New Personal Best! Brag About That New Pb!

[G-dub]

Thanks boys. Getting closer. I need to find more fitness somehow. I think the power is there. I gave it all I had, which is all I can ask for.

[Shawn Baker]

Glen- sub 7 soon for sure- nice job!!!

[Cyclingman1]

I need to find more fitness somehow. I think the power is there.

If I'm not mistaken, 6.3 sec improvement from the same event last yr. Another 6.3 puts you in the 6:56 range. It's doable.

You're absolutely right. One has to have the fitness to produce the power per stroke at the rate that produces the pace that you want. Or said differently, you have to get comfortable with a rate at the power that produces the pace wanted. I've been harping on this for a long time. You don't spend a good bit of time training specifically like that, you can't get to where you want to be.

[G-dub]

OK, Mr Gratton. Give me a plan that will get me there. Seriously. I'll give it a shot.

[Edward4492]

Glen.....outstanding! Don't under-estimate the difficulty of getting a PB at an event. You're at the mercy of their clock and schedule as compared to being on your own in the gym. You're doing it on a given day as compared to in the gym where you can just blow it off if you're not feelin' it. You lose at least a second to the clock. In the gym the clock starts when you move the handle. At the venue it starts at ROW. Many venues are dry as a bone and difficult to breather in. As Jim has stated many times, extremely difficult for anyone, particularly amateurs to time a peak just right. You played it just right, pace it out so by the time you get to 500m to go you've got an ok time locked in if you're shot out; but with a possible PR if you're able to drill it down.

Nice job.....you drilled it down!

[mdpfirrman]

Nice work Glenn! Came on here today just to see how you did. Knew you would do well. A PB is nothing to sneeze at! You're going to break 7 this year. May not be first time in a race but you're putting in the work.

Nice drop Mark. Very big drop down on a 5K.

[Bob S.]

@ Mark and Glenn: Well done! Congratulations to both of you.

[wovercast]

Finally getting around to posting my first (so obviously new) PB. I did the Tennessee Indoor Rowing Championship in late January. I had never done an all out 2k, but based on my training, I figured I could go for sub 7 min. I went out at 1:45 pace and held fine. With 500 left to go, I realized I had plenty in the tank so I eased the pace down from 1:45 to about 1:35 by the time the race ended.

Final time - 6:55.3

I am committed to the Interactive Plan for now rowing 4x a week. This week I should hit ~50km. Plan to test 2k every 2-3 months, so I'm hoping for steady improvement....

[Cyclingman1]

OK, Mr Gratton. Give me a plan that will get me there. Seriously. I'll give it a shot.

You probably feel that I'm getting on your case. I'm not. A 6.3 sec improvement is good. The next will be harder. If you feel that your last yr's program will yield similar improvement, no reason to change. Of course, it is hard to know that. Edward is correct. Racing for amateurs is difficult. It is hard to nail it. But in your own mind, did you? In some ways, the answer is connected to your training. Is your training better than your result?

Broadly speaking, a training plan has to have sufficient parts to it to get you comfortable with a rate at the power that produces the pace wanted. 1:44 [311 W] produces 6:56. Can you do 1:44, 10x30 sec with some rest at 31 SPM? Can you do 8x45sec. Can you do 6x1min? Start small, keep building. Not a plan, just some ideas. I'm not against getting in the meters, but doing a whole bunch of 2:00 rows is not going to yield 6:56, unless you are unusually talented and strong and can pull a fast time out of a hat most any time.

[jackarabit]

Nice January 2k PB, Wovercast. News to us and it must still be fresh in your mind!

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

Congrats to everyone that raced today at Atlanta Erg Sprints.

I myself competed in the men's open category, set a new PR and came in 2nd with a time of 6:23.2.

Good "warm-up" race to prepare me for Crash-B's next week. Hoping with this week's taper that I'll be able to break 6:20.0.

[Bob S.]

Congratulations, Armando and the best of luck at Boston. I regret that I can't be there to see it.

[G-dub]

Awesome to all the Pb's flying around. I'm sure we will see more next weekend.

Jim, I am not being an ass. Outline a focus and I will give it a go. I feel like I need a new stimulus to nab those last couple of seconds. And to be honest, I was thinking of focusing on time at AT. My sprints were pretty good last block but I still lag on that gut wrenching endurance piece.

[Hillclimber]

Atlanta Erg Sprints 50-59 year old division:
There were some great times I'm sure. I was too busy doubled over gasping for air and not wanting to be that guy that lays on the ground to truly know what everyone else did. I Managed a 1 second PB. Paced the race right on plan. The idea was to be at 500 to go at current PB split and I pulled that off to the number. What I was hoping for was to be feeling a little more frisky than what was actually happening. Managed to suck it up and drop some time the last quarter to land on 7:02.5. It was a real test for me and the temptation to look for excuses was highly present. I am so glad to be done and drinking beer.

PB! Congrats Glenn!
Damien

[jackarabit]

Whole lot going on! Congrats to all on your accomplishments.