The camp report is done (click Blog below). So this photo is just for Martin (can't believe I'm doing this )



(For info, the photo was taken at work when we had a "Wear Pink for Breast Cancer Week" - the pink boa was my daughter's by the way )

Hi Niall,

I love the pink. Here is a photo of two eights with pink ribbon rowers at the Head of the Grand, a regatta that I was in yesterday.



The photo was taken by Julie, a member of our local rowing club.

Byron

Hey there fellow Taffs. Been in Asia (Thailand) for about two weeks now, and haven't had any real access to the internet. I am putting in the meters over here (using the erg in the hotel), but haven't had the chance to log any of them. Still have another week or two (depending on the job), so the meters will have to wait until then to be logged.

Martin,
Great photos. Good to see what you look like. Great job on the race.

Hope to write more soon. Keep up the meters all.

Speedy

Hi all


Great pictures Martin. Interesting blog entry Niall. I tend to do a 15 minute warmup rather than 20 and I try to add technique drills I picked up along the erging journey in there as well. It sounds like a useful and informative session..

After a marvellous, relaxing 90 minute erg yesterday, it was back to earth a crashing bump today.

I did 3x7 minute AT and boy it was a nightmare. My heart rate was fine and I recovered ok; it was the breathing, I couldn't! This hasn't happened for a while but for the final two minutes of each work period I was simply hanging on. At least I managed to maintain 26 spm all the way through. I did 3x500m intervals before warming down and found those ok.

I think I'm going to have to cut out the long rows and concentrate on UT1 and AT stuff.

regs
Bernard Pru

Great writeup thanks Niall, especially given you had to redo it after being logged off the first time round. Sounded like a top camp to be at, wish I could have partaken too. I guess as Eddie has been your coach as well then there wasn't anything particularly new for you regarding training, racing and strategies but the insight into things like Pace/Watts, the Ageing process and the like would have been fascinating.

Speaking of which, AussiePan and the Boyz from Never-Never land Down Under noticed your trepidation re impact of Ageing vis-a-vis Performance. So we have come up with some feelgood strategies to hopefully counter any sense of disappointment as time marches on :-

1. When going for a PB never row the same distance twice, This way one will ALWAYS PB no matter what one's age. For the very frequent (daily) erger anticipating a long and healthy life this may require a recalibration of the monitor to show distance in centimetres to ensure one doesn't run out of new distances.

2. If the official Ranking distances/times are one's thing then always aim to PB by the minimum amount possible (0.1 secs for time and 1 metre for distance - even less if recalibration of monitor is effected). This should allow one to PB 5-6 times a year in each category without setting too difficult a task for next year, esp. if the initial PB is nice and soft. Of course in your case Niall this may mean you don't go Sub 7 until about 2020 but hopefully the feelings of eternal youth outweigh any sense of lack of progress !

3. Apply liberal doses of Anti-ageing cream before and after erg sessions. Not sure if this will help with PBs but should work a treat for photo-shoots as the years roll by.

I'm sure you will come up with others along the same lines - they certainly have done the trick for me

Once again thanks for taking the trouble to share the experience Niall and the classic photo - shades of Carole Mac and her troupe of Erg Bunnies ! Good luck for Newark this coming weekend and for the lead-up to BIRC.

Cheers,

Martin

Thanks Dwayne, Bernie Pru. I was very happy with the outcome given it was my first competition. Looking forward to next year already.

Martin

Martin

Nice photos Martin and what a fine looking venue. For your first race i think
you did a great job . Do not think we should take any notice of Nialls coach
with the Age thing, my wife says i act more like a kid every day.

Niall
Good luck for the weekend.

John Thomas
Think you can come and take me on,Rowing,biking,wieghts, do not think so
When you can beat the Porkster give me a call.


Chippy

John Thomas
Think you can come and take me on,Rowing,biking,wieghts, do not think so
When you can beat the Porkster give me a call.


Chippy  

[/quote]

Hello there firstly i would like to thank you for welcoming me to the team so hospitably. I thought that it is time to give you a call coz although you would never know by his size that porky is actually small fry. Anyway really enjoying the rowing but would appreciate some tips as i am still an eager novice. oh and it is Chris not John, must be the same case as yours I am the leaner of my brothers.

All the best Chris

"Gook,"

I don't know what your background is or where you are from, so please don't take this as a personal attack.

The word you have chosen as a screen name has a fifty-odd-year history, at least in the United States, as a vicious, racist slur. I assume that you came to use it in an innocent fashion, and mean no offense, but you may want to consider changing it to something else.

Regards,

You know the old saying: You're only young once, but you can always be immature.

That's basically my philosophy of life.

Byron

[quote=gook,Oct 28 2005, 11:42 AM]
John Thomas
Think you can come and take me on,Rowing,biking,wieghts, do not think so
When you can beat the Porkster give me a call.


Chippy  

[/quote]

Hello there firstly i would like to thank you for welcoming me to the team so hospitably. I thought that it is time to give you a call coz although you would never know by his size that porky is actually small fry. Anyway really enjoying the rowing but would appreciate some tips as i am still an eager novice. oh and it is Chris not John, must be the same case as yours I am the leaner of my brothers.

All the best Chris


[/quote]

Chris
New you would bite if i called you John. Gets my back up when people call me Bernie Seems we both have fat ugly brothers. I will get your phone number
from Porky to sort out some training sessions. Talking of John how is he, aint seen him for a while

Chippy

Newark IRC

Another great event in the British Indoor Rowing Calendar.

I managed a PB in the mile with a time of 5:41.7 (1:46.2) improving on my old PB from Evesham of 5:44.0 (1:46.9). Race plan was to do first 500m in 1:46 then steady pace at 1:47 up to 1250m. Decision would then be made as to whether to kick home.

No idea yet of what my splits were (hope to have them midweek) but think first 500m was probably a little lower than 1:46. Focused on 1:47 splits thereafter and pretty much stuck to it up to half way then saw a couple of 1:48/1:49s but quickly got back to 1:467s. Decided to hold off the kick home to 200m to go and then really ramped up with some 1:39s (not sure how many though). Came 4th in my age/weight category but that doesn't matter as I was competing against myself and no one else.

SR was around 29/30spm so shows power per stroke has improved as Evesham (July 9th 2005) was all around 32spm.

Personal highlight of the day for me was when Chris Brett (Rowing God) came up to me and commented that towards the end of the race everyone's stroke was looking ragged but mine was still spot on (he went on to say later that my stroke was the best he'd seen all day). Comments like this from a guy with such a great pedigree really made me feel great and shows all the work I've done on my technique is paying off. Just need to develop my strength for that leg drive.

Race highlights included:

- Graham Benton's Open Hwt World Record of 4:35.x, quite staggering especially when you consider he didn't put in any home sprint
- Dan Staite's 30+ Lwt British Record of 5:04.9
- Tracy Watkins 30+ Hwt World Record

I also got roped into doing the 10mins Team Relay. This was the first time for me and it was mad fun! 12 strokes then changeover!! And who'd have believed it, but we won!!! Many thanks to my team mates, Cathy, Craig, and Alex.

Photos and video to follow!!

Wow, Niall, that's great! Fantastic improvement in meters per stroke and the way you maintained your form throughout the race. Your hard work training is really paying off!

Hello Taffs,
Back home at last!!! Good to be back. Real food...finally!!! No offense to those that enjoy Asia food, but it just isn't for me.

This should mean the meters will start back in at a regular pace. Maybe we can up ourselves a notch eh?

Still feeling a bit 'o jet lag, so am going to catch a quick nap.

Ciao

"We keep you alive to serve this ship. So row well and live." Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins)

Hello Taffs,Blod and i just back from Tenerife,black sands,blue ocean,sun we,re both brown all over!! Time to get on the erg add our metres to the team effort,da iawn to all our new recruits,it hurts me to say WELL DONE to an Ebbw boy(Dykie) ace rowing butt!!!
Superb result Rickster for your selection into the Welsh squad to play in the World Champs in Karachi in November
Chippy,ready for some proper training Blod is ready,gym is ready,we can take some weights off when you start
Nos da, Ramboyo and Blod.
P.S.
Thanks for the birthday wishes Speedty et al.

Great PB and rowing form Niall, looks like the training program is serving you really well. Bring on BIRC !

Currently visiting mum in Queensland for a couple of weeks so the rowing will take a back seat somewhat. Hot and humid in the gym, no air con.

Martin

Have a great visit, I hope your mom is feeling chipper. I was going to say, with your weather going hot & humid, maybe now I could catch up on the meters....but you're about 1.3 M ahead..so not too likely!

I just downloaded all the Wolvering Plan stuff and mean to give it a go, primarily because I'm bored with the workouts I've been doing, which have been on the aimless side. I remember from trying this before that I went a little nutso trying to get the rate matched to the pace using the PM1; now I have PM2, it might be easier, or I'll use a metrenome (with 3 beats for every stroke, because no one makes a metrenome that goes as slow as you need for one/stroke). At the very least it will add variety to my week and I won't be trying to figure out what I'm going to do as I sit down at the erg.

WELCOME HOME SPEEDY! Doesn't the hot Thai food make you row faster? Looking forward to seeing the Taff numbers surge ahead!

Good luck with the new program Carla.

Just been analysing my mile at Newark. Race plan was 1:46 for first 500m and then settle into 1:47 up to 1250m before making decision whether to kick home. On the day I decided to kick with 250m to go so the race data shows:

0-500m 1:46.1 32spm
500-1350m 1:47.9 30spm
1350-1609m 1:41.2 37spm

So although not a perfect match with plan, it still resulted in a PB and maybe I'm better off with a race plan that allows a fast finish rather than a flatter profile.

Here's a graph showing the stroke data:

Evening fellow Taffs...PhilT called me this evening complaining I had not posted for a while so here it is.

Good result on the weekend Nial. My only comment would be if you finished that fast then you can probably squeeze a couple of more seconds out your legs during the mid-part of the race. I'm going to have a bash at a quick time this week so maybe we can compare notes!

PhilT reckons he could go sub 6.30 at Cardiff which means I have to get below 7.05 (sub seven is still a bit too much of a stretch!)

Mike

Hi all



Great PB Niall mate!! Sounds as though you're tuning up nicely for BIRC and sub 7. It looks to me as it's all there ready to go.

I'm coping ok with AT now and my fast times are coming down, so all is ok with me at the moment.

Good luck with the Wolverine plan. Carla and congratulations to Rickster for making the Welsh Squash team. I'm going back a few years but I could swear a tall Welsh guy(His name escapes me, why has the name Evans popped into my head?) won the British open and Wales have always had good players so it's a h*** of an achievement.

Nice you're back in one piece Dwayne. I really like Thai, Chinese and Indian food, though.

regs
Bernard Pru

Great mile Niall. Care for some pointers?

Absolutely Speedy, point away! I'm always keen to learn so any suggestions, pointers, recommendations would be very welcome.

From what I saw in your splits, you're being to timid. You dropped your splits by approx five seconds with about 300m left. This tells me that you've got the potential to go alot faster than you have been. Don't be afraid to take it out a bit faster during the body of your piece.

You probably could have held a 1:45 (or faster) for the body of the piece, and still had enough to drop another couple of seonds for your sprint.

I don't doubt one bit that you have the potential to go well below sub-7 in your 2k. You just need to be willing to leave the tank absolutely empty by the time the 2000'th meter comes up.

Great race. When's your next one?

Cheers Speedy, really appreciate the comments.

I know I'm always worried I wont have enough left at the end for a sprint so hold back. Think I need some pain training!!

Tomorrow will be a good opportunity to test this out as I've got a 8x500m session (target pace is 1:47)! Time for a new MaxHR me thinks!!!

How do you do your rest periods for your 500s? Is it an active rest, or a complete rest?

And how much rest do you take between 500s?

90 seconds inactive rest.
Rest periods involve me writing down my HR stats for the set, trying to relax and then programming the model D for the next set (i.e. Rerow option).

Suggestion - Take a bit more time between 500s. Up to 3 minutes if needed, and drop those split times. By as much as 10 sec if you can.

Program all eight 500s into the PM3 with 3 minute rest periods. Then shoot for a 1:37 split. I'm thinkin' you may have a problem right at the start, but not much of one. I really think you have the potential to go alot faster than what you're currently doing.

Worst case, lower those splits by at least five seconds (1:42), but don't be shy. Be aggresive.

You doing BIRC? If so, this is the time to buckle down for it.

Sorry Speedy but my training plan is set by my coach so if he says 90 seconds then that's what I do. He also knows my goals and my physiology (through testing) and that's what he bases the plans on.

I fully respect your guidance and if I didn't have a formal, structured training plan (which I pay for), I'd definitely be giving it a go.

I've compared my SR with others in my race category from Saturday and found I'm rating a lot lower. The SR for the splits on Saturday for myself and the top two placed Lwts were:

Me: 32 / 30 / 33 / 39

DS: 38 / 34 / 37 / 43 (came in at 5:04.9 for a new British Record)
MN: 34 / 32 / 36 / 47 (came in at about 5:20)

So tomorrow's session, I'm going to try and rate higher than I normally would (I'd normally do it at 33-34spm) and see if I feel the pain!

Next race is BIRC by the way!

I hear ya Niall. Go with what you've got then.

On a side note...talk to your coach about going faster. You have it in you man, I know it.

Speedy, you really are an inspiration. I'm fired up for tomorrow's session now and looking forward to some pain. I want to feel it, I want to deal with it, and I want to welcome it from now on.

I'm going to exclude "timid" from my vocabulary!!

Many thanks!!!

FYI Taffs...We have two Taffs in the top ten in the Nonathlon.

Can we make it three???

Yes Pru,your memory serves you well The tall dark Welsh player is David Evans and he's still no. two in the Welsh team

[

Program all eight 500s into the PM3 with 3 minute rest periods. Then shoot for a 1:37 split. I'm thinkin' you may have a problem right at the start, but not much of one. I really think you have the potential to go alot faster than what you're currently doing.

Worst case, lower those splits by at least five seconds (1:42), but don't be shy. Be aggresive.

You doing BIRC? If so, this is the time to buckle down for it.

[/quote]

>........................................................

Speedy
I like the look of the 3 mins rest but going harder on the pace i have been rowing the same as Niall on the 500m but going of on 1.44 pace.Will try 1.37
this week to see how it goes.

Dykie
Congrats on the million,meters that is not beers

Martin
You deserve a rest after all your efforts of late

Niall
Nice pb for the mile Three chances coming up for that sub 7. BIRC .The Welsh.
and Abergavenny.


Chippy

Last year I made the top 20. This year I want to be in the top 10.
By the end of the month I should be posting times in the events I haven't done yet.

Well, that leaves room for 7 more Taffs, right? Let's ATTACK!!

(can you believe I had to edit this to correct the math? sheesh!)

Session: 8x500m (90secs rest)
1. 500m / 1:46.9 / 31spm
2. 500m / 1:46.8 / 32spm
3. 500m / 1:46.8 / 32spm
4. 500m / 1:46.9 / 32spm
5. 500m / 1:46.8 / 32spm
6. 500m / 1:46.8 / 33spm
7. 500m / 1:46.8 / 33spm
8. 500m / 2:10.6 / 30spm (see Splits below)

Splits for 8th set:
2:39.0 22spm (bit of sick came up into my mouth which threw me off my stroke!)
1:42.4 38spm (Had to finish the set and feel some pain!)

Just kept thinking about what Speedy said yesterday and wanted my body to experience some real pain (and for me to get through it). It was like I had Speedy shouting me on in one ear and Chippy shouting in the other ear "Beat the Pain!!".

COMMENTARY
Started off with the standard 20mins warmup routine then a 10-minute break before hitting the intervals.

First seven sets were all one or two tenths of a second under the average pace target. Concentrated on race starts then settled into strong, smooth strokes. In the last 100m, I'd generally take my foot off the gas to come in just under target rather than push it too much. I really wanted to make sure I completed the whole session.

When it came to the eighth and final set, I wanted to empty the tank. Did my usual race start (6 strong strokes) and settled into target-1sec pace. After 190m though a bit of sick came up into my mouth and it completely threw me off my stroke . I put the handle down and thought about what to do. There was no question about it, I had to carry on. After a 20-30secs stop I picked the handle up and decided it was time for some real pain . I ignored the 3:09 average on the monitor and just went as fast as I could. Completed the final 250m in 1:42.4 (38spm).

REFLECTIONS
Objectives for this session (for me) were:

- finish all 8 sets
- some in just under the target pace for first 7 sets
- empty the tank in the 8th set and get used to feeling some pain

The first 7 sets all felt good. I felt I could have upped the pace if need be but didn't 'cause i wanted to make sure I finished the whole session.

Despite the little hiccup at the beginning of the final set, I was determined to finish it and finish it strongly. I could hear all you guys who have helped motivate and support me through this diary screaming me on and not to bottle it. My legs were screaming, my mouth was dry but I knew this was how it was going to feel at BIRC so I wanted to confront it and beat it.

By the end I was exhausted and covered in sweat. But I felt fantastic!!

Lower back was a bit sore by the end so I finished off with a 10mins warm down row and it loosened up then.

Great session Niall. Sucks about the 'hiccup' though. Could have had a 1:45'ish average for the whole session.

One question - Do you normally have lower back problems? Is the soreness you felt in your back a common occurance when you do sprints?

The reason I ask, is that I'm wondering if you're using your back to much during your stroke. Maybe not enough legs. But then who knows? Have you video taped your stroke at all?

Yeh I have a history of back problems (from my rugby days). The left lower back pain I had this morning (more of an ache than a pain though) was in the same area that I had the pain back in May (which I got sorted through a Sports Physio). I only experience when I'm doing sprints (upto 250s and 500s).

Gret observation Speedy! I know I don't engage my legs enough (conscious that I need to develop leg strength) and that's pretty much what's holding my performances back I think. If I could improve my leg strength AND utilise them more in the stroke then I'm convinced I could go sub 7:00 or even 06:50!

One of the other rowers video taped my race on Saturday and I'm waiting for him to send it to me. I'll put it online once I get it so you can have a look.

I think you have the potential to go sub-7 now. Increased leg strength or not. It's like I said yesterday. Throw the 'timid' out the window. Hydrate really good for your next race and take off the leash.

GROWL!!! ROAR!!!

BIRC here I come!! Unleash the Skinny Beast!! (I am a Lwt after all!!! )

Many thanks for your support, help and motivation Dawyne, it really is appreciated!

Well done to Dykie for breaking the 1 MILLION METRE mark

I'm right behind you fella and should get there by the end of the week.

Niall


I'm back at 7:08 for the 2000m. If you don't do sub-7 now, I will, soon. Get it done mate!! I'll be at BIRC but just watching. However, the next race ...

No regards. I have my serious face on.

Bernard Pru

So are you saying you weren't at full stretch for your 7:08
You sound awfully confident of going sub 7 soon Bernard

Well if I don't do it by BIRC, I'm confident it'll be at Cardiff two weeks later.

You could do it now if you wanted to. You've got to get out of that mind set mate!! Keep telling yourself that it's going to happen.

Apologies for being a source of frustration Speedy!

The next time I do a 2K will be BIRC (no time trials in my training plan).

You're right though, I just don't have it in my mind right now to actually sustain 1:45/1:46 for the bulk of a 2K and then have anything left at the end for a sprint home. I just need some sessions under my belt to give me the confidence and that's what the next two weeks are all about. I've got plenty of 1250m, 750m and 500m intervals.

Speedster
Can ya help us taffs with races comming up.....
What would be the game plan for a 2k race.If we use 7mins as a target the average pace would be 1.45.The plan i would use would be 1.43 for the first 500m
then 1000m at 1.47 and 1.43 for the last 500m. How would you plan the race
so us mortals can try and improve


Chippy

I think for a sub 7, Speedy would go out at 1:23 for the first 500m, settle into 1:26 and then kick home with all he's got at the end. That'll definitely get him under 7:00

Without wanting to pre-empt (or even contradict) anything Speedy's gonna say on the subject, I'd say a race plan is personal to the individual. If the rower has strong endurance then a flat race profile would suit, however, if the rower is more of a sprinter then maybe a quick start, steady middle and quick finish would be more suited to their physiology.

So in my mind it's difficult to advise on the perfect plan as everyone will have a different preference.

Niall has a good point. A race plan really is a personal thing. However...since Chippy demo'd what he plans to do, you could also do it the following way, and have alot left over for the final leg.

Split the race into thirds (2000m - 1333m, 1332m - 665m, 665m - 0m). Start out at a 1:46 for the first third (at maybe a 28'ish SR - or what ever you need to maintain the split), a 1:45 for the second third (at a 30'ish SR), and a 1:44 for the last third (at a 32'ish SR). What ever you have left in the tank for your final 200m or so, let it loose. This will get you below the seven minute mark guaranteed.

Note: By raising the SR as you go along, it will be easier to maintain the split required. However...you are increasing the SR, so you are having to expend energy there as well. I personally have found that it is easier to go faster, than to try and drop the split while maintaining the same SR.