I'll bring some spare socks for you, Niall.

Inside joke? Do tell Darren, do tell ...

9054 for the CTC. That's it...I'm done...won't get any better.


Daren/Dougie,
Forgot my bl**dy password. Please enter this in for me. Thanks.

Dwayne

Well, you added the 20 we all need to add to catch up to #2. We other 4 have to do the same! thanks for setting the example!

http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=3663

for a laugh if you haven't seen it

Awesome stuff (yet again!) Speedy. I don't know how you keep on pulling out these extraordinary performances.

Carla, just read your CRASH-B nightmare! Really enjoyed it. Just hope it doesn't become real though as I'm going to the CRASH-Bs this year (first time for me!). It'd be amazing if you were there too (even if you weren't competing; but you'd have to compete, right?!).

Surely Dwayne's 2k has sated your desire to call him a cheat and a liar, or to insinuate the same. Why do you think Dwayne didn't 'miraculously' beat GB's distance for this piece? Could it be that he's genuine? Surely not, not in Chadville.

Darren: "Sit!" ... "Good boy!" (raw meat "treat" and belly rub provided to obeying attack dog)

But ... wouldn't it be interesting to find the real identity of the mysterious "Man Named (by himself) Chad"?

Let it go Chad. We've been there, it's been discussed, it's been concluded. Time to move on!

It was a rhetorical statement anyway. Dwayne has already suggested to others that a reasonable motivator was to target 0.1s below the previous best pace so I suspect he did the same for this piece.

Subject closed, let's get back to support, help and motivation as that's what we're here for.

O.K. I give up. What the devil is AIO? Does that refer to the stupid lycra unisuits that I saw a lot of competitors wearing at a meet?

Curmudgeon

If this is a joke, say so. If you don't come back and tell me it's a joke, you're going in the Iggie Bin. I don't have any interest in what you have to say about anything if you're still on about this.

You betcha it is!!

I put the rolling eyes icon under the comment that Niall made has I thought it was funny after everything that had been said on “The Dwayne Thread” for some reason a few people have taken it the wrong way to how it was meant, it was meant in a light hearted manner. So Seat5, yes it was meant to be a joke.

Some people need to move on, instead of telling me to move on!! Looks like mpukita and Daren have locked onto me and put me in there box labeled “trouble maker”
Hey guys, chill out, you can’t keep punishing me for the same crime.

If you keep thinking that I start trouble and won't let things lie, then you will get what you ask for, my ammo box is not even half empty yet!! Now stop trying to start a fight with me please.

Hey Chad..its cool I got the joke. Now if you really had guts you would post a photo of yourself in a Taff Attack AIO!

If you're joking, then fine. I know I sure wouldn't be joking about it if I pulled such a stupid stunt myself--I'd be grateful to just have everyone shut up about it, including myself. Stop reminding us of the crime--personally I'd like to forget it!

BTW, I don't care what you have in your ammo box. What do you need an ammo box for, anyway, on a friendly, supportive team thread? But, in any case, if you decide to unleash your whole terrifying arsenal on me, how will I even know if I have you on "ignore user"?

Just call your Taff Attack dogs off me. They just want to bait me all the time. It is best if they don't reply to what I have said on this thread, or it will get taken over and no one wants that.

Why don't mpukita and Daren start a thread called "Chad Bashing" as that is what they want to do all the time.

Bob:

All In One = AIO

Regards -- Mark

Well, I have been invited to join you Taff folks for the CTC starting with next month's challenge. I am not a sprinter, so I wouldn't expect anything too inspiring but it will be fun and maybe I can help to fill another boat.

I'd also like to officially join Taff Attack but I'm going to wait until the new C2 season starts in May. As I told Niall and Chris, my Welsh connection is a bit tenuous. Neither my husband nor I could find any Welsh ancestors, but my husband's family does keep Welsh ponies on their farm. So am I in??

Re: the Taff Attack AIOs. I showed that Evesham picture to another lady (in her 60's and normally proper) and she said, "Nice Bulges!"

- Krysta

Great news Krysta! You'll be very welcome indeed.



No complaints from me and I know Chris is happy too. You'll be a very welcome addition to the team Krysta.


I reckon we should do a Taff Attack Calendar one of these days (like the film "Calendar Girls"). Reckon it'd fly out of the shops! Some of us will need to work on out bulges though, so plenty of bench presses and bicep curls for me I think

Chad, my friend, if it was intended to be in jest, that's cool. However, I'm sure you can well appreciate why it wouldn't be taken that way, particularly when you come onto our manor to do it.

Participated in the Dutch Row Pro's live-24-hour-on-3-ergs happening.

It was done in the gym of a school.

I did 53,379 meters in the 4 hours I ( and all of us ) had to do.

I am very happy the CTC of next month is only 300 meters.

But - I know I will say something else after the first week of trying to do it.

Krysta

It would appear, the more tenuous the better My only Welsh connection is that I've been to Cardiff twice to watch my football team and rowed in the Welsh IRC twice

Welcome aboard

Hey, tell us more about this event. Was it for charity or just fun? Was there much of a crowd? I've never heard of a 24-hour-3-ergs event.

300m sounds so short that I'm sure to do any good you have to just about commit suicide on the machine. Not my cup of tea!!

I was told it was going to be fun.

Not sure about that after the first 40k. The last 6k were OK - knowing after that nothing to do for a few days.

I should have told it better : we rowed 8 hours on 3 erg : 24 hours on the clocks.

As expected I was the slowest , the other did 57,463 , 58,632 , 62,195 , 62,701 , 63,050.

Today I feel better than expected , some little pains but nothing serious.

Joy of joys!!!!
Finally have broadband in my bedroom, years of begging and grovelling have finally paid off with the rents, wohoooo! Can finally log my meters from the comfort of my bed, now all i need in here is an ergo, but afraid it would clash with the curtains. Cannot wait for this months 300m, sprints are far more my thing, though fitness is gradually improving with pete's plan (now 5 days in).

Hey lookit! Mark Pukita just got back from his race!







Way to go!!!

No 30@20 tonight. I did a short warmup and still have that strange injured feeling at the tail end of the recovery, right when the shins are just getting vertical. I don't know if it's muscle or tendon but it's whatever hauls you up the rail. I experimented with moving the foot plates up and it's better when they're up quite high, in fact all the way as high as they can go, which is fine (my heels still don't hardly come up) but when I started the piece it only took a few strokes for me to know it would be a mistake to push hard. This is after I think 4 or 5 days of not rowing, so not very good news. I may be out for a while. Or maybe I'll just poke around doing 1/2 slide or 3/4 slide.

Thanks Carla ... now it's your turn!

Great stuff, Mark!

I went to the English IRC yesterday, along with some of the other Taff guys (Niall, Chippy, Bore Da).

I'd entered the 2000m and 500m events as a lightweight, even though I've never been lightweight (well, not since I was 25 or so). I first weighed in at 76.1kg, so I went and did 10km on the warmup machines in an effort to sweat it off. I finally weighed in at 75.4kg - still too heavy. There was only about 30 minutes to go before the 2k was due, so I decided not to try and make the weight for that, as I'd have been too tired anyway.

However, I did manage to swap my LWT 500m entry to a HWT 500m entry. I drunk a bottle of water in an effort to rehydrate myself. In the end I finished in 1:35.7. That was 'OK', I think, considering the factors - I'd done 10k already, and hadn't eat anything since the day before, 'cause I was trying to make 75kg. My season's best is 1:35.6 and PB is 1:33, so I reckon that if I'd just entered as a HWT anyway, I'd almost certainly have got a SB on the day, and would probably have been knockig on the door of a PB. Still, never mind. I'll be a proper lightweight soon. =)

Darren:

You had similar problems to me. Getting down and staying LW can be a challenge for guys like me who like their food (any kind) and their beer (any kind). I was doing the weight loss shuffle as well ... not fun ... plus it messes with your mind as well.

-- Mark

I fully intend to be a proper lightweight, Mark. One, like Dougie, that doesn't have to crash diet or worry about weigh-ins.

To add further to my annoyance about yesterday's failure, I've now seen the full results and my 500m time would have got me a silver medal in the LWT race (albeit out of a field of 3 people). =)

Try this book: "Inner Eating". Can't remember the author--I found it in the library. Between the ideas in that book and getting back on the erg I've lost and kept off that annoying last 10 lbs for over a year. So now I qualify as a lightweight, too! (well, your kind of lightweight. I haven't been under 135 since I was 13.)

Krysta,

I told you before:
Coleman: One who gathers Coal, where better to do this than Wales.

Your in so stop bleating, Baa baa.
Kind Regards,
1st bulge from the right!

Had a 'mare. Put the handle down twice (once to take a drink and once to catch my breath). I knew things were a bit wrong when my HR stats for my warmup were:

AvgHR: 171bpm (normally 145bpm)
PeakHR: 187bpm (normally 172bpm)
MinHR: 133bpm (normally 80bpm)

As for the race:

AvgHR: 182bpm
PeakHR: 199bpm
MinHR: 129bpm

Not sure why this was the case but suspect it's one or more of the following:

- crash dieting to make weight (especially the day before)
- complicated personal life
- mentally weak

Was actually surprised of my final time of 7:37 as I thought I'd done much worse (although 7:37 is a right 'mare when your race plan is <7:15!)

Onwards and upwards (certainly can't go downwards!).

You certainly looked like you were sweating buckets after your warm-up; more so than I was earlier, and I was trying to lose weight! =) At least you had the guts to pick the handle back up again and finish the piece, rather than completely jack it in.

Your time will come, I have faith in that.

Hang in there mate. Sounds to me as if you may have race anxiety. You may be putting more pressure on yourself than is really worth. Have fun with this stuff. This isn't for big money, a new car, or anything of that nature.

As Daren said, your time will come.

Daren,
Great going on your race. A big congrats.

How'd everyone else do?

Niall: Sorry to hear about the bad row. Sounds like you have a good attitude about it though. not to sound preachy but these can sometimes be the best learning experiences. I dont think you should beat yourself over stopping, its much harder to pick the handle back up than it is to put it down. How were your splits? I usually get too wound up before and then blow up after 600ms.

Taffs: what is the protocol on racing under the Taff Attack colours? I am going to enter a race in two weeks (my first one in 17 years). I would love to represent the team but dont want to overstep my bounds or anything.

Full results are here. As far as Taff Attack go:

2000m Mens 30-39 Hwt
25 Chris Adams 6:52.8

2000m Mens 30-39 Lwt
6 Niall Williams 7:37.9

500m Mens 30-39 Hwt
8 Robert Redmond 1:33.4
9 Chris Adams 1:33.4
10 Daren Chandisingh 1:35.7

The full race results have stroke charts, too. Such as my 500m race analysis that shows that my stroke rate was fairly flat but my pace really died off at about half way. Oh well!

Hey, you're in the team, and that's all that matters. If you want to enter as "Taff Attack", that's great - I'm sure we'd be more upset if you didn't!

Niall:

All this is the spirit of suggestion ... not criticism ...

EVERYONE here wants to see you succeed, but likes you for who you are, not for what time you row. Remember that.

Now, I agree with Dwayne ... maybe a bit more of a carefree attitude regarding racing will do a world of good to settle your nerves and allow you to execute your race plan.

There's no doubt you've done the training (I've been watching your blog and log for ideas on what I should be doing next season). Everyone who sees it would agree.

It's pretty scientific ... if you've done the training, and can do the training pieces in times that indicate a certain PB level, you can physically do it! Unless you're ill of course.

I know it's easier to say than do, but how 'bout going to a race, blocking everything but having fun out of your mind, and let 'er rip? Try thinking about how great a cool beer will taste after the race ... nothing else. Try thinking about how much fun it is just being there, with the people you know and enjoy being with ... just savour the experience ... sights, smells, sounds. Oh yeah, and have a good cox ... one who can joke with you a settle you down, not get you "psyched" (until the last 200M that is!).

Regards ... Mark

PS - How can a get a copy of the BIRC DVD?

Having been ill and missed a month of training before the welsh indoors, i would desperatley love another crack at a competitive 2k or 500m or any other distance for that matter. Are there any races going on anytime soon, maybe end of feb-start of march would be better, as soon as i am in proper shape!

This wasn't planned it just happened. But it means I still have never beaten Chippy over a race distance less than 700 meters.

Cornish is in early march, or the bleep test and 1000m in middle march at SLIRC

What is bleep test? and where is SLIRC?Never done a k before, is there a jr category?

Never done a bleep test, but it looks like absolute h**l!!

Basically it's one minute on, one minute off. Each minute being a faster split average than the last. Oh yeah, and the starting point in based on your season best 2k time.

The person that completes the most levels wins.

Sounds like a fun day out , must give that one a try!

Cool, cool. I want to enter my first ever race (Alberta IRC) this year as a Taffette too. I even ordered the TA AIO, in anticipation of being able to legitimately wear it soon.

Any other girls have the AIO? Carla? Do you know if it has a built-in shelf bra? And it looks like the crest might be in the wrong spot for a lady? Maybe it's a little higher on the female version. In any event, I am quite excited and hope it comes in time!