4'/3'/2'/1'

Sunday morning:  The Sunday morning informal sculling group meets at 8AM, late for rowers, but this Sunday, 8AM was not late enough for me.  A whole week on five hours of sleep each night just about killed me.  I no longer have the same sleeplessness supernatural powers as I had in college.

This morning, we had 2 women's singles (including me) and 1 men's double out on the water, and we all practiced separately.  My workout was:
1.  19 minute pyramid or 4'/3'/2'/1'/2'/3'/4' at 24-26-28-30spm
2.  19 minute pyramid or 4'/3'/2'/1'/2'/3'/4' at 26-28-30-32spm
3.  4x500m at race pace.

I am not terribly creative when it comes to workouts.  When I do not feel particularly inspired, I always revert back to the 4'/3'/2'/1' workout because it allows for some steady state rowing to get your meters in and also for some rate changes to get you comfortable at higher rates.  The water was mostly calm, and I felt more comfortable in the single.  Whether I looked any better or went any faster is up for debate.

After I finished the pyramids, I had a problem--I did not want to do the 500m pieces.  Correction--I did not feel like doing the 500m pieces.

I have been reading a book lately called If I'm So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight?: Tools to Get it Done by Brooke Castillo.  The author discusses some tools for eating and exercising to help lose weight, but the majority of the book is about how to get more out of life by changing your negative thinking and focusing on what you want to achieve in your life.  She outlines the difference between "want" and "feel."  The logical, far-sighted me wanted to do the 500m pieces because I knew the pieces would help me develop my race speed.  With my hamstrings sore and my butt bones tired of sitting on the uncomfortable plastic seat, I felt like calling it a day and going in. Castillo acknowledges that it is normal to feel unmotivated, but it is important to focus instead on what you want and what is good for you the feeling passes.

I loafed around in my single, paddling and practicing a few starts before the feeling of going in subsided.  The 500m pieces were a little rough with catches so hard that I probably killed some fish or at least got some duckweed on the bow of my boat.