Ranger's training thread

[ranger]

So, you think you're one of the "best rowers"?

The group of rowers with three WR rows is pretty small, I'd say.

And now, I am _much_ better than when I did those rows, both absolutely and relative to my competition.

If I pull a lwt 6:16 for 2k at 60, and I think I will, it will never be beaten.

It will be _ridiculously_ good.

It will be as good as this old man, now, at 38, looking for his fifth Olympic medal, his fourth Olympic gold:



ranger

[ranger]

I can tell you that your rowing is rubbish

Sure.

That's to be expected, I would think.

I am not a rower at all.

During my life more generally, I was a skater, runner, swimmer, and canoeist.

I didn't get on an erg until I was 50 years old; I didn't get in a boat of any sort until I was 53 years old.

Then again, almost all of the present 50s and 60s veteran WR-holders on the erg (Ripley, Seibach, Brook, Hendershott, Bailey) are similar.

They aren't rowers, either.

They just have a certain sort of high overall physical capacity for their age.

ranger

[ranger]

Strong storms are sweeping across the upper peninsula of Michigan today.

Impressive skies, but not very good conditions for rowing OTW.

12K OTErg this morning.

Maybe I'll do some biking this afternoon.

BTW, it does indeed look as though technique can account for in and around 3 SPI.

Lightweights who row poorly pull 10 SPI; lightweights who row well pull 13 SPI.

Heavyweights who row poorly pull 13 SPI; heavyweights who row well pull 16 SPI.

At 32 spm, 3 SPI is worth right around 100 watts, 9 seconds per 500m.

32 spm @ 10 SPI is 320 watts, 1:43/6:52 for 2K.

32 spm @ 13 SPI is 420 watts, 1:34/6:16 for 2K.

ranger

[PaulH]

I don't see any reason not to be openly expressive/personal rather than put on some false social persona

And yet by being so expressive you're actually putting on the false social persona you decry, only in your case you're faking being one of the best rowers of all time, when in fact you were once a very good age-class gloryweight erger.

[ranger]

[And yet by being so expressive you're actually putting on the false social persona you decry, only in your case you're faking being one of the best rowers of all time, when in fact you were once a very good age-class gloryweight erger.

Best ergers of all time?

You mean, of any age?

No, I've never claimed anything of the sort.

Anyone with three WR rows for his age and weight is _certainly_ one of the best age-class ergers of all time, though.

Fait accompli on that one.

If I reach my goal, this status will change, but, sure, it is only hypothetical at the moment.

If I pull a lwt 6:16 at 60, hands down, it will be the best age-group row in the history of the sport.

It will break the 60s lwt WR by 26 seconds, the 55s lwt WR by 22 seconds, the 50s lwt WR by 8 seconds, and the 40s lwt WR by 2 seconds.

ranger

[ranger]

According to _Rowing Faster_ (p. 89) a reasonable strength goal for a 60s male is half the strength of a young female Olympian of the same weight.

Hard to understand that, given that the best male 60s ergers pull a 2K OTErg at right around the same time as a female Olympian of the same weight.

I'll have to get in a weight room and see what I can do for a squat, deadlift, and bench pull.

Squat 130 lbs.?

Yikes.

That's not very much.

That's supposed to be my strength goal?

Maybe for a curl, but not for a squat.

ranger

[lancs]

If I pull a lwt 6:16 at 60, hands down, it will be the best age-group row in the history of the sport.

I previously thought you'd be a certainty to break Bailey's 60lwt 2k mark but I'm now pretty sure that this will be well beyond you. Your chaotic training regime, binge eating to 85kg or so and excessive alcohol comsumption will see to it that you'll struggle to break 6:45 as a lwt from now on. Still an excellent row of course and I'd be delighted if I had the capability to do the same at that age, but some way off your magical figure of 6:16 Im afraid.

We seem to be stuck in a bit of a lull at the moment with no imminent rows planned to confirm just how far off you are from any of your targets. For example, have you figured out how you'll turn your current inability to get past 5k at your planned FM pace?

[NavigationHazard]

[And yet by being so expressive you're actually putting on the false social persona you decry, only in your case you're faking being one of the best rowers of all time, when in fact you were once a very good age-class gloryweight erger.

Best ergers of all time?

You mean, of any age?

No, I've never claimed anything of the sort....

(snipped)

ranger

Yes you have. http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?p=91292#p91292

And given that I am one the best ergers in the history of the sport, I suppose I have a _right_ to jabber on a bit about how I do it.

[ranger]

Your chaotic training regime, binge eating to 85kg or so and excessive alcohol comsumption will see to it that you'll struggle to break 6:45 as a lwt from now on.

Sure, your behavior doesn't give you much of a chance at WRs, etc.

So it goes.

Your choice.

My training is some of the most regular imaginable, and has been, for ten years.

My weight is _very_ good at the moment.

170 lbs?

My labor from day to day has been on holding 12 SPI for a FM at low UT1/75% HRR.

1:48 @ 23 spm

Fun project.

According to _Rowing Faster_, this is Level V training, what you do before threshold rowing (distance trials).

Level V rowing is hardly a "lull" in my training.

I suppose it is only a "lull" in training if you skip it entirely, as you do.

So it goes.

Your choice.

ranger

[lancs]

My labor from day to day has been on holding 12 SPI for a FM at low UT1/75% HRR.

1:48 @ 23 spm

You illustrate my point quite nicely here. This quote implies that you have completed a FM at low UT1 HR (even though you've no idea what that actually is for you) and yet you quite clearly haven't. As I have said on multiple occasions, you cannot currently row past 5k at 1:48 pace. You may have done some time in the past, but you simply cannot now.

So when you say, for example, '12k today OTerg, 1:48 23spm', what you in fact mean is 'roughly 12k today during which I occasionally saw 1:48 @23 but where the overall ave at the end was about 2:00/500m'.

That would appear to be rather chaotic training to me. Your results support my theory too. You're just getting slower like the rest of the rowing population at your age.

[Byron Drachman]

Feb 7, 2006: I have just been learning a quality OTW stroke. That project is now complete.

June 1, 2007:If my training keeps going as well as it is but I don't row 6:20 this next year, I won't be much interested in competitive erging from now on. I'll just row OTW and use the erg for general conditioning.

June 12, 2008: My stroke is now a dream to use, entirely relaxed. –snip--so my erging and OTW rowing have merged perfectly. My stroke is the same both OTW and off.

June 27, 2010: No need for Craftsbury, if I am rowing this well. No one my age is rowing any better.

June 27, 2010: given that I was just out in my Fluid, doing 1:56 @ 31 spm. No one my age is rowing any better, including Dietz and Spousta, who, between them, have won the Head of the Charles a couple of dozen times.

Feb 7, 2011: I will be racing--both OTErg in the winter and OTW in the spring, summer, and fall--for the rest of my life.

July 16, 2008: My future is indeed with OTW rowing. It's a blast. I'll especially enjoy traveling around to different OTW racing venues, as I enjoyed traveling around to the different racing venues as a marathon runner and road racer.

Today is the last chance to register for the regatta at Grand Rapids on Saturday. The deadline was yesterday but they accept late registrations today.

[aharmer]

As usual, you reserve the right to prove us wrong at any point by showing results of what you're doing each day.

On a side note, I have a trivia question for you. When a cardiologist performs an angiogram on a healthy person, sees normal arteries but a very low ejection fraction of their left ventricle, what is the first question they ask the patient?

[PaulH]

[And yet by being so expressive you're actually putting on the false social persona you decry, only in your case you're faking being one of the best rowers of all time, when in fact you were once a very good age-class gloryweight erger.

Best ergers of all time?

You mean, of any age?

No, I've never claimed anything of the sort....

(snipped)

ranger

Yes you have. http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?p=91292#p91292

And given that I am one the best ergers in the history of the sport, I suppose I have a _right_ to jabber on a bit about how I do it.

Thanks for that, Nav, saved me some searching. So, what do you say ranger?

[Byron Drachman]

Best ergers of all time?

You mean, of any age?

No, I've never claimed anything of the sort....

More examples:

May 28, 2008: I am one of the most successful ergers in the history of the sport.

July 19, 2008: --snip-- Of course, I also have an important advantage over most scullers as I try to make that improvement. I am one of the best ergers in the world.

September 16, 2010: If it isn' t already obvious, by the end of this indoor rowing season (2011), it will be clear that I am one of the best ergers in the history of the sport, if not the best, bar none.

[mikvan52]

This just in: Mary and I are going to The HRR (Henley Royal Regatta) next week... (no joke)

Part of my mission will be to poll the athletes there about how they've applied ranger spi theory to their rowing preparation... (joke)

I can just imagine TSO wandering around the Steward's Enclosure trying to get people to listen to his training theories..

"Why, yes, that Leander Club eight would move the boat much better if each rower would just learn to separate his levers! And, naturally, only hit the water after hours of erging prior to each and every workout."
quoth the Bard of Ann Arb'