CTC - 666m test - can do much better

My super spreadsheet had told me that 666m should be done at 500m pace + 2 seconds. My 500m PB is 1:27.1 so I thought I would be conservative and aim for a 1:30 split for 666m.

Think again. I am woefully out of practise on sprints and bonked after 500m. Stupid stupid me. I probably could have got home if I had lit the blue touch paper. 2,500m of warm down and I went again, aiming for 1:31 split. Bonked after 300m this time.

Another long warm down and deep thought about the third attempt. I was going to finish this one. The super spreadsheet suggests that I should achieve a 1:32.5 split 1,000m if I am going to pull sub 6:30 at BIRC. Surely I could manage 1:32.5 for 666m on the third attempt. I put in a pace boat at that speed and off I set.

I was much more relaxed about my pace and watched the RowPro monitor. Although I felt I was splitting in the 1:33s I kept up for about 300m. At 500m I was going backwards but went for the banshee finish. It had taken three goes to remember that you can do this - it hurts but there is always more. I took nearly a length out of the pace boat in the last 1oom with mostly sub 1:30 splits. I was outside the 1:32.5 split but it was good to remember what it feels like to go through the pain barrier. I think that sub 1:30 is a realistic target by the end of the month.

I had lowered the drag factor for the last row and it helped with the acceleration. It was at 144 (damper 6).

Metres today: 10,647