TimbukTOO Team Room

[rjm13]

Sorry my mileage has been so low lately! In between work travel and training for a half-marathon (running) I'm trying to squeeze in my rowing whenever possible. Hopefully I'll start pulling my weight some more as I settle into a routine after this next trip in July.

[Izzzmeister]

Welcome back to our boat, Ted Parr! 15 of 37 members (41%) logged 158,615 total meters Thursday!

Milestones achieved: Matthew R pulled 450K!
Approaching milestones: David humming towards 1.3M (-31,652m), Jim focused on 700K (-26,000m), Keith manning up to 500K (-21,000m), Yisroel (-18,335m) leading Adam (-22,000m) towards 450K, Gary chasing 350K (-16,280m), Lisa (-742m) still leads Mark (-8,555m) to 300K, Andy strides towards 250K (-1,557m), Elisa faster approaching 150K (-19,306m) while Rob (-4,529m) takes more steps towards 75K!

Posted Meters:
David W - 25,237 Wow!
Gary G - 16,238 Fifth long row this week! Passed 333,333m!
Jim C - 16,000 Got it under an hour yet?
Kyle J - 15,000 Nice!
John S - 13,676 Long!

Matthew R - 11,181 Beat me!
Joseph W - 11,111 The ones we were waiting for…
Lee C - 10,000 In our team’s Top Ten!
Keith J - 9,900 Six in a row…
Fred B - 8,147 Another long one!

Lisa H - 6,038 Five days in a row…
Nancy W - 5,117 Strong!
Ted P - 4,402 Missed ya…
Adam M - 3,500 Speed work, or short on time?
Rob M - 3,068 Whatever benefits your fitness…

[CONLEJM]

Jim C - 16,000 Got it under an hour yet?

Yup, my SB this year is 16,257 in 60 min. Soon I will try for 16,365 (to get a 1:49.9 pace).

Going to give blood today, so it may be a while before I'm up for it, though.

[Izzzmeister]

Jim C - 16,000 Got it under an hour yet?

Yup, my SB this year is 16,257 in 60 min. Soon I will try for 16,365 (to get a 1:49.9 pace)...

Don't know why you took your "line" of times off, but it's awesome. My PB in the hour, 16,393 in 2011, is still better than yours, but a few others are behind yours, like in the half hour where you have a 8,354 to 8,345 advantage,
I had been getting lazy, not pushing myself, just trying to cover meters in good time and stay in the top tier, but I think you've gotten my competitive juices flowing.
Example: While my HM best times in 2011 & 2012 were 1:17:55.1 and 1:19:26.6 respectively, I was satisfied being stuck in the 1:22 range the past 9 months. Now that you've broken the magical 1:20 barrier, I've been pushing my times up as well. Last week, I improved from 1:22:06 to 1:21:32.3. Last night, I pushed that down another 68.1 seconds to 1:20:24.3 (which, by the way, helped me pass you on Nonathlon by 5 points... yes, I know I needed the 100 bonus points from doing all 10 distances to top you by 5, but I haven't done a serious 1K, 2K or 6K this season either). I've even done a little speed work, which I'd been avoiding, probably because of the lung & muscle burn, but also because it accumulates few meters, and I want to stay on the 7500m+ board.
BTW, if you haven't joined RowPro yet ($99, no yearly fees), it's worth at least taking the 20-day free trial now, since the Race Night Series is doing an hour long row this month instead of the usual sprints. You sign up on concept2.co.uk, and the race "night" is Monday at 19:30GMT, which is 20:30 British time, and 3:30PM Eastern time stateside. That'll get you to push yourself towards that 16,365...
Again, awesome times, looks like you should be able to do a 2K in 6:30 now (might take 2 or 3 tries in a week's time), and push very, very close to a 6:15 if you work towards that as a goal. That's based on a fast 500m, and good endurance (since 80% of the energy used in a 2K race comes from the aerobic system, 84% of the last 1,500m) - you just have to pull together a fast start, steady but fast middle, and an all-out sprint at the end.
Great going!

[CONLEJM]

Thanks, Cap'n Izzz!

FWIW, my line of times can be seen by clicking the little globe thingy under my avatar over there on the right. I didn't want to be in people's face with it, like some of the guys over on the Training board.

Anyway, I dropped my 5K time by 10 seconds today, so I scored a few more points on the Nonathlon. I know you will surpass me on the Nonathlon by season's end, but I will savor the small victories along the way! I have my reservations about that whole contest. For instance, we are all competing for second place ultimately, as that Anne Bourlioux is unstoppable! And yet ... my (and your) times blow hers away on every single race. I get the whole "rowing well for your age/gender", but ultimately I am more interested in my standings in the C2 male heavyweight 40-49 class. (And my goal this season is to average 95th percentile across all 10 races 500m - 21097m). And the extra 100 points is arbitrary, they should just use all 10 scores as a truer measure of fitness.

So, all that said, I am very inspired by you, since you are a little older than me, but your paces are incredibly fast. When you are all trained up your times are way faster than mine. And you put a lot of thought into your training and it pays off. I just sit on the rower and try to row faster than I did before; no real training plan! I put more thought into which music playlist I will listen to that day. (Oh, and I don't stretch at all ... )

Just trying to stay healthy. I gave blood today, and the nurse mentioned how low my pulse and blood pressure were, and asked if I exercise. "Oh, a little bit", I said!

Have a great weekend and Independence Day, everyone!

[Izzzmeister]

Thanks, Cap'n Izzz!...

Anyway, I dropped my 5K time by 10 seconds today, so I scored a few more points on the Nonathlon. I know you will surpass me on the Nonathlon by season's end, but I will savor the small victories along the way! I have my reservations about that whole contest. For instance, we are all competing for second place ultimately, as that Anne Bourlioux is unstoppable! And yet ... my (and your) times blow hers away on every single race. I get the whole "rowing well for your age/gender", but ultimately I am more interested in my standings in the C2 male heavyweight 40-49 class... And the extra 100 points is arbitrary, they should just use all 10 scores as a truer measure of fitness...
So, all that said, I am very inspired by you, since you are a little older than me, but your paces are incredibly fast. ...
Just trying to stay healthy. I gave blood today, and the nurse mentioned how low my pulse and blood pressure were, and asked if I exercise. "Oh, a little bit", I said!

Drats! Foiled again!
It's usually weighted towards 82-year old women that only have 6 people in their weight class, so by having the times of a 75-year old, they're way ahead of the rest of the field.
Anne Bourlioux was a "find". I think she had done some bodybuilding at one point, was big into CrossFit, but was noticed by a guy in a gym in Montreal who said, "We need you on our virtual rowing team!", I think for the CTC (c2ctc.com). CrossFit is into building "power", defined as strength + speed, and likes using the C2 to build power. However, they prefer things like "low pulls" (doing 10 or 15 strokes and trying to get the monitor to register the lowest pace possible), 100m or :30s intervals, etc. So, while they rightly make fun of calling some scrawny marathoner who couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag "The Fittest Man In The World", they go to the opposite extreme and downplay endurance too much. They are great fly-and-die racers at the CRASH-Bs every year.
As soon as Anne built up her endurance too, she's been whacking all the world records in her category.

...Maybe if it was 100 points for 10 scores above 850 or 900, it would mean something...

I guess if I was taking drugs, I would be the kind of guy that takes downers in order to later feel up. I push myself on the rower, either for speed, distance or pain tolerance. Then, I'm exhausted, I feel my lungs every time I breathe, my legs and muscles are wobbling, sometimes on the verge of cramping. But 18-24 hours later, WOW! I'm walking on air, I have loads of energy, I'm breathing deeply, life is good. So, it helps to be a masochist who enjoys pushing his personal limits. (I did once meet a bigger masochist than me. I threatened him that if he didn't shape up, I'd refuse to give him pain!)

In my 20s, when I'd run 4 8:00 miles and then jump rope for a half hour or similar workouts, I had my resting heart rate down to about 34. One doctor forced me to go get a sonogram because I had an "enlarged heart", even though I told him it was normal because I exercised hard. (Yes, the results came back normal.) Then I stopped regular exercise (I had gotten bursitis in my knees from running hills at 215lbs.), except for a couple of years in my 30s, and ballooned to 314 pounds (with gusts up to 330). Even so, my resting heart rate was in the very low 60s. Now, it's normally about 43-44, but the lowest reading I ever get is 41. Nurses still look at me funny when they get readings of 50 in the middle of the day on a 255-pound guy, wondering if they should say something even though my heart sounds strong.
Ultimately, your heart is just beating very efficiently, pumping more blood with less effort. (Drink extra over the next few days to build up blood volume, then your body will replace all the white & red blood cells you gave away over the next couple of weeks. Better than going to the barber to get leeches put on you for "tired blood", like in the Good Old Days.)

[dpw4812]

Congrats, David! Amazing to row 10 million meters in about 18 months!

Thanks I am amazed at how I feel after my workout, It has a been a trip that is for sure... I have not worked on my speed as much as I should, but when I did the challenges and worked on ratings I have found for most part I am in the middle of the pack "my first year of erg'ing" for my age and size so I am fairly happy with that... but I really enjoy nice long steady rows... and every now and then I will do some sprints during my long rows.... I once heard a personal trainer that was telling a customer that anyone can just get on and row all day! The first time I just kind of laughed it off, I know how hard it is to put up the times that you and the captain have put up, and I am awe of them them

At the health club where I work out on most days I can count on hand how many people of sat down and rowed...I have never found anyone row longer then any of my times, I know even with my avg 2:16 to 2:26 500 splits at a sr of 32 to 33 that I am drenched from head to toe..... anyways I heard the same trainer say that same thing to another customer and finally I had to say something to him afterwards and I also explained that he was showing his customers the wrong form and was not explaining about proper foot placement or the reason for damper settings. I didn't mention anything about my times, but I did inform him of how many meters I have rowed and about this website. I saw him again this weekend and we exchanged hello's and he again started to instruct another customer the wrong way, I just bit my tongue and shook my head..... Anyways thanks again.....

David

[lcantey]

Lee C - 2,000 Speed?

Very time limited warmup for weight session.

[damselfly]

All hands on deck! A neat and nifty 9 of 37 members (24%) logged 109,842 total meters Friday!

Milestones achieved:
Yisroel H hit 450K, Lisa H hit 300K!! Yay us!!

Approaching milestones:
David is blazing towards 1.3M (-6,652m), Jim is sweet-sixteening his way to 700K (-10,000m), Keith is steaming towards 500K (-7,492m), Adam is closing on 450K (-16,000m), and Gary is almost to 350K (-9,787m). Row strong, team!

Posted Meters:
Yisroel H - 25,097 Out to shore leave in a blaze of glory!
David W - 25,000 Incredible numbers!
Jim C - 16,000 In the groove...
Keith J - 13,508 Nines and thirteens... Hmmm....
Kyle J - 12,228 Excellent numbers!!
Gary G - 6,493 Looking good!
Adam M - 6,000 Keeping busy too!!
Lisa H - 3,000 Working off pre-trip jitters...
Fred B - 2,516 Getting back into the daily groove!

[damselfly]

Hey, erg-mates! I'm off to Utah for 6 days and will be posting tonight from the road, so commentary will be missing... Supply your own (or a teammate's) woots! Hubby and I are headed for Heber City, Utah, for some outdoor R&R. No fires in the immediate area, but hoping it won't be too smoky. No meters from me for a bit.

Row on, team!

[damselfly]

All hands on deck! 7 of 37 members (19%) logged 93,917 total meters Saturday!

Milestones achieved:
David W hit 1.3M, Gary G hit 350K, Andy I hit 250K!!

Approaching milestones:
Kyle is approaching 800K (-44,689m), Adam is approaching 450K (-10,000m)

This week's frequent rowers (Sat 6/23 through Fri 6/29):
Fred B, Keith J & Lisa H - 6
David W, Gary G, Jim C & Kyle J - 5
Adam M, Lee C, Mark E & Yisroel H - 4

Posted Meters:
Kyle J - 26,221
Andy I - 21,097
Gary G - 18,503
David W - 13,623
Lisa H - 6,023
Adam M - 6,000
Lee C - 2,450

[ronmardix]

Finally able to get back to it after over a week on the disabled list. Will return nice and slow tomorrow and see how it goes. If all goes well, then back to full speed ahead next week.

Have fun in Utah Lisa.

[The Blacksmith]

Well, I've been training for the Blackburn Challenge for a while now. You must complete it in no more than 6 hours. I did a "test" paddle today on the Hudson River. Kingston to Saugerties and back-about 22 mile near as I can figure. Against the tide both ways (falling tide leaving Kingston, rising leaving Saugerties). Did it in 6 hours and 40 minutes. 5 or 6 stops of maybe 2 minutes each. It's going to be close-wish me luck on the 14th.

[ronmardix]

Well, I've been training for the Blackburn Challenge for a while now. You must complete it in no more than 6 hours. I did a "test" paddle today on the Hudson River. Kingston to Saugerties and back-about 22 mile near as I can figure. Against the tide both ways (falling tide leaving Kingston, rising leaving Saugerties). Did it in 6 hours and 40 minutes. 5 or 6 stops of maybe 2 minutes each. It's going to be close-wish me luck on the 14th.

You'll do better in competition than in the run-up test. You got this

[damselfly]

Well, I've been training for the Blackburn Challenge for a while now. You must complete it in no more than 6 hours. I did a "test" paddle today on the Hudson River. Kingston to Saugerties and back-about 22 mile near as I can figure. Against the tide both ways (falling tide leaving Kingston, rising leaving Saugerties). Did it in 6 hours and 40 minutes. 5 or 6 stops of maybe 2 minutes each. It's going to be close-wish me luck on the 14th.

Hope they don't have some killer penalty if you're late, like cannon shot or something!! Good luck and I'm sure the entire team will be with you in spirit!!