Friday 29 August 2014

Q asks - Wulf delivers - 6by500m 1:30r

Q emailed me to ask to start looking back to the speed work with Bristol only 6 weeks off - so i was asked to slot in some 500's or minutes although reduce the pressure a little - so I targeted between 4 and 6 500's just to get the blood pumping.

After the race warm I dialed in the 500's with the 1:30 rest with a view to concentrating on one at a time. Get through a minimum of 4 and see how I was holding up (both knees and left shoulder upper arm been a little sore since 9in24). Seems I held up quite well with an average of 1:31.7 (although PB for 8by500 is 1:29.3) I actually mucked up as I though my PB was 1:30 something so set of targeting 1:33 as a starter and just see where it went. No wonder if felt reasonably easy - still puffing - but legs coped well. Found a lovely stroke/rhythm in the last couple of reps so very happy about that - I even managed to get the split down to 1:23 on the last stroke  ;-)


60r20 HRR 70%

Up and at em this morning - might be over the worse of the weekend as the mind is willing - the body not quite there yet - still a bit achy in places that aren't normally achy - pace suffering still as I'm a second and a half of 500m ave pace for this piece - it will come - onwards and upwards

Oxygen thieves in as well this morning moving the fans around I had set to blow me some breeze FFS




Thursday 28 August 2014

40r20 70% HRR plus 1min 1:29.0

Q emailed me to say:

"Keep the intensity at a maximum of 65-70% for the next 48 hrs, keep the distances low, but you can put in a single 1’ or two at 1:29 if you fancy it"

This was after this morning's row - so played it again 40r20 70% HRR and eaked out a few more meters and then did the 1min - felt a lot tougher than that should for me - god am I getting old lol

My blog on the 9 records in 24 hours has now had 329 hits - was at 188 before it went on the row2k website - thanks guys :o)





40r20 70% HRR

Got into work today and as I was getting the gear out of my bag I realised I forgot my towel - phoey! I did pack a small hand towel (used for wiping of sweat in interval sessions normally) so had the decision of not rowing or drip drying - so knocked off 40r20 70% @ 1:50.2 10889m – still a little under par – little achy still and butt tears at the annoying stage of healing – will probably do a 30 or 40 at lunch 70% and drop in a minute 1:29




Wednesday 27 August 2014

just a 30r20 65% HRR

did dial in 40 min but decided at 30 to call a halt - body is tired so I'll give it a rest - well till tomorrow :o)


Also got a link to my 9 records in 24 hours blog on Row2k :o)


40r20 65% HRR struggle

Woke up this morning in a clammy sweat - lovely - sure signs the body still dealing with the weekends efforts so took my time getting ready for work and then just dialed in a 40min workout - r20 and 65% HRR cap - which came up pretty blinking fast for the pace I was doing - so then just settled into it - the gym was a little warmer than of late and it's pretty humid here. Still was feeling pretty stiff and achy through the row - but hopefully pushing the blood around will do me good.



Tuesday 26 August 2014

lunchtime 30r20 plus 1min r16 challenge

followed up the pre work row with a 30r20 65% HRR at lunch and got a few more meters out of it - then took on a 1 min r16 row set on Facebook just for the craic - had to beat 291m which I managed





30r20 65% HRR

First row after the weekends jaunt - skin seems to be healing ok on the butt and hands aren't too bad - the worse hangover it seems is the feeling of having a hangover ie the body is still dealing with the excess chemicals in the body and trying to get everything back to "normal" so just feel euck - but from my days of having hangovers I know I always felt better after a sweat or two  ;-) 



oh you'd think they'd come up with a better design for the chest strap than the metal piece which carves a hole in you  :lol: 

Monday 25 August 2014

Can't row today ...

so managed to get everything ready today - including getting the erg in the car only to get to work with no shoes/trainers for rowing - still went down and got changed - but the HR strap on and waited to feel the pain from the lack of skin that caused - but was fine - put me shorts on and vaselined my butt to ease the lack of skin issue and the back of my heels as i remember previous experience of shoeless erging ended in blisters on the heels. Got on the erg and tried about ten different ways to row including all the hole positions - straps on off and lose but to know avail - the only way I could of rowed would be with the heels slipping in and out of the plastic heel holder thing and that would end up in blisters - so had a long hot shower instead :o) the good news is I had no major pains from the butt or anywhere else.

I hope you don't perceive me as a false prophet

The following was written by Adam Mell who was rowing all 9 pieces the same day. I think it's pretty cool

---

I hope you don't perceive me as a false prophet , for what i have to share is more than mere fable !

Gather round now my friends and take comfort from the fire . Listen well because I know you will want
to recount this many times yourself.

This is the Story of Beowulf and his Ergonauts.

A man so tall and strong it is said he could propel a long boat across the Irish Sea single handed.

His Ergonauts ..... all fine men ..........committed and loyal to the very last.

It is true that Beowulf swam against Brecker and fought the horrifying Grendel but what I have witnessed
surpasses all that has gone before.

I hear tell that a beautiful maiden captured our Hero's heart and that their union was completed by the arrival
of a bonny bouncing baby girl.

For years Beowulf scoured the globe looking for the perfect location to cosset his family.

When he witnessed the Emerald Isles he just knew this was meant to be.

However , as entrancing as this landscape was , it hid an even darker secret.

Over the years 9 daemons had come to lay claim to the riches and happiness of the local clans.

Some were small , others enormous , all ferocious but together they were unbeatable.

Whole armies would turn and flee when all 9 appeared on the battlefield.

Step forward our Hero . Without fear he announced to the communities that he could conquer these terrors , for he
knew that it was his destiny upon his coming of age .

Armed only with his shining silver Rail and shielded Fan he set out , alone, into the cool morning rain.

The Locals watched agog as he plunged down into the Valley of No Return.

One by one the Daemons spewed forth from the depths of Hell and one by one Beowulf cut them down.

Don't get to comfortable in your seat dear friend for this story is about to lurch from the path of predictability.

With 7 Daemons piled dead at his feet , there came a blood curdling deafening roar from a Daemon so wicked and huge ,
that even Beowulf took one step back. But it was only ONE!

The Daemon was upon him in a flash and it spewed venom on his skin and bit into his muscles and flung him to the ground.
It left him for dead and ambled back into it's cave leaving it's last remaining brethren to devour the carcass.

However, our Hero was far from finished and once the foe was within striking distance he summoned every last ounce of
strength to pierce it's black heart. Exhausted , Beowulf collapsed unconscious and injured , opposed by doubt and seemingly
impossible odds.

When exposed to the elements in such a manner time is of the essence. But the Gods were watching and the night was but cool
and the warming sun rose early. So it was to birdsong that our battered Hero awoke.

Binding his wounds and fortifying himself on berries from the meadow he quickened his resolve and headed straight into
the stifling , dingy abyss.

What went on down there , alone , against such a weight of expectation and ferocious opposition , I can only imagine.

But what we do know for sure is that all 9 Daemons succumbed !

Our Hero disappeared back into the arms of his loving family and to the adulation of a nation.

The Elders prophesy that over time more Daemons will loom over the horizon and in one more epic day , ten winters hence,
BEOWULF will return to fufill his destiny all over again.

Sunday 24 August 2014

Trying To Stay Strong - 9 Irish records in 24hrs

The breakfast before the off
So - I did it - just - and it was a heck off a lot tougher than I thought or some people may have thought when comparing my PB's (mostly set within the last year) to the old records - there a scientific reasons for that which Q know best  :-D

See his views here Q-Power


The set up
Watched the TV during the Marathon - Film "2012"
Big thanks to all those who supported, rowed alongside, donated and basically helped me get through what I think was my toughest challenge to date - arguably tougher than the 100k and possibly not as bad as the 24hr - but then I didn't complete that one. Q as ever was immense with his approach and organisation but also there where guys on Facebook and Rowpro who helped probably more than they realised (too many to name all) but Adam Mell and Darren Simmons where huge - Adam actually rowed all the distances himself which was great inspiration and Darren's use of Twitter got us encouragement from some of the top rowers including Team GB. Also of course the Mrs who allows me to do these daft things and supports me during them.

So how did it go - well we had been up to Dublin (3hr one way trip) on the Thursday and Back on the Friday after a appointment at the childrens hospital (no huge emergency) - also I could still feel the effects of the 6k TT from earlier in the week (19:42.5) - but when am I ever rested :lol: so started off OK with the 6k bang on target and no issues, other than realising I could not see either predicted finish or ave pave rowing online - hmm - tried to sort it out to no avail. 1of 9 - 6k Record Taken ave 1:44.9



Then the 500m - without the pred finish or ave I was at a loss as to where I was - and I although I thought I had secured the record I found myself 0.1 too slow feck! 


So then the 1k - made sure I was comfortably under for this one. 



Then it was back to the 500m and nailed it keeping the pace under by a second. 


So onto the FM - had the Mrs in contact with Q to try and work out where I was with the split due to still not sorting it out and got that one knocked off - Rowpro was becoming a pain - tried to enjoy it and even took some selfies as I rowed lol. There would be a rest of just under a hour then the 10k.






Back in for the 10k and saw a few friendly faces online which was good as I needed them logged in and ready to go - READY - ROW - err I'm still sat there! FFS crashed again so set up a stand alone 10k and nailed that - so much easier with pred finish and ave pace. 


OK we'll do the 30min online - again some friendly faces and I'd also managed to get ave 500m pace showing - set off and it was tough but I got it. 


But after this is when Q and I needed to take stock so the first phone call was put in. The body was showing that it wasn't coping well with the pressures - two choices where revealed - one was to push the break out and do the hour and then the HM and 5k - the other was to swap the HM and hour round. I decided to crank the 5k out, rest and recover then hit the hour.





A bath and rest at this point.


OK back for the hour and from the start it was a struggle - I managed to get almost to 40 minutes - but with pace plummeting and HR soaring I had to make a decision - just finish it or bin it and get the HM done then push the hour out to the final hour of the 24. 



I took the second option - another quick call to Q - then went off on the HM - what's noticeable is that the 2:00.6 pace was a struggle for me and that the HR was actually dropping as the pace increased towards the end - a sure sign the body was close to being a bit naughty. Still HM completed and then left with the hour to do before 9am in the morning.



Up at just after 6 - weighed in and lost 2.5kg - quick breakfast then out with the dogs. Felt surprisingly well with the body - the skin not so much - I'm raw on my butt to the point of bleeding also the hands as well as two large areas on my chest where the HR strap rubbed. Still got dressed and then out to shed so not to wake the baby and got set - couple of technical issues meant I was delayed starting until about 7:55am - at 8am my phone alarm went off after I was about 4 minutes into the row - I tried to swipe at it three times to turn it off - no good as it was just too far so almost at a stop I got to it - turned it off and then back to the row - up to this point I was going quite well (target of 1:46.9 for the start) the pace boat was now over 10m in front of me and it took me till halfway to get level again - bearing in mind I needed to be 1:46.4 this wasn't helping. I had to dig in pretty deep and had more demons in my head than a row at this pace (for me) necessitated - but with the reasons being the row I put them to the fore and dug in - pretty much on my TT limit for the entire row I managed to get within the target and with two minutes to go called on Beowulf to carry me home - got it - thank god and thanks to all those people out there who believed in me and supported me.



Having done this challenge it really brought home to me how depression can set in - again looking at those old records they are so within me on a good day that it seems a simple task - but when you stack them up one on top of another - even though you know there are people out there supporting you and would be willing to do the task for you - ultimately you (I) are alone and sometimes that means you need to rearrange, sometimes you need to put that call in for help, I could well have failed today, would people think less of me, some may, others have more admiration for the fact you get so far, my one piece I would say is - if you need help don't be afraid to make that call - it can save something precious to you - samaritans website 

Total Meters - 124,054 Rowing Time 7:44:44.3 Ave 500m 1:52.4




Written by Ad Mell