Concept2 Forum

I've been reading this forum for a long time but have had little to add and a lot to learn. I need advice and encouragement. I'll be as brief as I can. I have been rowing, off and on, since the early 80's. I have erged irregularly for about the last seven years. The nearby rowing club is around 90 miles away from where we live. We (my wife and I) launch our singles from a gravelly beach about 15 minutes' drive from our house--no dock that will accommodate a shell, no boathouse, just a forest at about 3500 feet elevation. Because of access problems and safety concerns the rowing season here is only about four or five months. (Some sort of wet suits might enable us to stretch it out a little.) I rowed a double for several years in the late 90's and early 00's but I have not competed nor have I had a double available since 2004. I am in reasonably good physical condition; age adjusted, better than reasonably good. We've been fortunate in that we have been able to travel annually to obtain first class coaching. If I do say so --who shouldn't-- my sculling technique is OK. I don't have strong objections to erging but that machine is not the love of my life. (Obviously, the operative words here are "off and on" and "irregularly". Please don't take me to task too harshly because of that.)

I want to return to competition. I know something of training practice and theory from my experience in track, but nothing that translates well to sculling. I badly need a structured program. I don't know that hiring a coach to help me from a distance would very beneficial. I probably couldn't afford that. Perhaps I could get a Speed Coach and simply take the Pete Plan onto the water. At least that would permit me to find out where I am physically. Do you all have any advice? Oh yes, I almost forgot: 5'10, 169#, Category J. (And yes, to that fellow who wants to tell me I am going to die: I know that; so are we all.)

If your racing season is short, I'd guess your best option is to do lots of long slow (rating, not speed) stuff for most of the year on the erg and afloat when possible, then wind it up nearer the races, afloat. The 2k plans here http://concept2.co.uk/training/interactive can be tailored to your available time; and the last eight weeks of any of them are fine for tapering with AN work. These plans also show HR and Watt bands for controlling intensity.

With respect to a 1x, the catch on the stationary erg is slack, and this may cause you problems when you go back afloat; if you're using modern blades, you'll know water can be very hard stuff. Slides or a dynamic erg could be better.

Hi,
I have couple of suggestions. Since your otw season is short, it makes sense to be sure to start the season with a good aerobic base from the erg. A structured program would give you that, but only if you are motivated to do it.

I think a way to do that is to get a bit competitive on the erg. There are a number of different informal ways that folks compete, and most of them fit well with a training program. Here are my ideas
1. Get rowpro. There are online rows, some are competitive, some jovial, but it makes the whole thing a lot more social.
2. Cross team challenge (CTC). This is a monthly challenge between virtual rowing teams ( you should join free spirits!). Since you are a light weight, you would be coveted by any team because each boat has to have 3 hwt, 1 male let, and 1 female rower. If you could coax your wife to join up too, you'd be instantly popular.
3. The nonathlon. This is an age, sex and weight class adjusted way for anyone to compete with everyone. You log you best times for the season in 9 events from 500m up to the marathon, and it gives you a single score. Most folks don't do a marathon, but it gives a little incentive to row a bit harder to beat that 27 year old guy from Tasmania or something.
4. The challenge series, this is an individual challenge series run from the uk website. A different event monthly for 9 months of the year. ( I think).

Since your main objective is competing otw, you might want to buy a set of slides.

I realize that there is no silver bullet, either mechanical or digital, but I shall buy the slides. (My double partner used to complain about the soft catch on the regular erg and I have been thinking about that.) And I'll look into the Rowpro program to see if it can be made to be compatible with my older Mac. Also, the rough equivalent of a runner's long, slow distance to establish a base sounds right, initially, for me.

However, the real hurdle, as Greg suggests, is motivation. I'll give your ideas a serious look.

Thank you both for your replies. It's good to hear from people who are old enough to have had a look at the elephant.

The rowpro sounds like it could be a good motivator for the winter months on the erg to break things up. I will also look into getting that.

I got rowpro for another trial period and it still has issues that need to be worked out. Have to wait for another revision.

Bought the slides Greg, they are awesome!