Erg marathon "rules"?

rwitt · Post by **rwitt** » February 26th, 2009, 1:07 pm

Just curious: I've only been erging since November of 2008, and have had fun with the monthly challenges. I couln't help but notice that one of the challenges coming up is that of the half marathon or full marathon. As I looked at times, I noticed that people my age/wt are finishing a full marathon in around 3 hrs.
So here's the deal - I have a hard time sitting on that seat for more than an hour. Plus taking on fluids in the middle of a row is a real pain. What are the rules? Do you just set your PM4 for 42195m and row away? Stopping to stretch when you have to? Drinking when you have to? Or do you have to gut it out (hemorrhoids and all) on that hard plastic seat for three hours? Don't get me wrong - I'm up for the challenge as much as the next person - but are there any rules? Tricks? Hints? Heck - even sitting in an eight on the water for two hours isn't "comfortable". I'm a lightweight, so I know it's not just too much pressure on the seat. Plus - I can ride my bicycle for 4 hours (different weight distribution, I know) with no real discomfort. But still - any ideas? Thanks.

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » February 26th, 2009, 1:11 pm

Do a search on hydration, marathons and seats and you will find a lot of advice on each of these. You can get up and stop as often as you want, just make sure you row or press the monitor buttons before it turns off.

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » February 26th, 2009, 2:48 pm

Rules here: http://www.concept2.com/us/motivation/a ... rathon.asp

The way I do it (and I've got four marathon mugs to my credit) is to break the 42195 into four segments of approx 10,550m. I'll set the monitor for 42,195 then as 31,645, 21,095, 10,545 approach on the monitor I put the handle down and drink from a 750ml cycling water bottle, pick the handle up and keep going. I find it's essential to plan the stops and rigidly stick to them. I'll also prefill the bottle with 75g of SIS PSP22 energy powder.

If you drink on an ad-hoc basis the first drink comes when you get thirsty, but you don't drink enough to quench that thirst and the second drink happens sooner than expected and so on in a stop/drink/start then give-up cycle.

You can do the same by breaking into 6 segments of approx 7K, but you'll lose about 30 seconds for each stop, your choice.

There's also an important preparation beforehand to get fully hydrated (urine is nice and clear with a very pale colour) so that you're well prepared.

For half marathons and shorter distances I'll simply work from a well hydrated start with a non-stop rowing session.

You have four minutes before the monitor will shut off if you stop rowing. You can extend that timeout by pressing the [change units] or [change display] buttons or any of the five small grey buttons.

grams · Post by **grams** » February 27th, 2009, 1:22 am

I use a 'Pain Killer' big exercise bike gel seat cover for my rowing. That is the real name; I got it at REI. It might influence my split time a fraction, but I don't care as long as I can keep going. And cyclists' anti-chafe grease for several parts of my anatomy which get chafed over the long rows. And bandaids on my heels.

Re timing, you can stop for breaks or whatever, however you must count all hte time from start to finish, including the breaks.

I keep water, coke, and glucose tablets and some lemon drops next to the erg, and row with one hand while taking on fuel or fluids. Several band-aids next to the erg could come in handy for unexpected sore spots.

grams

sledgehammer · Post by **sledgehammer** » March 1st, 2009, 9:35 pm

I like to drink a de-carbonated Coke during the last 10K. The combo of sugar and caffine gets me through to the finish.

rwitt · Post by **rwitt** » March 13th, 2009, 1:45 pm

Thanks for these suggestions, all of you. I'm still not sure I want to try it. For example - I rowed a 10k last week, and had to mop the floor mat there was so much sweat. It's also just a personal challenge - another thing to do just because it's there. It has no real place in my training plan for Masters rowing on the water - usually 1000m. The advice and hints are helpful. though. Thanks again.

ckaiserca · Post by **ckaiserca** » April 27th, 2009, 10:01 am

You really do owe it to yourself just to try it!

I just finished my 3rd Marathon yesterday. My time was horrible, but I gutted it out till the end.

Sadly, Concept2 has discontinued the Marathon Mugs, but you can still get a nifty pin (and the bragging rights!).

grams · Post by **grams** » April 27th, 2009, 10:41 am

Do the marathon! Something may break on your body in the future (like me), and then you will wish you had done it. I am very proud of the 'Marathon Record' tshirt I made for myself. I plan to wear it this weekend at my grandson's college graduation party and swearing in as a Marine officer. He is a rower for real, so I will have the opportunity to impress his friends.

Buying your own mug from my zazzle site will cost about $20. I donate the profits to charity and you get to lift a glass to your achievement.

grams

iain · Post by **iain** » April 28th, 2009, 10:15 am

You will find it much easier if you have a fan on your back through the row so that the sweat cools you rather than washing the floor. This cuts down the fluid required significantly. 18k at marathon pace I lost 3kg without drinking, FM with a large fan, drank just over 3.5kg and weight unchanged.

- Iain

Yankeerunner · Post by **Yankeerunner** » April 28th, 2009, 10:23 am

The fan is a great idea. However, I'd rather have it at the front or the side so that it can keep the sweaty hands from getting so wet that the handle slips.

djh · Post by **djh** » July 4th, 2009, 1:05 pm

Having just done my first HM, I realize that I did some dumb things and one or two smart things. I thought it might be useful to share my experience with others who may be planning to row the same distance.

I've become a faithful reader of this forum, which contains a wealth of searchable wisdom on many rowing-related topics. I also read an excellent paper at http://www.concept2.co.uk/docs/training ... _guide.pdf. I think I was too quick to dismiss some of the points, as the paper deals with full marathons rather than halfs.

I decided last year that a half would be too much of a good thing in my first (partial) year of rowing. But for 2010 I started on http://nonathlon.com/ranking.php, and the ranking isn't meaningful if you're missing both an HM and an FM, so that changed my mind. An HM was needed.

My best 1-hour pace is 2:09.7. Looking at my distance:pace relationship (my Paul's Law is around 4 seconds) I felt that 2:12 wasn't out of the question, considering that I've improved a bit since I rowed the hour. However, that pace turned out to be far too ambitious.

Rowing for an hour was definitely tiring, but hardly a feat of endurance. I realize now I should have carbo-loaded much more seriously for this row, as I ran out of energy very badly around half way through. This must have been a mental hurdle as my one hour row, though long, was pretty uneventful.

One thing I did right was have a sport drink at hand, and I planned to partake every 5 km. or so, if needed. I depended on it much more than I expected. Without it, I would certainly have had to abandon the attempt. I've read other posts saying people take breaks for a full marathon but not for a half. This 68 kg. lightweight definitely needed about five short drink breaks to finish the half.

However, these breaks created morale problems, as the PM's posted average split seems to leap up by more than the correct amount if you stop for even a moment. (I've noticed this before, but I've never taken breaks on a PB attempt, so it never mattered very much.). The first time, I rowed with one hand while pulling from my bottle, and then flailed away very hard to catch up to my desired pace. On my later breaks I didn't do the one-handed rowing, but my morale crumbled and I continued on at a SLOWER pace.

I never felt I was about to faint, but I did worry I was headed in that direction. Extra drink breaks helped. I had good music, but no TV. I found watching the PM both demoralizing and, with repetition, almost nauseating as it zoomed toward my face and away again with each stroke. This was a big surprise, as I generally enjoy watching my progress on the monitor.

I'm a very satisfied C-Breeze user, but for PB attempts I use a fan as well. I was comfortable until, with about 6 km. to go, I found myself becoming quite cold, probably due to both my slowing pace and a low blood sugar level. (I have a normal sugar metabolism.) More sport drink and upping the pace helped, but by this time my row was in sad shape. (And I subsequently caught a cold.)

I've read elsewhere about sore behinds but, until this row, my use of cycling shorts has kept me very comfortable. Let's just say I won't consider rowing another half marathon without getting a padded seat. I'm very sore and bruised in the nether regions.

I was wondering before this experience if I'd optimize by nonathlon rank by doing both an HM and an FM. I'm glad to be at #31, but this wimp won't be doing a full marathon anytime soon.

Nosmo · Post by **Nosmo** » July 6th, 2009, 3:01 pm

Doug,
It sounds to me like you just had a bad row. If you can do an hour without much trouble, you should be able to make it a bit further at a slower pace without getting hungry at all. Yet you ran out of energy very badly before the hour was up.
Did you eat enough leading up to your row? I've done many HM's first thing in the morning with no food without any problems. However there have been a few times I didn't eat enough the night before and just couldn't even do a 30 minute row with some food.

tdekoekkoek · Post by **tdekoekkoek** » July 6th, 2009, 5:04 pm

Which sport drink do you use? All the new gatorade stuff is crap. Has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it which is not what you need. Other than that have a bar or something beforehand. I like the Odwalla bars. They aren't too sweet and don't make you feel bloated like you would if you ate something bigger or heavier.

djh · Post by **djh** » July 6th, 2009, 9:36 pm

It was the row from hell, and catching a cold was the final insult.

Yes, I was drinking Powerade (clone Gatorade, I guess). I've read people saying bad things about Gatorade-type sport drinks. I don't know enough about them to mount a defence, but they have water and sugar and salt, which doesn't sound bad to me. Fructose is simple fruit sugar, and should be no harder to digest than sucrose. I enjoy the sweetness of corn-on-the-cob...

Next time (maybe in the 2011 season) I'll try again and eat more the night before. I drank coffee right before the row to avoid getting a caffeine head-ache. This was probably also a mistake (take your best shot!) but getting a headache isn't good either. Maybe flat coke, mentioned above, would work for me.

iain · Post by **iain** » July 9th, 2009, 1:16 pm

I wonder whetehr you were fully hydrated before you started. I have read some (admittedly unreferenced) estimates of huge power loss at relatively low levels of dehydration. Admittedly without a fan (but with a C-breeze) I did one 18k row while lossing 3kg in weight. Only a small part of this will have been food, so >3% body weight loss. Given taht you can be 2% dehydrated without knowing it, the problem could have been dehydration. Drinking Powerade will have helped a little, but there is a limit of about 1l/hr quoted for water uptake and this may be slowed if the Powerade was undiluted as some people have reported that the sugars in 1l is much more than can be taken up in an hour and the sugars remaining in the gut will hold back some of the fluid (osmosis).

Iain

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Erg marathon "rules"?

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