Ranger's training thread

[nharrigan]

A simpler correction is to remind Mr. Dishonesty himself, aka Rich Cureton, that Mike VB, Anderson and Meyer didn't row in the same conditions at the HOCR.

Sure they did.

I watched both races.

Conditions were as good as they get for both races.

Mike rowed a pb.

Minus handicaps, Macgowan rowed the course in record time for his age; no one has ever rowed that fast.

Conditions were great.

Nonetheless, Anderson and Meyer, given their ages, and therefore handicaps, beat Mike by a minute over 4800m.

Mike would have had to row 19:07 to beat them.

He rowed 20:07--and I suspect that is the best that he can do.

Anderson and Meyer also beat Dietz by almost a minute.

ranger

After the wind churned the Charles on Saturday, the river remained calm and fast on Sunday. Make that really fast, 13 course records were broken on Sunday 2010. With the first record broken as racing began in the adaptive ranks by Capitol Rowing, Inc Mixed Four entry to the Women's Lightweight record falling under the able oars of Wisco's 2009 Sprints-winning women as racing concluded; the water remained favorable for records all day.

Had I only known that conditions were "great" on Saturday, I would have rowed faster.

[ranger]

Up until now you have been avoiding all the things you know should be doing

Hard to see where this is coming from.

I have been the only one to do what I need to do with my training.

I now row well (13 SPI) at low drag (120 df.)--for a lightweight of any age.

Unprecdented stuff.

Most lightweights my age pull 9 SPI.

I now row with almost 50% ( ) more power per stroke.

In this sport, you don't get anywhere if you just use your training to prepare to race.

Look at Mike VB.

When Mike ergs, he just prepares to race, and he is slow as molasses on the erg.

And like everyone else who uses their training time preparing to race, Mike's erging is now just getting worse and worse.

ranger

[ranger]

Had I only known that conditions were "great" on Saturday, I would have rowed faster.

At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, conditions were great.

Minus handicaps, Macgowan's row was a course record.

ranger

[Byron Drachman]

I watched both races. Conditions were as good as they get for both races.

With your vast experience and knowledge of OTW regattas, you are able to watch a webcast at one particular place and judge the strength and direction of the wind and conditions of the water on the entire course, and handicap a race based on that single observation point. And you are so confident in your assessment.

Charles Darwin observed that “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”

[pmacaula]

...Macgowan rowed the course in record time for his age; no one has ever rowed that fast.

Rich - Peter MacGowan certainly rowed an incredible race, but his time of 18:54.519 just missed the course record, which is one of the older ones on the books.

Grand-Master Singles Men [50+]
Men's Division - Mowatt Trophy
Course Record: Lawrence Klecatsky 18:54.3 (1992)

As he did start pretty deep (Bow #64), he did pass 12 or so boats along the way. Rowing off the front, he may well have gotten the record, but that is not the reality. I agree he has what it takes to set a record, though a lot of variables out of his control will have to break in his favour.

While the 50+ division does not have any handicapping for age or weight (though 60+ and 70+ do), given your penchant for handicapping yourself based on weight and age, would think you would cut Mike a bit of slack for racing level as a late 50s lightweight against early 50s heavyweights.
MacGowan excepted, Mike would have been within the 5% guaranteed entry cutoff. Anyone making that grade is clearly rowing well.

All the best for a good result at BIRC.

Cheers. Patrick.

[JimR]

Up until now you have been avoiding all the things you know should be doing

Hard to see where this is coming from.

I have been the only one to do what I need to do with my training.

I now row well (13 SPI) at low drag (120 df.)--for a lightweight of any age.

But there are all those others who can pull a better 1K than you ... and your inability to do a 1K at 13 SPI and 30+ sprm ... yet in just a couple weeks you will be at BIRC!

Since all your gains for going LWT and sharpening are done there is no apparent way you can get to the 32+ spm you need for BIRC.

I'm sad ... to think it all comes down to poor planning and lack of motivation! I had such high hopes this WAS the FALL we had been looking forward to for seven years ... and 100,000 posts ... and 10,000,000 meters!

JimR

[JimR]

I watched both races. Conditions were as good as they get for both races.

With your vast experience and knowledge of OTW regattas, you are able to watch a webcast at one particular place and judge the strength and direction of the wind and conditions of the water on the entire course, and handicap a race based on that single observation point. And you are so confident in your assessment.

Charles Darwin observed that “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”

Is it possible the 8 ran in to ranger ... since is an expert on the OTW thing I assume the mistake of coming out of the lane was not one he would make.

My daughter rowed in an 8 in high school and college ... I always thought tose boats were sort of hard to miss, they were heavy for sure!

JimR

[DUThomas]

When Mike ergs, he just prepares to race, and he is slow as molasses on the erg.

And yet, you can't beat this:

There is a new (2011 ranking) 55-59 lwt 5k "age group standard" on the erg as of this evening:
17:56.4 done at a rate of 28 spm in Hartland, Vermont...

[Byron Drachman]

My daughter rowed in an 8 in high school and college ... I always thought those boats were sort of hard to miss, they were heavy for sure!

Hi Jim,

I know people who have gotten back injuries from those things. If you are carrying one down a slope and the person next to you slips or stumbles, you can catch a lot of weight. To make matters worse, some coaches tell the kids to lock their arms when carrying the boat.

I did a nice 19K OTW this morning. The temperature was a little below freezing. The only other boat out was a varsity eight accompanied by a coach in a launch. Such a lovely sight: young women gracefully moving the eight in the mist, beautifully synchronized.

Byron

[Nosmo]

My daughter rowed in an 8 in high school and college ... I always thought tose boats were sort of hard to miss, they were heavy for sure!

I've seen an 8 sink during a race after it strayed off course an into an other on coming 8 in the warm up lane. It was a similar situation to what ranger did. I've seen many singles go off course. Despite what our hero says, steering a single in a race is not simple, and neither is turning around without loosing any speed. Even very experienced rowers sometimes loose races because of bad steering.

There is a new (2011 ranking) 55-59 lwt 5k "age group standard" on the erg as of this evening:
17:56.4 done at a rate of 28 spm in Hartland, Vermont...

Haven't you been paying attention? 5K's are done at 30. There is no point doing one at 28.
Only a poor rower rows 5K at 28 spm, therefore 17:56 is slow because it was done by a poor rower. Obvious isn't it?

I've been ignoring this for a while. Not surprisingly no nothing new here. I try to stay away until BIRC.

[JimR]

My daughter rowed in an 8 in high school and college ... I always thought those boats were sort of hard to miss, they were heavy for sure!

Hi Jim,

I know people who have gotten back injuries from those things. If you are carrying one down a slope and the person next to you slips or stumbles, you can catch a lot of weight. To make matters worse, some coaches tell the kids to lock their arms when carrying the boat.

I did a nice 19K OTW this morning. The temperature was a little below freezing. The only other boat out was a varsity eight accompanied by a coach in a launch. Such a lovely sight: young women gracefully moving the eight in the mist, beautifully synchronized.

Byron

She always said the hardest part was maintiaining form when you were ready to give up and die. I understood after my one and only 2K race ... lucky for me adults raced last so I could just roll off the erg and wait for my heart to catch-up!

Daughter was a bit smarter ... she went to South Carolina to row, althought they did get a few cold days in her four year stay and even ice a couple times.

JimR

[Citroen]

If Mike ... blah, blah, blah.

Who's training thread is this?

What does it matter what Mike VB does or doesn't do? He's going to beat you at the CRASH-Bs in 2011 by the simplest process of actually turning up for the event on the right day, at the right venue, in the right race, at the right weight and rowing his assigned ergo down to 2000m to 0m without putting the handle down. He'll get to Boston without having frozen feet, without having a tree fall on his head, without missing his flight. Mike even details his training in a form that everyone can understand (no stupid SPI crap) on his UK blog.

Where's the photo of your 8*500? Where's your ranked 10K @ 1:44, your ranked FM @ 1:44?

[Carl Watts]

Everyone's been waiting for a ranked IND_V PB other than a 2K for the last 7 years, you don't seriously expect to get one now do you ?

[ranger]

What does it matter what Mike VB does or doesn't do? He's going to beat you at the CRASH-Bs in 2011 by the simplest process of actually turning up for the event on the right day, at the right venue, in the right race, at the right weight and rowing his assigned ergo down to 2000m to 0m without putting the handle down. He'll get to Boston without having frozen feet, without having a tree fall on his head, without missing his flight.

Mike won't be in my age and weight division at the CRASH-Bs.

I am older than he is.

I will row as a 60s lwt.

He will row as a 55s lwt.

Yea, I've learned my lesson about the planes. The situation with weather and planes in the middle of winter in the midwestern United States is much too uncertain to depend upoon.

So, despite the time and cost, I'll go out to Boston a couple of days early this year for the CRASH-Bs, so I won't need to depend on flight schedules.

Of course, that Mike doesn't have trouble with flights to the CRASH-Bs is just an accident of his location relative to Boston. If he lived in the midwest, as I do, he would have exactly my problem getting to Boston in the middle of February. Mike doesn't even have to qualify for Boston to earn a flight to the CRASH-Bs. He can just drive to the venue in a couple of hours.

If you live in the midwest or the west and they shut down the airports and/or cancel the planes, you are stranded 1000, 2000, 3000 miles from Boston. That kind of distance is more difficult to drive on the spur of the moment, if not impossible.

BTW, Mike is really ducking the competition this year at WIRC. If he had any guts, he'd be older.



ranger

[PaulH]

Up until now you have been avoiding all the things you know should be doing

Hard to see where this is coming from.

Actually its pretty easy - you've given a list of pieces (with times and specific distances) that you should do (sorry, "will want to be doing") so long that it would take you a couple of months to fit them all in. And yet here you are, sharpening over, and you've not reported a single one of those.