Holiday Challenge!

[woolsmith]

Hey Everyone!

Great start for everybody!! Every meter is progress, and that will help with those holiday calories. I need all the help I can get!

Aiko, congrats on the new little peanut. Glad to see some famililar names in with the new ones, too--Margaret, Widgeon, Aiko, Annabassand, and Schenley! And all of you new folks (to me!) sound like you're enjoying your start to this HC, hey?

So far I have 58,603m for the HC, and I'm only about 20k away from having my 4th million meters rowed. Just in time, I need another pair of those great socks! I highly recommend them.

Surf Scoter and Sicilliana--this can get addicting pretty quickly, hey? I'm lusting after one of those 200k t-shirts. Don't even know what it looks like, but I don't care, hee!hee! I just WANT one. And soon, I'll get my 4 million meter sockies, too. After all, one must accessorize for rowing, right?

Just take it one meter at a time, and listen to what your body tells ya! Make sure you check in on your technique, especially towards the end of your workout when you're getting fatigued. That's when my technique will get outta whack, so I have to pay attention to it.

WAY TO GO DUCKS!!

--Jen from Northern WI. We're getting our first big snowstorm this wkd. Maybe 10" of the stuff. Good time to stay inside and row, hey? Gotta get my stamina up for all that shoveling and snowblowing

[woolsmith]

Oooo, the Ducks moved up a notch to 5th in the Team Rankings! WTG, Ducks!!

--Jen

[annabassand]

GOSH! It's great to see so many familiar names here. It's been a long time since I've been this active on the board/rower...

I'm glad to hear that everyone does so well. I am also hanging in there with appx. 66k m this morning. I will still try for the 200k but am not sure if I can make it or not. I will do some traveling this month so it's hard to build enough surplus make it

GOod luck everyone - hang in there but don't over do it

Anna

[Surf Scoter]

Woolsmith-you are so right about the t-shirt!! I don't know about the socks yet, but I'm very impressed to hear you are nearing 4 million meters!! WOW! It is amazing how the prize of a t-shirt can motivate me and also how much the camraderie of this forum is boosting my resolve. I am going for the 200K!! I've finished just over 52,000 this week. I am taking it easy and smooth and it is getting easier already. Thanks everyone for your input and inspiration!! I admire all of you with families and children and you still find time for this. That's great!! Row ON!

[woolsmith]

Hey Surf Scoter!

You're over 1/4 of the way done already, WTG!

I've even found that breaking up my rowing into twice daily things works, too. If I'm not used to the 50k/wk thing, I can really feel it in my trapezius muscles (the part of the shoulders/neck that people will knead when they give you a back rub). I have to do some extra stretching, too--gotta love that yoga!

And if ya don't make the 200K this time (but something tells me you will!), there's the January challenge for 200K, too. It gets addicting, doesn't it? I like seeing those meters add up...and up, and up. And gorsh, I hate to think what I'd weigh if I wasn't doing my rowing!!

--Jen

[Surf Scoter]

Hey, thanks for the encouragement and the idea to row twice/day instead of all at once. Tonight I did 8,000 m without stopping and that's the most I've done at once. I do yoga for sure and have been doing the stretching before and after. I've had a little soreness in the front of my shoulders, so I'm trying to row easy. I've got to take care of the joints at my age. Enjoy the snow there in WI! We are forecast to get a dusting here in Western WA--usually only once/year do we get snow. We are usually very mild. Rowing is a great alternative to biking when it's wet here.

[annabassand]

Well done everyone.... Personally I'm out now My right knee has started causing some small problems: Normally I wouldn't just stop on this but slow down a bit, but with a skiing holiday in December I need my knees to be totally fit .... So I'm signing off now.

I managed to do 66,882 and may still try for 100,000 but that depends how my knee reacts during the next few days.

Good luck to everyone

Anna

[hev]

Hi There,

I'm new to all this, and am going for the 200,000m. I,ve managed 71,000 already which surprises me, though the blisters on my hands remind me. I'm trying for 50,000m per week with a few apare just in case. I've already taken a couple of unexpected days off. A Cold hit me, and motivation dissappeared for a couple of days and chocolate took its place. I'm doing 10,000m which i'm tring to beat my time every time (as you do), and 2000m to cool down. This gives me those few vital spare metres.

My husband is even coming round to letting me buy my own rower. Happy Christmas to me.

[woolsmith]

Anna,

So sorry to hear about your knee, but you're right--knees are kinda important when you go skiing! And pain is a sign your body is giving you for a reason, and I always believe in paying attention to that. There will be other holiday challenges, right? We row for health, so sometimes it is best NOT to row to stay healthy. I hope you knee gets better soon!

And Hev,

Way to go on that progress you're making! I do the same thing with giving myself a "cushion" of sorts--just in case I get a cold, or just have a bad day.

For the blisters, Wood Duck had a great idea of using cotton toddler socks on the handles. After awhile, those blisters will quit forming. Another problem I had was "Sore Bottom Syndrome." Sitting on a sheet of bubblewrap works wonders for that, and C2 also has a seatpad that is exellent as well. That goes away after awhile, too, but meanwhile it's a pain in da butt, literally!

Where do you go for your rowing? I think when one has to go to an athletic center, it's harder to keep up that motivation to row. For me, if I had to go to a club, it would be a LOT easier to blow it off. So I really admire your work on this HC!

Wow, I hope you get that new rower from Santa! Which model were you wanting to get? Just having one was a motivation for me to use it, just because I'm a tightwad, and since I spent the $$...and after about a month, I was addicted....

With that said, I'm shooting for at least 12K today, and then I get to watch it snow!

GO DUCKS!!

--Jen

[Surf Scoter]

Anna sorry to hear about your knee, but I agree you are doing the right thing and taking it easy. Skiing is not to be missed.
Welcome Hev and way to go!! I am also new and have 52000 so far. You are doing great at 70,000+ meters. It's great motivation to be getting your own machine!! Mine is in the garage and it is so easy to go out and put in some time. I know I use it more than I would if it was at a club. I'm sure you will get to 200,000 with no problem!!

[hev]

I,m now umming and aahing about whether I would use it ( a new rower)enough at home. Most of the time I reckon I would - and I'm sure it would make rowing the HC easier, but then I wonder if I would just let the dust gather. Going to the gym is a bit like a coffee morning without the coffee. Also I would want to keep it in the house and wonder about where to put it when I'm not actually rowing. I think I'm right that it can't be tipped on it's end? I'll be off to the gym first thing tomorrow anyway to get a few thousand more under my belt - it is great to see yourself getting closer to the target. Would never have believed I could do it until I found this site - It gives you such great motivation, especially as nobody goes near the rowers at my gym - bar me!

[Surf Scoter]

Check the Concept2 website and you will see that it does come apart and stand upright for storage. If you look at model D or E and click on other views you will see it. I know I use mine a lot more at home than I did when I used the club one. Either way, keep on rowing!!

[Widgeon]

Anna,
sorry to hear about the knee....some things you might want to consider since I find that they make a difference for me:

Make sure to stretch all muscles around the knee and hip; if one group is tight it will create a misalignment which will manifest as pain.

Be sure you are not overcompressing at the catch; shins vertical, or just shy of vertical.

Be aware of disparate leg strength. I have occasional knee pain on my stronger leg esp after aggressive workouts. Keeping the workouts light may also be helpful.

Hev, sounds like you are doing great, esp for using a club machine. I say buy your own erg. Much easier to work in a row if machine is at home. I've had my own since 2002. I have gotten up at 3am to row, done workouts at midnight when I was unable to sleep (effectively curing that nights insomnia!) etc. I have the added benefit of being able to watch TV (with the kids, professional seminars, xeno etc) can be family time professional time and boredom relief! Hows that for multitasking a workout? The erg breaks down into two sections which make for pretty easy storage. I also don't have to worry about my erg being covered with someone else's slime (important during cold season) or about my machine being abused like a club machine.

For blisters: Partially skin toughening up, which it will, however blisters are also telling you that your grip is too tight. Don't hold onto handle. cup your fingers loosely around it, in a "C" shape, keep your thumb off the handle. The socks are also a good suggestion.

I forget who described the chest tightness. This is your pectoral muscle group. Grasp a door jamb with your arm strait out from your body (90 degrees) then rotate gently forward, away from your arm. You will feel stretch in the front of your chest. Then move your hand up the door jamb, about 45 degrees above your shoulder, do the same thing, than move the hand higher, there are three bundles of muscle at different angles which make up the pecs, so change in hand position will help you stretch each bundle.

For myself, I find that I must carefully stretch pecs (chest) , external hip rotators, and hamstrings.

I find that I get overtrained if I row every day. I find that I do better if I row one to two days, than take a day off. If I don't take regular time off I feel drained, am much more prone to getting sick, and I become an outrageous irritable, you get the idea. Anyway, easier on me and my family if I don't go there!

Sounds like everyone is off to a great start! I think I am at about 58k. Had a slow erg week due to a heavy work week and a touch of a cold. Hope to add some meters this coming week. Keep up the good work!

Pam

[Surf Scoter]

Widgeon, Thanks for those tips--they are helpful to me as I'm pretty new at this. I use my cycling gloves when I row and also a loose C grip as you suggest. No blisters yet. The pec stretch sounds good!! Thanks.

[woolsmith]

Hey Widgeon!

Great tips, especially the pec/chest stretching! That's a tough area for me, that and hip flexors. I agree about the taking a day off every few days. Seems like that first day I row after having some time off, I can really do a good row and not even feel like I worked that hard. Rest is good!

Interestingly, if I take more than 2 days off of rowing, I get crabby. I think it's because I'm addicted to the exercise "highs," and the withdrawal effects kick in after a couple of days of not exercising. Oh well, if I have to be addicted to something, might as well be exercise, hey? Well, it's that and Dr. Pepper, heh!heh! It's not like I overdo it--I usually try to do 30-50k/wk, depending on work hours and such. The only time I lose weight is when I row about 50K/wk, so this HC is getting ramped back up for that. Gotta burn off those holiday calories!

--Jen in WI