The Two Types of Training

[ranger]

For starters, just getting in to HOCR is by no means guaranteed. Guaranteed places are reserved for top finishers from the previous year's regatta. In the Grand Master Singles (50-59 men), 18 rowers qualify for 2010 on the basis of their 2009 performance. Several more may have been given injury/illness waivers allowing them into the 2010 event. Everyone else goes into a series of blind draws:

ENTRY ACCEPTANCE 6. Sculling (Singles/Doubles) Entry Acceptance:On the basis of winning a Special Medal or finishing within 5% of the winning time in the event-division in which they competed in the preceding year, Single-scullers are guaranteed entry acceptance into the singles event of their choice, provided all conditions of eligibility, deadlines, fees, etc., are met. Except for variances, which only the Managing Directors may grant, a blind draw in early August shall determine all other entry acceptances as follows: Single scullers who in the preceding year were not accepted, did not apply, or who posted a time more than 5% but within 10% of the winning time in their event-division, will be drawn first, followed by those whose times were more than 10% but within 15% of the winning time in their event-division, followed by those who did have entries accepted but failed to post times within 15% of the winning time in their event-division. The singles draw will take place in early August.

Last year the event had 77 entries including three race-day scratches. If that holds for 2010 somewhere around 55 rowers are going to come out of the draws. Offhand I'd guess maybe only 20-25 of them might be new competitors. One of the HOCR vets (e.g. leadville) might know better.

I am in no rush.

Whatever happens, happens.

I am just having a good time.

ranger

[PaulH]

Distance ranking countdown:
45 Days

So, a WR-calibre performance every 4.5 days.

[ranger]

If I can learn to maintain a 20 second per 500m differential between my OTW paces and rates and my erg paces and rates, 1:42 @ 30 spm comes out to be 2:02 @ 30 spm OTW.

That would be a nice Head of the Charles effort when I am 60.

Not great, but anyway, it would be a hell of a lot better than Mike Van WhatsHisName.



ranger

[Byron Drachman]

June 21, 2007: My name is Rich Cureton.
--snip--
I bought a 1x (Peinert26) in the summer of 2003 and have been rowing on the water quite a bit since then.

April 22, 2009: I have been doing dedicated and focused OTW rowing for five years.

April 27, 2009: I can hold a solid 2:00 @ 30 spm.
Massive improvement from last year: lighter grip on the oars, cleaner catches and finishes, better clearance of my blades on recoveries, more horizontal pull, better timing with my legs and back, quicker recoveries, etc.
I now know how to row.
I have made steady progress OTW, since I started to row OTW in the summer of 2003.
My technique work on the erg has helped my OTW a lot.
I am now ready to race OTW.

Oct 20, 2009: I now use the same stroke on the erg and I do in my 1x and I can sustain a pretty nice 2:00 @ 30 spm OTW.

Oct 20, 2009: Yes, my sculling is going great.

Oct 20, 2009: I put in a couple of million meters OTW this spring, summer, and fall

Jan 31, 2010: Over the last seven years I have been working on technique (both OTW and off).

March 17, 2010: I am just a novice OTW.
I have never raced at all.
I am still just learning to row.
I didn't start rowing OTW until I was almost 55 years old.
So, lots of work still to do.

March 17, 2010: If I can learn to maintain a 20 second per 500m differential between my OTW paces and rates and my erg paces and rates, 1:42 @ 30 spm comes out to be 2:02 @ 30 spm OTW.
That would be a nice Head of the Charles effort when I am 60.

[ranger]

Maintaining this drive, at 44 spm, this is Henrik Stephansen's stroke ("Danish Lightweight Racing Stroke").

11 SPI

1.7-to-1 "golden" ratio

1:29.5 pace

ranger

Hey, Mike, here is the stroke that we can use in the double at Nationals.

Can you rate up to 44 spm for 1K?

ranger

[hjs]

June 21, 2007: My name is Rich Cureton.
--snip--
I bought a 1x (Peinert26) in the summer of 2003 and have been rowing on the water quite a bit since then.

April 22, 2009: I have been doing dedicated and focused OTW rowing for five years.

April 27, 2009: I can hold a solid 2:00 @ 30 spm.
Massive improvement from last year: lighter grip on the oars, cleaner catches and finishes, better clearance of my blades on recoveries, more horizontal pull, better timing with my legs and back, quicker recoveries, etc.
I now know how to row.
I have made steady progress OTW, since I started to row OTW in the summer of 2003.
My technique work on the erg has helped my OTW a lot.
I am now ready to race OTW.

Oct 20, 2009: I now use the same stroke on the erg and I do in my 1x and I can sustain a pretty nice 2:00 @ 30 spm OTW.

Oct 20, 2009: Yes, my sculling is going great.

Oct 20, 2009: I put in a couple of million meters OTW this spring, summer, and fall

Jan 31, 2010: Over the last seven years I have been working on technique (both OTW and off).

March 17, 2010: I am just a novice OTW.
I have never raced at all.
I am still just learning to row.
I didn't start rowing OTW until I was almost 55 years old.
So, lots of work still to do.

March 17, 2010: If I can learn to maintain a 20 second per 500m differential between my OTW paces and rates and my erg paces and rates, 1:42 @ 30 spm comes out to be 2:02 @ 30 spm OTW.
That would be a nice Head of the Charles effort when I am 60.

Byron, in the eyes of the nutty pro even Lance Armstrong is a "Novice" on his bike

[mikvan52]

If I can learn to maintain a 20 second per 500m differential between my OTW paces and rates and my erg paces and rates, 1:42 @ 30 spm comes out to be 2:02 @ 30 spm OTW.

That would be a nice Head of the Charles effort when I am 60.

Your sputtering here
makes it seem that your trolling for advice on OTW rowing.

Here goes:
In practice there are fewer hard and fast equivalency formulae for OTErg in relation to OTW...
You probably know this already.

The erg turns out to be a great tool for staying in shape. However, the key to good sculling is to have background in the boat... staying on the erg through the spring and summer ends up hurting racing performances OTW. I've witnessed this phenomenon over the years There are no exceptions to this rule. Distance erg work is no substitute!

You said recently that you ":think:" that you sculled a million meters OTW last summer. I'll take you word for it.
What do you have to show for that? Secrecy about performance... Great. However:
Your writing on this thread seems to show a lack of appreciation of other factors concerning sculling that go beyond rate and pace...
In the end, I am not convinced you know much yet about how to move a boat efficiently enough to be a contender in any event OTW.

Piece of advice: Waiting until you are 60 will make no difference in the quality of the fields you'll have to face in OTW regattas. The attrition is not like on the erg. Top OTW rowers who make it past 50 don't retire. They also do not care about the hwt/lwt distinction.... You'll have to face Spousta, Dietz, Meyer, Anderson, and such at the Head of the Charles no matter how long you wait.
If you wait longer than two years you'll have to face me

I applaud your first foray into being coached this summer (Craftsbury).
Again: Why not time it so you can travel over to The Black Fly Regatta afterwards and scull in a friendly practice race?
One advantage: You'd get to meet one of your future compatriots, Jack Meyer. He was 2nd in the 60-69 HOCR last fall
you could see how long you can stay beside him... It's a mass start race on a lake... plenty of room to steer... plenty of room to "spread you wings and fly"

Want to read more about the Black Fly?

Click on this link:
http://www.blackflyscullers.org/

Just think of me as the Terminator Dweeb-Kid. There's a lot you can learn!
Start with the lingo, bro'!

"Hasta la vista, Baby"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_7vVOnpyJY

..and don't forget to "chill-out"

[Byron Drachman]

However, the key to good sculling is to have background in the boat... staying on the erg through the spring and summer ends up hurting racing performances OTW.

That is such great advice. Ranger believes the OTW season is about four months long in Michigan. It is actually closer to eight or nine months long. The Grand River is full of rowers right now. I was in a single this morning and I will be doing a quad this afternoon.

[mikvan52]

However, the key to good sculling is to have background in the boat... staying on the erg through the spring and summer ends up hurting racing performances OTW.

That is such great advice. Ranger believes the OTW season is about four months long in Michigan. It is actually closer to eight or nine months long. The Grand River is full of rowers right now. I was in a single this morning and I will be doing a quad this afternoon.

We'll undoubtably go through the same old sad dance again this year, Byron.
Coming up next
Ranger will say " all great OTW rowers are great ergers (like me for instance)"

TSO thinks if he rows like Rod Freed that he'll do just fine in his single
What were Rod Freed's OTW times again, Rich??

"cogito ergo erg" ~ r.cureton, erger

[mikvan52]

"General discussion on Training. How to get better on your erg, how to use your erg to get better at another sport, or anything else about improving your abilities."

April 27, 2009: I can hold a solid 2:00 @ 30 spm.
Massive improvement from last year: lighter grip on the oars, cleaner catches and finishes, better clearance of my blades on recoveries, more horizontal pull, better timing with my legs and back, quicker recoveries, etc.
I now know how to row.
I have made steady progress OTW, since I started to row OTW in the summer of 2003.
My technique work on the erg has helped my OTW a lot.
I am now ready to race OTW.

I highlight two items in bold that indicate beliefs that tend to get in the way of good sculling.

I'm glad though that Rich feels that he's ready to race.
He is...... but
He won't.....
"There's that same yellow streak again!"

I predict that he will time trial OTW on his own this summer (and every summer from here on out) and expect us to believe that he is "holding a solid 2:00 @ 30 spm" for a full marathon OTW.... ... "Stealth Rower"

That's the kind of schtick that draws me to this thread... perpetual BS posturing by the master troll
He's so very reliable in this regard.
He "holds a solid 2:00" pace... My eye!
What's an un-solid 2:00?
What's the distance?
Is 2:00 fast enough for competitive sculling over 200 meters

Interesting that last year's 2:00 has become 2:02 this morning...

[bloomp]

Hey Rich!

Come out to Vermont for the race Mike is talking about, we'll finally be able to race! Maybe I'll give you a 30 second head start.

[ranger]

Coming up next Ranger will say " all great OTW rowers are great ergers

The erg is a great training tool.

All great OTW rowers are great ergers, too.



ranger

[ranger]

However, the key to good sculling is to have background in the boat... staying on the erg through the spring and summer ends up hurting racing performances OTW.

That is such great advice. Ranger believes the OTW season is about four months long in Michigan. It is actually closer to eight or nine months long. The Grand River is full of rowers right now. I was in a single this morning and I will be doing a quad this afternoon.

I understand why you don't like the erg, Byron.

If I were you, I wouldn't like it, either.

But avoiding the erg will not solve your problems with proper leverage, etc.

You just carry your bad erg habits out OTW.

ranger

[ranger]

TSO thinks if he rows like Rod Freed that he'll do just fine in his single
What were Rod Freed's OTW times again, Rich??

Your bad-mouthing of Freed is just nervous laughter, Mike.

Freed outrows you by eight seconds per 500m in a HM on the erg.

Why?

You don't get anywhere by disrespecting standards, Mike.

You just avoid the issue.

Parading your strengths will not make you better.

It is just rear-guard action.

You only get better by working on your weaknesses.

Watch your back, son.

ranger

[ranger]

However, the key to good sculling is to have background in the boat... staying on the erg through the spring and summer ends up hurting racing performances OTW.

That is such great advice. Ranger believes the OTW season is about four months long in Michigan. It is actually closer to eight or nine months long. The Grand River is full of rowers right now. I was in a single this morning and I will be doing a quad this afternoon.

I did administrative work this morning and prepared for classes this afternoon.

i have a job, Byron.

I am also distracted by quite a few other things.

For instance, at the moment, my 93-year old mother is dying of congestive heart failure and probably won't live to the weekend.

Her breathing is down to 50% of capacity; they have her on morphine; she is no longer responsive.

I need to compose something to say at her funeral service.

Great lady.

There is a lot to say.

I think I will say a few things and then read this, which has always reminded me of her:

Never Again Would Birds' Song Be the Same

He would declare and could himself believe
That the birds there in all the garden round
From having heard the daylong voice of Eve
Had added to their own an oversound,
Her tone of meaning but without the words.
Admittedly an eloquence so soft
Could only have had an influence on birds
When call or laughter carried it aloft.
Be that as may be, she was in their song.
Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed
Had now persisted in the woods so long
That probably it never would be lost.
Never again would birds' song be the same.
And to do that to birds was why she came.

--Robert Frost


ranger