Prep For Day Of A 2k Test?

[[old] bsemaiktehr]

What do you guys do on the day of a 2k test?<br>What do you eat? How much do you warm up?<br><br>I usually eat lots of fruit and vegetables... and I don't often warm up for more than a minute or so

[[old] MarkPayton]

I'm certainly no expert (as my 2k times would suggest - they're all over the place this year), but here's what I'd suggest:<br><br>I try not to eat anything wiithin 90 minutes of race time, and not to race earlier than 2 hours after I've awoken. If I do have time to eat before a morning race, it's usually just a piece of fruit and an energy bar, along with some juice and coffee.<br><br>You probably should be warming up for a bit longer - one or two minutes would make the 2k race quite a shock to the body. I'd suggest about 2k of warmup, with some low-pressure, low-stroke rating work mingled with a few bursts of speed. You want to get your heart going a bit in the warmup to be ready to really open up for an all-out effort. (I'm sure there's someone on the forum who can provide a scientific explanation of why and how this helps you ). <br><br>Lastly, I'd also suggest making sure to take a few minutes to stretch your muscles (especially the back and quads) after the warmup and before the race. If you're going all out, you really do run the risk of hurting yourself by pulling a muscle if you're not properly warmed up and stretched. I've done this a few times myself, so I guess I speak from experience on that one.<br><br>Good luck - and I'm interested in what other advice comes across. My 2k's this season range from 6:52 to 7:17 (a complete fly and die) - so I'm sure there's room for improvement. If the pre-race routine can help, I'm all ears!

[[old] hepting]

I am no expert but here is my take:<br><br>I agree with Mark's suggestion on eating - I usually make sure to stop eating 2 hours before trying for a personal best time on a 2k, and make sure I have been awake for at least that long as well. <br><br>However I like to do a little longer warm-up. I generally jump on and do a very slow 500m just to get moving, then stretch for about 10 minutes, then I do a 1k at about 60-70% power - stretch again, then do a 2k during which I do 25 strokes at full pressure, 25 strokes at race pace, and 25 strokes at ~80%. I just row slowly for about 25 strokes between each of those...<br><br>My goal is to make sure I am sweating, and have felt a good burn in the legs by doing the 25's listed above then have about 500 meters of slow rowing left in the 2k.<br><br>Then I take about 5 minutes to sip some water and then GO!<br><br>From the experts I have spoken with warming up is critical - if your muscles are not warmed up you "waste" the first 500 meters of the 2k getting warm and your times will suffer.<br><br>**If I remember properly Ranger does an hour of jump rope before he even looks at the erg, so there is another extreme - in my case that would qualify as a full workout!

[[old] dadams]

<!--QuoteBegin-bsemaiktehr+Jan 6 2005, 04:21 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> (bsemaiktehr @ Jan 6 2005, 04:21 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> What do you guys do on the day of a 2k test?<br>What do you eat? How much do you warm up?<br><br>I usually eat lots of fruit and vegetables... and I don't often warm up for more than a minute or so <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><br> I personally don't change anything that I don't do normally. Why screw up the routine? If it works for you in practice, it will work for you during a race/test. Go into the test as if it's just another 2k.<br><br>As far as your warm-up, I would recommend a bit more than one minute. Even though you're young, the risk of injury is increased if you don't properly warm-up.<br><br>I've heard of warm-ups lasting anywhere from ten minutes, to an hour (Ranger).<br><br>Dwayne

[[old] TheHagueDragon]

i always train in lunchtime at the gym at my work.<br>Before i go to the gym i eat one of my four sandwiches 10 minutes before i go there. That's because i don't want to fall off the erg from hunger <br><br>I row about 2k at a slow pace. Enough to start sweating. Then i take a short break to stretch my arms, shoulders and neck. I drink something and concentrate on the race.<br>Then i start racing.<br><br>I don't know if this is the best warmup but it works for me. I'm not erging for a very long time but i always did it this way.<br>In the EIRC i did the same except the warmup took place in another hall and it took a few minutes before the other race was over and we could sit. So after the warmup i dresses myself warm enough to not get gold.<br>Graham Todd (3rd in EIRC) was warmingup next to me. I saw him doing a few hard strokes in his warmup.