High school female - erg question

[jamesg]

When you say do the sums and train it, what do you mean?

You mention: 2k 8:16 (184W) Rate 27 and 5k 22:33 (140W) Rate 26.

Your stroke work was therefore 184/27 = 6.8 W.min and 140/26 = 5.4 W'.

An 8' 2k (203W) done with stroke 6.8W' needs rate 30, which should be doable. Some high rate 500s at 30 to 35 might help to see how it can be done. Training could involve moving the 5k rating down (other distances too) and using the higher Work level: 22 x 6.8 = 150W, pace 2:13, 22:10, since that's the stroke you have already. Take your time about it and don't overtrain. Racing needs resting.

[row23]

Beans and nuts are great. I really like to roast chickpeas with different herbs and spices and then use them to top salads. Roasted tofu can be delicious, if you haven't tried that. And simply reading packages can really help. We're having Barilla Protein Plus spaghetti tonight, which at 10g protein per serving has more than most pasta. Some veggie burgers can be good sources of protein and others are tasty but are essentially just vegetables. (Dr. Praeger's.) Greek yogurt has 17g serving per serving compared to 8g per serving for milk; I love it with some fruit and cereal for breakfast.

My CRASH-B 2k earlier this year was at 27 spm, and then my WRICH 2k a couple weeks later was at 30 spm and a couple seconds faster. I've been working on increasing rate by trying to keep rate around 33-34 for speedy interval work, such as 8x500. I've set a couple of new PRs this fall in the 33-34 spm range. My steady state is still mainly in a 18-22 range.

Thanks so much for the help. I added a protein smoothie for a snack yesterday and it helped me get through rowing and swimming. And I've noticed there is definitely a lot of food on the market that has added protein or is made with protein sources - I'll have to look out for that next time I am at the grocery.

I think I'm going to try and add rate work into my training. I agree, higher rates will likely help me drop time. I can race at high rates - in one of my head races this fall, my doubles partner and I raced a 5k at a 31 the whole time - but lately, I've found my rate automatically sitting at a 27 for a 2k. Adding more high rate workouts will probably help me bring that up to at least a 29 or higher.

[row23]

When you say do the sums and train it, what do you mean?

You mention: 2k 8:16 (184W) Rate 27 and 5k 22:33 (140W) Rate 26.

Your stroke work was therefore 184/27 = 6.8 W.min and 140/26 = 5.4 W'.

An 8' 2k (203W) done with stroke 6.8W' needs rate 30, which should be doable. Some high rate 500s at 30 to 35 might help to see how it can be done. Training could involve moving the 5k rating down (other distances too) and using the higher Work level: 22 x 6.8 = 150W, pace 2:13, 22:10, since that's the stroke you have already. Take your time about it and don't overtrain. Racing needs resting.

This helps a lot, thanks for the advice. I didn't realize stroke rate could make that much of a difference in time. I'll add in some more training at high rates. I've done 500 repeats at a 30-32 for a workout lately so maybe I will do more of that or add in shorter interval-type stuff at even higher rates.

[jamesg]

Your relatively low stroke work in the 5k could mean you need endurance (don't we all). Maybe you can see more detail as to splits in the PM.

[row23]

Your relatively low stroke work in the 5k could mean you need endurance (don't we all). Maybe you can see more detail as to splits in the PM.

My split was a 2:15 or 2:16 the whole time except for the last 500, which I did at a 2:10 average. Haven't done a 5k in awhile though (this time is from September 2022) so I probably could go a lot lower if I were to have done one more recently.

So basically what I'm thinking now is just more erging, not neccesarily of any specific type but just a mix of steady state and sprint/high rate work erging to try and bring my times down more.

[row23]

So I ended up quitting swim to focus this winter on rowing. So far I don't regret it as I've been able to do much more rowing training in a few days than I was able to do in a week when trying to do swimming and rowing. I realized that I want to drop time on my ergs more than I want to swim and so focusing on rowing is the better bet, plus keeping my grades high as well since my AP classes are getting harder will be easier without meets and swimming.

I've also gone to the grocery and bought a bunch of new foods with lots of protein. I've started eating protein smoothies several times a day and am eating more protein for meals as well. Based on what I've heard in this forum I think I'm going to make a plan of doing sprint/rate work and steady state work on opposing days and then lifting after. My lifting is looking different now too as I'm doing fewer reps, higher weight, and some new exercises I wasn't aware of before. I think I can drop time if I just stay consistent and put a lot of effort into nutrition.

[p_b82]

Good luck with it - Hope you achieve your goals

[Elizabeth]

I also got to the point in high school where I had to quit a sport; I was also trying to balance two per season and it's not sustainable. It can be so hard to choose to end something that you're enjoying, but I don't have any regrets, and I was able to compete in my top choice sport in college.

You may not need several protein shakes a day. I've just seen vegetarians who subsist on spaghetti and french fries, and that's a no go as an athlete. There are a lot of great ways to work in a variety of macro and micronutrients. We had butter chicken (murgh makhani) made with tofu instead of chicken last night, and a loaded taco salad with beans, avocado, and Morningstar chorizo crumbles tonight.

I really think you'll see a lot of improvement just by upping your calories and training consistently. Best of luck!

[row23]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

[Elizabeth]

That is awesome - what a great drop in time, and it must feel great to hit that milestone! Congratulations!

[RayOfSunshine]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

That's a huge beat! Congrats. And... to break 8 at the World Indoors is very special.

[GlennUk]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

That's brilliant, well done thats a big margin to improve by.

FWIW, i had seen this thread become active again and was reading the various threads, especially about diet.

I dont know how its going but beware when increasing your dietary intake, it can get out of hand if it is not monitored and balanced. Im still shedding soft muscle (AFA fat) gained when i trained for a long row and felt tired, so decided i needed more calories, three months later, and there it was, about 7kgs of soft muscle I dont need.

I als0 found that lots of protein shakes contain excess carbs beware of additives in your food too.

[DavidA]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

Woo Hoo!!
Congratulations on the PB! and on breaking 8!

David

[KeithT]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

What a great goal to hit and to do it at the WRIC - awesome! The work you put in paid off which is usually does.

[Elizabeth]

Update:
I did a 2k yesterday at World Indoors and got a PR of 7:59.6, hitting my goal of breaking eight minutes. My previous 2k was a 8:06.7 (12/20/2022) so it was a 7-second pr!
I logged a lot of meters and lifted this winter which I think greatly helped, and I wouldn't have been able to do it if I was busy with swimming. It felt great to finally break 8. Thanks again everyone, I definitely made the right choice quitting swim.

That's brilliant, well done thats a big margin to improve by.

FWIW, i had seen this thread become active again and was reading the various threads, especially about diet.

I dont know how its going but beware when increasing your dietary intake, it can get out of hand if it is not monitored and balanced. Im still shedding soft muscle (AFA fat) gained when i trained for a long row and felt tired, so decided i needed more calories, three months later, and there it was, about 7kgs of soft muscle I dont need.

I als0 found that lots of protein shakes contain excess carbs beware of additives in your food too.

It's been a while since I was a teenage girl, but in my experience teenage girls are much more likely to notice an extra two pounds and cut back, while guys are more likely to do larger bulks. We had dieticians and sports nutritionists come and talk to the cross country team at the beginning of each season about eating enough, and girls still didn't always eat enough. It's reasonable to monitor for more fat gain than you want to not swing too hard in the wrong direction, but also incredibly important to understand that there will be very normal swings on the scale due to monthly hormonal cycles, a particularly salty dinner, or (when you're older!) some drinks the night before. I'm typically somewhere in a 4 lb/2 kg range depending on a variety of factors. All normal.