As a matter of process I suggest posting the day before your intention to do it and then posting the result the following day. The handicap is the average meters BEFORE you start erging.

So, puff up those pillows (for the seat) and start pulling.....

Mike

I think I'll try and talk my son into doing his on Saturday too.

I'll be doing mine this Saturday (24 Sep).

Taylor turns 4 on Friday, so your son will have the 3 year old rankings to conquer by himself now. I'd be interested to see when he "drops". (or when you finally get tired of telling him to row!)

Like your style man, get out first and set a strong target for everyone else to chase, nice!

Is there a target pace we have to do this at or do we just leave that to the individual conscience?

Good luck to Speedy and Bernard this weekend with the "Row 'til You Drop" challenge. Nice steady pace guys, no heroics! Saying that, I suspect Speedy's steady pace would be my heroic pace 

I plan on staying right around a 2:03. Nothing at all fast.

You mean 2:03 is not fast? Are you sure you have the 0 and the 3 the right way around, speedy? Goodness me!! If I see 2:03 it will mean I am doing a completely different session on a different day.

I'll be going very slow. Just paddling at a mere mortal's pace.

regs
Bernard

Speedy


I was speaking more out of astonishment and amazement than criticism.  For me 2:03 is UT1 approaching AT( about 1.56-1:58).

I appreciate you probably wouldn't want to divulge your training secrets, but, out of interest, how fast would a good hour rowing session be for you?  What kind of pace would you row it at?

I want erg like you when I grow up. 
Bernard Pru

I have no secrets when it comes to training. I share anything anyone wants to know. Why hide it??

A good hour session (one approaching pb pace) would be right around the 1:40'ish pace. Trying to keep a 28 to 29 stroke rate.

Since you average over a marathon a day, how long do you spend training each day?  Split sessions?  Intervals?  And what kind of pace do you do for intervals?  Your hour pace is the rest of humanity's interval pace!!!  What kind of times were you doing in your first year of erging?  (Maybe we don't want to know...feeling puny at the moment).

I spend about 90 minutes in the early morning, and another 60 minutes in the evening. I also hit the weights five times a week (add about another 90 minutes each time there as well).

Interval pace depends on the interval. It also depends on what kind of training I'm doing. Sorry that's vague.

The first time I ever did a 2k for time, I did a 7:36. I had no idea how to do one. I spent a week playing with the erg (basically doing five minute warm-ups in the gym) and then rowed another 2k. Hit a 7:16. I got some very superficial advise from a guy who rowed for UT when he was in college, and was doing sub-seven within a month. Mind you this was in the days when I used to keep my df at around a 180!! Crazy!!!

I didn't keep very good track of my progress my first year, but I was around the 6:20 range by the end of the first year. I know this because I was trying to beat the pb of the UT guy. And I remember doing that about a year after I started erging.

Here's to the 6'2" SoCal ex-military guys that married the chicks from Arizona!

we could start our own virtual club. Of course it would probably only be the two of us.

Don't worry Taffs. I'm staying put.

I spend about 90 minutes in the early morning, and another 60 minutes in the evening. I also hit the weights five times a week (add about another 90 minutes each time there as well).

The first time I ever did a 2k for time, I did a 7:36. I had no idea how to do one. I spent a week playing with the erg (basically doing five minute warm-ups in the gym) and then rowed another 2k. Mind you this was in the days when I used to keep my df at around a 180!! Crazy!!!

I didn't keep very good track of my progress my first year, but I was around the 6:20 range by the end of the first year. I know this because I was trying to beat the pb of the UT guy. And I remember doing that about a year after I started erging.

From what you're saying then, Speedy, you improved very quickly at the beginning, say first year of erging, and then gradually improved thereafter.  When did you hit your first plateau and how did you get over it?

The fact you do weights is interesting, because I was led to believe it did not have that much of an effect on your rowing.  Is weightlifting something you did before erging or did you add the weight sessions to help your rowing?

By my very elementary mathematics you train for 4 hours five times a week.  Are you never so exhausted that you just want to walk away from the machine?  Two hours a day - maximum - is enough for me.

Did bringing your df down from 180 lead to better times or was it just easier to train longer and harder?  Did it lead to a greater focus on good technique?

You say in the beginning you didn't know how to row a 2k.  Did you mean technically or tactically?  Did you receive coaching then or did you just make it up as you went along using forums like this for motivation and information?

You're a real inspiration Sir Adams.

Sorry about the questions, but it's like when I row, once I start I find it hard to stop.  One last question.  I'm sure you've mentioned this before, but how long have you been erging/rowing?

I'd ask more questions but I would probably get the cyberspace equivalent to a smack in the mouth.  This not at the top of my list of things to do before I die.

regs
Bernard

Thanks for answering my questions Speedy.  In spite of my advanced years, I get a childish inquisitiveness(is that a word?) which I work hard to control or keep to myself but it gets the better of me sometimes.

I guess I'll just shut up and row now

regs
Bernard Pru

Nial

Good luck for Sunday,think sub 7 is on the cards looking at your training times and
if you feel good on the day. Make sure you go on the B of the bang of the start


Chippy 

Bernard,

Just shut up and row!! 
You could have done a 10K in the time it took you to type out all these questions

You're a real inspiration Sir Adams.

I second that.

Do you monitor yourself for overtraining, or is that simply not an issue? I ask because that's a lot of meters you erg.

A related question: Do you put in that many meters when you are rowing on the water instead of erging?

Byron

Hi


Another 14k added to the total today.  I'll eat loads tonight to prepare for tomorrow's madness(Any excuse to stuff my face).  I'll row 5k before I retire and start the row around midday - Football Focus time.

I was thinking of rowing 50 minutes in every hour, is that allowed?  Or do I have to just keep going and going and going.  What if West Brom - my football team - score, am I allowed to stop to celebrate.  If we won I'd have to stop out of stunned disbelief.

Speedy, what kind of food should I eat whilst rowing til I drop.  I suspect crisps and cans of pop are out!

Ah well...

Bernard Pru

I'm taking this challenge literally. Row 'til I drop. With the exception of loo breaks, I'll do just that.

I'm going to have plenty of Gatoraid and Goo on hand. Not sure if Goo is sold over seas or not. It's basically a paste with a whole lot of carbs and calories in it.

Bill,
Thanks for the vote of confidense, but I've never rowed past five hours all at once. And then it was everything I could do to peel myself off the bl**dy machine!!

Somewhere I read once that there was a chap that rowed for a continuous 36 hours. Holy cr*p!!!

My mistake on that folks....longest continual row for a man is 72 hours!!!!

On water meters are so much harder to accumulate. Especially when you only have a two mile stretch of water to work with. You keep having to turn around. That eats up a bunch of time.

I'm afraid I won't be able to take this challenge as literally as you guys are....call me a wimp....so far the furthest I've gone since starting up again with any regularity ( in September) has been 15K. So I am planning to just row for 2 hours and see how far I make it.  I don't feel like I am ready for marathon type distances, but could do an HM +without risk of injury.  This will obviously not win the challenge for me, but will help my endurance and help the team meters, so I'm doing it even though I truly don't feel like it at all!!!

Looking forward to hearing everyone's reports!

Cramped up something awful!! Only four hours put in (not used to doing it all at once). Got to have alot more Gu and Gator-aid present next time.

58680 total meters. About a 2:02.7 average.

58680 total meters. About a 2:02.7 average.