Marathon Attempt

[[old] Bufflehead]

How about a group marathon attempt from the ladies? My date is set for May 7th right now. This will just be for fun. We don't care how long it takes. I'm not very fast, but I think I can go the distance. It will be quite an accomplishment!<br /><br />We could use this forum for training tips, encouragement, or anything else you might want along the way. Anyone up for the challenge? There's plenty of time to get ready! It will just take a little determination. The C2 website has all the rules and other info about making a marathon attempt.<br /><br />Let's go for it! It will be fun to see how many countries we hear from.<br /><br />Good luck!<br />Sue

[[old] CAROLE MAC]

I was suppose to be doing a marathon on 23rd April I was organising a marathon weekend and a few of the usual suspects from the Grand Prix circuit are coming I don't know whether I will be fit by then will have to wait and see.<br /><br /> I have only ever done one marathon which was a big learning curve and thank goodness I listened to some peeps on the Uk forum ...... I had several drinks lined up a couple of towels some dried fruit and malt loaf and three tshirts..I changed tshirts every 10k and it made me feel loads better. My time was 3hrs17.I reckoned I had stoppages of over 10mins ... so I think I have a bit more to come .<br /><br />Carla is the expert at the moment she has done two in the last few weeks .... and sub 3hr 10 which is brilliant . Carla how did you go on for breaks and what food etc did you have ???

[[old] Bufflehead]

Good grief - I must be doing something wrong! I can't imagine pulling with that much power. I was doing well to keep up a 2:30-2:35 pace for the HM. I'm also usually rowing at a 27 spm pace. I took one minute breaks every 5K to grab some water. I don't think I could keep that pace for a marathon, so that's why I'm not too concerned about my finish time. I'll be happy with under four hours. How in the world do you fast girls do it? Could it be my age? <br /><br />Sue

[[old] grams]

Regarding the date for a women's marathon effort-the C2 annnual ranking and the Nonathlon rolls over to a new season on May 1. A marathon done on May 7th would be applied to next years rankings.<br /><br />I have only been erging for a year & 1/2, but so far the marathon push by C2 and everyone else starts in March or thereabouts.<br /><br />I suggest moving it up a bit to before May 1.<br /><br />I wouldn't worry about your time for a first one. It's a learning experience to find out what pace you can hold for 3+ hours. (2:39 pace) I took me 3 hours 43 minutes to do my last one and that is with no breaks. Still, in my age group it was a great time. <br /><br />Do some 1/2 marathons and then a 3/4 marathon for training and you will have a much better idea of waht you can sustain for the long haul.<br /><br />grams

[[old] susan]

I have been erging for less than a week, but I would love to participate in a marathon. It took me over 30 minutes to do a 5k on Friday last, but hey, it's early days yet and I am so very motivated! So, please count me in.<br /><br />

[[old] Bufflehead]

Great! The more the merrier I always say! And really - let's don't even think about how long it will take us.<br />Sue

[[old] Guest]

Not an expert....! <br /><br /><br />The first one I did, I looked at the rankings and figured kind of where I wanted to be, and used the pace calculator to figure out what pace I had to hold to do it. I ate twice the breakfast I normally eat, and rowed the piece about 2 hours after eating. <br /> <br />I stretched on my Swiss ball, stuck in a DVD, and set out some 2 litre water bottles, sweat bands, and some applesauce cups & spoon (just in case I ran out of gas). I was going to put a T shirt there incase I wanted to change, but then decidede that what really feels disgusting isn't the sweaty T shirt. It's the totally soggy cotton sports bra under it. No one was home, so I just rowed braless and it was fine. I also put a hand towel within reach for drying hands and face. And I took the phone off the hook.<br /><br />So then I just started the movie and started to row, got the pace to the right number within a few strokes, and concentrated onkeeping it there (monitor set on avg pace). I also watched the monitor so that I was doing 10MPS. I stopped about every 10K for a few quick gulps of water, retaining one in my mouth to swallow a stroke at a time. Both bottles were empty by the time I finished (about 4 stops to drink, 10 secs. or so). AFter drinking of course I was in a panic to get the pace down again.<br /><br />After hitting the half way point I felt Ok, convinced myself I was just sitting down to start a single HM, and really felt like I could go faster, so I did. - The time was better than I had planned on. I should have had more water before hand because I ended up drinking 5 more bottles of water between finishing and the next morning.<br /><br />My next row, 4 days later, was an HM PB by about 3 minutes. It felt short compared to the marathon but the last bit there was pretty uncomfortable. <br /><br />I think I rowed a few "mixed junk" 10ks after that and then around 10 days after the first marathon I decided to do another. Basically the same routine, but at a faster pace, and I drank a lot more water all morning so I wasn't so dehydrated afterwards. My family called me from the road when I was about halfway done and I managed to say "there's nothing for dinner, I'm rowing" and dropped the phone on the floor. i finished fighting cramps in both calves and shins and with both feet gone numb for some reason, but cut 3 more minutes off and was pleased.<br /><br />Basically, the best advice I can give you is to refuse to be overwhelmed or impressed by what your body tries to tell you as you are rowing. Your body is your servant and not the other way around; assert your authority over it. For about 10K I was sort of sing songing in my head, "in a rock-ing chair, in a rock-ing chair" while watching the monitor and the movie; it kept me from feeling like I was really working very hard. I used to do the same thing when swimming multiple miles in the morning and was really tired. I would convince myself that I was really sleeping and get out of the pool quite relaxed. So much of what we are fighting is not so much physical limitation, but mental. We start out feeling good, but as the meters go by, we start to realize the enormity of what we are attempting and allow ourselves to be cowed by it. But if you force yourself to think of the marathon really as no more than 4 slow 10ks, it is much less daunting. And of course watching Terminator, Rambo, or Rocky movies really helps, too! <br /><br />If you are used to rowing at 10MPS, if you start to cramp up, you can give yourself a break by increasing your rate while maintaining the same pace. This is what I did when I got the cramps and numbness and it really helped.<br /><br />Happy marathoning, ladies! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

[[old] Guest]

[quote=Guest,Jan 31 2005, 02:41 PM]<br />Not an expert....! <br /><br /><br />Ooops, don't know why I'm able to respond when I'm not logged in....The previous post was mine<br /><br />Carla "seat5"<br />F44 hwt

[[old] grams]

Hi seat 5,<br /><br />Wonderful description of your marathon. You are really stretching out your erg times. When a new erger gets to the point where 10,000m seems short, that's a defintie breakthrough. (not that you are new)<br /><br />Only one part I disagree with. When you get older you will find that you do really need to listen to your body or your will overstrain something. The good part is that by then you know yourself well enough to look inside and have a real understanding of how all of your body parts are holding up. <br /><br />grams

[[old] Bufflehead]

Hi Group!<br /><br />Since Grams says that C2 has a big marathon push and challenge before the time I originally set, shall we move it up a tad? I guess we don't all have to shoot for the exact same time - I just thought it might add some incentive to my own attempt. Let me know what you think. I think that this forum is still a great way for us to share experiences, training, and other ideas. After all, I'm still getting my feet wet when it comes to using this forum. <br /><br />I enjoy reading what everyone has been saying. Why, I've even tried rowing without my gloves lately! Not sure how I like it yet.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Bufflehead

[[old] grams]

My mistake. The jeans are 501's, not 505's. I'm back into the size I wore 40 years ago. And I'm not tall-just 5'3".<br /><br />I will be doing my marathon before May 1 because we will be in Australia then. W won't be bck til June, and I look forward to seeing everyones' marathon results then.<br /><br />grams

[[old] CAROLE MAC]

Oh Grams I am going to Oz in March all being well with leg... going to surprize Mr Mac's brother in Perth they ain't seen each other for 7 yrs and a week in Sydney with my mate who emigrated last year .. am really excited just hope I can find the odd erg to train on ....

[[old] pamcnm]

I will happily cheer you ladies on from the sidelines, but don't plan to row a marathon anytime soon. I started a training plan to improve my 2K times. I am also still struggling with some sort of lingering hip discomfort from the holiday challenge. Until I figure out exactly what's causing it, and how not to aggravate it, I won't be committing myself to any long rows. <br /><br />Maybe for the 2006 season!

[[old] Grier]

All of you ladies are so encouraging! I am going to aim toward a marathon - but not until mid June. I row at a fitness club and so that determines the day of the week and the time of day for me (for the marathon). A Sat. or Sun., after noon is their slowest time of day. There are only 2 Concept 2s and so I will be monopolizing one for probably 4-1/2-5 hours. The tvs are hung from the ceiling and not easily seen (by me without my glasses!) so I may see if I can "schedule" friends to stop by every 30 minutes to keep me going. I can row an hour without any problem and so thought I should go for 1-1/2 hours, once a week, to see how that goes. Other days during the week I am rowing 5,000-7,000m each time. The down side of not too many people at the fitness club rowing is that they are really missing out! The BENEFIT is that I rarely have to wait for a machine whenever I go!

[[old] KathiS]

You can count me in! May 7th works for me Bufflehead, but if you want to move it up, as long as you move it to another Saturday, I should be able to do it with you. I expect I will probably take more than 4 hours as I finished my HM in just under two hours, but who cares as long as I finish!<br /><br />Thanks Carla for the great advice!<br />