Erged 6K with one or two brief pauses when I felt I was losing technique. I used the pauses to rest and stretch. I took a longer pause after I had erged a total of 6K, and then followed with a 4K in which my technique held up better. At 7:30 P.M. I erged a final 2K for a daily total of 12K.

For some time now my routine workout has been to train in two 6000 meter intervals — i.e. 2 x 6000m / 10 meters-per-stroke.

After this afternoon’s erg I had another small epiphany. My workouts on the erg are pure and simple Base Training. So I am going to experiment with doing things a bit differently. In lieu of erging a defined 6000 meter interval, I am going to follow Ric Ricci’s advice and pause whenever I sense pain or that my technique is degenerating.

The goal is fitness, feeling and rhythm. What matters is not how fast or long I row. What matters is how I row.