Reaching 850,000m

This has been a great winter. I wouldn't call it my most successful but it has been a great learning experience.

Unlike years past, I did NOT follow a strict training plan. When I was training for Henley with Potomac, I was following a coaches plan. My afternoon workouts were primarily with O'Connell - a team I was coaching. I would either do a short run/warm up with the high school athletes or I would try to erg. My total meters that year were about 750,000.

This year, I am not even at February 15th (water time) and I reached 850,000.

My goal before we reach the water is to break a 1,000,000m. Meters have been added up either on the erg or on a run. For every mile run, I estimate it to be 1500m. My typical run has been 5 miles.

So where am I at right now? I posted a 6:26 2k without any warm up. My latest 6x3 minute workout was an average of 1:38.9. I believe, on a good day, I will be 6:22 for my 2k. My SS work has been in the low 1:53 range and my 20 minute test was sub 1:45. I think if I were to test this weekend, I would post a 1:42 6K.

My fitness level is at an all time high as an adult.

I'm sleeping better and feeling better each day. I've had some "bad" days where I didn't want to touch the erg but I have had GREAT days where I am completing the workout 2 splits faster than I expected.

I plan to complete at least one more 20 minute test and one more 2k before I get on the water.

Something I plan to do is keep the erg training going through March, April, May and June. My expectations are to add at least 150,000m per month in addition to my water training.

We are only a few weeks away from getting on the water and I am incredibly excited about where I am with my fitness. Something I learned from the last time I raced Henley was that I need to be more FIT - less focused on my strength and more focused on my endurance. At Henley, you are racing at 85% pressure throughout the entire event over 5 days. It's a much different race than a typical American regatta.

More to come soon.