On Tuesday I did another variable stroke rate workout in the harbor: four sets of (5 minutes at 64 strokes per minute/4 minutes at 68 spm/3 minutes at 72 spm). There was a 1-minute break between pieces and 2 minutes between sets. As usual, I tried to make every stroke a solid one with good mechanics.
The week got off to a chilly start to follow the rainy weekend, with overcast skies and Fahrenheit highs in the 40s. By Tuesday I was plenty weary of the dreariness. I was very happy to see the return of some sunshine yesterday. It's remarkable how big a difference it makes in my enthusiasm for getting down to the river.
Yesterday's workout was eight sets of (250 meters at 80-84 spm with resistance on the boat/2-minute rest/50 meters at a flying start without resistance/2-minute rest). This was "contrast" training, and Maks told me to strive for the same grip and power without the resistance as with it. While the workout was a hard one, it wasn't the kind that left me exhausted when it was over.
Once I'd finished the workout I went looking for a pair of North American white pelicans I've seen hanging out in the north end of the harbor for the last week. My friend Joe, who enjoys studying birds as a hobby, tells me this is the largest bird species on this continent, with a wingspan that can reach 9.5 feet. My Go Pro camera isn't the best for telephoto shots, but with some cropping I have arrived at a low-res photo that at least shows what they look like:
If a super-exhausting workout was what I wanted, then Maks delivered for today with a time-trial session. One thing I've learned over the years is that time trials always hurt.
At least I had beautiful weather to do it in: sunny and calm with the temperature on its way to a high in the 70s. Unfortunately, the harbor was sort of a mess: with the Mississippi River rising fast, the harbor had picked up all kinds of sticks, soda bottles, and other debris that had been on the banks. All this stuff was now floating in the middle, providing me with an obstacle course.
I did a long warmup, including several 8-stroke sprints, from the marina to the harbor's mouth. The workout was a pair of timed 2000-meter pieces, and once my boat was pointed back north I was off. Maks had said the pieces should be done in the "A2" (75-90 spm) range. At first I aimed for 86-88 spm, but after a minute or so I realized that 80-84 spm was more the kind of intensity I could handle for 2000 meters. I was breathing hard in no time. As I passed the 1000-meter mark in 5:06, I wondered how anybody in this world is able to cover that distance a minute and a half faster.
I spent the second half of the piece, and especially the last 500 meters, struggling to keep my form together. I figured I had to be slowing down some, but as it turned out I completed the second half almost exactly as fast as the first: my time was 10:13. I was in some considerable agony and I wondered if I had a second 2000 meters in me at all. My instructions were to start the second piece 18 minutes after starting the first, so I had almost eight minutes to settle myself down and wrap my mind around the task in front of me.
During the break I decided to lower my stroke rate a little more, into 76-78 spm territory. As I started the second piece I resolved to stay relaxed and not try to be a superhero. It was clear that this second 2000 would be slower when I passed 500 meters in about 2:45, but rather than let it rattle me I tried to stay on the target stroke rate and produce a nice even-paced effort. My split at 1000 meters was 5:18. As the piece wore on I was definitely holding up better than I had in the first one, and finished with a time of 10:36.
I guess here in the first week of March I shouldn't be surprised that I have more work to do in the fitness department. But I was a little disappointed that I couldn't even break 5 minutes per 1000 meters. Last summer I timed myself over 5000 meters for the "virtual" OICK race, and my time that day was 25:12--just over 5:02 per kilometer. Even then I was thinking I should have averaged under 5:00.
But there will be more opportunities to chase times later. For now I'll keep doing my workouts and try to get my body ready for when those opportunities come.
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