Just realised Martin's amended his previous post to include the metres per stroke information that I've now duplicated in my posting above. Oh well, two postings on the subject are certainly better than none I guess!

Martin,

I see you're online right now (feels kinda spooky as it's 06:30 over here in the UK!!) .You gonna sneak in 9K to break that 200K barrier while Carla's asleep??

Now for the maths Carla -

Let SPM be the Average Strokes per Minute and MPS be the Metres per Stroke.

Then Distance travelled in 1 minute = SPM x MPS

Let T be the Time in seconds displayed as 'rate I'm doing 500 metres in' (eg 1.40 pace would be T = 100 seconds)

Then Distance travelled in 1 minute = 500 x 60 / T = 30000 / T

Equating these two equations gives : SPM x MPS = 30000 / T

So MPS (Metres per stroke) = 30000 / ( SPM x T)


If you want to do, say, 10 MPS then the denominator (SPM x T) needs to be

30000 / 10 = 3000.

If you row at 2.05 pace then T = 125 seconds (2.05 pace in seconds), making SPM = 24 to get our denominator of 3000 (24 x 125 = 3000). If you row at 1.40 pace (100 seconds) the required SPM for 10 MPS becomes 30 ! And so on.

So as you are rowing merrily alomg Carla you can be doing these calculations at any poimt of your row !! Just remember to convert the pace to seconds/500.

Hi Niall, it's 4 pm Friday Aussie time. I've got a lazy afternoon so thought I would muck around on the computer. Nice to chat 'interactively' as I feel I'm way out of sync with my utterings timewise !

No sweat with the 200K, it's in the bag !! 2K warmup (no 20 min bike since Speedy's "extra K's commemts" showed me the errors of wasted bike Kms!) then PB 30 mins then warmdown chatting up any poor unsuspecting person on the rower next to me !

Thanks for the encouragement,

Martin

Way to go Martin!!!

Not only a PB for 20 minutes but breaking the 200K barrier too. Must feels good to meet two objectives/targets at the same time! Bonza achievement!!!

I'm off for my 10K now (plus 2K after a 5 minute cycle).

I should break the 300K barrier tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

Whoa, my next gym visit is tomorrow Niall ! Hasn't yet happened ! Sorry about the slang, "In the bag" in Aussieland is a cocky/tongue-in-cheek way of saying it's a shoo-in (but not yet actually happened ! - and sometimes doesn't !!).

Good luck with the 300K barrier (was going to say 'break a leg' but thats Theatre isn't it !)

Martin

Taffians
Inspired by every ones efforts of late i rowed 18125 meters today and to make sure i keep my fourth place in the team.Chris will be back soon to put pressure
on me and Nial is coming along like a steam train.

Speedy
No word from you today,could you be burning up that 500k to challenge us all????

I love this team.We all want it,and were going to have it.

Chippy

Carla,we live near the Black Mountains.Abergavenny,the two mountains we use are the Sugar Loaf 565 mtrs and the Blorenge 554 mtrs the latter being very steep towards the top.Very hard training but the fresh air and views are magnificent.Sue

Good going, Chippy! ...was that an hour row? If so I guess Dwayne had better watch out!

Thanks for the math help from everyone. I have printed it out so I can refer to it more easily. I do wish the PM2 would tell you MPS, since I get pretty addled trying to figure this stuff out.

Couldn't resist trying to get over that 200,000 meters before my friend down under...Let's go, Martin, we've got to make it harder for Niall!

I have to say I really love the "avg pace" display. It helped me today to get another season's best on the 10K. I figured I needed to hold 2:12 to do better than my last time, and actually aimed for 2:10. Finished in 43:11.8, avg 2:09.8, 23 SPM. If I did the math right, that comes out to

43.2 minutes (well, close enough, right?) x 23 spm=993.6, that comes out to a bit more than 10 MPS. It was easier to stay on track on this row, because it was counting down from 10K instead of giving me minutes left.

When we beat the Ancient Mariners, we ought to take up a collection for Chris as a thank you for starting this team. I'm having more fun rowing than I ever did before, that's for sure!

Carla

Hi Carla, congrats on another fabulous row. I knew the temptation of 200K would be too hard to resist but to PB as well !!!

As for MPS's, the formula I outlined in yesterday's chat can be used to give an idea of adherence to a desired MPS at any time during your row :-

If you choose to stick to 10 MPS (makes the table calculation easier too !) the formula becomes

Current Pace (in seconds) x Stroke rate (SPM) = 3000

so for different SPM's we can create a table of the Pace necessary to achieve an MPS of 10.

For 23 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 23 = 130.5 seconds (approx) = 2.10.5
For 24 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 24 = 125 seconds = 2.05
For 25 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 25 = 120 seconds = 2.00

and so on.

You can make up a table of required Pace for each SPM from, say, 20 to 35, print it out and stick it on the monitor ! Then at any point in your row you can match your current SPM and the Pace displayed on the monitor with a table entry that suits how you are feeling (want to change rating, want to vary pull ?) . For example, if you are currently doing 25 SPM and a Pace of 2.00 (to maintain 10 MPS) and you feel like easing off on the Pace you could drop down to 2.10 Pace (say) and adjust the rating to 23 SPM. This will still give you 10 MPS.

All the above is predicated on you wishing to be as close to 10 MPS as possible. If you wish to aim for a different MPS the table of SPM and corresponding Pace will be different.

Let me know if you want any further insight into this (if you haven't fallen asleep already )

Off to the gym now (17K, ouch ! ),

Cheers,

Martin

To the Stupid Question Department

Ok, where does the 3000 come from in

For 23 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 23 = 130.5 seconds (approx) = 2.10.5
For 24 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 24 = 125 seconds = 2.05
For 25 SPM, Pace = 3000 / 25 = 120 seconds = 2.00


?? is it based on the distance you row? 500m x 60 seconds is 30,000 not 3000 so that can't be it...10 mps x 500m x 60 seconds? ??

this is the sort of thing that always happened to me in math class...ending up with numbers at the end of a bunch mathematical convolutions and not knowing what they meant, or if the answer made any sense.

Carla

Sorry Carla, I didn't explain where the 3000 came from - have to refer back to Chapter 1 (my previous ramblings on the subect of the relationship between MPS, SPM and Pace).

In a nutshell, the 3000 comes from dividing 30000 by the desired MPS (in this case 10).
i.e. 30000 / 10 = 3000 (why do this - see chapter 1 !!!)

If you wish to target a different MPS then the 'constant' used in the calculation for each SPM vs Pace table entry is no longer 3000. It becomes 30000 / MPS

E.G. If desired MPS is 9 then 'constant' becomes 30000 / 9 = 3333.
Then some typical table entries would be -

For SPM = 23, Pace = 3333/23 = 145 seconds (approx) = 2.25
For SPM = 25, Pace = 3333/25 = 133 seconds (approx) = 2.13

For an MPS of 11 the 'constant' becomes 30000 / 11 = 2727.
And some typical table entries would be -

For SPM = 23, Pace = 2727/23 = 118.5 seconds (approx) = 1.58.5
For SPM = 25, Pace = 2727/25 = 109 seconds (approx) = 1.49

Sorry I can't think of an easier way of explaining it (just back from 17.5 K at the gym doesn't help !) so I've given some examples that may help to see it more clearly. Perhaps we can set a 'Homework' task for our TA team members - "Give a layman's explanation of above in no more than 500 words" !


Cheers,

Martin

Hi Niall, well you know what they say about the best laid plans ....

Carla threw a big spanner in my 8K PB attempt plan by not only getting to 200K first but put a 17K gap between us to boot !

So a tough 8K was not going to do the trick. Instead I went for a 60 min PB (not too hard to do a PB as I've never done this time before). 15312 plus a 10 min warmdown has seen me edge back into 9th spot !

I take my hat off to all you TA'ers that do this type of long row (and longer) - am I sore !!!

How's the 300K cruncher row ?

Martin

Boy am I feeling the pressure from Carla and Martin! You guys are really pounding out those metres. Me on the other hand have been slacking . I struggled with a 10K yesterday and as my back was a bit sore towards the end I decided to leave the rowing for the rest of the day. Will be doing a 10K+2K later today (well that's the plan!).

All these metres everyone is putting in has actually closed the gap on UoNM and increased the gap between us and Royal College. Great effort guys! It's been a while since we've been less than 400K behind UoNM so they'll be feeling it now. Let's keep up the collective effort and push hard to that 6th place!

Who's going to pull the

10 MILLIONTH metre for Taff Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Currently 9,935,459

Balloons and prizes galore ???

Martin (not me, I'm too sore !)

Professor Martin:

I get it. So it does come from 500m x 60 seconds x 20 MPS. Now it all makes sense.

I was going to take a day off today, I'm rather stiff in the lumbar area, but late in the afternoon I'll do something, probably just enough to get even with you again. Congrats on your first hour row! 15132 is a respectable achievement. I have not done an hour row since some time last year and it was only a bit over 13K. I'll have to try one next week, as it bothers me that I haven't any Nonathlon points for that event, and I ought to be able to do quite near 14K.

Only 65542m to make 10,000,000!!! We will easily do that in a few days at the rate we are going! I plan to do at least 35K myself this week as it will finish off my first million. When I make it I'm going to add an avatar as a sort of silly reward.

Niall: you're doing awesome! As someone who routinely struggles with stiff lower back, I would recommend to you using a Swiss ball to stretch out on. Most mornings I can't bend over at all--it's even hard getting dressed some mornings. But after 20 min. or so on the Swiss ball it's better. I also use one to work on strengthening my abs, which are really weak. Hopefully as they get stronger I won't have as much trouble.

Yay Taffs!
Carla

WE'VE GONE THROUGH 10 MILLION METRES

Many thanks for the kind words Carla, it's just what I want/need right now.

Did my scheduled 10K+2K this afternoon. All this talk of 10 MPS got me thinking during my 10K today. Part way through my row I decided to do hit a stroke on every time the metres remaining had a zero on the end (i.e. xxx0 metres) (does that make sense?). What a dramatic difference this made. Not only did the rowing seem easier but my speed increased while my stroke rate decreased

Unfortunately the concentration this required meant I couldn't maintain this for the full 10K and I had to go back to my normal stroke routine (i.e. not very efficient or performant I even found myself "hitting some crabs" as my rhythm dictated a stroke before the metres counted down to a "0" unit. Anyway, here's the splits (10 MPS splits are in red):

1:59.4 28spm
2:02.0 27spm
2:02.8 26spm
2:01.5 25spm
2:00.6 25spm
2:01.8 25spm
2:02.2 25spm
2:04.2 24spm
2:02.9 24spm
2:05.3 25spm
2:04.8 25spm
2:05.2 25spm
2:04.9 25spm
2:04.9 26spm
2:05.7 26spm
2:06.0 26spm
2:08.0 25spm
2:08.1 26spm
2:07.9 25spm
1:58.1 27spm

This does prove however that I need to work more on 10 MPS rowing so many thanks Carla for highlighting this.

Hey Niall,

Yahoo on the 10 Million!!!!

Paul Smith (aka PaulS) got me onto that 10MPS thing. He is a coach and posts a lot in the topic "training". If you want more info about it (also I row strapless because of his advice) take a look at his posts. I had set all my PB's at any old stroke rate, which meant I was probably only getting around 8MPS. I am now trying to always work at 10MPS so that I don't get to just shuttling up and down the slide as fast as I can go. If you get really used to doing 10MPS--by pulling on the 0s, which is exactly how he suggested doing it, by the way--eventually you will do it pretty naturally. I was happy to see that this was so with that 30 min piece--I was pretty close, without being able to see the meters going by. I believe Paul suggests doing actual races (or intentional PB attempts) at any stroke rate you want, as he says, "Train hard, race easy."--that's probably a misquote. I even do my very slow warm ups and cool downs this way and concentrate on the elements of the stroke, trying to keep them in the right order and smooth.

There are some who disagree with the 10MPS thing, though (Cran comes to mind) who are also very good rowers and athletes in general. I think it's a good thing, though I don't have much of a record yet to support it, and that if I ever want to get in a boat (seems like too much bother right now) it will help me have a better technique, whereas rushing the slide is definitely not appreciated in a boat!

Carla

Graham
Well done on hitting a 100000 meters in such a short time,pity your girl friend is beating you but she is special.
Had a twelve hour shift on the hammer and saw today so could only manage 5000
meters and a few beers to clear the dust from my throat.

Chippy.

Hi Carla, I'm relieved the maths makes sense ! I was working it all out from 'first principles' as I was typing and thought I had better show my workings in case I got it wrong (to at least get part marks from my old maths teachers for showing how I got there !). Hence it was probably a bit too rambly to follow.

As an ex rower I have found that 10 MPS feels like a good figure to aim for on the erg - it translates into pretty efficient (possibly optimum) rowing and also helps provide a sense of discipline/structure to the session. I've tended to use the Rating (SPM) and Pace readouts to keep me 'honest' on 10 MPS rather than look at the metres tick by at a particular point in each stroke (to give the MPS for that stroke). This has proved useful when the metres are not displayed (when using Ave Pace instead for example) on the monitor during the row. Hence my interest in the table of SPM vs Pace !

Good luck with the 60 min row next week, a 14K target would mean 2.08.5 pace which would be pretty awesome !

(Formula for Distance vs Required Pace for a 60 min row is :

Required Pace (in seconds) = 1800000 / Distance (metres)

in case you were wondering !!)

Good row Niall, the 10 MPS Carla talks about is an excellent discipline to improve efficiency in one's row. The following table (if memorised !) may help in sticking as close to 10 MPS as possible without watching the metres tick by each stroke -

Rating (SPM) vs Pace (rounded) for 10 MPS

... 21 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2.22
... 22 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2.16
... 23 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2.10
... 24 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2.05
... 25 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2.00
... 26 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.55
... 27 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.51
... 28 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.47
... 29 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1.43

Note that if you are rating, say, 25 and allow the Pace reading to drift out from 2.00 ( which equates to 10 MPS exactly) by easing off to, say, 2.03 then your MPS will be lower than 10. Conversely, lowering the Pace reading to, say, 1.57 by working harder whilst maintaining a 25 rating will increase your MPS to above 10.

The formula for calculating MPS for a given SPM and Pace is

MPS = 30000 / (SPM x Pace) where Pace is in seconds

So you can calculate your MPS's for your splits if you wish

(the first one would be MPS = 30000 / ( 28 x 119.4) = 8.97 )

Congrats on the 300K, now for 400K !

Cheers,

Martin

Decided my 10K this afternoon would put into practice the 10 MPS routine and I'd focus on maintaining 2:00 / 25SPM and just hang on as long as possible (mindful that I only managed a few 1000m yesterday before tiring.

In summary, I set off well and maintained the 10 MPS for the first 4500m. I then got tired and did my best to keep the rate as close to 2:00 as possible but that meant increased stroke rate and sloppy strokes. Got back into the groove with 2000m to go and finished strongly. Final time of 40:05.4 broke my season's best by 40 seconds so I'm well pleased.

I must say I was motivated by you guys to pull this off as I kept thinking about how I'd like to post a reply on the forum about how your advice had helped me out. Particularly Martin and Carla who have been a real source of motivation, support and sound advice.

For those that are interested, my splits were as follows:

1:58.7 24spm
2:00.1 24spm
1:58.2 25spm
1:59.8 25spm
1:59.4 25spm
1:59.6 25spm
1:59.3 25spm
2:00.6 25spm
2:00.7 25spm
2:01.9 26spm
2:01.4 27spm
2:01.6 27spm
2:01.9 26spm
2:02.9 26spm
2:03.2 27spm
2:02.7 26spm
2:00.8 26spm
1:59.4 26spm
1:59.2 27spm
1:54.1 28spm

So lessons for me from this are:

1) Lower stroke rates mean increased focus on technique and result in a more efficient stroke
2) Need to work on strength and stamina
3) Do it for yourself and for those who have contributed through support, advice and motivation (that's you guys!!)

The only downside to this was that I was too tired to do my scheduled +2K (sorry team )

Great work, Niall! We miss your 2K but it sounds like you are making great progress. I have to admit that I frequently feel the same way while rowing--looking forward to posting about it really keeps me going.

I still find it helpful to be able to see the meters rolling by in order to make sure I'm getting 10MPS, though Martin's chart will help at times when I don't have that displayed. But if you are doing a distance piece (not time) you can still have the avg pace displayed and see the meters go by, since it counts them down for you at the top of the monitor.

What I do if I find I'm getting to the catch too soon--say at "1" instead of "0" (if the meters are counting down) is go ahead and pull, (don't sit there) but aim to get up there on the next stroke at 1. Initially this is easier to do by going up the slide slower, but of course you can do it by having a stronger drive, which is better than playing 'sneak up the rail'. Usually, during the course of a piece, I'll start pulling on 0's and end up going through all the numbers several times. If you're just a tiny tad short or long, eventually you'll end up changing numbers.

When I really get warmed up--it takes me quite a few km to really feel right--I find I'm just a tad over 10, and frequently end up pulling 11 MPS. Once I'm pulling 11, it's easy to maintain, because if you are watching the meters count down, the numbers go down, ie. your first pull is at 0, the next at 9, the next at 8, etc....if you are watching the meters count up, of course, it's the oppposite. Somehow this ends up being mildly entertaining, I don't know why.

It is harder to maintain the 10 MPS until it becomes natural by repetition. I know that all my PBs were set at any old stroke rate, and I'm looking forward to reaching them again at 10MPS. Because, once I can reach them at 10MPS, I know I will blow right by them if I then strap in and row at whatever stroke rate feels comfortable. That's the goal, anyway, but I need to develop a really good base this time around, before I start working on speed.

I think we will catch UNM over the next few weeks, don't you?
Carla

I think with our current form if we can maintain the metres we're all putting in right now not only will be blow Royal College's challenge for 7th out of the water (so to speak) but we'll overtake UoNM in the coming weeks. We're about 300K off them at the moment and in recent weeks we've been over 400K away.

Keep up the challenge guys, everyone's efforts however large or small will mean us getting closer to 6th; I can almost smell 6th place!!!

The battle between Carla and Martin for 9th place continues to hot up with the two of them changing positions daily right now. Yesterday (GMT) Carla was in 9th but clearly Martin's pulled in a 10K overnight (GMT).

Another great 10 K Niall, was it a season's PB ? You are making great progress at holding 10 MPS throughout your rows since Carla's advice on the subject. Keep it up as one of the big pluses of 10 MPS is that it encourages GOOD FORM for each stroke. Ragged/rushed/sloppy/'fighting-the-erg' type rowing and 10 MPS don't co-exist for very long !

I noticed on your last 10 K that you actually exceeded 10 MPS for almost half the piece before slowly fading. Perhaps a 'gentler' start may help in maintaining Good Form and 10 MPS in the all important third quarter of a piece, something along the lines of -

Rate 24, Pace 2.05 for about a K (to 'warm up'), then 25/2.00 for next 3K (to get into an aerobic 'groove'), then 26-27/1.55 ish for 3K ( i.e. work hard !) then do the final 3K at the same Rate/Pace if feeling good or drop back to 25/200 or 24/2.05 if a bit fatigued.

This approach may help 'strengthen' (psychologically if not physically) your performance in the 3rd quarter of the row. And when it is happening quite easily you can then go a bit harder in the earlier stages. If you find that it is getting too sloppy trying to hold 26-27/1.55 (ie the rating is tending to blow out at 1.55) then drop back to, say, 24/2.05 for a dozen strokes or so. At your current level of fitness (not to mention K's under the belt) this should allow you to 'recover' enough to go back to 26-27/1.55's. The over-riding objective being to hold Good Form at ALL stages of your row (may mean dropping back to 23/2.10 if 24/2.05 becomes ragged for example).

Another useful variation I do when I'm feeling a bit, well stuffed to put it bluntly before the session even gets underway is to set the DF to about 105-110 and concentrate on 10 MPS. Feels nice and light (very much like rowing in an eight) and necessitates a fast catch and firm drive with the legs at the start of the stroke to achieve 10 MPS. Good for developing correct technique and doesn't leave one quite so fatigued at the end of a long piece. Given the K's you are doing a low DF may help on 'flat' days (kinder on the back too I suspect).

I actually did 2 x 5K at the gym today on a DF of 108 as I was still flat from the 17.5K the other day, and felt surprisingly good during each (both sub 20 mins too) thanks to the low DF. So I've slipped ahead of Carla momentarily but given her level of fitness and enthusiasm I'm barely hanging in there !! You guys have been great motivators, I would never have contemplated a 60 min row 6 months ago and now I'm thinking of a HM (only thinking mind you) !!

All the best for your next row,

Martin

Yep, it was a season's best so I was very pleased indeed, especially beating my previous best by 40 seconds!

Many thanks for the continued tips. It's making a real difference to my progress.

Speedy,

I can see you're quietly pulling in those metres mate. While the rest of us are nipping the odd 10-16K a day you seem to be increasing in leaps and bounds (or is it my imagination?).

What's your average daily metres on the C2?

Carla,Martin,Nial.
You taffians luv the banter,and i like to read it.

Hit 700 thou today to put me a good few meters in front of Chris before he gets back from NZ.

Chippy.

Welcome Godfried, great to have an European Taff on board.

I logged on this morning to see if Carla has jumped over me, saw the 10.8 Million metres vs 10.4 for 6th and 7th and thought UoNM had gone back out to 400K gap. Then realised we were in 6th (thought it was through Speedy's and Carla's K's at first) !! . Great total K's Godfried, you have given Chippy (congrats on 700+) someone to chase before his sparring partner returns from NZ.

Martin

I'm so excited!

I finished my 10K (+2K warmup and 1K cooldown)--I knew it was a season's best and maybe a PB--and when I went to rank it in the log book, I got a message saying I needed an access code since it was a top ranking piece! That's never happened to me before!!!

I wrote down the splits--something I've never done before, and it's a good thing, since the cool down row I did after it took it off the monitor.

My goal for the row was to hold 2:08 but I surprised myself, and finished in 42:07.9, over a minute faster than my last effort, and 8 seconds faster than my 2 year old PB (rowed at a much higher rate).

2:08.4 24
2:07.3 24
2:06.4 24
2:07.0 24
2:06.9 23
2:06.6 24
2:06.3 23
2:07.2 24
2:07.3 24
2:07.1 23
2:07.1 24
2:06.9 23
2:06.5 23
2:06.7 23
2:06.1 24
2:05.5 23
2:06.5 24
2:06.3 23
2:05.0 24
2:01.0 25

I really love that avg pace display, I feel like I can do anything with that to focus on. Too bad that is not true! When I was done I hooted for about 10 breaths and was fine. I will probably feel like I got hit by a truck tomorrow morning, but right now I feel really great and not even tired.

Carla

Welcome Godfried! Your meters have pushed UNM right out of the water!

This is a kind of funny boat we are rowing in with 15 oarsman, but we are having a lot of fun in it. Speedy is our Stroke but we all take turns being cox.

Carla

WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU SPEEDY! Those Canadians can't hold a candle to the Welsh boys!

Carla

An excited Carla hooting away - now that would be a sight to behold

Looks like you rowed a perfect piece, nice and steady to start, consistently around 10 MPS throughout with a strong 3rd quarter. Fabtastic. Have you put it in the rankings yet ? (I looked for it under 40-49 W but could only see your 'old' SB of 43 mins).

Guess it's over to me for something special tomorrow at the gym,

Cheers,

Martin

PS That 72 year old Canadian chasing Speedy must live on his erg ! (wonder if he's Welsh ?)

Carla,

Fantastic news on the top ranking 10K time . It's a great achievement and I know how much work and effort you've put in to reach this standard. Well done!!

Godfried,

You've certainly made our day. In coming on board you've enabled us to jump to 6th place ahead of UoNM. Now we've got Supercanoa in 5th place to chase and I'm very excited at the prospect. Welcome to the team!!

Fantastic Godfried your on board, looking forward to the team getting to No 1 postition one day!!!!!!!!!!!

Godfried,
Welcome aboard. You helped us get over the hump of UofNM.

Carla,
YOU ROCK!! Way to go with the pb. And in the top of your class no doubt!!!

Speedy

I haven't been able to rank it yet, they haven't emailed me my special code, but I think it's #4 in my class. (Of course, now I have my eye on the #1 spot) It got me 957 Nonathlon points.

The ranking page isn't working right now, but as I recall, there are only about 40 women in my class, so being at the top of the list isn't the big deal it is to be on the top of the men's list. There are so many guys doing this, that you could be just as close, timewise, to the top time in an event as I am, and end up being placed 200th. Usually I like to find out where I would rank if I do all ages of women instead of 40--49, and when I feel like being humbled, I rank my times against the guys & gals....I'll do that tomorrow. Just don't feel like being humbled yet! It's too much fun resting on my laurels.

Carla

40 rowers in your class? I was starting to think you were in the 80-89 age group for a while their Carla!

Thanks for enlightening me furtehr down your posting.

As some of you may know I'm currently doing a 1Million Metre Challenge to raise money for a work colleague's daughter who has cerebral palsy (hence all this mad rowing). The target was to complete it in 5 months as I'd previously completed one in 6 months and wanted to have a harder target.

Uncharacteristically for me I did a straight 14,000m row today to enable me to reach the 250,000m milestone after 3 weeks. Firstly, this was a major milestone for me so I'm really happy to have reached it in just 3 weeks. Secondly, I now know why I tend to do 10,000m and not 14,000m; what a killer . I managed to complete it in 58:39.7 (2:05.7/500) which, again, I was pleased with (hopeful target set at the start).

And another 14,000m closer to Supercanoa in 5th place!

Nope. Only 15,408 to go (but who's counting?)

I'd better decide what picture I want for my avatar, as that's the perk I'm giving myself for finishing my first million!

Carla

Niall,

That means you'll finish 1Million in 3 months???? Wow....It's taken me about 1 1/2 years to go that far!

You must be looking pretty good on the Honor Boards these days.

Carla

As I didn't really start any rowing for this season until August, my daily average is only 2,441m. My total (ever) rowing metres is 2,942,379m so I'm looking forward to breaking the 3 million barrier next week. It'd be nice if I can get to 4 million by the end of this season though. It's certainly achievable at my current rate but depends on how long I can keep this going without injury. I'm keeping positive though and logging every metre done!

I am posting this so that I can't chicken out!

Today I'm taking off, and tomorrow I will do my first hour row of the season. I am planning on holding 2:08. If I can do 2:06.4 for 10K and finish strong, I ought to be able to do that. If I succeed, it will make 14062.5 meters and will take the #1 spot in my age class.

with my warm up and cool down it will bring me to a bit over that first million!

I'll let you know tomorrow if I make it. ... eek

Carla

Go for it Carla!

Without setting ourselves challenging targets, we never find out what we're capable of achieving. Good for you for announcing it publicly beforehand, I suspect this will further spur you on as you row as you'll be picturing in your mind how great you'll feel at the end having achieved your goal and posting your success on this forum thread.

You have our full support!