I'll be talking with my OTW coach about this in the morning, but thought others could chime in here as well. What do your puddles tell you? Any particular diagnostic things you look for? Can you see if you're digging, washing out, etc. by looking at them?
Julie
Reading Puddles
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PaulS
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Re: Reading Puddles
Sure, you can tell how clean the extraction or entry has been, if there is a lot of slip happening. Tough to say on the "digging", and digging is only bad if effects the ability to cleanly extract anyway. What one must be careful to do is to never use puddle size as a measure of input power, as that is better gauged by the speed of the boat.julieofarc wrote:I'll be talking with my OTW coach about this in the morning, but thought others could chime in here as well. What do your puddles tell you? Any particular diagnostic things you look for? Can you see if you're digging, washing out, etc. by looking at them?
Julie
If you are talking about a smaller boat (1x, 2x, 2-), a better thing to watch is the Wake off the stern (nice and even with no wobbles is a straight course), and for the stern to rise as the drive begins (a sign of being connected and accelerating the boat, and it's contents, in the desired direction.
Erg on,
Paul Smith
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Paul Smith
www.ps-sport.net Your source for Useful Rowing Accessories and Training Assistance.
"If you don't want to know the answer, don't ask me the question."
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Rockin Roland
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You can also tell a lot about your rowing from the sound of your puddles, especially in calm conditions and more so from the echo when you pass under bridges. Many people that spend too much time on the erg tend to crank and dump when they get into a boat. Listen to the puddle sounds (not the entry but the release) of a National or State crew and compare it to the puddle sounds from a club crew. The difference is like comparing good music to that of a heavy metal band.
PBs: 2K 6:13.4, 5K 16:32, 6K 19:55, 10K 33:49, 30min 8849m, 60min 17,309m
Caution: Static C2 ergs can ruin your technique and timing for rowing in a boat.
The best thing I ever did to improve my rowing was to sell my C2 and get a Rowperfect.
Caution: Static C2 ergs can ruin your technique and timing for rowing in a boat.
The best thing I ever did to improve my rowing was to sell my C2 and get a Rowperfect.
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Byron Drachman
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Re: Reading Puddles
julieofarc wrote:I'll be talking with my OTW coach about this in the morning, but thought others could chime in here as well. What do your puddles tell you? Any particular diagnostic things you look for? Can you see if you're digging, washing out, etc. by looking at them?
Julie
At risk of stating the obvious, you can tell if you're washing out by looking at the amount of 'whitewash' produced on blade exit. The more whitewash, the more wasted effort at the exit. Can mean you're feathering too early (not tapping out square) or that you're washing out at the finish.
Whitewash can also be an effect of 'ripping' through the water during the drive. If the boats gearing is too low, the blade can slip through the water rather than 'locking' onto it, creating whitewash throught the stroke (or a mound of whitewater over the oar during the stroke) that can be seen in the puddles afterwards also.
I don't know of any way to check your catch's from your puddles, not without a coach watching anyway. Backsplash is always a good indicator for me.