2k pacing advice for newbie

[Jamie rowing]

Hi all

Newbie rower here looking for some pacing advice. Just completed my first 2k test but feel my pacing was not optimal: overall time 8:35 with the following splits 2:11.7, 2:11.1, 2:09.9, 2:02.2.

I feel my first three 500s were a bit slow compared to my final 500m. At 300m to go i went flat out at around 1:58 pace.

My question really is how could i have paced this better based on the fact I could accelerate so much in the final 300m (i was flat out)? Could i for example have have started at 2:05 and maintained that for the whole thing. I was comfortable at 2:11 with 23 spm.

Thank you in advance for your advice

Jamie

[iain]

You should be able to hold a higher rating, but need to do so without weakening the stroke over much. You may need to practice doing so over shorter distances first, Most people are in the high 20's or low 30's.

Physiologically it is easier to row an even pace, although that is not easy mentally. There is also some evidence that going slightly slower over the first 500 or so is a bit "easier" as you don't have to row the majority with high oxygen debt. So I would row the next one starting at 2:09 and go a little faster after the first 500 if you feel you have it in you. Rowed all out from about 400m in most people start to have doubts of their ability to hold the pace despite being able to do so at the time (it is the distance remaining that weighs). Then the 3rd 500 is always hard as we labour to breathe as the muscles ache and holding the pace gets harder, Although most people (who get that far) manage to finish with a sprint regardless. personally I like to accelerate with 500 to go knowing that after a 25 stroke push I will be close enough to the end to keep the higher pace up.

2:05 might be possible at a higher rating, but is a huge increase on this performance, over 9% increase in power so would require 25SPM even if you can maintain the same amount of work per stroke. I would recommend reducing the time in easier chunks, trying to go sub 8:30 first. That way you will not be in unknown territory when your body is telling you that it can't go on, knowing that you can get through 1500 at the pace helps you to battle these doubts.

Best of luck.

[Jamie rowing]

Thanks Iain. Sage advice. From reading various posts it does seem my spm was abnormally low. I will increase it next time and try to keep the same power. Now I have a baseline I can build on it. I was a bit conservative as I didn’t want to crash and burn too early. I’ve read that some rowers are more ‘power based’ and others are more ‘endurance based’ and this can affect your strategy and stroke rate. Any views on this? I’m not really sure what side I am yet. Testing myself at higher and lower stroke rates is something I will try out over the coming weeks.

[iain]

From reading various posts it does seem my spm was abnormally low. I will increase it next time and try to keep the same power. Now I have a baseline I can build on it. I was a bit conservative as I didn’t want to crash and burn too early. I’ve read that some rowers are more ‘power based’ and others are more ‘endurance based’ and this can affect your strategy and stroke rate. Any views on this? I’m not really sure what side I am yet. Testing myself at higher and lower stroke rates is something I will try out over the coming weeks.

There is variation between people, but the bigger issue is your current fitness level. Increasing rating when rowing anaerobically is relatively easy, so most people are well into 40's for 500m, but maintaining this aerobically is a different story. So you need to practice for repeated 500s or longer while you get used to it. Personally I have to breathe twice per stroke to produce vaguely acceptable paces and so need to coordinate this breathing with the stroke rate. When I haven't rowed for a while, maintaining 25+ SPM really taxes my breathing. An optimum rating is the fastest that I can maintain while breathing twice per stroke. Lower stroke rates are to allow you to row with a good stroke for longer and to improve your stroke. "Work per stroke" is the power divided by the rating, so look up the power (2:11 is 156W, so @ 23 SPM that is 6.8WMin per stroke). Try and row only a little less powerfully at a higher rating, so maybe try 2:08 @ 25SPM (6.7WMin). Then perhaps 28SPM at 2:04 (6.6WMin) for a shorter burst.

It would be useful to know what rating your final 500 was at to see whether you manager to maintain the power. It also might be easier to row with the monitor showing watts so that you can see the relationship, the PM will convert as your log can be shown in either units.

Look forward to hearing how you progress.

[Jamie rowing]

That’s a new way of looking at it, thank you. I hadn’t been aware of work per stroke. For the final 500 i was 30spm at 192watts which was 6.4 w/min per stroke, so i was losing some power compared to 6.7 and 6.95 in the 2nd and 3rd 500s. Is that a big drop in watts per stroke?

[iain]

That’s a new way of looking at it, thank you. I hadn’t been aware of work per stroke. For the final 500 i was 30spm at 192watts which was 6.4 w/min per stroke, so i was losing some power compared to 6.7 and 6.95 in the 2nd and 3rd 500s. Is that a big drop in watts per stroke?

It is normal for this to drop off a bit at the end. Somewhere in the 2nd & 3rd 500 I increase my SPM by 1 while maintaining the same pace in an all out TT, sometimes a second, then when "sprinting" at the end I shorten my stroke (partially because my legs don't fully respond) and so lose work per stroke. o.5WMin is a lot for full stroke rowing unless you were losing power in your legs, but less than often happens when your stroke deteriorates or you are struggling to keep going.

[jamesg]

6.4 w/min per stroke, so i was losing some power compared to 6.7 and 6.95 in the 2nd and 3rd 500s. Is that a big drop in watts per stroke?

No. The point about Work per stroke is that it depends on Force applied to the handle. Any force level becomes impossible if repeated enough; and the peculiarity of rowing is repetition. A 2k race takes 200 or more strokes. What % of max lift would a weightlifter use, if he had to lift 200 times, once every 2 seconds?

Luckily for us there is Ergdata, which shows a number for our handle force (in Newton, which are 9.81 x kgf). While we may want to keep it high in training with short intervals, in a race and in long work, which serves for endurance, not speed, it may have to stay low.