When I woke and rose before dawn today there was no doubt that I would row this morning. I had the intention of scheduling a 30 minute online session and experimenting with the still unanswered question of what is free rate pace for 30 minutes.
But when I tried to confirm the session, the Oarbits app repeatedly gave the response, “No internet connection” even though there was a perfectly good internet connection for everything else.
So I set aside scheduling the session for a bit and posted the question in a Facebook rowing area, “What is free rate pace?” The only answer I got there was a definition of rating and pace. Which didn’t address what I’d encountered yesterday during the chats before and after yesterday’s 30r20.
Next, I went to the Concept2 forum and posted the same question in a more detailed manner because there seems to be a very definite answer to what a person’s pace should be for 30 minutes if that person is rowing at his “free rate” SPM. I want to know if that pace would be the fastest pace the person could muster, the most leisurely or something in between those two extremes.
Waiting for an answer from someone who is more knowledgeable than me.
After posting that question in two different places, I tried once again to use the Oarbits app to schedule an online session, with the same result that the app said it didn’t have an internet connection.
So I thought that maybe, just maybe all this is a sign that I shouldn’t row today and in the meantime, the decision hasn’t yet been made as to whether … or not.
As it stands, today will be a day of rowing abstention. If it proves to be otherwise before the day is over, this post will be edited and this paragraph will be replaced with a summary of whatever rowing was done.
*The decision to row was made after taking a long nap and then finding the answer to the question, What is free rate pace? The answer was supplied by two forum contributors who each contributed their own version of the answer and then proceeded to have further discussion. One of them said that there is even a formula relating to free rate pace at any given stroke rate and what a person’s pace should be for 30r20. I found it very interesting.
Interesting enough, anyway, that it helped me decide to do a little rowing today. The rowing consisted of a 30 minute piece and a 10 minute warmdown. They were online but solo because I didn’t give enough advance notice for anyone else to join them.
Happy trails to you.