June 21, 2004 Summer Solstice Row

[old] Ash · Post by **[old] Ash** » June 15th, 2004, 11:12 am

Paul, i may be able to join you, I will be back home from uni at the weekend for a couple of months and would like to get a fast HM under my belt for this season. Just had the mumps though, so not sure how it has affected my fitness, would like to think i could improve on my old p.b of 1:16:46 though....

[old] Godfried · Post by **[old] Godfried** » June 15th, 2004, 3:53 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (MKC @ Jun 11 2004, 03:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>...I have only been rowing for about 4 months... </td></tr></table> You can do it. I've done my first 21097 in the third month I was erging. Just kept my heartrate at 130 and finished under 109 minutes. 10 days later I tried to go fast and finished under 91 minutes. And the SUMMER SOLSTICE ROW will be my third. Just set your pace at 2:50 / 500m and see where that takes you.

[old] Coach Gus · Post by **[old] Coach Gus** » June 15th, 2004, 9:22 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (Godfried @ Jun 15 2004, 11:53 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (MKC @ Jun 11 2004, 03:26 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>...I have only been rowing for about 4 months... </td></tr></table> You can do it.  </td></tr></table> Pretty much everybody can do a HM at any time depending on your pain tolerance and willingness to do it in a time commenserate with your fitness. The more distance you've done the easier it will be. My first HM was at 2 months of erging. It was done in 1:25:55.6. #2 was 9 days later at 1:25:51.1. #3 6 days later at 1:22:17.3. Then on June 9th I did 30k. After another couple of slower HMs, I did my PB of 1:20:08.6 on the 3rd month anniversary of erging. Obviously, I have done a lot of distance in a fairly short time and this made it easier to do this distance than someone who may have erged the same calendar time or even more but with less time commited to doing longer distance. Still, even with less meters done, anyone can complete a HM. It may hurt some or a lot and the next few days afterwards can also be a bit painful, again, depending on how much you've been doing during that 4 months. By the way I also do and advocate heart rate based training. I believe it's the best way for anyone including beginners and elite veterans to train.

[old] MKC · Post by **[old] MKC** » June 16th, 2004, 11:57 am

Thanks to all... I did almost 15000 this morning in about 1:16 so I'll take suggestions and break it up. I found it difficult to do much more then that at one sitting...That said, I am feeling quite motivated to see what I can do as time goes on... I do use a heart rate monitor and feel that is the best way to go also. My times are getting better (last week was an extremely good week for me)... working at getting a base using HRM and gradually increasing my time on the erg has started to pay off. The advice and the encouragement are great here...These forums are great for those of us who don't have anyone to erg with... MKC

[old] Thomas · Post by **[old] Thomas** » June 20th, 2004, 2:59 pm

Oh, wow! Here it comes. The dreaded 1/2 marathon. I might have a chore with this. If today's training was an indication of what tomorrow will be like, it will be very hard. Today, I did a 10k with Hans2 and decided to treat it like a Level 4 session where I would cycle 18 spm @1:56, 20 spm @1:52, and 22 spm at 1:48 for every 500 meters. The first 3000 meters (2 cycles completed) went OK but then I hit some small walls for the next 6000 meters. I could really feel a Level 1 session of 7 x 500 meters, which was further supplemented with weights, I had done 2 days ago. Nonetheless, it might be nice to do some steady paces. I am planning on doing an 8k, 7k, and a 6k with 5 minutes and 4 minutes of rest, respectively. See you tomorrow.

[old] Ash · Post by **[old] Ash** » June 20th, 2004, 3:45 pm

Hey Thomas, are you still doing the HM? I can not see you in any of the races, I am doing the one at 15:30 with joachim that you are administering, going to try and break my p.b for a HM @ 20 spm (currently at 1:53.2 Av)

[old] Thomas · Post by **[old] Thomas** » June 20th, 2004, 4:03 pm

Hi Ash, I had decided to take breaks during the 1/2 marathon. A session I had done back in December was an 8k, 7k, and 6k with X number of minutes of rest. I thought of using the 1/2 marathon as a way of doing that session. I plan on hydrating as well as changing my clothes during the rest. I hope this will not mess you up.

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » June 20th, 2004, 4:44 pm

I just looked at this thread and thought, ah, this will give me a nice goal for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Then I realized it must be close to the 21st already. A glance at my watch confirmed this, as it's the 20th today, and the 21st is tomorrow! Well that's not enough time to set up for a goal, and even though I row that much every day, it's been 18 months since I did one for time without stopping. So maybe I will go for it anyway. Just for the fun of it. MKC, You are doing quite impressive already! I only went for a hour without stopping 1 time in the first 8 years of having the erg, and my second longest was probably around 30 minutes. The biggest problem might be your butt aching, from using the muscles for so long. It helps to shift around, or if it gets to be too much, hop off and stretch for a few seconds and back on again. Also, look at Thomas. He's a experienced erger and needs breaks. Maybe you'll be able to do it with less breaks than he does. This is a nice challenge. I'm looking forward to see how many people can complete it.

[old] MKC · Post by **[old] MKC** » June 20th, 2004, 7:05 pm

The problem last week was the butt aching! But the rest of the day I felt extremely good.. It's been a hectic week-end with work...I'm actually looking forward to getting on the erg tomorrow morning and having my own time... Cheers and Good Evening to all! MKC

[old] MKC · Post by **[old] MKC** » June 21st, 2004, 10:06 am

I just completed the 1/2 Marathon...1:52:42.4. I ended up just getting it completed in one sitting, once I got through to the last 10k, I knew I was there... Thanks to all for the suggestions and help! Have a great day!! (Do I get extra credit for completing this at 6000 ft in Colorado?) Cheers, Moya

[old] PaulH · Post by **[old] PaulH** » June 21st, 2004, 10:17 am

Moya, Well done! It's easy to get the impression that a half marathon (and even the full one!) is not a big deal if you hang around the forum for a while, but it's a lot more than the average person on the street (or couch) can manage! I managed mine this morning, a little under 1h45. Given that I hadn't erged for a month that will do for me! Follow that up with biking to work, work, biking to the boathouse, on-water rowing, and biking home, and today really will feel like the longest day! Cheers, Paul

[old] Jim Barry · Post by **[old] Jim Barry** » June 21st, 2004, 10:49 am

I do not have time today, but did my HM Friday (9:30 pm). When I set off to do a "good time" I was thinking I had only done one in the past and made it an easy row at 1hr 29. I was happy to have set this one at 1hr 27 since it was easy too and a "PB" for the distance. But when I checked my log, I realized I had in fact done another one a few years ago and it was 8 seconds faster. (wait I was younger and heavier, maybe there is an adjustment factor!)

[old] Thomas · Post by **[old] Thomas** » June 21st, 2004, 1:01 pm

1:24.14.8 I started out with the idea of 8k, 7k, 6k with breaks at each point but quickly realized I did not have the legs to row as hard as I wanted. So, I opted for a slower pace, with much slower breaks. Unfortuanately, there was a connection problem. None of our (Thomas, Canoeist, Joachim, and Ash) times were saved under the race results. My screen was frozen from the start so, I relied on the PM2 to figuire out how far behind and far ahead I was of my fell rowers. Ash had rowed earlier in the day and was going to row slow. Paul took off and after -250 meters was no longer trackable. For those not familar with e-row, once you are either 250 meter "plus" or "minus" of someone, the PM2 will no longer quantify the distance. The only way to tell the actual distance is by looking at the e-row computer screen. But, as you know, mine had froze. Joachim was another story. We stayed relatively close during the piece. I had built up a good lead at the 15k to go mark and took a break. I still maintained a lead up to the 8k to go mark. I took another break. At that point, I go so far behind, I was -250 meters. Joachim would not be trackable until I could get within the -250 meters. Thousands of meters later, it happens. Mind you, I have no idea where Joachim is at until I break the -250 meters. It happened in a few meters, then in chunks, then I caught him, passed him, and beat him. Mind you that Joachim is 10 years older than me and weighs approximately 40 pounds less than I do. I could tell he must have been trying to hold me off. Marilyn must have been cheering him on. Good job Joachim. Good job everyone. Thanks for doing this. Gladiators, . . . I salute you.

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » June 21st, 2004, 2:39 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (MKC @ Jun 21 2004, 07:06 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> I just completed the 1/2 Marathon...1:52:42.4. I ended up just getting it completed in one sitting, once I got through to the last 10k, I knew I was there... Thanks to all for the suggestions and help! Have a great day!! (Do I get extra credit for completing this at 6000 ft in Colorado?) Cheers, Moya  </td></tr></table> Moya, Congratulations! I'm very impressed you've completed the half marathon already. Good for you.

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » June 21st, 2004, 2:55 pm

Thanks to the inspiration on this thread, I did the half marathon this morning. warmup- 3:20 buildup at 2:02.8 pace I decided to aim for 2:00 pace and wore my heart rate monitor to check the results. I wanted to keep the rate at 154 or below, an 85% effort. It turned out my heart rate kept going up though, maybe due to the humidity, so I clicked 1:59.9 pace through 15,097 meters and then backed off to keep my heart rate from going higher than that. Here are the heart rates: 10:00- 135 - drag factor 93 20:00- 140 30:00- 145 40:00- 150 50:00- 154 60:00- 158 The first 20 minutes were as expected, but then my heart rate was supposed to level out more but it didn't. With 6k to go I backed off to a 2:08 pace and my heart rate came down to 145. Then I kept it at 147 or so and gradually picked the pace back up to the finish. My last 500 was 1:58.1 pace and my heart rate was getting back up to 155 again. Final time: 1:25:18.9 at 2:01.3 pace My butt was quite comfortable during the row, no discomfort or anything. But immediately when I stopped, my gluts were very tight. I took a break, changed clothes, then "rowed* some 100's to try and loosen up. This helped. The first one was only 2:34 pace. Then I had a shower and feel better now. I'm surprised the muscles got tight, as this has not happened for a long time.