Concept2 Forum

Hi I am a second semester college rower...at an up and coming rowing school (as of now we are shorthanded, but we have temple's womens coach from a few years back, so we have coaching experience which will help)...

ANYWAYS...I was bored the other day and decided to try and think of a simpler way to increase aerobic capacity and 2K, 5K, and 6K times.

My 2k best is 7:11.8, (1:47.9 pace), so what if I were to start training at a distance of 2000m at a pace of 1:55, and increase daily as such...

Day 1: 2000m at a 1:55/500m pace
Day 2: 2100m at a 1:55/500m pace
Day 3: 2200m at a 1:55/500m pace

Day 31: 5000m at a 1:55/500m pace

Would increasing the distance daily by 100m, but staying at the same rate/spm do any good, or would I reach a point and not improve anymore? I know that the first week or 2 should be easier, due to my 2k pb being lower than a 1:55 pace, but as the days drop it would get harder...let me know how flawed my plan is lol...i am sure it is flawed horribly!!

Elamonta wrote:Hi I am a second semester college rower...at an up and coming rowing school (as of now we are shorthanded, but we have temple's womens coach from a few years back, so we have coaching experience which will help)...

ANYWAYS...I was bored the other day and decided to try and think of a simpler way to increase aerobic capacity and 2K, 5K, and 6K times.

My 2k best is 7:11.8, (1:47.9 pace), so what if I were to start training at a distance of 2000m at a pace of 1:55, and increase daily as such...

Day 1: 2000m at a 1:55/500m pace
Day 2: 2100m at a 1:55/500m pace
Day 3: 2200m at a 1:55/500m pace

Day 31: 5000m at a 1:55/500m pace

Would increasing the distance daily by 100m, but staying at the same rate/spm do any good, or would I reach a point and not improve anymore? I know that the first week or 2 should be easier, due to my 2k pb being lower than a 1:55 pace, but as the days drop it would get harder...let me know how flawed my plan is lol...i am sure it is flawed horribly!!

Well, for your 2k, I'd imagine that you are already at a level where a 1:55 5k would be possible for you. However, if you tried to do that pace every day, even for the shorter distance, you will begin to become fatigued after the first half of the month and the accumulation will become worse after that.

Try this instead:
5k @ 2:05, Recovery day
5k @ 2:00, Work Day

If you achieve the work day avg pace target, adjust the next work day pace to be 1 second faster and keep the 5 second difference between the recovery and work day targets.

Do not exceed the recovery day pace.
Always have a recovery day preceeding a work day.

Have fun.

I had that idea for winter also, but more for 2k's. I would start by doing 600m at 1:39. I would do that for 2 days, then add another 100m, and do that for 2 days, etc. My coach said it was a retarded idea, so I abandoned that idea.

Thats a good point...I hadn't really thought about being fatigued each day lol. Thank you. I am also going to be rowing for 2 hours each morning with the team, so now looking back on the plan, it would be too much to do each day...at least for now. I will try out your idea with the active/recovery day...so are you saying that i take a second off the pace after each "active" day, or should I do the same pace "active" twice? Just to check also, the recovery split would lower a second also correct?

Elamonta wrote:Thats a good point...I hadn't really thought about being fatigued each day lol. Thank you. I am also going to be rowing for 2 hours each morning with the team, so now looking back on the plan, it would be too much to do each day...at least for now. I will try out your idea with the active/recovery day...so are you saying that i take a second off the pace after each "active" day, or should I do the same pace "active" twice? Just to check also, the recovery split would lower a second also correct?

As soon as you nail the active day target, both targets bump, i.e. to 2:04 and 1:59 then 2:03 and 1:58, etc... You will eventually run into what is your max pace and the work day will be quite tough. Oh, and since you are a OTW rower, you really should be doing these S10PS (Strapless 10m Per Stroke). So a 5k takes exactly 500 strokes to complete, this will create a good habit for the ratio of the stroke.

How do you do the 10mps thing? I haven't ever tried that before...plus the stroke of our boat rushes the slide alot, so I bet I have a tendency to rush also...any tips on how to do the 10mps thing without actually counting each stroke in my head lol! Thanks...

Elamonta wrote:How do you do the 10mps thing? I haven't ever tried that before...plus the stroke of our boat rushes the slide alot, so I bet I have a tendency to rush also...any tips on how to do the 10mps thing without actually counting each stroke in my head lol! Thanks...

Yep, just take your catch on the "Zeros", 4990, 4980, 4970, etc... Simple math, designed for Rowers.

BTW - I are a rower too; And coached a whole bunch of folks over the years.

For a larger overall training plan that is simple to implement, search on "STM" or "Stop The Madness", There are others as well, such as the Wolverine Plan (Devised by Mike Caviston), which is a bit complicated for my taste, both have proven to be quite effective for college crews.