Two weeks off after the Holiday Challenge and I'm already out of shape!  I hurt when I'm training hard and ache when I don't do anything so it's time to do something again.  This time, with the goal of "Participate in the Erg Armageddon", I'm going to concentrate on getting my legs used to moving that fast.  Thirty strokes per minute is the minimum that I think I can get away with during the race so that's what I'll train at - with bursts up even higher.  It's only 1000 meters, but it has to be the fastest 1000 meters that I do all year.  If I can do it at the same speed that I did last year (and the year before, and before, and before...) I am beating the age handicap incease so I'm actually speeding up in my old age! 

This morning (yes, the hated morning!) I only did a thousand meters - but at 30spm and about 2:08 pace - before I tried a 'base' race piece to give me something to test my progress against.  This base was 300 meters at 34spm and a pace of 1:43/500.  At 300 meters, my head told my body that "Yes, we could continue, but WHY??? So quit!!!"... and I did.

From here on out I'll keep the SPM up and the rate down and just try to continually extend the length of the race piece.  If I can eventually do 1000 meters - at that rate - in practice, then I'm sure that adrenalin during the event can kick me down another few seconds.