TimbukTOO Team Room

[damselfly]

Go Broncos!

They went, they went...
Us Indy people hoped to see Peyton Win, not Peyton Place...

Wow, was that a disaster, or what?!?!

[Izzzmeister]

All hands on deck, working to not sell February short! 17 of 83 members (20%) logged 158,373 total meters Sunday!

Milestones achieved: Adam M & Yisroel H passed 1.75MM, while Ken C & Ron M topped 750K!
Approaching milestones: Jim G now approaching 1.1M (-29,764m), Dana H pursuing 800K (-17,000m), Lisa H closing in on 700K (-14,095m), Ulla D nearing 300K (-20,498m) while David R chases 250K (-9,000m)!

Posted Meters:
Ron M – 16,134 Feeling confident!
Yisroel H – 16,100 Speed work + distance effort!
Ken C – 13,764 Starting the week off strong!
Andy I – 12,021 Impressive!
Roger G – 12,000 Undaunted!
Jerry H – 12,000 Back to solid rows...

Adam M – 10,500 Found an erg...
Bob L – 10,022 Back to back!
Kristin C – 10,000 Terrific!
Dana H – 10,000 Another 10K!
David R – 8,000 Three nice rows in 4 days!
John S – 7,181 No need to dodge snow on the erg...

Lisa H – 6,033 Solid!
Jim G – 4,568 Boston calls....
Kenny H – 4,000 Recuperating from January!
Thomas J – 4,000 After all those FMs & HMs?!
Ulla D – 2,050 Three in 3 days!

[Izzzmeister]

Chris Blore has been re-drafted by the Royal Air Force, and we wish him the best over the next month! 15 of 82 members (18%) logged 139,323 total meters Monday!

Milestones achieved: Jim C blew away 2.9M!!! Bobbie Z beat 1.5M!! Lee C licked 300K, while Sheryl M shot through 75K!!
Approaching milestones: Roger G is approaching 1.5M (-30,768m), Jim G rapidly approaching 1.1M (-27,061m), Dana H (-10,000m) leading Ron M (-20,764m) to 800K while Lisa H is quite close to 700K (-2,083m)!
 
Posted Meters:
Ron M – 21,754 Wow! Over 62K in 3 days!
Jim C – 16,000 Back on track!
Bobbie Z – 15,000 Huge!
Lisa H – 12,012 An hour?
Bob L – 10,021 Three rows over 10K in 3 days!

Jerry H – 10,000 No pause button...
Cindy R – 8,553 Even longer!
Lee C – 7,535 Challenge over, but Lee's not slowing!
Sheryl M – 7,500 Super-solid week!
Dana H – 7,000 Every single day!

Roger G – 7,000 Still no break...
John S – 6,175 Keeps racking them up...
Kenny H – 6,000 Tired, but still pulling...
Jim G – 2,703 Fast?
John B – 2,070 Insists on at least rowing!

[Quatroux]

Andy I – 12,021 Impressive!

It is nice to no longer have a race deadline. I can do whatever row I want whenever I want. I can do all the core work my heart desires. Of course, I have an OTW race in a few weeks so things could change.

[Cyclingman1]

Jim G – 4,568 Boston calls....

I said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to Concept2's round-trip air fare offer. Maybe next yr. Even then, Boston in Feb seems pretty unappealing to a southern guy.

Jim G – 2,703 Fast?

A few 10 hard pulls after weights.

Good luck at Cincinnati Indoor Rowing Championships. Stay controlled.

[garygOP]

No ergs at Boca J.
Time for some cross training...

[Izzzmeister]

Jim G – 4,568 Boston calls....

I said, "Thanks, but no thanks" to Concept2's round-trip air fare offer. Maybe next yr. Even then, Boston in Feb seems pretty unappealing to a southern guy.

A few years ago, I did Boston. It was mid-winter, snow was on the ground, but you'd never be able to tell by all the joggers. So, you'd be able to ride your bike there without anybody shouting from their car windows to get a horse. (It's also quite warm in the Agganis Arena, and you get to see all the vendors & their erg-related wares. I got to try out the dynamic erg and some other cool stuff, and got to meet some of the faceless people I had squared off against on RowPro.)
I was wondering if in your age category, there was free air fare if you qualified, I guess you answered that. In my age category, I'd have to do about a 6:25 to get free air fare, which I don't believe is physically possible for me, even if I slimmed down to 225, got a coach, and upped my mileage. (I'd done some calculations a few years ago, and it looked like my physical potential was in the 6:28-9 range. Add a few seconds, and it's probably about 6:32 potential now - if I want to put in that kind of energy. The difference in effort would likely not add quantity or quality to my life, but would increase the likelihood of injury. Not a good deal in a money-free sport.) I turn 55 in a couple months, maybe that'll change my thinking...

Based on last year's race in your age group, you'd have finished 2nd or 3rd. Considering it's not your primary sport, that's outstanding. It would also give you experience, in case you'd want to go for the whole ball of wax next year.... Just sayin'...

[Izzzmeister]

All hands on deck, cheering on our vets! 13 of 82 members (16%) logged 149,462 total meters Tuesday!

Milestones achieved: You got on the erg when you didn't feel like it!
Approaching milestones: Greg H now approaching 1.9M (-34,282m), Yisroel H bearing down on 1.8M (-25,054m), Roger G gaining on 1.5M (-15,768m), Andy I seeking 1.4M (-29,478m) while Ron M shoots for 800K (-16,764m)!

Posted Meters:
Yisroel H – 19,493 Speed work plus a moderate hour...
Jim C – 16,000 Seems back on track!
Greg H – 16,000 Strong!
Roger G – 15,000 Leonine!
John S – 14,118 Won't let me catch up to him!

Jerry H – 13,000 Always on-track!
Andy I – 10,817 Another strong effort!
Bob L – 10,020 Going DOWN?!
Matthew R – 10,000 Would love to see these quite often!
Lee C – 8,014 Rows getting longer...

Bobbie Z – 8,000 In my book, an A!
Kenny H – 5,000 Still re-grouping...
Ron M – 4,000 At least you took a SLIGHT breather...

[ronmardix]

Ron M – 4,000 At least you took a SLIGHT breather...

Very much a breather - at least from rowing. This was just 2k warm up and cool down for my weights routine.

[Cyclingman1]

A few years ago, I did Boston. ... I was wondering if in your age category, there was free air fare if you qualified, I guess you answered that. In my age category, I'd have to do about a 6:25 to get free air fare .... I turn 55 in a couple months, maybe that'll change my thinking ... Based on last year's race in your age group, you'd have finished 2nd or 3rd.

Actually, at 54, you would have to do 6:18.6 to be a qualifier. Next yr, at 55, the qualifier time is 6:32.8. The qualifier times are based on the top 5% of performers each yr. The times are going down. The question always arises as to why the steep increases in qualifying times as age increases. Why does one need 6:18 at age 50, but only 7:00 at 65. My one retort to that is that anyone will understand that as they climb the age ladder. Just being a few days short of 68, my strength and aerobic capacity is every bit of 6-7% less than when 54/55.

More things go wrong as one ages. Last yr, in Nov, 2012 I did 6:43.7. I was priming myself for Boston. I was sure that I could get to 6:40. But by Feb, instead of being in Boston, I was in Atlanta having a hip replaced. I wanted the 65+ H record that Charles Hamlin set at 6:40.3. This yr has been largely one of recovery. I did do 6:48 in Nov, but 6:54 is the best that I could do at the Atl Erg Sprints last Sat. I do not want to go to Boston with that time, even though the only better time this year is by the guy from Hawaii, TJ Oesterling - an extraordinary rower. He also never goes to Concept2 rowing events.

This coming year I will lift weights, ride the bike a lot, and row more towards the end of the year and let the chips fall where they will. Maybe I'll be in Boston shape for 2015, maybe not. I do know, not being a big traveler, that the logistics of going to Boston on a tight schedule does not seem very appealing. Just getting around between Logan, hotels, restaurants, the erg venue, etc seems rather daunting. I can see myself on their metro ending up in Springfield on race day. But I'll worry about that if I ever go.

[Izzzmeister]

...Actually, at 54, you would have to do 6:18.6 to be a qualifier. Next yr, at 55, the qualifier time is 6:32.8. The qualifier times are based on the top 5% of performers each yr. The times are going down...

...I do know, not being a big traveler, that the logistics of going to Boston on a tight schedule does not seem very appealing. Just getting around between Logan, hotels, restaurants, the erg venue, etc seems rather daunting. I can see myself on their metro ending up in Springfield on race day...

More likely, you'd end up on one of their trolleys.
Personally, I got my rental car towed, with no note left as to how to get it back, with government offices closed on a Sunday, and with a flight in a few hours. That was my more impressive race that day, the race against time. Jack Bauer would've been proud!
I had prepared with an eye to being Top-10 in my age group, with a minimum of being in the Top 25% of rowers present. So, I wrote down all the times for the previous 5 years, figured out what it would take to be Top 10, and started training. I was within a couple seconds of my goal at 6:42.5, but I came in 17th of 63, so I didn't even get into the Top 25%, though every year previous to that I would have been!
When I was growing up, Masters were just guys who fungoed baseballs, waved to the crowd, signed autographs & avoided looking bad. Now, they're guys who have kept in amazing shape for 30 or 40 years straight, and are knocking down old standards. 6:18.6 just to qualify at 54? Wow!
But there are 2 ways to win these races... Where's Jeff Gilooly & his tire iron when you need him?

[CONLEJM]

Geez, you guys are fast! I think my best time at the 2K was 6:38.5, and I was 45 when I did that.

Today I broke tradition and on a whim - for the first time in like 15 months - I tried a 5K. Not to set a personal best, but just to see if I could still do it in under 18 minutes. (Back in college that was the qualifying time to be invited to try out for the crew team).

Well I did it, and it was pretty easy; I managed 17:48.9 which would put me at the 96th percentile for my cohort. Honestly I didn't even start working or sweating until the last 1500 meters. I guess all these hour-long rows are good for something. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't push myself harder and go for a PB.

[Cyclingman1]

More likely, you'd end up on one of their trolleys.
Personally, I got my rental car towed, with no note left as to how to get it back, with government offices closed on a Sunday, and with a flight in a few hours.

I suppose it is amusing in hindsight, but not at the moment. I actually think that Crash-B/Concept2 could make a far better effort in giving more support to out-of-towners coming to Boston for their event. For starters, transportation from Logan to their Crash-B hotels and from the hotels to the venue. I actually made this suggestion to the Crash-B organizers.

Well I did it, and it was pretty easy; I managed 17:48.9 which would put me at the 96th percentile for my cohort. Honestly I didn't even start working or sweating until the last 1500 meters. I guess all these hour-long rows are good for something. I'm kicking myself now that I didn't push myself harder and go for a PB.

2013 was your year. 17:17 for 5K, 35:4x for 10K, and 6:38 for 2K. I agree, 16K every other day can't be bad.

[glenmbaker]

And now for something completely different, the latest rowing toy:
Tried it out for the first time last Sunday. Sure enough...managed to go swimming. 47 degree air, 41 degree water. Lots of fun!

What? !?! That's awesome! Congrats on the new 1x.

Thanks, looking forward to more time in the boat and less in the water

Unfortunately the shoes were a bit small. Took the foot stretcher home, attached the new shoes, put them in the bed of my truck...the next morning discovered that somebody had broken into my truck and stole my rowing shoes and foot stretcher (and stroke coach). Geez...what are they going to do, hop around the neighborhood and use the stroke coach to guide their workout? Stupid thieves....

[damselfly]

Hey rowers, remember, Valentine's Day is coming up! Remember your sweetie by rowing the Valentine's Challenge! The goal is to row a total of 14,000 meters between February 9 and midnight on Valentine's Day, February 14. What says "love" better than sweat and heavy breathing?!?!