Concept2 Forum

2K Training - 10K plan.

By Dr-Erskine Fenty on Monday, 22 December 2014 at 03:23

For some very tough training, this is a great 10K routine.

The idea of this 10K plan is to get your body fit and able to race a fast 2K sprint; it also helps your body deal with lactic acid build up and muscle fatigue issues. It will leave you (at first) feeling like crap, but eventually you will love it once completed.

You should be use to doing at least a straight 5K piece though 10K would be better - don't forget to listen to your body and do not over do things.

WARM UP: 1000mt @ 2:30/500

> NO REST

10x 100mts @ as fast as you can per sprint

> 30secs rest between each sprint

4x 250mts @ 100mts sprint pace then add 0:15sec/500 (slower pace)

> 45secs rest between each sprint

4x 500mts @ 250mts sprint pace then add 0:15sec/500 (slower pace)

> 60secs rest between each sprint

1x 4500mts @ pace between 1:45-2:15/500

> NO REST

5x 100mts @ an increasing faster pace per 100mts finishing with a very fast last 100mts.

This event should only be undertaken by those who already have a good fitness base. The times can be modified but ultimately you should aim for the above.

I used the above as part of my conditioning training in the Million Metre Row and did the above, every other day. It is a great way to reach a fast 2K time but be patient it can take months for your body to get use to this punishment.

To give an example of how the above works out - based on my own records -

100mts sprints - I aimed for times below 1:30/500
250mts sprints - I aimed for a time around 1:40/500
500mts sprints - I aimed for a time around 1:50/500
4.5K warm down - I aimed for a time of 2.00/500
5x 100mts - I aimed to do 100mts in under 20secs and down to around 16secs for the last sprint.

These were just my efforts, you do not need to match them and you may well exceed them, just do the best you can, as and when you can and most of all, ENJOY.

Yikes! How long did it take to get your pacing figured out? Where did you start?

Very unconvential, also looking at your pb s, some are strong, others relative less so. 5/10k very strong, 100 m strong. 2k relative less, marathon relative less.

The paces you are precribing aldo make not much sense. 100m s in 1.30 500 meters in 1.50 with a pb on the 10k in the 33. Which is 142 pace. All paces are super easy for a guy of that level.
1.50 would be a 60 min pace, aerobic work for a 33.x 20k guy.....

Last 100 meters, under 20 seconds.... Thats 2.00 pace, was that with 1 hand

Warm up 2.30 pace, that will never get you warm certainly not for sprinting. Cool down 2.00 pace.

Warm up 1k, cool down 4.5 k...

G-dub wrote:Yikes! How long did it take to get your pacing figured out? Where did you start?

Very shortly, look at it

I'm always looking out for ways to break the tedium of long rows so this looks like great fun.

If only I could work out a way to remember it all

G-dub wrote:Yikes! How long did it take to get your pacing figured out? Where did you start?

Pacing came with more and more practice and also with what I was able to physically do, it was also spread over a full time sports course so things took a while and once my ego had calmed down I settled for repeatability.. The 100m stuff at the beginning was the hardest to do and predict because it was so demanding, the other stuff was less taxing on the body.

hjs wrote:Very unconvential, also looking at your pb s, some are strong, others relative less so. 5/10k very strong, 100 m strong. 2k relative less, marathon relative less.

The paces you are precribing aldo make not much sense. 100m s in 1.30 500 meters in 1.50 with a pb on the 10k in the 33. Which is 142 pace. All paces are super easy for a guy of that level.
1.50 would be a 60 min pace, aerobic work for a 33.x 20k guy.....

Last 100 meters, under 20 seconds.... Thats 2.00 pace, was that with 1 hand

Warm up 2.30 pace, that will never get you warm certainly not for sprinting. Cool down 2.00 pace.

Warm up 1k, cool down 4.5 k...

Yes very unconventional.. but it did break up the standard normal stuff. I am 1.70m and was around 85Kg then (I was 42 years old when I went back to sports college and did most of this stuff but I had been rowing for about 10 years before then).. so I am more built for sprinting and the distance stuff I have done, more to say I can do it and stay fit but I was never really able to keep the fast stuff up beyond 10K.

For me, my aim was always to try and complete the above in around 60ish mins but I did this three times a week and on the other two days I was doing either a FM or HM and did this for 18 months.. Things are a bit different now, I am 16yrs older and although I still row, the training for certain events is beyond me and too hard now plus I have no real incentives to keep punishing myself like that.

When I was doing most of the above, Rivermead my local gym hosted the BIRC and we had two of the Olympic four training and living in our area plus Debbie Flood use to train at Rivermead, Debbie has since gone on to do amazing things for the British Olympic squad.. so there was plenty of chances to learn and try new stuff because we were surrounding by some real rowing talent.

Its confusing when you post a training session with paces and not give the 2k going with that. I looked at your stats below. Looking at those I would certainly not call you a sprinter, you best pb s are the 5 and 10k. 100m is also good. 2k is a good bit less. But again looking at the paces you post, I think they are doable for a around 7.00 erger. A 6.12 guy would do them much faster.

hjs wrote:Its confusing when you post a training session with paces and not give the 2k going with that. I looked at your stats below. Looking at those I would certainly not call you a sprinter, you best pb s are the 5 and 10k. 100m is also good. 2k is a good bit less. But again looking at the paces you post, I think they are doable for a around 7.00 erger. A 6.12 guy would do them much faster.

The above training sessions were what I was doing in order to do the 1000K in seven days, it just so happened that in that 18 months of training I produce my best 2k. When I look back through my Concept Ranking books, I started off before training at around 6.40 so for me, to drop to a 6.12 was a good achievement.

At the time, I had some coaching from Terry O'Neil who was Concept's Master Coach Trainer and he said to me then that I did not have the ability or the VO2 Max to get a sub 6mins but there were other things I could do. My focus at that time was not the 2K but the long distance stuff of which I was happy to do 3.5 marathons a day at 90mins per HM pace.. maybe at 42 I had left it a bit late to be good in all the various distances.

Also there is the fact that my stats were not all from the same year but the best that I have reached at any given time, so when I got good 5K and 10K was because at that time I was training for something linked to those distances, for me the stuff above 20K could have been much faster but I just wasn't up to it or really in to it beyond being able to actually do it.. not sure I would want to do it all again for as much fun as it was, it was sometimes quite painful.

EFMAX wrote:2K Training - 10K plan. By Dr-Erskine Fenty on Monday, 22 December 2014 at 03:23
For some very tough training, this is a great 10K routine.
The idea of this 10K plan is to get your body fit and able to race a fast 2K sprint; it also helps your body deal with lactic acid build up and muscle fatigue issues. It will leave you (at first) feeling like crap, but eventually you will love it once completed.
You should be use to doing at least a straight 5K piece though 10K would be better - don't forget to listen to your body and do not over do things.
WARM UP: 1000mt @ 2:30/500
> NO REST
10x 100mts @ as fast as you can per sprint
> 30secs rest between each sprint
4x 250mts @ 100mts sprint pace then add 0:15sec/500 (slower pace)
> 45secs rest between each sprint
4x 500mts @ 250mts sprint pace then add 0:15sec/500 (slower pace)
> 60secs rest between each sprint
1x 4500mts @ pace between 1:45-2:15/500
> NO REST
5x 100mts @ an increasing faster pace per 100mts finishing with a very fast last 100mts.
This event should only be undertaken by those who already have a good fitness base. The times can be modified but ultimately you should aim for the above.
I used the above as part of my conditioning training in the Million Metre Row and did the above, every other day. It is a great way to reach a fast 2K time but be patient it can take months for your body to get use to this punishment.
To give an example of how the above works out - based on my own records -
100mts sprints - I aimed for times below 1:30/500
250mts sprints - I aimed for a time around 1:40/500
500mts sprints - I aimed for a time around 1:50/500
4.5K warm down - I aimed for a time of 2.00/500
5x 100mts - I aimed to do 100mts in under 20secs and down to around 16secs for the last sprint.
These were just my efforts, you do not need to match them and you may well exceed them, just do the best you can, as and when you can and most of all, ENJOY.

it looks horrendous until the meters are added up. I think many of the guys on here do something similar in terms of volume.
I prefer to use % of 2kpb either in watts or pace ( depending ) .
so his
100 m sprints are done at slightly faster than 2kpb. ( doesn't matter the specific number )
250 m sprints are done at slightly slower % 2kpb.
500 m sprints are done at cruise ( for a person able to do a 6:12- 6: 30 2k )
4500 cd done at idle---- it really isn't a cool down as he does another sprint session immediately thereafter.
500 m sprint with increasing speed every 100 m- no real guide... just " give'r "

I'd prefer a longer warm up if I am going to do 10 all out 100 meter sprints.
he also doesn't concern himself with rating so that's something interesting.
EF had to have been in fairly decent shape to start with in order to get this stuff done , especially if done with minimal injury- nothing was said about injuries.
I imagine that he left out the fact that even though he continued this for 18 months, there were sessions in which he didn't make the grade . didn't hit the distance or pace or time or whatever he was using.
I think that I read on here or the uk board where someone did their 10 k sessions in a similar manner - broken up within the 10 k with no rest- several sessions of sprints at varying distances and pace . I use watts now thanks to Edward's suggestion but pace is equivalent. EF session would produce some high watts, no doubt about that. I'd be exhausted to keep that up.

EFMAX wrote:

hjs wrote:Its confusing when you post a training session with paces and not give the 2k going with that. I looked at your stats below. Looking at those I would certainly not call you a sprinter, you best pb s are the 5 and 10k. 100m is also good. 2k is a good bit less. But again looking at the paces you post, I think they are doable for a around 7.00 erger. A 6.12 guy would do them much faster.

The above training sessions were what I was doing in order to do the 1000K in seven days, it just so happened that in that 18 months of training I produce my best 2k. When I look back through my Concept Ranking books, I started off before training at around 6.40 so for me, to drop to a 6.12 was a good achievement.

At the time, I had some coaching from Terry O'Neil who was Concept's Master Coach Trainer and he said to me then that I did not have the ability or the VO2 Max to get a sub 6mins but there were other things I could do. My focus at that time was not the 2K but the long distance stuff of which I was happy to do 3.5 marathons a day at 90mins per HM pace.. maybe at 42 I had left it a bit late to be good in all the various distances.

Also there is the fact that my stats were not all from the same year but the best that I have reached at any given time, so when I got good 5K and 10K was because at that time I was training for something linked to those distances, for me the stuff above 20K could have been much faster but I just wasn't up to it or really in to it beyond being able to actually do it.. not sure I would want to do it all again for as much fun as it was, it was sometimes quite painful.

Your 5k is 15.40 that is 1.34 pace.... Thats 2.5 x a 6.16 2k back to back Every rower who can do that rows sub 6. So you are telling that you never rowed a 2k during that time?

EFMAX wrote:. My focus at that time was not the 2K but the long distance stuff of which I was happy to do 3.5 marathons a day at 90mins per HM pace.. maybe at 42 I had left it a bit late to be good in all the various distances.

wow... my butt hurts just thinking about this. This 3.5 marathons /day was only for the million meters row that you did in 2002. That's an incredible achievement. The only other person I've ever come across online was some bloke by the name of Roadrunner over in the UK. he rowed a marathon in the morning in his mancave whilst watching television, went to work, came home and did another marathon- again in his basement with the television blaring. That's all the guy appears to do. row and watch televisioni.
Seemed a bit dull to me, there's not much on tv that I'd spend 4 hours/day watching

so it took you about 50 minutes to get this workout in. I don't mind that .
question though:

did you row during those rest intervals? 30 45 60 seconds or whatever they were.
just sort of paddle?
or did you start up the next work session from a dead stop?

I'm trying to figure out if I want to give this a go.. with much modifications done to the pace and/ordistances of each work interval
thanks EF

markinnb wrote:so it took you about 50 minutes to get this workout in. I don't mind that .
question though:

did you row during those rest intervals? 30 45 60 seconds or whatever they were.
just sort of paddle?
or did you start up the next work session from a dead stop?

I'm trying to figure out if I want to give this a go.. with much modifications done to the pace and/ordistances of each work interval
thanks EF

During the rest part, I tried not to let my heart rate drop too much and I would in the 100m sprints just stop cos I was out of breath. In the early stages I took a bit longer but eventually stop for shorter periods as I would often do some of these sessions with two local firemen and we would push each other on.

I would not advocate anyone try this at this sort of level straight off, which is why I said, shape it up to your needs and ability. The pace is not as important as the actually distance and the routine.

Someone asked about injuries. I suffered loads of pain but not injuries.. the most I worried about where cramps from hydration issues.

hjs wrote:
Your 5k is 15.40 that is 1.34 pace.... Thats 2.5 x a 6.16 2k back to back Every rower who can do that rows sub 6. So you are telling that you never rowed a 2k during that time?

Some assumptions are being made here - every rower who can do X can do Y. I never did better than 6.12 (verified) and that is me being honest. I would have loved to do a sub 6 and boast about it but at the time when I should have been able to, I just couldn't; that could have been down to technique, fatigue, lack of will or just me not being skilful enough.