Longest row pre half marathon.

[Wilpert]

Hello again,
Another newbie question.
I know there are plenty of plans and online recommendations to work up to half marathons but I’m trying to swerve these and keep things super simple.

So having listened to good advice here, I’m now increasing my training sessions in time and distance and I’m now up to 15000 mts. I did this tonight and tbh I felt pretty good apart from letting my sr creep up towards the end without really going any faster. This told me I was getting a bit tired but all in all I was pretty ok.

2 questions - my pace was around the same as my one hour pace @2:18.9 per 500mts at an average sr of 20. So firstly - is this too slow a sr for a hm, should I be aiming to ramp it up a bit and hang in in there?

Would I be better doing more of the same distance say perhaps 2 - 3 times a week and then having a rest before attempting a hm or should I do something longer which is near to a half m, maybe get up to 17000 mts to give myself the confidence that I can finish the event come the day?

I’m not aiming to break any records as you can tell from my ave pace but I’m short and getting a bit older now at nearly 60 so a sub 1:40 hm would be fine by me.

[mitchel674]

For your first HM, I would just aim to finish the piece. Don't go looking to break any records.

You're pretty close if you can already comfortably row 15km. I wouldn't consider any further special training necessary. Perhaps taper a bit for 3 days prior to your attempt and go at a reasonable pace. Hydrate before you get on and start yourself out at 2:20 with your low stroke rate and see how you feel. Once you pass 15km, you could consider increasing your pace a bit if you're feeling strong. Remember that finishing your first is the most important thing so don't let your ego derail your effort. This will just be a benchmark for other HM efforts in the future.

[sailortodd]

I can't speak well to the workouts leading up to your HM (I had rowed several 10k and hour sessions, plus a single 90min leading up to my first), but I wanted to chime in with a couple of notes for your HM row.

Get as comfortable as possible, since you will be at it for ca 100min. Have a towel and your water in arm's reach, have a fan blowing on your back (or whatever climate control measure you use to keep you from overheating), sit on the seat in whatever position stays most comfortable for you throughout your stroke, etc. And maybe plan in a short break to drink and stand up. Just know that every 42 seconds not rowing during your HM means an extra second on your avg pace.

[jamesg]

I’m trying keep things super simple.

What else. Just do it. Once a week is plenty. No training plan would have more than one long UT2 a week, around an hour. This is usually the first day of the week, so after one or two days rest. All the others faster and shorter.

Adjusting the rating up slightly could help, since at the same W it reduces your reliance on strength or over-reach, but will have little effect on inertial power losses. We can make this sort of check at any time.

[Dangerscouse]

I would recommend doing 18k, as this gives you a better idea of what to expect, especially if you were starting to fade at 15k.

Getting more comfortable with 15-16k will be very helpful, as mind games will play a big part in it. It is a daunting prospect but it can be demystified with training.

Don't worry about stroke rate. I've done them ranging from r18 up to r30.

[Wilpert]

Some interesting answers thanks.

Fwiw I’ve done a few half and full marathon runs and the training structure seems a bit similar.
There is one main difference though, when training for a long running race, the pace is always slower in the long runs. With rowing it seems that you need to train at similar pace to the planned event.

E.g. when I was running well around 5 years ago, my race pace was circa 7 minutes per mile for a half m, I would do my longer runs somewhere around 8 to 8:30 per mile. These would be up to around 10 miles.
If I translate that to rowing I’m not sure where I would go to bring the pace down, I can’t reduce drag factor much as I row at under 90 already.
I can’t reduce sr much because I row at sr 20.
So I’m kinda finding that my training is very similar to my racing except that the distance is just less.

I’d love to be able to row as fast I I could run but that’s not going to happen for me over a long distance. I’m not built for rowing as I am for running at only 65kg

Perhaps I could bring heart rate into it and see if I can row a set piece at a given heart rate and see where that takes me has anybody tried rowing longer sessions and keeping hr below a specific number or within a specific zone but ignoring pace and sr etc ?

I think the science behind this is interesting but the old school idea of just training more probably wins the day

[Dangerscouse]

Perhaps I could bring heart rate into it and see if I can row a set piece at a given heart rate and see where that takes me has anybody tried rowing longer sessions and keeping hr below a specific number or within a specific zone but ignoring pace and sr etc ?

Yeah I have done that quite a lot. It can take a bit of getting used to as you don't want to slow down, but it's worthwhile if for no other reason than building discipline into your regime.

[Elizabeth]

My longer rows are much slower than a race HM - just like in running. I'm mentioning pace as an illustration and not to indicate that it's right for you, but my most recent timed HM was at a 1:58.0/500 pace. My most recent steady state erg was at a 2:10.8/500 pace and my most recent long steady state erg was at a 2:13.8/pace.

Nearly all of my training is at the same drag factor. I may change it for true sprints, but that's it. The variable that you're missing is how hard you're pulling on each stroke.

Edit- I completely agree with the advice to do your first one for completion. If you want to race one later, I personally find it much easier to recover from a rowing HM than a running HM.