The trouble is, erging is a wintersport, often in cooler/colder conditions and depending on weather not seldom dry. 2k gives a heavy breathing, so our throat will dry out very Rapidly.Edward4492 wrote:You hit that dead on! I've had my best times in warm, humid conditions. The winter erg races are brutal on the throat and lungs, CRASH B's is known for the dry environment. I took to using Biotene as a moisturizer (throat spray) before and after, seems to help.
How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
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hjs
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Re: How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
Re: How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
Well, it's gonna hurt if you do it right. However you can mitigate the pain.
Trust your training/Know your training
You cannot do better than your training will allow. There will be no "miracles on the erg". In fact, it is likely that you will do slightly worse than your training will allow due to psychological reasons. Try some of the known predictors of 2k times are 8x500 or 4x1000 with varying degree of rest between intervals. Search on this forum for predictors. For me the best predictor is an all out 1k. That's usually my 2k pace minus 4-5 seconds. Many people swear by the 1x2k with unlimited rest.
The point here is to avoid the fly and die which is the most painful way to complete a 2k, by picking a pace you can finish at.
Pick a Pace
On this forum you will find several discussions about 2k strategy and pace. There is no clear consensus, except from a physics point of view the most efficient strategy is keep a steady pace. There may be psychological or physiological reasons to do something different such as negative splits, but you can't argue about the physics. Furthermore, steady pace is the easiest strategy to remember.
Pick a Place
Somebody must have done a PB at CRASH B but I don't know who they are. Most of my PBs have been in my own private ergotorium. Or at least, pick a small local venue where you know the environment to attempt at PB. For a first time competitor the CRASH B environment can be overwhelming and distracting.
Pick a lot of 2ks
Jon Bone (Navigation Hazard) who used to populate this forum used to say defetishize the 2k by doing lots of them in training. I prefer to say undemonize the 2k by incorporating many of them into your training as AT intervals. Get used to seeing the meters tick down and realizing that you will not die.
Control extraneous variables
I did my modest 2k PB (7:11) as a 57 YO LWT. I had a good idea of my pace based on two previous 1ks. I had it planned out a few days before my attempt. I was following the IP and stopped erging a few days before the attempt on the weekend. I was well hydrated the day before and got a good night's sleep. I planned out the day of my attempt by eating a late breakfast, taking it easy during the day, a light lunch, cup of coffee, and then a nap. I then sat down of the erg, did the Eddie Fletcher warm up, rested a few minutes, and decided I will now do a PB. It was flat paced until I had about 300 m to go and the brain said to the legs, "start sprinting!" The legs radioed back that this is all there was and if you ask again we are going to slow down. So I just held on with a flat pace to the end. The point is I controlled all that I could control and left the rest up to my training. Yes it hurt but it was an achievable goal and the recovery was fairly fast. And it was worth it.
Trust your training/Know your training
You cannot do better than your training will allow. There will be no "miracles on the erg". In fact, it is likely that you will do slightly worse than your training will allow due to psychological reasons. Try some of the known predictors of 2k times are 8x500 or 4x1000 with varying degree of rest between intervals. Search on this forum for predictors. For me the best predictor is an all out 1k. That's usually my 2k pace minus 4-5 seconds. Many people swear by the 1x2k with unlimited rest.
The point here is to avoid the fly and die which is the most painful way to complete a 2k, by picking a pace you can finish at.Pick a Pace
On this forum you will find several discussions about 2k strategy and pace. There is no clear consensus, except from a physics point of view the most efficient strategy is keep a steady pace. There may be psychological or physiological reasons to do something different such as negative splits, but you can't argue about the physics. Furthermore, steady pace is the easiest strategy to remember.
Pick a Place
Somebody must have done a PB at CRASH B but I don't know who they are. Most of my PBs have been in my own private ergotorium. Or at least, pick a small local venue where you know the environment to attempt at PB. For a first time competitor the CRASH B environment can be overwhelming and distracting.
Pick a lot of 2ks
Jon Bone (Navigation Hazard) who used to populate this forum used to say defetishize the 2k by doing lots of them in training. I prefer to say undemonize the 2k by incorporating many of them into your training as AT intervals. Get used to seeing the meters tick down and realizing that you will not die.
Control extraneous variables
I did my modest 2k PB (7:11) as a 57 YO LWT. I had a good idea of my pace based on two previous 1ks. I had it planned out a few days before my attempt. I was following the IP and stopped erging a few days before the attempt on the weekend. I was well hydrated the day before and got a good night's sleep. I planned out the day of my attempt by eating a late breakfast, taking it easy during the day, a light lunch, cup of coffee, and then a nap. I then sat down of the erg, did the Eddie Fletcher warm up, rested a few minutes, and decided I will now do a PB. It was flat paced until I had about 300 m to go and the brain said to the legs, "start sprinting!" The legs radioed back that this is all there was and if you ask again we are going to slow down. So I just held on with a flat pace to the end. The point is I controlled all that I could control and left the rest up to my training. Yes it hurt but it was an achievable goal and the recovery was fairly fast. And it was worth it.
Re: How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
Its easy for the first couple of hundred of meters...Any hard race or erg you need to divide the it into parts e.g. the start, 500m mark finish etc have tactical goals. Use cue words, eg finish, flow, sprint. When the pain really starts the mental side needs to takeover to block out the pain. I try to concentrate on technique, my preference is to concentrate on leg drive and finishers and sometimes slide control and more. I got these methods from Sports Psychology books I read in the 80s and 90s, I don't know if much is changed in this field. I went to the library the other day and could nt find any books on sports psychology cause I have kinda taken someone under my wing.
Even the big boys find a 2000m hard. Read this article from Eric Murray from the NZ Olympic pair
http://www.worldrowing.com/news/eric-mu ... oor-rowing
Even the big boys find a 2000m hard. Read this article from Eric Murray from the NZ Olympic pair
http://www.worldrowing.com/news/eric-mu ... oor-rowing
M48 182cm 87kg PBs .5k 1:30 2k 6:40.9 5k 18:02 6k 21:21
Re: How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
As I have heard international track athletes say, "It doesn't get easier, you just get faster."robhen wrote: Even the big boys find a 2000m hard. Read this article from Eric Murray from the NZ Olympic pair
http://www.worldrowing.com/news/eric-mu ... oor-rowing
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hjs
- Marathon Poster
- Posts: 10076
- Joined: March 16th, 2006, 3:18 pm
- Location: Amstelveen the netherlands
Re: How to minimize the 2k erg test pain
What me always strikes is the ease those guys run at. Not seldom they don,t even stop but jog on after they finish.PaulG wrote:As I have heard international track athletes say, "It doesn't get easier, you just get faster."robhen wrote: Even the big boys find a 2000m hard. Read this article from Eric Murray from the NZ Olympic pair
http://www.worldrowing.com/news/eric-mu ... oor-rowing
I have seen guys pull sub 5.50 times and not putting the handle down, but paddling on. Pretty bizar to me
