and 1:57.4. The 1:51 was at 150 drag, with the other 2 at 130. It felt really good to be back in the gym!!
Anita also started the fundraising at work today, collecting about £130 in sponsorship!!! The last big push has started :)
Anita - 13048m
Andy - 15534m
Cumulative - 2817083m (1750.8 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester
Finish - Ladomirová, Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladomirov%C3%A1
Saturday 4 February 2012
Day 78 - All Hail Anitatron :)
A Big Boys/Girls Pyramid today, 30', 45', 1hr, 45', 30' with approx 4' Rest (Can't program variable intervals on a PM2 :() - 3hr 30min total.
Me first as it is less impressive than Anita - The first 3 intervals (Up to 2:15 rowed) were sub 2:00 pace, even with a seat pad removal on the hour (1:58, 1:58.5, 1:59.5) but I then hit the wall on the 2nd 45' interval, and could only pull myself to a 2:03.5. I then decided to do a 30' warm-down on the X-Trainer (122bpm 'Fat Burn') instead of the final 30' interval on the C2 as I just had nothing left.
I'm starting to think our current calorie regime is OK up to about 2hrs rowing sub 2:00 pace for me , but past that I need to eat more in the day-or-so before to get the endurance for sub 2:00 for longer.
Now to Ms Wells - Absolutely awesome consistency, every interval at 2:21 or 2:20.9, each interval at 23spm. I'm really envious of how she can lose herself in music or the TV at the gym, at her strength of will and strength of mind. Unfortunately these long sessions do take it out of her (I tend to be OK when I get back and get some chores done) and she is now laying on the sofa feeling a bid nauseous whilst watching Biggest Loser USA - I think this is mainly down to her body chemistry, but she's so stubborn in her pursuit of her goal (Get to 11st and break PB's on the C2) that she will push herself too far some times. I'm very very proud of her though - We've been at this now for 18 weeks!!! To stick at the intensity that we've been at for most of this time is very very special!!
Anita - 44696m - 102640 for the week
Andy - 45025m - 107040 for the week
Cumulative - 2788501m (1733 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Chmeľov, Slovakia http://en.db-city.com/Slovakia/Pre%C5%A1ov/Pre%C5%A1ov/Chme%C4%BEov
Me first as it is less impressive than Anita - The first 3 intervals (Up to 2:15 rowed) were sub 2:00 pace, even with a seat pad removal on the hour (1:58, 1:58.5, 1:59.5) but I then hit the wall on the 2nd 45' interval, and could only pull myself to a 2:03.5. I then decided to do a 30' warm-down on the X-Trainer (122bpm 'Fat Burn') instead of the final 30' interval on the C2 as I just had nothing left.
I'm starting to think our current calorie regime is OK up to about 2hrs rowing sub 2:00 pace for me , but past that I need to eat more in the day-or-so before to get the endurance for sub 2:00 for longer.
Now to Ms Wells - Absolutely awesome consistency, every interval at 2:21 or 2:20.9, each interval at 23spm. I'm really envious of how she can lose herself in music or the TV at the gym, at her strength of will and strength of mind. Unfortunately these long sessions do take it out of her (I tend to be OK when I get back and get some chores done) and she is now laying on the sofa feeling a bid nauseous whilst watching Biggest Loser USA - I think this is mainly down to her body chemistry, but she's so stubborn in her pursuit of her goal (Get to 11st and break PB's on the C2) that she will push herself too far some times. I'm very very proud of her though - We've been at this now for 18 weeks!!! To stick at the intensity that we've been at for most of this time is very very special!!
Anita - 44696m - 102640 for the week
Andy - 45025m - 107040 for the week
Cumulative - 2788501m (1733 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym, Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Chmeľov, Slovakia http://en.db-city.com/Slovakia/Pre%C5%A1ov/Pre%C5%A1ov/Chme%C4%BEov
Friday 3 February 2012
Day 77 - Putting the 'F' in Friday :)
3 x 30' tonight 4R for the 3rd time this week.
Anita - 'Went through the same torment - Didn't want to do it, Glad I did it' Says it all, doing all the metres we have will often lead to nights where you just want to go home, but if you get on with it and do it you feel so much better afterwards.
She did some very controlled intervals tonight, 2:20 and 2:22 x 2 at 22spm (Last 23) so lots of 2's tonight :)
I did a low spm first interval (1:54.5) which was quite taxing, a 1:56.4 2nd interval, and a 1:56 last interval (Was cruising at 1:58 with 7 minutes left and felt good enough to go sub 1:50 for the rest, taking it down to 1:56.0 with 30s left) - Again a days rest allows for a better quality workout, and I feel my breathing/heart rate have really improved over the last 2 weeks, allowing me to do so much more.
I know the same goes for Anita - She said tonight she 'doesn't go beetroot' anymore unless she really pushes it, such as in the C2CTC or the Challenge Series - Her fitness has improved immeasurably over the last 4 months.
Lastly one of the PT's at the gym stopped us as we were finishing up, told us he's been watching us and was very impressed :) Must admit we feel really really good for all the work we've put in so far!
Anita - 19108m
Andy - 23347m
Cumulative - 2698780m (1677.3 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Dlhé Stráže, Slovakia http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sk-le-ds.html
Anita - 'Went through the same torment - Didn't want to do it, Glad I did it' Says it all, doing all the metres we have will often lead to nights where you just want to go home, but if you get on with it and do it you feel so much better afterwards.
She did some very controlled intervals tonight, 2:20 and 2:22 x 2 at 22spm (Last 23) so lots of 2's tonight :)
I did a low spm first interval (1:54.5) which was quite taxing, a 1:56.4 2nd interval, and a 1:56 last interval (Was cruising at 1:58 with 7 minutes left and felt good enough to go sub 1:50 for the rest, taking it down to 1:56.0 with 30s left) - Again a days rest allows for a better quality workout, and I feel my breathing/heart rate have really improved over the last 2 weeks, allowing me to do so much more.
I know the same goes for Anita - She said tonight she 'doesn't go beetroot' anymore unless she really pushes it, such as in the C2CTC or the Challenge Series - Her fitness has improved immeasurably over the last 4 months.
Lastly one of the PT's at the gym stopped us as we were finishing up, told us he's been watching us and was very impressed :) Must admit we feel really really good for all the work we've put in so far!
Anita - 19108m
Andy - 23347m
Cumulative - 2698780m (1677.3 miles)
The Journey:
Start - Topnotch Gym Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Dlhé Stráže, Slovakia http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sk-le-ds.html
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Day 76 - A tale of two PB's...
A planned 3 x 30' 4R tonight.
Anita and I both did a nice warm up for the first interval (Yes, a 30' warm up :)), with Anita at 2:18.6/500m, me at 1:57, both feeling fresh after an impromptu day off yesterday.
Then the middle interval (For Anita) and my last interval of the evening.
Anita started nice and strong - I looked over after about 6 minutes and saw her at 2:16av, which I knew to be her PB. I was at 1:57, planning to do a 1:58 (And a 1:59 final interval) but felt really good, and as some good music came on (System of a Down, Fear Factory, Pitchshifter and a few others) I started to push on a bit.
I got to half way at 1:53.3 - I at this point decided to get the party started, with averages down in the 1:47 region, knowing I had to pull a high 1:49 to get near my PB (1:51.5, 8074m). I felt completely in control at 27/28spm at a pace I could barely hold for 2K a few months back, this after a decently paced first 30' interval, and with 5' left passed the 1:51.5 PB pace, and really turned the pace on, down into the low 1:40's, with 1:30's for the last 90".
Anita finished with a beautifully paced 2:15.1 6663m (PB by 43m), with a last minute mainly below 2:00/500m, I finished bang on 1:50 8183m, PB by 107m.
Extrapolating out the 1:53.3 at 15' left to the finish I did the last 15' at 1:46.7, which is almost 5K PB pace, put between 45' and 60' of a session. I definitely feel 8400m is possible for me now, and 8500m in a month or two (Pete Plan in April to hit the sprint PB's hard (http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/)) which is Top 20 in the world 30-39 HWT material :)
I decided to do a 30' Cross-Trainer Fat Burn @ 122bpm, which is almost restful for me now. Anita finished off with a nice 2:21 pace cool-down(!) - Again, rest allows for a better quality workout.
Anita - 19541m
Andy - 15876m
Cumulative - 2656325m (1650.9 miles)
The Journey
Start - Topnotch Gym Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Važec, Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Va%C5%BEec
Anita and I both did a nice warm up for the first interval (Yes, a 30' warm up :)), with Anita at 2:18.6/500m, me at 1:57, both feeling fresh after an impromptu day off yesterday.
Then the middle interval (For Anita) and my last interval of the evening.
Anita started nice and strong - I looked over after about 6 minutes and saw her at 2:16av, which I knew to be her PB. I was at 1:57, planning to do a 1:58 (And a 1:59 final interval) but felt really good, and as some good music came on (System of a Down, Fear Factory, Pitchshifter and a few others) I started to push on a bit.
I got to half way at 1:53.3 - I at this point decided to get the party started, with averages down in the 1:47 region, knowing I had to pull a high 1:49 to get near my PB (1:51.5, 8074m). I felt completely in control at 27/28spm at a pace I could barely hold for 2K a few months back, this after a decently paced first 30' interval, and with 5' left passed the 1:51.5 PB pace, and really turned the pace on, down into the low 1:40's, with 1:30's for the last 90".
Anita finished with a beautifully paced 2:15.1 6663m (PB by 43m), with a last minute mainly below 2:00/500m, I finished bang on 1:50 8183m, PB by 107m.
Extrapolating out the 1:53.3 at 15' left to the finish I did the last 15' at 1:46.7, which is almost 5K PB pace, put between 45' and 60' of a session. I definitely feel 8400m is possible for me now, and 8500m in a month or two (Pete Plan in April to hit the sprint PB's hard (http://thepeteplan.wordpress.com/the-pete-plan/)) which is Top 20 in the world 30-39 HWT material :)
I decided to do a 30' Cross-Trainer Fat Burn @ 122bpm, which is almost restful for me now. Anita finished off with a nice 2:21 pace cool-down(!) - Again, rest allows for a better quality workout.
Anita - 19541m
Andy - 15876m
Cumulative - 2656325m (1650.9 miles)
The Journey
Start - Topnotch Gym Colchester CO4 9ES
Finish - Važec, Slovakia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Va%C5%BEec
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