TimbukTOO Team Room

[Cikan Vuz]

okay, cool! Thank you all! =])

[damselfly]

A great first day of the challenge, team!! Since C2 didn't have numbers available until this AM, this snapshot captures a bit more than the first day of the challenge. Next snap to be taken tonight around 9:30 Pacific. But we really got going right out of the gate! Nice job, team!! 27 of 49 members (55%) logged 311,459 total meters Monday!

P.S. It's never to late to set a goal! Just let me know...



Posted Meters:
Mark A - 20,000
John B - 13,045
James C - 4,517
Ken C - 5,000
Kristin C - 9,500

Ulla D - 7,420
Jim G - 17,013
Lisa H - 6,293
Gabi H - 4,000
Dana H - 8,000

Danny H - 3,648
Greg H - 10,000
Kyle J - 20,000
Kevin K - 5,000
Erik K - 11,106

J. K - 6,261
Ron M - 15,000
Adam M - 16,500
Ed M - 9,000
Diane M - 46,097

Heather R - 5,000
Matthew R - 10,500
John S - 23,960
Rahsaan T - 4,178
Richard W - 10,000

Joseph W - 10,215
Glenn Y - 10,206


Challenge Goals - Day 1.25 of 31 (4%):
Ron M - 15,000 of 100,000 (15.0%)
Diane M - 46,097 of 450,000 (10.2%)
Ed M - 9,000 of 120,000 (7.5%)
John B - 13,045 of 200,000 (6.5%)
Lisa H - 6,293 of 100,000 (6.3%)
Ulla D - 7,420 of 125,000 (5.9%)

Kevin K - 5,000 of 150,000 (3.3%)
Bobbie Z - 0 of 200,000 (0.0%)

[PJM]

My goal is to just add meters and finish the challenge!
I am not sure what my daily meters will be.
Nascar Chase is on as of yesterday..I have races to attend, road trips etc.
So I will row as I can and add as I can..and meet my goal of rowing when I can!!

Pat

[damselfly]

Welcome back to the boat, James C! Glad to have you back aboard. A fit and fabulous 20 of 58 members (34%) logged 247,600 total meters Sunday!

Milestones achieved:
Diane walloped 600K, Ron ran over 300K, Glenn sailed past 50K, and Kristin slid by 15K!!

Approaching milestones:
Adam is a scosche away from 1.1M (-8,403m), John S is closing on 800K (-20,005m), Andy is nearing 600K (-5,221m), Jim G is on the brink of 450K (-3,750m), Kevin is very near 400K (-2,867m), Lisa and Heather are teaming up to hit 300K (-1,243m and -17,000m), Dana and John B are likewise attacking 200K (-2,300m and -22,137m), Ed is nearing 150K (-23,563m), Kristin is sighting 25K (-9,003m), with Ken in pursuit nearing 15K (-9,500m)

Posted Meters:
Diane M - 46,097 Mamboin' meters, Batman!
Heather R - 24,500 Back in da house!!
John S - 23,960 Not bad, son, not bad...
Kyle J - 20,000 Outstanding!!
John B - 13,045 Hitting it hard but not too hard!
Andy I - 12,342 Enjoying erging or whacking the water?
Ron M - 12,000 Back in great form!!
Matthew R - 10,500 Found a new sweet spot!
Joseph W - 10,215 Excellent!!
Glenn Y - 10,206 Super!!
Ed M - 9,000 Adding up fast!
Dana H - 8,000 Extra distance!
Adam M - 8,000 Unflappable!
Ulla D - 7,420 Off and running, er, rowing!
Jim G - 7,005 Solid!
Lisa H - 6,293 Slow and steady....
Kevin K - 5,000 Sweet!
Ken C - 5,000 Great first challenge day!
James C - 4,517 Welcome back!
Kristin C - 4,500 Letting Ken get more erg time?!?

[Quatroux]

Hey Jim, Thanks for responding. Sorry no videos.
I row at my gym. Between 2:15 - 2:30 for
500 meters on longer rows. In terms of form,
On the release or recovery I go legs first then arms
back leans in to 11:00. On the drive or catch I
thrust with legs first, then pull with arms, back angle
shifts to 1:00. That is what I try for. In my head I don't
think I get enough thrust with legs so I rush the release
and end up with an exhausting 35+ s/m. Maybe I just need
more seasoning and I shouldn't rush the HM. With 20 -10k rows
I can make my goal for the challenge. We'll see how I feel at the
one hour mark tomorrow.

How about some unsolicited advice from me? Yes? Great!
Break your stroke down to the thee basic parts and count each one off in your head:
One: Drive down the slide – push with your legs to the point that you feel some of your weight come off the seat. Enagage your back as your knees straighten and then bring your hands in.
Two: Get those hands away and rock over
Three and Four: Up the slide
This gives you a 4-beat stroke and helps to exaggerate the slow recovery. Count these out in your head and you’ll let the flywheel spin a bit longer which is much more efficient. You’ll naturally rush the 3 and 4 counts and your stroke will be somewhere closer to a 1:1 ratio between drive and recovery, but should cure you from rushing the slide.
I can’t row 35spm for any distance. I can hold 2:15/500m at 18spm forever and a day. There’s no way I could get to 35spm without rushing the slide which would just be counterproductive. The ultra-fit can sprint at that rate, but their splits would be well below 1:45/500m. I think it is impossible to pull fast without also pulling hard unless you are willing to sacrifice technique.

[Quatroux]

Andy I - 12,342 Enjoying erging or whacking the water?

I had a head race in Fort Worth - Steerhead Regatta. I had bronchitis for 3 weeks and then was overseas for the 4th week before the race. It shouldn't surprise anyone that it didn't go well. It was still fun and now I train for an October 5k head race in Austin.

[johnb]

Hey Jim, Thanks for responding. Sorry no videos.
I row at my gym. Between 2:15 - 2:30 for
500 meters on longer rows. In terms of form,
On the release or recovery I go legs first then arms
back leans in to 11:00. On the drive or catch I
thrust with legs first, then pull with arms, back angle
shifts to 1:00. That is what I try for. In my head I don't
think I get enough thrust with legs so I rush the release
and end up with an exhausting 35+ s/m. Maybe I just need
more seasoning and I shouldn't rush the HM. With 20 -10k rows
I can make my goal for the challenge. We'll see how I feel at the
one hour mark tomorrow.

How about some unsolicited advice from me? Yes? Great!
Break your stroke down to the thee basic parts and count each one off in your head:
One: Drive down the slide – push with your legs to the point that you feel some of your weight come off the seat. Enagage your back as your knees straighten and then bring your hands in.
Two: Get those hands away and rock over
Three and Four: Up the slide
This gives you a 4-beat stroke and helps to exaggerate the slow recovery. Count these out in your head and you’ll let the flywheel spin a bit longer which is much more efficient. You’ll naturally rush the 3 and 4 counts and your stroke will be somewhere closer to a 1:1 ratio between drive and recovery, but should cure you from rushing the slide.
I can’t row 35spm for any distance. I can hold 2:15/500m at 18spm forever and a day. There’s no way I could get to 35spm without rushing the slide which would just be counterproductive. The ultra-fit can sprint at that rate, but their splits would be well below 1:45/500m. I think it is impossible to pull fast without also pulling hard unless you are willing to sacrifice technique.

Hey Andy, Thanks! I welcome the advice. I am lucky and happy
that I can maintain a high stroke rate, but am fully aware
of my inefficiency and want to improve. During my row
yesterday I was sustaining more in the 30-33 stroke range
with no drop off in my 500m splits. All month long I want
use this challenge to focus on improving my form and
timing while reducing my stroke rate with no loss in performance.
Hopefully by mid-October I can get it down closer to the mid-20's,
but I am going to try to take my time and do it smartly. Then maybe
I won't have to mop up the floor after each long row.

[Quatroux]

Hey Andy, Thanks! I welcome the advice. I am lucky and happy
that I can maintain a high stroke rate, but am fully aware
of my inefficiency and want to improve. During my row
yesterday I was sustaining more in the 30-33 stroke range
with no drop off in my 500m splits. All month long I want
use this challenge to focus on improving my form and
timing while reducing my stroke rate with no loss in performance.
Hopefully by mid-October I can get it down closer to the mid-20's,
but I am going to try to take my time and do it smartly. Then maybe
I won't have to mop up the floor after each long row.

The ability to drop your SPM without sacrificing pace is a great sign!

[damselfly]

Way to pull, team!!! We're currently in 6th place in the standings. Highest I can remember...

Don't get overly excited though... Just...

[johnb]

So, I had a good day. I do cross train quite a bit
and so I started the day off with a 10 minute row
prior to my weight workout. Lifted weights for an
hour, then replenished and rested for 4+ hours. This
evening I went back and rowed for 35 more minutes
and thanks to all the input folks gave me my stroke
rate is coming down with no discernible performance
drop off! I now live in the 25-28 range and can envision
my rate dipping into the lower 20's fairly soon.
Go Team!

[gholtman]

John,
I have no knowledge of the sudilties of stroke rate vs. performance. Why do you want your stroke rate in the lower 20's?

[johnb]

John,
I have no knowledge of the sudilties of stroke rate vs. performance. Why do you want your stroke rate in the lower 20's?

Hi, so I am striving to improve my rowing. If I can accomplish the same speed/ 500 meter splits at a lower strokes per minute rate, then I am being more efficient and effective as a rower. I was struggling to make improvements in my times and I was typically maintaining 35 strokes per minute. I knew my form was not great, but needed guidance on how to improve it, which teammates were very helpful with. So tonight and earlier today I focused on incorporating the advice into my rowing. I focused on the elements of my stroke, breaking it down into the elements and not rushing my recovery. With more measured recovery I found myself getting more thrust out of the drive portion of my stroke. So tonight rowing at an average rate of 27 s/m I was able to achieve the same 500 meter splits that I had yesterday at a rate of 35 s/m. I was tickled! On the drive portion of my strokes I led with legs, then back and arms. On the recovery I released the arms, then the legs and back mildly leaning forward. I felt more flexible, felt like I got longer strokes, and was in a better position at the end of the recovery to really thrust strongly for the drive portion of the next stroke. I started realizing how important the proper form is, if I get it down right and I want to increase my stroke rate to go really fast I will have the right foundation to build on. My 35 strokes were not as we'll executed as my 27's tonight. At points I dropped to 24 or 25 and still got excellent drive, maybe better than at 27 s/m and generated more power with each stroke and did not have to work as hard to achieve the same result as in previous rows. I am still a novice at this, so I hope I explained it reasonably well. It felt good to realize I could improve and that I was improving, thanks to the input from team members here coupled with some of the training material on the C2 site. Now I think I should be able to improve my times at various measured distances like 2K, 5k, and 10k. Achieving the same results while not working as feverishly hard, will also better position me to tackle things like half and full marathon rows.

[Cikan Vuz]

"Diane M - 46,097 Mamboin' meters, Batman! "

I wanted to start us out STRONG and hopefully motivate others to try to pass me wink wink....

Sadly, I ignored the pain on my inner upper arms from a shirt rubbing wrong so I am "owie" right now, but will be good to go in the morning!

And JohnB, I too found that I do better if I concentrate on form and power rather than "how fast can I row" like most in my gym do. I actually am getting better times with my s/m between 24 to 27 than those (in my gym) who are doing 35 to 45 s/m.

Tomorrow, I will shoot for 2 x 3 x 20 min / 5 min easy

Row three 20 minute pieces. Row for five minutes at light pressure between each piece, and repeat.

[Izzzmeister]

...If I can accomplish the same speed/ 500 meter splits at a lower strokes per minute rate, then I am being more efficient and effective as a rower. I was struggling to make improvements in my times and I was typically maintaining 35 strokes per minute. I knew my form was not great, but needed guidance on how to improve it, which teammates were very helpful with. So tonight and earlier today I focused on incorporating the advice into my rowing. I focused on the elements of my stroke, breaking it down into the elements and not rushing my recovery. With more measured recovery I found myself getting more thrust out of the drive portion of my stroke. So tonight rowing at an average rate of 27 s/m I was able to achieve the same 500 meter splits that I had yesterday at a rate of 35 s/m. I was tickled! On the drive portion of my strokes I led with legs, then back and arms. On the recovery I released the arms, then the legs and back mildly leaning forward. I felt more flexible, felt like I got longer strokes, and was in a better position at the end of the recovery to really thrust strongly for the drive portion of the next stroke. I started realizing how important the proper form is, if I get it down right and I want to increase my stroke rate to go really fast I will have the right foundation to build on. My 35 strokes were not as we'll executed as my 27's tonight. At points I dropped to 24 or 25 and still got excellent drive, maybe better than at 27 s/m and generated more power with each stroke and did not have to work as hard to achieve the same result as in previous rows. I am still a novice at this, so I hope I explained it reasonably well. It felt good to realize I could improve and that I was improving, thanks to the input from team members here coupled with some of the training material on the C2 site. Now I think I should be able to improve my times at various measured distances like 2K, 5k, and 10k. Achieving the same results while not working as feverishly hard, will also better position me to tackle things like half and full marathon rows.

I actually spent some time watching the rowing in the London & Beijing Olympics & was fascinated by the different approaches of the various rowers. Biggest split: Most rowers seemed to go for smooth strokes & a fluid motion throughout. A sizable minority did slower recoveries, then "uncoiled" with a sudden, powerful stroke. The stronger ones (Mahe Drysdale, Xeno Muller, etc.) didn't mind so much if the rear of their shell popped out of the water a little. The smoother rowers never allowed the rear of their boat to protrude, so as not to increase water resistance.
Personally, I go for the smoother, balanced stroke. I go a steady 29-30spm. If I see that I'm getting less than about 9 meters per stroke, I know I'm trying too hard & I settle into a slower, more relaxed stroke which yields the same speed or better.
When I started, I was doing 2 minutes steady, 1 minute fast, for an hour at a time, trying to push my hour meterage up each week. Now that I do speed work, extra-long rows, endurance rows, etc., I rarely do that interval-style row. And I only do back-to-back hard days when I'm training for something in particular.
If you want to work on the power of each stroke, look up the Wolverine Plan, look how Marston sets up what he calls "Level 4" work...

[Izzzmeister]

Finally got my first Fall Challenge row in! Was supposed to do a long one last night, then got called in to work - and they weren't ready, so I didn't get back home until 6am!

So tonight, I finally did a full hour (last 2 times were 51 & 47 minutes) plus a 2K cooldown.

Damselfly, put me down for 225K. Hope I can do that even with such low mileage last month...