5k challenge Week 17

[andyb2004]

So, your average pace was 1:57.4 with 200m remaining. You finished at 1:56.8. That means you gained 6 secs overall in the final 200m. To do that over 250m, you have to average 12 secs lower in pace. So your sprint was 1:45 or better over the last 200m. Impressive.

But it is not the best strategy. It would have been easier increasing the pace by 6 seconds over the last 500m, or even better increasing to 1:54 with 1000m to go, or even to 1:56 with 2K to go.

Don't think I could ever sprint 200m 12seconds faster at the end of a 5000 PB. Hell that's my 500m PB pace! He did what he had to do to get his goal--but it must have taken a lot of guts at the end.

I looked at the RowPro stroke data. Circled in Blue I calculate I was at avg pace 1:57.3 with 187m to go. You can see from the SPM that I picked it up big time for the last 180m avg pace 1:44.8.
I find I can pretty much finish any of the longer rows at this pace/rate for the last 200. If I'm feeling good I might attempt it from 300 or 250m, never sooner. Probably no use in a boat as the power is really coming from very high SPM and compromised technique.... not pretty

I agree that ideally I should have picked up a few tenths on the avg as far out as 1500m but I did not want to risk blowing up again like a couple of weeks back.

I think Nosmo sums up perfectly "He did what he had to do".

[Nosmo]

I agree that ideally I should have picked up a few tenths on the avg as far out as 1500m but I did not want to risk blowing up again like a couple of weeks back.

Just curious, how much experience do you have?

Over time I've learned to fairly accurately judge how close to the edge I can go. I think the only time I went handle down on a single hard distance was when I attempted a 1K about 10 minutes after my 500m PB. If I have to slow it is rarely by more then a second per 500m, and am sometimes able to make up the lost time in the last 800m. I try to be dead enough so that I am not able to go more very much faster the last 250m.

People do take the rating way up to sprint in a boat. It involves little body swing back, really fast hands and rowing at 3/4 slide--but it must be done with really good technique, particularly blade work.

[andyb2004]

I agree that ideally I should have picked up a few tenths on the avg as far out as 1500m but I did not want to risk blowing up again like a couple of weeks back.

Just curious, how much experience do you have?

Over time I've learned to fairly accurately judge how close to the edge I can go. I think the only time I went handle down on a single hard distance was when I attempted a 1K about 10 minutes after my 500m PB. If I have to slow it is rarely by more then a second per 500m, and am sometimes able to make up the lost time in the last 800m. I try to be dead enough so that I am not able to go more very much faster the last 250m.

People do take the rating way up to sprint in a boat. It involves little body swing back, really fast hands and rowing at 3/4 slide--but it must be done with really good technique, particularly blade work.

Depends what you mean by your question...
1) If you mean how well can I judge my ability and know how hard to push, when to back off slightly etc. I would say I'm ok with that. If you look back a page or 2 in this thread you can see the data for the attempt where I 'blew up'. Something odd happened that day because my HR was high compared with an identical exercise a few days before and also higher than my succesful attempt. I could probably have got through with the original flatter paced plan this time, but opted to go for a plan where I could at least better my PB, if not reach the goal. Turns out I had a big sprint left in me doing it this way.
2) If you mean in a boat... none at all All my water experience is with Kayaks.

[iain]

After several Handle-downs, I put off the attempts for a while, then there was Evesham. Yesterday I set out again to try and finally break the 19:47.5 I achieved before the time of the challenge expired.

I set off far too fast. Despite slowing the stroke after the third stroke the instantaneous split went to 1:43 split and an average of 1:50.X. I tried to settle to 1:58, but kept speeding up, settling into a 1:56 pace at 28SPM. On previous attempts I have found the pace drops after 400m or so, so I settled for this. But it didn't happen. By 1400m I was tempted to handle-down. The last attempt had slowed after 2000m. SO I set my mind on completing 2.5k and took my eye off the pace. After 2k I decided that 3k was the minimum acceptable and pushed on. I was speeding up from 2.5k, but had resolved on slowing from 3k. I put in a sprint at 1:47(35) from 2.75k to 3k.

Breathless I slowed, initially to 2:11, but quickly picked up to 2:08. This continued to increase and I was at 2:00 by 1.1k to go. I slowed again to 2:08 (thinking I would never finish at that pace). With 900 to go I was back to 2:03 and saw that a PB was definitely rescuable. I picked the pace up and was seeing 19:34 projected finish with 600 to go. From there I thought I had a chance for a good time an pushed on to 1:55. From 400 to go I was up to 1:52 and sprinted from 250 to go. Inside the final 100 I saw a projected time of 19:30 and this spurred me to 1:44(38) to break 19:30.

I was amazed, I was still feeling dejected at slowing again, so couldn't quite believe that after all of this time I had finally hit my 19:30 goal.

Stats: 19:29.4 (27).
1k splits: 3:53.4(28); 3:51.4(28); 3:44.8(30); 4:09.3(25); 3:50.6(28).

One very happy erger!

[Gerhard]

Congratulations! Interesting approach

Impressive 7:35 2K you put in there between 1000 and 3000. Looks like 19:00 is within reach

[iain]

Interesting approach

I don't recommend it.

Impressive 7:35 2K you put in there between 1000 and 3000.

Don't exaggerate, it was 7:36.2 with a rolling start. I should have another go at the end of August, so it will be interesting to see what I can do with better pacing, but feels like a great weight off.