Training Diary

Trying to avoid burning out…

Trying to avoid burning out….

It was Sunday morning and my schedule was some rowing and weights. Now not for the first time in the last few weeks, I had very little interest in doing either of these! That is not uncommon when you exercise frequently as you can’t always be super motivated, but this was one too often of late for me. I didn’t need to have that PM staring me in the face telling me I wanted to stop at any opportunity, I knew that already. Didn’t even want to do any weights so that was it, I laced up my trainers and went for a 10km run…..

Within my training I always run at least once per week, usually a set of high intensity intervals, so 10km was further than I had run recently. I have done a fair amount of running in my time, a marathon and lots of halves amongst them, and for a big guy I am ok at it. Today I didn’t take a watch so it would give  me a pressure free workout, delivering me my daily endorphins and the chance to sort through in my head what was going on.

Exercise, health and fitness performance is a huge part of my life. Along with my family it is my life and provides a great lifestyle for me, but that doesn’t always mean it comes easily. Because it runs so much deeper for me, to an addictive level, I am continually balancing physical burnout. Not the way it should be in an ideal world, but something I accept and manage because of all the things exercise provides my life day to day. One of my ‘work-ons’ for 2015 was to do less, but do it better. Great in principle, harder to achieve in reality.

I was flying a month or so ago and leading up to the EIRC in Manchester I was faster than ever before and peaking at just the right time. Conditions and a bug I was carrying left me short of my target that day and overall disappointment.  I had planned in the few weeks after the race to have another shot at a 2km TT, but the situation hasn’t ever felt right. In fact in the last week or two it has felt increasingly wrong. Physically ok, but desire and motivation were lacking. I am self motivating. A huge strength that has helped me to achieve a lot over the years, but on the rare occasion when that goes missing it is a tough place as there is nowhere to turn for it! Time passes and you wait for it to return, until you reach a day like today where enough is enough. Mental burn out from always pressuring yourself to deliver.

So today was a cross roads and I chose to reset the system as I still want to keep improving. I quite enjoyed the run, it was a lovely day. When I got home I jumped on the Watt bike for a gentle 10k as well, then came inside and entered a 10km road race in a few months time!  I will plan the way forward that will of course be weighted towards rowing, but it will incorporate a fresh approach with a plan that brings back motivation and desire. I already feel better for writing this and looking forward to the retuning positive times. Onwards and upwards.

Why do we do it to ourselves….?

The story of the EIRC 2015

Manchester veledrome

I started to write this blog in the car last night on the way home from the English Indoor Rowing Championships. I like to reflect pretty soon to allow myself to move forward again and clear my mind. However the volume of messages I received and their content in the hours following my race blew me away to be honest. I started to look at things a little differently so decided to write this the following morning.

Leading up to my race yesterday I had a clear goal and minimum requirement to achieve a new personal best (currently 6.04.5). I am a realist and this was more than possible given my training  and some succeses in changes I had made. I removed my heart rate monitor, seeing it as only a negative input, and I had dismissed a lot of rate controlled sessions at harder intensity. This kind of created two workout types and all my ‘session best times’ had improved.

About to start

About to start

On the day I had entered two races with the idea to take part in the one which gave me the best chance of hitting a PB. At this point the winning of the race was not priority, although if in the latter stages things were tight then hopefully that would bring that extra bit out in me. For a few reasons, mainly a faster field and better perceived race time,  I chose to make my main race The Open at 3pm.

I chose to row slowly in the 30-39 group race at 930 as didn’t want to leave a machine free having entered, so did this at a modest pace and quickly got an idea of race conditions. Well even then, and at that pace, there was no air and it wasn’t that pleasant. I knew by the time 3pm came around it would be worse as more oxygen would have been sucked up by an even busier venue. As the day went on indeed racers times were relatively slow so I thought through adjusting my pace to suit conditions. I decided to do this, but still had the hope I might sneak under my previous best. Race time came and following a slight start delay I was ready to go.

Final split times p

Final split times per 500m

Nothing short of altitude training could have prepared me for the next 6 mins lol. It felt my lungs were stealing any available oxygen, leaving my legs with nothing! My mouth was so dry it was like I had sand poured in it! I am sure the other races felt the same. So at around half way this became a race for me and not about a PB. A horrible experience that I just wanted over! I dug in and hung on for gold, ending also with the best time of the day from over 700 entries. I came off the machine struggling to stand let alone walk away, instead choosing to lie on the floor for quite some time!

Fastest male and Open gold

Fastest male and Open gold

I am not disappointed with my effort, nor my win. I could have done no more on the day. But this is a journey for me and yesterday was about taking the next step – bridging the gap between 6 mins and 6.04. All my training was on the button and my preparation was faultless which left me knowingly confident, not complacent, of about a 6.02. And I am still yet to take that step which is the frustration. But in life things are all relative and I feel blessed with what I have and coming home to my family and 5 kids who had chosen to stay up to see me (930pm) was confirmation of that. I know that step will happen soon.

Fastest male presentation

Fastest male presentation

Ending of a light note and of course a positive, this time last year I was told I rowed like a weight lifter which brought a smile to my face. A year on and I had a new comment to digest…I had a perfect rowing technique! Now I expect the truth is somewhere between the two, but it also made me smile. It shows either people’s opinions differ hugely or simply that in sport a year is a long time!!

genuine disappointment before falling off!

genuine disappointment before falling off!

Well done to all those who took part. Our journeys are unique to ourselves and we set our own standards and expectations.  I am sure many will have felt the same as me as we all chase our own goals. It is an incredible venue and event, run superbly. The only thing I would change is the conditions, which when I was rowing were most uncomfortable and certainly the hardest I have experienced. The times of the 3 leading men were all around 4-5 seconds off target.

Most of all it was so great to meet so many of you yesterday and put faces to names. Your support has been incredible thank you.

The story of #Janurow2015

The story of #Janurow2015

We made it….

February has arrived and that tells me that the dust is settling on a second #Janurow. For all those involved in the event is a pretty full on month, but thanks to many fantastic efforts we hit our collective target.

Janurow

Reaching our target this year.

 

It is a strange sensation that grows throughout the month when all you seem to be doing is rowing. When you are on the machine you want to get off, and when you are off it you feel you should get back on! Well people certainly did get on as we collectively rowed our way to over 12.5 million metres!!

My personal input of metres this year was always going to be less than last year where I added over 1.1 million metres to the #Janurow cause. I knew I would need high volume, but I took a different approach to just grinding out metre after metre. The morning would consist of my main rowing session and was the focus for my training throughout the month. Later in the day I would top up my metres to ensure I hit at least 20,000m per day, mostly rate restricted.  This, combined with my weight training, running and cycling made for a pretty tough month! In recent years, February 1st hold a special place in my heart as I can get back to normal training!! That said the high volume I did last year lay the foundation for some very fast times in the Concept 2 rankings. Let’s hope the same happens this year.

Some big metres at the top.

Some big metres at the top.

Behind the scenes is a massive effort and our aim following last year, and it will be the same for next year’s event, was to improve Janurow and make it a better experience for those involved. Well this was certainly the case as we had more entrants and online interaction, rowed more metres and had a better online platform to work from, amongst other things. We had our first teams enter this year, 4 of them and perhaps most notably the Exeter Chiefs’ staff who nearly doubled their pledge. There were also some huge individual efforts where people really got the rowing bug and blew apart their targets.

I was trying to find the stand out memory from this year’s even and obviously there are many, but on reflection it has to be the final 24 hours.  Throughout the month we had been gathering momentum, but were always just behind target. With 24 hours to go we still needed over 1 million metres to achieve our goal, which seemed beyond us. This came down to around 250,000 with 6 or 7 hours to go after sending lots of rallying calls!! I had nearly given up hope as I sat on my sofa checking social media to see if everyone had logged their metres. However slowly, but surely the metres dropped in and about 10pm we passed our total. It was like watching deadline day during the transfer window in football. Couldn’t have planned a better ending!

The support this year was fantastic from everyone who was involved, both rowing metres, raising funds and the great effort behind the scenes which is often overlooked. Of course reaching our personal and collective target hopefully leaves everyone with a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement, but the main purpose behind these efforts is to raise money for those less fortunate. At the time of writing it is unclear how much money we have raised, but the 3 charities that will benefit are very grateful so please keep chasing any promises of donations.

I hope the support for #Janurow2016 is even bigger, but for now I am off for a run…….!

 

 

 

THE STORY OF THE CTC….

THE STORY OF THE CTC…

 

This month it was the turn of the Fitness Matters Indoor Rowing Team to choose the format of the CTC (www.c2ctc.com). This is an online monthly rowing challenge which provides lighthearted competition for those entering. I only formed the team a few months ago and was surprised that we had been asked to choose so soon. Originally I had something else in mind, but it was too similar to last month’s challenge so instead opted for some intervals. I chose something that I used a bit in my rugby playing days and from my memory  it was not nice lol.

Last time I did this was in 2006 when I did it weekly for 4 weeks taking it from 10m 13s down to 9.59.0 and I remember thinking now I am under 10 mins I won’t be doing that again! All that time has passed  and there I was sat there in front of the PM today knowing it was going to hurt. It did not disappoint! When I chose this challenge I was thinking I would aim to beat the time above – that was until someone posted 9.52! Oh dear. I set myself some new targets to attack that. I always know if I am really up for something as I am sick before the event and today I was. Ironically that was something I did weekly before a game…

The outcome today I was pleased enough with. Hard to see where I would shave anymore time off. I am trying to take my body to new levels at the moment and the end of each rep today I was lying on the floor trying to get the life back to my legs! I hope it is another 8 years till I see that screen again, and if I do it will definitely be in a slower time. Good luck to all those taking the CTC this month.

Photos won’t post at the moment will upload later (time was 9.43.4 @ 1.29.7/500m)

 

 

Race Day….Bristol 2014

Race Day….Bristol 2014

 

So it was a short trip up the road today for my first 2000m race of the season. Training had gone well of late and was getting back on track. This week my legs had felt a little heavy, although this is often the way in the week leading up to a race – possibly a portion of that is in the head. However I wanted to give it my all,  hoped to get close to a PB and anything better would be a bonus.

It was a strong field and I have previously stated that I can also produce fast times outside of the race environment as I really focus on it being a race with myself. Thats where the drive has to come from. Whilst that was all true today, I didn’t row the distance as I had planned and it was due to the fact that I got drawn into a race in the last quarter (500m) that I produced a fast finish and did in fact achieve a PB. The race could not have been tighter with only 0.1s between us and shows just how small the margins on a given day can be. So for that I thank the other guys in the race and the commentator who did a great job!

If you can take anything from a session or race and learn something about yourself that can improve you in the future then it has been a worthwhile experience, and today I did. I did not row as I wanted – the middle part of my race where usually I am strong, was poor. But in the closing stages I dug deep when my legs were shot and proved to myself I can also have a fast finish (all upper body lol). How much of that was down to a slower middle third only time will tell, but it is something to work on and for today left me top of the pile and pleased enough.

 

2000m personal best time

2000m personal best time- bad picture!

 

Race result today!

Race result today!

 

 

SUPER SATURDAY….

SUPER SATURDAY….

In recent weeks I have set up an online rowing session (using Row Pro software) for a time trial early on a Saturday morning. It has been good variety and having others to row with can be motivational and somehow makes you feel accountable to someone else! It is especially helpful if during the session there is another rower close to you in pace as it can push you on, and ‘keep you honest’.

Today was a 60 min training row where I was not after a PB (set in April – 17,768m, 1.41.3/500m), but wanted a tough training row of over 17,000m. When you know you are not after a PB, you don’t expect it to be as hard as it has previously when you have gone faster. That of course doesn’t take account of how you are feeling mentally and physically on any given day – compared to your best day and setting a PB.

So I set off at 1.45/500m which would comfortably hit my 17,000m target today. There was 5 other rowers in the field. I felt fine through half way, but strangely at 23 mins to go I wanted to HD (handle down) for the next 10 or so minutes. I can only put that down to a little boredom in the middle third of the TT and perhaps some ill effects of my on going chest issues. However I did carry on and hit target, but it is funny how your mind makes a comfortable row all of a sudden seem harder than you think it should. That ultimately leaves you feeling disappointed.

On reflection this will just go down as another training row where I will save my best for another day.  Well done to the others, an hour can seem like a long time on a Erg!

60 Min Time Trial

60 Min Time Trial

Race result

Race result

ONLINE SOFTWARE FOR TRAINING…

Online software as a training tool…..

 

More recently I have tried to build some momentum again to try and have a shot at a few of my personal best row times. I tend to do this on a Saturday (#SuperSaturday) where I set up my rowing software, Row Pro (http://www.digitalrowing.com), to create a race/event to row with others. I also use it ocassionally for my personal sessions, but today I learnt its true value….

In the schedule was a 30 minute TT where you aim for max distance. My best for this is 9072 m (1.39.2) set earlier this year, and was hoping to post a distance over 9000m today. However the last few days I had started to feel pretty rough so it was clear it wouldn’t be sensible to have a shot at this today. I didn’t want to pull out totally as I had set the event and others would be joining in, so I had told myself I would have a gentle/steady row and save my best for another day.

As I hit the start button we were off and I immediately noticed one of the other rowers pulling at a decent rate (1.40-1.45) and without a thought I sighed and went off at his pace too! So the gentle row was out the window as I wanted to make sure I got to the finish of the 30 mins with the most metres, for no other reason than it is motivating to row with others. Come the end I had done just that, but having others in the session highlighted the full power of this interactive online software as I ended up thoroughly enjoying my row. Although I was nowhere near a personal best, I rowed considerably faster than I would have and that is thanks to the others. Not sure my lungs will thank me!!

Looking forward to #SuperSaturday next week….

My personal screen shot

My personal screen shot

 

Today's session result

Today’s session result

 

A PERSONAL BEST IS A PERSONAL BEST……!

A PERSONAL BEST IS A PERSONAL BEST……!

 

So Today was a 6km TT and I decided to do it online with Row Pro. Had some company as well, unlike earlier in the week which was nice and I can see how that online community can really help motivate each other. I didn’t feel in quite in PB territory so hoped and expected somewhere under 20mins. Everything was fairly controlled, but I did drift a tiny bit late middle third which annoyed me as this is always crucial to any time trial. However a PB is a PB as I improved my only previous effort over this distance by 0.1 seconds pretty much with the last pull (pictured below) ! I couldn’t see where to alter the split length when using Row Pro online so it defaulted to 300m!

As my form continues to return after a challenging few months where I have had to dig in more times than I care to remember, there will be more to come for sure in future rows. The biggest positive was my legs were once again pretty good. Without shouting too much I will take this effort today and hopefully now can again build towards a few PBs…

IMG_3942

Overal split shows my small drift at 4000m

Row Pro race result

Row Pro race result

The final stroke that got me to a PB!

The final stroke that got me to a PB!

 

 

 

WHAT WAS I THINKING……!?!?

WHAT WAS I THINKING…..?!?!

I have not written too many blogs of late as I have not had too much out of the ordinary to report and training sessions have been pretty tough going. Training has peaks and troughs and usually these phases pass fairly quickly, but this has dragged on a bit and became frustrating. However more recently I have seen a bit of an upturn and am hopefully on the way back. Today I was due to do 1 session this morning followed by 2 tomorrow (1 x erg and 1 x Watt Bike conditioning session), but due to a late client cancellation I thought I would double up today instead. Earlier today I had been surprised by how tough I found 4 x 2500m 28SR @ 1.39-1.41, but still fancied another outing.

4 x 2.5km from earlier in the day

4 x 2.5km from earlier in the day

I was slightly tempted to try to improve my CTC effort (10 x 60s on /60s rest…www.c2ctc.com) this month as it is the final day and lots of people have been posting their fantastic efforts. But in truth after earlier I was unlikely to improve so opted for tomorrow’s session which was along the same lines, but on paper looked less of a challenge – 4 x 60 on / 2m off.  Repeat x 2 with 3 mins rest between sets. Aim was 1.25 splits @ 32-34 SR.  WELL WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! No less of a challenge at all. My heart was ok, but my legs were on fire. Wow! 1st set I just scrapped home, although I was rounded out on the split by the PM4. Kept to the SR, but knew in the second set I would have to up it to 33/34 have a chance of survival! After the first one I knew I was in trouble and questioned whether it was worth carrying on as I knew the split would fade. I chose to carry on in the hope that this temporary pain would pass and leave me better for the experience on another day when I was fresh – and I hate stopping, in fact I don’t do it because a few mins later you wonder why you stopped. Well I will wait to be convinced as the final 3 reps were horrible as I attempted to keep some decency to my score. wanted 1.25.9, but was just glad to finish! The morale of the story is don’t do two high intensity sessions close together and expect results, and never believe a session looks good on paper as it will hunt you down! The flip side is it has sparked me to write a blog, and I only have one session tomorrow now!

Set 1

Set 1

Set 2

Set 2

          

THE POWER OF THE MIND….

THE POWER OF THE MIND

The last 3 or 4 weeks training has been going pretty well, hitting targets and making some progress in new areas of my rowing. At the start of each week I look at the sessions for the week ahead and plan and prepare accordingly. This week one session stood out as looking particularly challenging, so much so that I didn’t think I could do it and I hate failure. From that moment forward I had built it up and was not looking forward to it and had a completely negative mindset about it. That in itself is a very limiting factor.

The day arrived, lots of other factors seemed to go against me to the extent I was beaten before I started to be honest. Still, following a warm up I gave it a shot as I had to get it done. True to my fears it was savage. Off the scale hard in my book. I just managed to hit target through half way, but from there on in I just wanted to HD. The only reason I didn’t was I don’t quit and I didn’t want to do it again lol. I did finish, but I did fail and by a long way. It hurt mentally and physically as perhaps I was not in the form I thought I was.

I honestly believe that you learn and improve far more in adversity than you ever do in success and I hoped this was the case! That said it is never the aim and it feels awful at the time. So after reflecting on why I was so far off target and spending 12 hours or more questioning the journey I was on, I knew the best way to process this was to get back on the rower to restore some faith. Yesterday was a bad day yes for sure, but I was miles off pace.

Today was better (4 x 2000m (r 6) 26SR @ 1.38-1.39) and was I was back on target, which left me even more confused. Later on, some clarity as I discovered there was a ‘typo’ on the pace guide which gave me temporary satisfaction that I wasn’t losing it lol. However it was too late by that stage and I had reinforced a valuable lesson to myself.

‘Whether you believe you can or you believe you can’t, you are probably right’ .

In my opinion positive thinking does not mean you will definitely succeed, but by thinking so negatively I gave myself no chance, no matter what the pace was. Assuming targets are challenging but achievable, a balanced and realistic approach will keep you grounded and also give you the best chance of success. Confidence and faith restored.

concept 2 rowing

Today’s 4 x 2000m @26 SR