Appreciate the optimism! Unless there's an upcoming HM CTC or some other team competition where it's required, I'm not sure I'll do another one until this coming fall/winter when the temps cool down again. But then, yes, the chase for sub-1:15 is on!

Thanks! Excited to be a part of it.

Thx Jonathan. The time for a change is near, for sure, but I'm not sure whether "near" means 6 months from now, or 2-3 years from now... Lots of factors to consider of course, but thankful in the meantime to be where I'm at.

Thank you 🙏. The Pete Plan is fantastic; a great plan for rowers of all levels who are willing and able to put in the time/volume. Shooting for sub-6:30 at age 56 is impressive! Hopefully I can lay claim to that when I get there as well... Lots of good advice on the web on how to train for 2ks so I won't dive into that much here, except to say, what has helped me a ton mentally these last few months has been the idea of training specifically with the intent and goal of becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable, if that makes sense. Spend time at your target 2k splits, or even faster, via interval workouts like 8x500 or 4x1k. Make the goal of those sessions to MAKE IT HURT, and when it starts to really hurt, dig deep and search for more. You will get there!

Awesome; will let him know!

Thanks! Much appreciated 🙏🏻

A bit of trial and error. I'd done each of those tests at least once or twice in the prior 2-3 months prior to setting those goals, so I had a rough sense of what ambitious, but reachable goals would be given ~4-5 months of solid training.

@@dadboddadvlog so nothing based on % of 2k watts/splits etc, just by guess and by gosh. Nicely done

Ah, forgot to mention that yea, I know from college experience that my 6k is usually ~2k+7, 10k is ~2k+10 or 11, and HoP is ~2k+13 or 14. Rough guideposts, but seems to have held true recently as well.

Thanks! If you're referring to the interior design, then all credit must go to Hien for that. She's a magician!

@@dadboddadvlog Well no, I mean your logo which is very creative. But your interior design is not to be neglected either 😉

Thanks, Ian. I'd probably go with the 2k and the 10k -- the 2k just because of how difficult of a mental hurdle it can be to "go low" for that test, and the 10k because of how unexpected/unplanned that result was.

@@dadboddadvlog Yeah I was interested to see which 2 you would pick. When I looked at your results my initial thoughts were the 2K and then the 1hr....but all your times are awesome. Your recent 6k was up there as well. Revised Pete Plan obviously works well for you.

Generally I aim to keep my SS heart rate averaging somewhere between 130-135; my max being somewhere around 190. I naturally find 21spm a pretty comfortable steady state stroke rate, any higher or lower and I have to spend extra mental energy focused on maintaining it; I've found I'm able to most easily zone out at 21. As much as I like the Pete Plan overall, its guidance to *not* go below 22spm for steady state isn't great. For the vast majority of us, our natural tempo falls somewhere in the 18-22spm range and is optimal for steady state.

Agreed. Part of me wishes I’d been held back a year so I could’ve benefited from another year of his coaching!

Hey Ian, I agree that there may be some lingering effects from last weeks marathon. To be expected I suppose 🤷🏻‍♂️. There’s a difference between “steady state” and “recovery” if done correctly. For the former I let my heart rate and RPE guide me, making sure to never go above a ~140 average heart rate in my case, and often deliberately keeping it below 135. Pace is irrelevant as some days it’ll be a 1:57, others it may be a 2:03, depending on how tired i am and a variety of other factors. While you certainly don’t want to overdo the intensity on steady state, I think there’s a bit of a misconception that it should be “easy”. There’s a minimum level of intensity and “work” needed during steady state sessions to drive the physical adaptations required to increase aerobic capacity. Too light or easy and it ends up becoming active recovery which doesn’t build fitness, but does help of course with stimulating blood flow and the repair needed after hard training. True recovery sessions are ones I’ll do from time to time the day after an especially tough workout, could be 8-10k on the erg at a 2:05-2:10 split, or a 30 minute light spin on the bike, for example. Regardless of the modality, the intensity should be markedly lower than steady state.

I use a combo of Pete Plan guidance as well as my own experience from years past to guide my target pacing for any given workout or test distance. In general, very roughly, I know that 6k pace is 6-8 beats higher than 2k pacing, 10k pacing is roughly 10-11 beats higher than 2k, HOP is roughly 12-14 beats higher, etc… as for the Pete Plan specific workouts, I’ve done each of them enough times now that I have a pretty good sense of what a realistic, but aggressive, target split should be. There’s always an element of trial and error of course, but spend enough time on the machine and repeat the same workouts often enough and you start to become surprisingly accurate at predicting splits during training.

Thanks! 🙏🏻 Assuming you’re talking about the song during the row, that’s “Stealing Time” by Above & Beyond, one of my favorite EDM groups.

I would highly recommend looking up the "Pete Plan" online if you are using the rower at least ~3 times a week. Some great workout options that can be done at any age, provided you have some experience on the rower, as I wouldn't say it's exactly beginner-friendly... But it works.

@@dadboddadvlog hey thanks! I will look up and continue rowing. Really appreciate this!

You bet!

Thanks! In reality, very little is changing in my training plan; some slight adjustments to 1 or 2 of the workouts each week to focus on longer intervals down around target 6k pace or slightly below. It's mostly a shifting of my mental focus and not thinking as much about the 2k, if at all... I don't plan on doing another 2k at any point in the next two months, and may not do another one until the fall when I buckle down on my training for the next indoor rowing season. Will try to get a 6k "late 30s" PB done and dusted before thinking about the next one :).

~48 hours afterwards and the muscles just outside either sit bone are still tender and making me flinch when I sit down 😬. I've no idea how folks are able to deal with the posterior discomfort of a 100k... (I remembering surviving the one 100k I ever did back in college without too much damage... ah, to be young again...)

Sorry to hear you also had this issue, but glad repair/recovery was a success! I am excited about the prospects of repair as well, as I'm convinced that the laundry list of issues/symptoms I've been experiencing down there are at least partially due to the hernia. Glad to have a clear diagnosis for once!

Yep exactly, this may force me to take the (much-needed) break that I otherwise might not give myself. Silver lining for sure! The floor fan has done wonders the last few workouts, not sure how effective it'll be once temps get into the 90s but looks like I'll be able to erg in the garage at least a month or two longer.

Thank you! 🙏

Yes she played competitive sports in high school and college; definitely helps with mental fortitude!

(So long as we're not calling audibles a majority of the time...) the reality is, as older, busy, far-from-professional athletes, cooking up our own training plans in the garage, some days are inevitably gonna feel off, harder than expected, or just downright awful. I'm trying to embrace those days as a necessary (and in some ways beneficial/educational) part of the journey.

Hien sends a huge thank you for the kind words and support! 🙏

Thank you. Yes, tremendous effort by my wife and Shiraz, in particular that these were their first 2ks ever and in front of an audience, no less. We hope to make this an annual tradition and get more of our friends in the mix in the future.

Thank you! Yep I think 12 weeks would be enough to help her get there. Will update the channel if she decides to go for it!

Thank you. Indeed it was great to have friends over to enjoy the day with us. Truly, my wife and Shiraz's 2ks were the main event, and I'm proud of them both for going out on a limb and diving into uncharted territory by doing their very first 2ks with all of us watching. We'll see if my wife wants to push for sub-8; and I think with a couple quick brush-ups on technique, Shiraz could be off to the races as well!. As for me, this was the most "complete" test I've done since "un-retiring" in terms of executing the race plan nearly exactly as it was drawn up, so I'm very pleased! It's cliche but so true in all levels of rowing -- there's no secret to getting faster; put in the hard work, and the hard work will pay off.

Thanks! Closing sprints have been a challenge for me lately so was stoked that I was able to crank it down towards the end, as modest of a sprint as it was. When I hopped back on the erg last fall I didn't think in my wildest dreams that I'd be pulling this sort of time EVER, and certainly not within ~6 months, so this is proof / a good reminder to myself that there's still a lot left in the tank at nearly 40 years old!

Hien says “thanks! That’s so sweet.” 🙏🏻. Ultimately, doesn’t matter if we’re pulling 2:30 or 1:30 splits, so long as we’re all enjoying the journey and feeling healthier and happier as a result!

Ha; like it or not, she has a front row seat!

Hien says thanks! 🙏🏻 I recommend to her that she train around a 120 DF, but sometimes she forgets to adjust it from my setting and ends up training at 130 😛. Doesn’t seem to affect her too much either way 💪

Sounds rough; kudos to you 👏! I fully admit that I’m soft like Charmin when it comes to hot weather. Nowadays, anything above 80 degrees and I’m reluctant to do any cardio outdoors. Would rather run in darkness at 5am than endure that!

Thx; will definitely give this same workout / same goal another try in a month or so.

Thanks! 🙏

Thank you! 🙏

Thanks! I use a GoPro Hero 11 for my filming.

For sure -- focused strength training, if done consistently and injury-free, will only help! However, if time becomes harder to come by, and the primary goal is to get faster on the erg, I'd opt for time on the rower and give up the weights. My junior and senior year of college we did zero gym-based strength training, and I set all my PBs my final year. I view the strength training in my program now as way to help accelerate or boost some of my gains in the near term, but longer term putting in the time and work on the rower is the most important thing.

Hien and I say thanks! 🙏

I agree, it's well within reach for her. Thanks for the well-wishes! 🙏

Glad you found it helpful. A big thank you from my wife and I! 🙏

Thanks! Yea it's easy to forget to take a moment to recognize and reflect the progress over time when you're caught up in the day-to-day. Important to do that to stay motivated and on track!

Thanks! 🙏 I've always gravitated more towards endurance sports for that reason; because the results are largely correlated to the amount of work & effort you put in, to a much greater extent than in other sports where talent can very often make up for a lack of work/effort. The formula for success in rowing, or any other endurance sport for that matter, is simple. It's maintaining the commitment, will, and drive to put in the hard miles and hours required that is much easier said than done. The journey continues!