For four days, I did no rowing. I don’t know why, except that there was some deep-seated subconscious reluctance. My better half remarked, yesterday, that she was worried about me, because I hadn’t done any rowing for four days.
When I do row every day, she leans toward considering it obsessive. But when I don’t, she starts to worry… because she knows I feel better and am much more inclined to be in a better mood, if I do some daily rowing.
Today, the reluctance was still present and unidentified/undiagnosed. So I compromised with it and suggested that I row just 1,000 meters. The subconscious regions immediately agreed, with no argument.
Today’s session was three. First there was a very easy, very low-rating 5K, followed by an easy but more normally paced 5K at a normal stroke rating and finally there was a warm down. (Screen shots of the warm down session are not being posted here but it is part of the YouTube video/screen recording.)
RowPro 5 for the Mac acted up a bit during the first 5K because for some glitchy reason it showed some of the stroke rate readouts to be exceedingly high, at the impossible rate of in the 60s or 70s when they were all actually exceedingly low, mostly between 10 and 20 spm for that particular 5K.
Report for the first of today’s two 5Ks.RowPro graphs of the first of today’s two 5KsConcept 2 online logbook chart the first of today’s two 5KsFinish screen for the second of today’s two 5KsReport for the second of today’s two 5KsRowPro graphs for the second of today’s two 5KsConcept 2 online logbook chart for the second of today’s two 5Ks. RowPro had no glitches in measuring stroke rate for this 5K.
This bear is taking it a little bit easier than I did during today’s rowing session.
Today’s rowing session was online but nobody else joined in. Which wasn’t surprising, because I scheduled it less than 25 minutes in advance and it was on a week day when most people are working or going to school.
Because there wasn’t any company, I took it easy and barely did any hard rowing at all. Only about 200 meters of hard rowing, near the end, with the rest of the effort at an easy level.
The first of two false start screens this morning.
Today’s main rowing session was an online 10K. There were two false starts before the third and successful start. A false start happens if there is a technical glitch or if one of the rowers starts rowing before the announcement “ROW” which appears simultaneously on screen and over the computer speakers. In that case, RowPro 5 for the Mac (or any other version of RowPro) will announce a False Start.
One of the rowers, Wolfram Huhn, is an Olympic rower and so it was not surprising that he finished in first place by a substantial margin. What was surprising was the pace at which he rowed today’s 10K, during several thousand meters of which his pace was in the 1:40s and even in the 1:30s. Impressive effort on his part. The other rowers were impressive also and the whole group inspired me to row with a bit more effort than during yesterday’s 10K.
I did yesterday’s at a pace of 2:11.7/500m and today’s at 2:08.4. They were both done at what I subjectively classified as “medium” effort. Most of my rowing, especially if it is offline, is usually done at “easy” effort level. All the other rowers were capable of doing a 10K a lot quicker than I think I could do it now, so I didn’t see any rational reason to race, row “hard” or even to row “medium hard”.
The session was uploaded to YouTube as a screen recording and is available at the following link: “Online Rowing 10K race plus warmup and warmdown 04082018” The video’s title includes the words “plus warmup and warmdown” because the recording started before I did a 4 minute warmup and therefore included that warmup, the chatroom activity before the 10K and everything until after the 10 minute online warmdown session that followed the 10K.
Finish screen for today’s online 10K.Report for today’s online 10K.RowPro graphs for today’s online 10K.Concept 2 online logbook chart for today’s online 10K.
Finish screen for today’s online 10K. Note in the chat room comments that the Olympian rower, Wolfram, waited around and invited everyone, even the slowest one (me) to join a warm down session with him.
Today’s indoor rowing was done online. It was done online because there was a 10K scheduled, with several rowers already signed up and the description for the 10K included the words “Every pace is accepted”. So my slow pace wouldn’t be any bother.
Wolfram made sure to plainly state that everyone was welcome to join by saying “Every pace is accepted”.
Not that anybody rowing slowly should be a bother – I like to row online with other people, no matter how slow or fast they row. Company is good.
The Olympian in the group was Wolfram Huhn. There’s a Wikipedia article about him. That article is classified as a “stub” waiting for expansion, but it has links relating directly to him.
There was a nice race between Wolfram Huhn and Tomek Kobryzyniecki during this session. Tomek started out to take the lead, getting a few meters ahead of Wolfram. Wolfram picked up his pace and caught up to Tomek after about 1300 meters. Then, for a few hundred meters, Wolfram seemed to be pacing Tomek to stay even with him. After a few hundred meters of pacing him, Wolfram pulled ahead by a meter, then gradually, meter by meter, continued to pull ahead of Tomek until he had more than 20 meters lead. During the last 1,000 meters they both rowed harder as Tomek tried to catch up to Wolfram. Their paces had been in the low 1:50s until then but during the last 500 meters they worked their hardest and each showed paces in the high 1:30s near the very end.
The winner was Wolfram, who reached the finish line about 10 -15 meters and about 3 seconds ahead of Tomek.
Report for today’s online 10K.RowPro graphs for today’s online 10K.Concept2 online logbook chart for today’s online 10K.Finish screen for the 10 minute warm down.Report for the 10 minute warm down.RowPro graphs for the 10 minute warm down.
A cardiologist with whom I consulted recently regarding occasional heart rate irregularity recommended that I take blood thinner. I declined his recommendation because I know that not only are some of the prescription blood thinners literally the same chemical as used in rat poison, but also because taking a blood thinner tends to be a one-way street. With no exit. It is dangerous if not fatal to stop taking blood thinners, once a person starts.
I tried to talk with the doctor about any thoughts he had on helpful, healthy changes in lifestyle or diet, but he didn’t want to talk about those and stuck to recommending taking blood thinner.
So I’m trying modifications in diet, eating times and also adding some limited fasting. By fasting, I mean that it is very limited so far and usually not much more than around 14 hours from the evening meal until breaking fast the next day.
To supplement, accelerate and amplify the beneficial effect of that limited fasting, I’m trying to do my rowing in the mornings, before eating anything.
So far, it’s been working. Far fewer episodes of atrial fibrillation. In fact, virtually none at all… as long as I don’t eat a late meal after 7 or 8 pm and as long as the evening meal is not a large one that makes me feel full. And… as long as I also do my rowing before eating the next day.
Blood thinners, begone!
Today’s rowing was divided into 4 sessions. The first two were done in “just row”mode with the PM3 only (without using RowPro 5 for the Mac software) because the computer was busy updating its operating system.
First of two “just row” sessions.Second of two “just row” sessions.Summary of today’s rowing sessions.
By the time the computer system update was finished, I’d already rowed more than 5K so I set up a RowPro session for 5K. That session was also recorded and uploaded to YouTube at the following link: “Indoor Rowing 71 years old 5K variable pace 04062018“.
RowPro graphs for today’s 5K.RowPro graphs for today’s 5K.Concept 2 online logbook chart for today’s 5K.
This morning was a normal morning. I would have said I felt fine, but compared to how I felt after completing this morning’s rowing session, I would have to correct that and say that in comparison to how I felt after this morning’s 10K, I felt somewhat foggy minded before rowing.
That relative comparison was normal also. A bit of sustained rowing at the right level of effort clears the mind and boosts the mood.
Confirmed: Yesterday’s messy heart-rate graphs were caused by a weak (less than 40% when tested) battery in the heart strap transmitter. Today’s session had 100% graphing of heart rate, with a 100% fresh battery.
Today’s session was uploaded to YouTube as a screen recording to be found at the following link: “Indoor Rowing 71 years old – A Daily 10K 04052018“. (As this is being written, it is still uploading and probably won’t be available until sometime between 20:00 and 21:00 GMT.)
Finish screen for today’s 10K.Report for today’s 10K.RowPro graphs for today’s 10K.Concept 2 online logbook chart for today’s 10K.
I count. Sometimes. Today’s session was one of them. By the end of the session, my count had reached 1,204. RowPro (see image below) had counted 1,304 strokes, so I missed incrementing the 100s place one time.
RowPro’s final stroke count for today’s 10K is in the bottom left cell.
