Endurance

Warm up:

5 min easy row at 2:38/500m

Then:

Tabata Row 12 of 30 @ 1:34/500m

Looked like this:

Avg: 1:32.2

A little faster than need be.  Man, hitting 1:34 is tough.

This time it was a little easier, I still think it has to do with what I eat and drink before I row but I'm not sure.

WOD:

6 min row at 95% - 1:54/500m

3 min active rest

4 rounds

This is a pretty simple threshold endurance workout.  I have posted about endurance training before and I won't repost it here for some time, but the short version is 4 aspects are necessary for a solid aerobic performance, not to mention all the other physiological effects of the different aspects.  Threshold is pretty close to 100% (I use vO2 max pace as 100%) and 6 min of it is pretty darn close to a vO2max distance too.  The first 2 rounds seemed relatively easy, then 1/2 way through round 3, it started to hit me.  Breathing became a problem and getting a full breath while crouching into the initial pull was tough, I had to time my breathing to make it all work.  Round 4 was really tough.  I was reminded of something I read from the Michigan rowing S&C coach about effective pacing and it was as true as ever.  A proper pace will feel "easy" at first, then it will be nightmarish to finish in the end, a true test of will.  It's easy to go out too hard, blow up and say "at least I tried," but to really nail it and finish just right is a skill in itself.

Cooldown:

Easy row 3 min at 2:38/500m

On another note, the nutrition element has been off lately and I'm not sure when I will find enough motivation to get it back on track.  I feel like a huge hypocrite but I guess that's not enough to change behavior yet.  Maybe I'll try heaping on the positive side and see how that goes.  Thinking of all the good things that will come with eating how I know I need to eat.