Training
This week was really exciting because we were able (and willing… haha… you know I am almost always cold!) to train outside. That only happened towards the end of the week though, so let me start with my first “workday,” Tuesday. After taking Monday off, I felt quite motivated to complete the first “torture” workout of the week. I had to do 12 intervals of 240m in a minute, followed by 5 burpees in a minute or less and I must say, it was really challenging. Primarily, it must have been due to the high number of intervals, but I am also not the best when it comes to doing burpees. I always had to negotiate with myself after each interval to not stop doing burpees and, most importantly, not quit. Even though it was hard to keep going, I was really proud of myself for sticking with the workout and doing acceptable split times. Finally, I had to do a few rounds of weight training: deadlifts, bar rows, cleans, push ups, bugs and plank. Sometimes, it is hard to bring yourself to lift weights after doing intervals on the erg, but the results are even more noticeable if you do: you have a headache and sore muscles for days. Haha. Just joking… at least a little bit.
On Wednesday, I felt the urge to go for a 60-minute steady-state run. I don’t particularly enjoy jogging, but I wasn’t really in the mood for an indoor bike ride, so I opted for the lesser evil. Haha. No, I have to admit that I have at least started appreciating a good run lately.
On Thursday, it was once again time for torturous intervals. In addition to a 15-minute warm-up and a 15-minute cool-down on the erg, I had to do 14 intervals of 300 meters, with two minute breaks between the intervals. It really was as exhausting as it sounds, but I was quite proud of myself for managing to keep my splits consistently around 2:00/500m. I know, to some of you this might seem slow, but I have never performed particularly well on the erg and am almost always faster in the boat than I am on the erg. I am happy as long as I see improvements though.
Friday was my second rest day of the week because I was quite exhausted and also had to attend a seminar in the evening.
On Saturday, Tina and I had the pleasure of rowing with our friends Eva and Andrea from Rowing Club Argonauten. It was only our second time training together (apart from a few workouts in the 8+ before the Viennese Championships), but it already went really well. Of course, it takes a bit of time to get used to each other and harmonize our different techniques, but our coach Thomas immediately saw potential. Sadly, I had family obligations at lunchtime, so we were only able to row 9km.
On Sunday, we once again trained in the quadruple scull with Andrea and Eva. In addition to a few intervals at a higher stroke rate, we did a lot of technique drills, such as rowing with square blades, pause drills and feathering twice during recovery. We were all really excited how well we worked together because whenever Eva in the bow seat gave us commands, we were always able to put them into practice correctly on the very first try. Afterwards, while I had to wait for my husband to finish his workout, I spent a bit of time in the weight room and did 5 rounds of 1o deadlifts and 10 backsquats.