Concept2 Forum

I was doing a 2K test this morning and on pulling about a 1:56 split @ 24-26 spm for the first 1500m. I went into the last 500 feeling pretty good about the piece and feeling pretty ready to hit the last 400 hard. However, when I got to 400, my stomach started retching and i got off the erg around 350 because it became clear that I needed to find the sink (and it's a good thing that I did).

This sort of interrupt-the-piece experience is new to me. I've done a lot of 2Ks in my day (former collegiate and masters rower and whatnot) and I don't think I've ever had to actually stop a test to throw up. It's especially odd because I didn't feel any of the whole-body burn that I've historically experienced before a puke-fest. Any ideas about what's going on and how I might train it away?

For background, I'm on the last week of a training cycle based on the Wolverine Plan (actually, the spreadsheet at http://concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6514). I've been doing 6 workouts a week (3 x L4, 2 x L3, 1 x L2), so it's not like my body is completely unaccustomed to lactate.

Just curious, did you eat anything out of the ordinary before erging or even last night? A wee dram more at the local pub than usual? Suffering from a cold or recent illness?

I cannot address L2,3,4, but I do know that hard 2K efforts are among the toughest in rowing. It is like some maniac picked that distance for maximum sustained pain. Longer distances wear one out, but without the acute pain.

I suspect that the WP emphasized endurance training, which cannot be underestimated. For getting used to the pain and the most acute effects on the body, it is speed work that does the trick. 8x300m and/or 5/500m intervals with rest = twice interval time at a few seconds below race pace (or something similar) is what prepares one to handle the distress of a 2K effort. If these workouts were done, it would seem that the pain of a 2K effort could be tolerated.

Yes, I agree, too much food or drink is a definite no before a race. Rowing is a little more tolerant, but a runner might eat a dry toast a few hours before a race. One has plenty of calories and fluids stored to do a 7 minute effort. Of course, 2K should not be attempted while sick.

If all the above is in agreement, then the effort must have been more than was trained for. It is possible to race to the point of collapse or some other bad reaction, but that needs to be avoided. Slow it down next try.

Food and drink can't be it - I had a solid, standard dinner the night before and nothing to eat the morning of the test. I had a bit of water, but that's all.

I suspect it's the sickness hypothesis - I had a cold a few days before, but didn't feel sick the day of. Maybe I was still sick.... Thanks all.

And five weeks later, I'm back on the erg. Right after posting this, I got hit with a series of colds. It was nothing serious, but it was bad enough that I missed a few days of work and only just got back to erging. So frustrating to take 1 step forward and 2 steps back!

Well, perhaps you haven't been on the erg in a while, and you're not used to it.
I agree though, any workout shouldn't be done when you're sick. (Learned the hard way, as you did)