Looks like it's really heating up for 2/3/4th spot. I've passed half a million this AM for the first time But then Martin clocked 28k overnight Been mixing long haul with 2k training and is that taxing on the legs....anyway I'm getting fitter and faster

Well done Wilko on the half million! Keeping pressure on Martin will keep him from getting complacent .

Keep thos emetres coming and you'll find your fitness and performance increasing.

GO TAFFS!!

Taffs,
Help me in welcoming aboard Mick Halligan, our newest Taff.

Welcome Mick.

Speedy

Welcome aboard, Mick! What did you fly? (assuming you flew, that is).

A big WELCOME Mick, good to have you (and your meters) on board.

Welcome Mick.....

To my fellow Taffians: Any forecasts for the lions score on the weekend? I have to admit I think our only hope is the weather. If it going to be as bad as they say we could actually have a chance. If not then it could be a long morning.

Maybe we could a competition to see who can row furthest during the game including half time (probably two hours in total)?

New Zealand 35 v 12 British and Irish Lions

Nial
Im with you on that score,to many of our fellow Taffs will in the stand and not on
the pitch

Got a pb for 500m today 1.29:0. I was going to have a go at 2k but with all this
stormy sticky weather there seemed to be a lack of oxygen about.

Wonder if the Pirate has had to put foot on land untill the storms blow over,lock up your daughters.

Chippy

Great result with the 500m PB Chippy.

Loves the Pain and you're the man!!

QUOTE

Got a pb for 500m today 1.29:0

Way to go, Chippy!!!

Welcome, Mick. Where are you from? Do you water row?

Well the final result was New Zealand 21 v 3 British and Irish Lions. I wasn't that close to the actual scores but got pretty near the winning margin.

All I'll say on the matter is a big "I told you so!" to Sir Clive Woodward. Poor selection for both the 15 and 22. O'Driscoll could have been replaced with Shanklin or Henson had the correct selections been made. As it was we had Greenwood (yikes!). Robinson was also ineffective, Wilkinson (who was selected for his kicking) was a no-show (although to be fair, he did have some good hits on the opposition). Ryan Jones and Dwayne Peel were the only shining lights in a very poor Lions performance (which goes to show you wont beat the All Blacks by playing boring English rugby; it's gonna take some flair and that's where the Welsh players come in). Time for Woodward to eat a big slice of humble pie and accept he was wrong with his selections (and make it right for the 2nd Test).

Fantastic 500m PB Chippy, looks like your training program is really paying dividends. I don't think I can pull 1:29 for 1 stroke let alone average that for 60+ Looks like someone ignored the "DO NOT FEED" sign and slipped a few PB Power Bars though the bars Well done indeed my sparring partner boyo mate

I'm coming at the 2K from the other direction, just did a very satisfying 60 miniter today, gym was empty and body felt strong for a change. New PB of 16097m - very happy. Thought I was going to die coming up to the 10k mark trying to hold sub 1:51 Ave Pace so went for it near 10K to ensure a 10K PB at least (approx 36:56) and then stopped for a drink and a few easy strokes as the clock kept ticking down. Then something said 'get going you slacko' (or words to that effect) so away we went to the 60 mins. DF 108 and SPM 26-28.

Welcome to the Taff Clan Mick, albeit in somewhat sad circumstances I guess. Are you at sea now, trying to erg on a rolling deck ? Or based on dry land ?

Good call on the Pommy Lions Niall, I too can't understand why the Welsh contingent wasn't out in force, especially as Wales almost knocked over NZ in the 2003 World Cup with thier attacking style of play. Well done on nearly catching the leading pack in the team standings, you are looking strong for Evesham.

Well done Mike Wilko on putting the heat on 3rd spot. With all those Ks under your belt you must be ready to tackle that sub 7 soon ?

Cheers all,

Martin

PS If I went through 30 mins in 8119m and 10K in 36:56 on the way to completing the 60 min row can I also put these in Nonathlon ????

Yes, so long as the time includes the start - you can't take the last 30 minutes of a row, or 30 minutes in the middle, for example.

Nice rowing!

Bill

Thanks Bill, yes the 8119m was for the first 30 mins and 36:56 for the first 10k. Not sure if I'll put them in, was more out of curiosity that I asked. However if those feats prove elusive later on then that's another story !

Martin

[

Good call on the Pommy Lions Niall, I too can't understand why the Welsh contingent wasn't out in force, especially as Wales almost knocked over NZ in the 2003 World Cup with thier attacking style of play. Well done on nearly catching the leading pack in the team standings, you are looking strong for Evesham.

Well done Mike Wilko on putting the heat on 3rd spot. With all those Ks under your belt you must be ready to tackle that sub 7 soon ?

Cheers all,

Martin

PS If I went through 30 mins in 8119m and 10K in 36:56 on the way to completing the 60 min row can I also put these in Nonathlon ????

[/quote]

Awesome row Martin. Wish I could hold that sort of pace. I've concentrating on long distances with stroke rates etc for the last week or so hence the K's being built. Maybe it is time to take a day or two off and built up for a bash at the 2k time. Don't think I'm close to sub-7 yet but could go sub 7.10. The problem is the knowledge that it is going to be hard and horrible - not so much the pull itself but the 10-15 mins afterwards when your body trys to normalise itself.

Dissappointing lions game yesterday. Listened to Lord Bald (SCW) this morning trying to explain tactics etc and he was far from convincing. He was pushed on including more Welsh in the team and was not forthcoming I just hope he is big enough to acknowledge his errors by picking a more Taff orientated team

I'm mixing in a lot of biking with the rowing to prepare for a century charity ride on July 24. Today's plan was 3 x 25 miles, the first two suppposed to be around 14 mph, the last one with husband to keep me going as the furthest I've biked yet is 54 miles or so. But I went out too fast, not pushing but just where I was pretty comfortable and finished the first 25 with an avg of 15.9. I set out on the second one and pretty soon realized that there was going to be a huge thunderstorm and the third go wasn't going to happen so I pushed it and the total ride averaged 15.6. I really felt dreadful afterwards. It was 94 degrees and over 90% humidity and I was just sapped when I got home. I have to find someone who can go the whole distance with me that will keep me at 14 so I can work the miles up because I know there is just no way in the world I can keep that pace up for 75 or 100 miles. Or maybe get my two sons and husband to each go a 25 mile leg with me. But alone I just haven't been succesful at keeping the pace slow enough to go the distance.

It is getting more and more tempting to upgrade from this relatively heavy (37 lbs) bike to a more modern one that would weigh say 20 lbs. If I do that, I will still ride this one to train and the light one when I wanted to keep up with the fast riders--I'm pretty sure I would average 18--20 mph instead of 15--17 mph on a lighter machine.

Big concert to play July 3 (with fireworks! biggrin.gif ) so probably not a lot more rowing this week--too much music to learn in too short a time.


Martin, way to go on your great new HOUR pb 16097!!! Is it getting sort of cooler in Australia these days while we are having the hazy hot & humids?

I'm mixing in a lot of biking with the rowing to prepare for a century charity ride on July 24. Today's plan was 3 x 25 miles, the first two suppposed to be around 14 mph, the last one with husband to keep me going as the furthest I've biked yet is 54 miles or so. But I went out too fast, not pushing but just where I was pretty comfortable and finished the first 25 with an avg of 15.9. I set out on the second one and pretty soon realized that there was going to be a huge thunderstorm and the third go wasn't going to happen so I pushed it and the total ride averaged 15.6. I really felt dreadful afterwards. It was 94 degrees and over 90% humidity and I was just sapped when I got home. I have to find someone who can go the whole distance with me that will keep me at 14 so I can work the miles up because I know there is just no way in the world I can keep that pace up for 75 or 100 miles. Or maybe get my two sons and husband to each go a 25 mile leg with me. But alone I just haven't been succesful at keeping the pace slow enough to go the distance.

It is getting more and more tempting to upgrade from this relatively heavy (37 lbs) bike to a more modern one that would weigh say 20 lbs. If I do that, I will still ride this one to train and the light one when I wanted to keep up with the fast riders--I'm pretty sure I would average 18--20 mph instead of 15--17 mph on a lighter machine.

Big concert to play July 3 (with fireworks! ) so probably not a lot more rowing this week--too much music to learn in too short a time.


Martin, way to go on your great new HOUR pb 16097!!! Is it getting sort of cooler in Australia these days while we are having the hazy hot & humids?

Thanks Carla, 16K was one of those magic milestones and I was chuffed to make it to say the least. Weather in southern Oz is lovely and mild (northern Oz is either hot and dry or hot and humid !) - 60 F and sunny, dry days, frosts at night. Ideal PB weather.

Amazing you managed 2 sets of 25 miles at that pace on your heavy bike in 94 F/90% humidity, hope the 100 miler at the end of July sees cooler less humid conditions or you will need a huge water bottle !

Pity you are not able to be up with us on the Ks ladder, it's a bit of fun trying to hold the others at bay and keep Byron just in sight on the horizon

Enjoy you last (for a while ?) concert on the 3rd. I'll be struggling on a HM run on that day and will be super sore afterwards if last year is anything to go by. Got plenty of erg Ks in the body, very few road Ks though !

Cheers

Martin

Fantastic 60mins PB Martin! I remember what it was like breaking the 15,000m barrier so can only imagine how it feels to break the 16,000m mark .

Been a quiet weekend as far as rowing is concerned (i.e. no chance to get to the gym ) so haven't been able to add any metres to the Team total. Great work by Lynsey to pass me and stretch her lead over the weekend, she's really put in a lot of metres this weekend!

Chippy's gone a bit static with the metres so suspect he's started his tapering for Evesham very early or he hasn't had chance to log his metres.

Hi Carla,

I like this idea. Yes, you will fly on a nice lightweight racing road bike with good high pressure (120 psi) tires. Not only that, for most of your riding you can relax with a nice light effort and high cadence. You can save the bursts of power for uphills, where a light bike with good wheels and tires makes a huge difference.

You'd be surprised at how many people my age have knee problems, mostly I suspect because they are very strong and mash while cycling. A lighter bike will help you save your knees for your old age. (From my point of view, you're just a youngster.)

Byron

I find myself sometimes "mashing" --good description--and just discovered last year that it really helps to purposely pretend I'm running, not biking, when I do uphills. This makes me think: lift, lift, lift, not stamp, stamp, stamp, and it makes me go up hill much faster (even though I have my toe clips very very loose, so I don't really get to lift the pedals with them, they just keep me from clumsily having my feet fall off the pedals and crashing). Basically any time I feel my legs are acting heavy and slow I stop thinking about pushing and think about lifting and it makes all the difference in the world.

Sorry, Taffs for turning this into a biking forum!

[

I'm coming at the 2K from the other direction, just did a very satisfying 60 miniter today, gym was empty and body felt strong for a change. New PB of 16097m - very happy. Thought I was going to die coming up to the 10k mark trying to hold sub 1:51 Ave Pace so went for it near 10K to ensure a 10K PB at least (approx 36:56) and then stopped for a drink and a few easy strokes as the clock kept ticking down. Then something said 'get going you slacko' (or words to that effect) so away we went to the 60 mins. DF 108 and SPM 26-28.

Martin
Way to go martin,this tapering down from the marathon seems to be working a treat. Mabye we have stumbled on something here, could be a best seller.
Great row man.

Nial
Got one more real hard session tomorrow 6x1.30 mins @ 1.41 pace then four
taper down rows to Evesham. Training with Porky my baby brother so might
get some of that lard of him.

Chippy

Bl**dy h*** Chippy that’s some going young fella m'lad
To celebrate you will be allowed aboard the good ship Pirate which will be at Evesham the week after next, You my share the use of my female cabin staff

Sir Pirate

Well done Martin, awsome row!

PB for me tonight 10,000 in 38:12.2 (18.7 seconds faster). Feel like S--t now though

Dykie (Ebbw Vale boyo)

Dykie,

Fantastic PB mate, really hitting form at the right time. We're certainly going to live up to our team name at Evesham!!!

I did a 4x500m (1:45-1:48, 34spm+ maxHR) session this morning:

1) 500m 1:44.7 31spm avg159bpm
2) 500m 1:44.9 30spm peak181bpm avg167bpm
3) 500m 1:45.3 30spm peak186bpm avg171bpm
4) 500m 1:45.7 30spm peak189bpm avg173bpm

Pleased that I was able to hold the 1:45 target pace pretty much throughout each set. Disappointed with:

- the start of each set as they were slow and I played catch up for the rest of the set to get it down to 1:45 (last two sets unsuccessfully!)
- lack of ability to row at a high SR (>32spm) effectively. If I'm to challenge for medals (to raise the profile of Taff Attack) then I need to be able to row at 32-35spm. (Jon Goodall's agreed to help me out here next Sunday at my gym

Click on my Blog for furthe rdetails of this session and my 3x1250 session yesterday.

Dykie, great 10K PB mate. To break your old PB by nearly 20 secs must have been a top effort indeed. Not too far off the magical 38 min barrier - I have only cracked it once and it's a great feeling (once the pain wears off that is !). Go for it !!

Nice 500s Niall, must be getting itchy for that 2K soon ? One way I increase rating is to ease off with the arms at the finish so they can change direction more quickly. Doesn't seem to cost much in lost power per stroke and allows 3-4 more SPM. For a quick start (and to 'save' the lower back) I do 5-6 half-slide strokes at about 45 SPM before lengthening out - feels great and really gets the wheels spinning.

Just back from a 29K muck-around-with-the-guys at the gym to give me 600,000m and a place (last !) in the 10000m+ category Thanks go to Byron then Mike Wilko for pushing me along. Off to Queensland for 3 weeks so not sure how much erging will happen - keep that #3 spot warm for me Mike By the way, with all those Ks under the belt I think you would be pleasantly surprised if you tried a 2Ker soon - just do a bit of speed work beforehand.

Next PB attempt is 10K Chippy so still a way off 2K (30 min then 6K then 5K then ...).

Martin

Sir p
Best offer i have had in ages, hope Cathy R is one of your crew

Dykie
Great pb fella.

Nial
7 MINS has got to be on the cards, a week after Evesham could be the time.
Been haming it up with Porky tonight,managed to work a few slices of bacon
of him

Chippy

Excellent stuff, well done. \o/

BL**DY h*** Daren!! You've been doing some stealth rowing mate. Just took a look at the team standings and noticed you're well up there. Good on ya!!

Keep it going!!

Looks like he's giving you some meter competition eh Niall?

Yeh, I'm hoping Eddie will let me do a flat out 2K after Evesham as I'm confident of going under 7:00 for the 2K (in fact I think I'll smash it!!).

Hehe, Niall, just doing what I did last year, really. 2 or 3 30 minute rows per day, maybe one 60 minute row in there too. It's all about the weight loss for me at the moment, so the more I do, the better. Scales said 13st 0.5lb this morning, so I've dropped about 4 or 5lb this month. Could be faster, I guess, but that'd mean giving up all the yummy stuff.

I look forward to seeing you smash that 2k 7 minute barrier. Shame Evesham's only a mile, really.

Bah double post.

Daren,

I've given you encouragement to get back erging and what do you do, overtake me in the team standings . Time for catchup for me (again!!!) but it'll have to wait until after Evesham.

Keep it going mate, all metres are Taff Attack metres as far as I'm concerned so keep plugging away at those 30mins/60mins sessions!

I'm gunning for second spot. I have my work cut out for me, starting off a month behind the pack, though. I'd aim for top slot, but I ain't a superhuman. =/

Lightweight!!!

[Exits sharp left...at pace]

I challenge all to take my spot. That would really add some meters to the TA total.

Speedy

If we all "ganged up" on you Speedy, we'd still all be in second place!

Well done Dykie

Porky.

Finally let the mrs. do some more meters?

I try and get the missus to do meters all the time. She's just not the fanatic that I am.

I think i have that worked out now, so now i would like to know how to quote part of the text, certain lines etc. If anyone can help please.

PORKY

Just quote the whole lot and then edit out (delete) the bits you don't want. You can remove anything between the opening [quote=...] and the closing [/quote ].

You can remove anything between the opening


Cheers, butty.

Porky

Welders hey, igh aint veyer fault veyer fick.

I will have to work on that one. Sorry havent been helping so much with the team meters lateley, hope to get back on track soon. I did do a training session with chippy the other night as he is in training for evesham on the 9th. we warmed up and then did some interval training, (all new stuff to me?) i did enjoy it, but i wasnt doing the same intensity as the chip. It did make it more enjoyable with someone else by your side even though the 500m est were a bit different, keep up the good work everybody,

P, to the ork, y.

Hey fellow Taffs!
Since no one has posted today I thought I would and update everyone since I haven't posted much this season.
June 3rd I graduated with 2 degrees - Honours Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education (P/J). It was such a great day! Finally could take a big sigh of relief after a very tough few years.
I'm trying to up my rowing meters from 50k a week to 60k or better. I've managed most weeks so far. I've just begun another course to allow me to also teach intermediate level students (@ age 12-15) so my time is getting limited again for rowing...but I will keep trying!
My times are slowly, but surely starting to drop again close to where I was a few years ago. I'm hoping to post some SPBs (season personal bests) by the end of the month to get me back into competitive mode again! And of course, I'm going to try to give Martin a run with the meters (especially if he doesn't post many in the next few weeks to give me a chance to catch up!)
Okay, back to work I go. I managed to add 14k to the Taffy bank today and plan on about 12k tomorrow.

DB

Congratulations Debra. Two degrees...way to go!

So I've thrown the gauntlet down to all but Dwayne on the meters board after putting in a big couple of weeks. Hopefully I can keep it going next week but I really fancy a shot at the 2k PB which means resting

Mike

Congratulations on the degrees, Debra, that's really great stuff. I dropped out of my degree. \o/ That was mainly because I decided I didn't want to be a teacher, though. =)

No metres for me today, as I'd doing garden stuff such as preparing a base for my shed that arrives tomorrow.

Mucho congrats on the degrees Debra.

Speedy

I think you'll be able to keep safely ahead of all of us even with some rest! I believe Martin is away for a while (?) and I'm a l-o-n-g way off from catching up with you. Rest and have a fantastic go at the 2k PB!!

DB
PS wait, isn't there someone else close to your meters in there? I'll have to go and check.