Concept2 Forum

I have been doing the Concept 2 for about 2 montha now as offseason cross-training for triathlon. I have not done any all out 2K's yet but I believe that I could esily do one in under 7:30 at my current fitness level. I can presently maintain a sub 2:00 500m pace for 1/2 hour, and I plan to gradually build up to doing it for 1hr.

What would it take to do a sub 7:00 2K and how long would it take to get to that level?

What would it take to do a sub 7:00 2K and how long would it take to get to that level?

What would it take? Hmmm, well if you can pull a 20' piece or 6k in the 1:54 to 1:55 area then you are in the right range (endurance/AT wise that is). How long will it take? Depends on the individual given age, sex, technique, current fitness, frequency and type of training, etc... Could happen the first time you get on an erg or in a year from now.

Edit: I just saw another one of your posts and it appears that you are a woman (you reference your husband in it). If that is the case it could take quite a while to break 7'. Unless you are on the far end of the physiological spectrum, I wouldn't anticipate doing it too soon; however it is certaintly a worthwhile goal, good luck.

Dreadnought:

How old are you? What gender? How heavy are you? How tall are you?

To do a 2:00/500m pace, you need to be able to generate about 200 watts of power. To do a 2k @ 1:45 pace you need to be able to generate alittle more than 300w and keep it up for 7 minutes.

It definitely is easier if you have good aerobic abilties with lots of muscles.

almostflipped wrote:

What would it take to do a sub 7:00 2K and how long would it take to get to that level?

Edit: I just saw another one of your posts and it appears that you are a woman (you reference your husband in it).



ARE YOU SURE THAT WAS MY POST? I am not a woman and I dont have a husband.

[quote="jjpisano"]Dreadnought:

How old are you? What gender? How heavy are you? How tall are you?

51, M, 175, 5'9"
I hope to get down to the 160 lb range in the next few months.

Sounds like you're much like me except 10 years older.

A 7:00 2k is quite a challenge. If you get enough training volume in and include lots of good quality meters, you have a shot at it.

For the 50 and over lightweight crowd, there are not a huge number of sub-7 rowers.

Part of the reason a 7:00 2k seems easily plausible is that a 2:00/500m pace seems so doable. How much different could a 1:45 pace be? 15 seconds seems like nothing.

But like I said, it's a matter of producing over 300w of work for 7:00 versus about 200w of work for 8:00. You need to add 50% more effort - even though the pace is increased by only slightly more than 10%.

Being a triathlete definitely helps, you probably have a reasonably good cardiac output. I bet you can keep your heart rate elevated for hours. But I bet you don't often train at max heart rate levels too often. Some of that kind of training helps.

Because your cardiac output is probably pretty good, you can probably get the most out of training your skeletal muscles specifically for the effort of a 7:00 2k. Which means lots of meters rowing. And because most of the energy needed for a 2k is aerobic, training at aerobic levels for extensive periods would be key.

A good training intensity for being able to do a 7:00 2k or ~304w would be in the 60% to 80% range or ~180w to ~245w.

I do around 2 million meters per year and for me a 7:00 2k is a challenge. But, who knows, you may find it an easier task than I do. I'd say "Go for it" and Good luck.

Just please keep us posted about your progress. We forumites like to hear about our fellow Concept2 ergers hitting their goals. We're not lone ergers. We're part of a larger community of Concept2 lovers, who have a semblance of a connection in this forum and occasionally a connection at public events such as Crash-B's.

I go once a year to a rowing machine race in Pittsburgh (last year I also went to Crash-B's). Maybe you can find a race near you and train for it. Maybe having the prospect of showing up in public to show off your erging prowess will help motivate you to get that 7:00 2k.

Again good luck.

Sub7 is long way off from 7:30. I am not there yet, but like to think that I can get there now if I start training seriously again this year. There is no reason why you can't get there too, but take it steps. Do your 7:30 2k, from there, sub 7:20 will not be far off. Going to 7:10 starts to separate the men from the boys and from 7:10 to 7:00 and below usually takes serious work. For a 50s lwt, sub 7 is easily top 10% in the rankings.

Getting up to 15k for the hour (2:00 pace) would be a real good start. I think the 5k is best indicator for the 2k of the longer distances, and so something in the 18:30-40 range (1:51-52) may be needed to go sub7.

Good luck.

ARE YOU SURE THAT WAS MY POST? I am not a woman and I dont have a husband.

Ohhh that was very sloppy of me, sorry for that. I saw a listing of all your posts and didn't check whether you were quoting someone else. My apologies.

oops, I read the rankings wrong. 6:56 is the top 10% for 50s lwts (the 40s lwt std is 6:46, and I am not sure I can get to there).

dreadnought,
first things first, where do you live? Is your nickname derived from the Clipper ship Dreadnought, built in Newburyport, and famed for speed records (New York to Liverpool in 13 days 11hrs)?
Dreadnought
Three-masted medium clipper ship built in 1853 by Currier & Townsend, Newburyport, MA. Dimensions: 212'×41'6"×26'6" and tonnage 1414 tons OM and 2337 tons NM. The deadweight of this cargo was 1559,65 tons including 60 tons of ballast.
"She possessed the merit of being able to bear driving as long as her sails and spars would stand." [Samuel Samuels]

1853 October 6
Launched at the shipyard of Currier & Townsend, Newburyport, for David Ogden, E.D. Morgan, F.B. Cutting et al., New York. Sailed for the Red Cross Line of New York and Liverpool packets. Was orginally intended for the "Racehorse Line" of California clippers.

On to the issue of sub-7:00. It took me three years, from age 52 to 55, to get from beginner to sub-7. Somewhat less from 30' @ 2:00 pace, but I was frequently injured during that time. My background was marathon running, but I was also coming off 2 and a half years of inactivity.

You seem to have a better head start than me and surely have more strength from doing triathlons. A closer fit to you would be my friend Gary Passler from Amesbury. He too took up the erg for some cross training for triathlons. Last winter at age 51 his two races at just under 165 lbs were 7:04 and 7:03. I'm sure that with more focus on the 2km that he could break 7:00, but that goal isn't as important to him as his running or triathlons. Likewise, I'd guess that with you it will come down to just how bad you want it, and whether it is bad enough to let some of your other things take a backseat while pursuing it.

Rick

Yankeerunner wrote:dreadnought,
first things first, where do you live? Is your nickname derived from the Clipper ship Dreadnought, built in Newburyport, and famed for speed records (New York to Liverpool in 13 days 11hrs)?
Dreadnought
Three-masted medium clipper ship built in 1853 by Currier & Townsend, Newburyport, MA. Dimensions: 212'×41'6"×26'6" and tonnage 1414 tons OM and 2337 tons NM. The deadweight of this cargo was 1559,65 tons including 60 tons of ballast.
"She possessed the merit of being able to bear driving as long as her sails and spars would stand." [Samuel Samuels]

1853 October 6
Launched at the shipyard of Currier & Townsend, Newburyport, for David Ogden, E.D. Morgan, F.B. Cutting et al., New York. Sailed for the Red Cross Line of New York and Liverpool packets. Was orginally intended for the "Racehorse Line" of California clippers.

On to the issue of sub-7:00. It took me three years, from age 52 to 55, to get from beginner to sub-7. Somewhat less from 30' @ 2:00 pace, but I was frequently injured during that time. My background was marathon running, but I was also coming off 2 and a half years of inactivity.

You seem to have a better head start than me and surely have more strength from doing triathlons. A closer fit to you would be my friend Gary Passler from Amesbury. He too took up the erg for some cross training for triathlons. Last winter at age 51 his two races at just under 165 lbs were 7:04 and 7:03. I'm sure that with more focus on the 2km that he could break 7:00, but that goal isn't as important to him as his running or triathlons. Likewise, I'd guess that with you it will come down to just how bad you want it, and whether it is bad enough to let some of your other things take a backseat while pursuing it.

Rick

I live in Florida. I was not aware of that ship.

From the dictionary:
dreadnought
• noun historical a type of battleship of the early 20th century, equipped entirely with large-calibre guns.
— ORIGIN named after Britain’s HMS Dreadnought, completed 1906.

These ships were a major innovation in their day. The world had never seen anything like them before. They were so vastly superior that all other ships built previously became obsolete. The Germans quickly picked up on this and by building their own versions of these ships, they were able to rival the British Navy.

dread (fear) nought (nothing)



I'll take your advice, There is an indoor rowing competition in Melbourne, FL in the spring of 2007. 7:20 seems like a realistic goal.

I'm currently doing the erg about 4X/week. Indoor cycling or running on the other days. Weights about 2-3X/week. As I approach the summer, I plan to cut back some on the erg and do more cycling and running.
I'll also need to start swimming again.

It's a hard effort, but not undoable. I had never done below 7:10, when I just decided to do sub 7, and I did it (6:58). I was 38 then, 185, 5'11" (40 now, same weight/height). I found it helpful to think of it in terms of 500m pieces- I did the first in about 1:40, kept a little cushion through 1000, kept right on 1:45 for the very painful 3rd, and just let it all hang out for the last one, when I knew it was just a question of suffering for a little bit longer. I've never done it again, haven't even tried another timed 2K- I just wanted to see if I could do it. I had rowed maybe 2 million meters before that, mostly at 10K distance, with a few hard 30 minute, 10K and 60 minute pieces thrown in.

If I can do it, you can.

Andrew

If you want to break 7 min on the 2k, I would strongly suggest following a training plan like the Wolverine Plan. It is very structured (a good thing) and not for the faint of heart (also a good thing!), but it yields results.

Good luck!

Francois

Dreadnought
Sub 7 for me took 2 years from starting at the age of 50 with a background of 25 years of competitive running. My main sessions were faster paced longer pieces, I didn't really follow a plan, just cross trained with running. Get your 5Ks down to 18.30-18.40 or so and 10K to 38.0-38.30 and it will happen.
You have the background to do it, good luck.
Steve

Francois wrote:If you want to break 7 min on the 2k, I would strongly suggest following a training plan like the Wolverine Plan. It is very structured (a good thing) and not for the faint of heart (also a good thing!), but it yields results.

Good luck!

Francois

I looked at the Wolverine plan. I'll certainly consider it. I'm just sort of winging it right now. I usually do 30-45 min per workout. sometimes a long piece and sometimes intervals. Today I was planning a long steady 30+ min session. Started out too fast so I converted it to a 12 min interval, followed by shorter 5 min intervals.

Personal "bests"
12 min @ 1:53.5 pace (today)
30 min @ 1:59 pace
500K 1:34
max watts for a stroke 600+
I haven't really tried an all out 2K yet, but I'm sure I could do sub 7:30
51, 5'9", 175#

Update on personal "best"
today (12/13) 20 min @ 1:56.8 pace (again, I started out planning to do a long 35 min interval, but I started feeling some sorenss, so I cut it short)