TimbukTOO Team Room

[dpw4812]

If we make to Fort Worth TX... stop by and we thrown steaks on a grill and a few brews.... prior to pushing to the end....

I am sorry I only had a light row this morning do to work calling me..... arrrrrrrrrrrgh... I push harder the next few days.

[dpw4812]

I also row at a club 24hr fitness they have two D models with PM4's I use my logcard all the time, well when the machine is able to read/write to it.....I love the card and hate when it does not work, I am still working with the club to try and get to follow the instructions that Concept2 had sent me to fix this issue.... " what do you mean by a validation option?"

[damselfly]

If we make to Fort Worth TX... stop by and we thrown steaks on a grill and a few brews.... prior to pushing to the end....

I am sorry I only had a light row this morning do to work calling me..... arrrrrrrrrrrgh... I push harder the next few days.

YUM!!! I'm there, man!!

David, do NOT apologise for not putting in a bajillion meters!! Sheesh!! You're so far out ahead we can barely see you!!

[BoB/335]

Hmm...after putting in 46k yesterday I found myself thinking about all of the same things that Bob brought up. To be honest, that row was probably a bit too far and my body is saying "hello brain??? time to back off!" Everything's fine, but it was clear that I was getting close to the point of hurting something (strangely enough it's one knee, on the back side).

That got me to thinking "well why the heck am I doing this?", and the answer of course was that there's this drive to put in the maximum number of meters possible. Once this month is over I am sure I'm going to considerably change my workouts since I don't feel like these LSDs are actually accomplishing my overall goals.

My overall goal is not measured in meters, but in weight stability, aerobic capability, and the ability to ski the West Face of KT22 with a pack on my back without stopping. The weight thing is relatively minor, just didn't like the fact that I was starting to gain weight for no reason and decided to put an end to it. So next month I'll be doing shorter, but much more intense workouts and trying to ignore any measurements of total meters.

As to a better way to do a contest...it's tough. I was trying to think of something that would reward individual improvement. Some combination of total meters (to reward dedication and consistency) as well as a bonus that rewarded percent improvement in personal bests for specific distances. It would be tough to avoid sandbagging though (the PB thing would require ranked workouts prior to the beginning of the challenge, pretty easy to just post a slow row prior to the challenge then "improve" dramatically). Also lots of people probably don't rank their rows to start with, so at the end of the day I really can't come up with anything better than just measuring total meters per member.

And just to launch into geek-ville, I imported this morning's data into a database and did some fooling around. Looking at meters/member:

• We are in 52nd place out of 330 teams.
• Many of the top "teams" have less than 5 members (Imagine what would happen if David and Heather formed their own team)
• If you consider only teams having 20 members or more, we are 11th out of 58
• If you consider only teams having 50 members or more, we are 5th out of 20

All in all I think that's actually a pretty darned impressive team showing!

Wow! A lot of catching up to do this morning with the reading. (Not looking to catch up on anyone's meters )

If I do "just" 38,259 today I can meet my goal for this challengs. Should be no sweat for someone who does 46K in a day.

The Winter Challenge caused me to push a little more on my meters than I had previously as I wanted to contribute to the monetary factor of a worthy cause. I admire those that row a steady hour everyday but don't really have much to say to those that put in more than that. (I don't wish to offend )

My encouragement would be to eat a well balanced diet, stay away from sweets and processed foods as much as possible, get in a minimum of 30 minutes of a good cardio workout a minimum of 5 times per week (that doesn't have to be all on an erg), and some full body resistance training on alternate days. I wish to become as physically fit as possible with a moderately low body fat content and stay active in other areas of my life.

I like the fact of the Challenge and setting a realistic goal that keeps "me" motivated to continue on the erg which in turn keeps me motivated to do the other exercises I incorporate. There may be a day or two where I may not feel like rowing but having the goal and this forum and team makes me want to fulfill my goal. When I miss a day and row more, I come to realize that I CAN row more. Back when I was accomplishing my daily 5000 row I never ever considered to row an hour. An hour row gives me a great workout (so I imagine a 2 hour workout might be even better?) but I see several people at my gym that seem to live there and don't have much of a life outside the gym (maybe assuming too much here) and although there are some great bodies (male and female) I feel once you committ to that kind of time schedule you become a slave to it. I guess I could be wrong.. Guess I rambled enough. (don't know what got into me)

[damselfly]

I think it's good to keep in mind that everyone has different goals. For rowing, I don't particularly have any per se except for non-running cardio cross-training and calorie burn. I don't ever plan to race (sprints or endurance), so I don't care about many things that are very important to other folks on the team.

Running is my "thing" and I do have some goals there, albeit somewhat fuzzy... I want to increase my endurance and strength to be able to do long, hilly trail runs. There is a group here that frequently do 20- or 25-mile runs up the local mountains here (highest peak 5,689 feet), and I'd love to get to that level.

I may be incorrect here, but I would imagine that the different workouts on the erg correspond to the different kinds of training runs -- tempo or interval runs, long runs, recovery runs. They all have different purposes, and based on what your goals are you would have a training plan that incorporates them in a structured way. So if someone spends 2 or more hours on the erg, it may be a key part of their training for something.

[glenmbaker]

So if someone spends 2 or more hours on the erg, it may be a key part of their training for something.

What's obvious to me is that there are as many different goals as there are people (probably even more goals than there are people). I spent way more than 2 hours on the erg on Saturday, but it was because (a) my family was absent, (b) I had the erg in front of the TV and had nothing pressing to do, and (c) I was curious as to just how far I could go.

I seem to always want to establish some personal limits for all of my activities. Some of these limits come from years of experience (like skiing where I know precisely where the danger zone starts). Some come from an abundance of caution (like paragliding where the penalty for stupidity can be rather high). For the erging case it was pretty easy to safely find the limit...just sit there and go at it until it starts to hurt somewhere. Stop at that point and pay attention to what the body is saying. I've been bumping my rows up and up, and this weekend found the limit...or at least the limiting factor (tendon at the back of the knee). No problem, just gotta relax a bit and it will be fine, but now I know for certain that a 20k row is absolutely no problem, a 30k row is getting aggressive, and 40k is pushing it and should only be done very carefully.

It also means that I'm not even going to try to catch Tyrone!

Lastly, I discovered that "The Mountain", starring Robert Wagner and Spencer Tracy is a really cheesy movie that makes movies like "K2", "Vertical Limit", and "Cliffhanger" look like accurate portrayals of climbing..

[glenmbaker]

OK, so, regarding the individual in the lead for the challenge, somebody please check my math and logic here.

Funny you should mention it. I noticed "Bob"'s numbers and sent email to Concept2 about it over the weekend. Just got email back saying they've corrected it.

[damselfly]

OK, so, regarding the individual in the lead for the challenge, somebody please check my math and logic here.

Funny you should mention it. I noticed "Bob"'s numbers and sent email to Concept2 about it over the weekend. Just got email back saying they've corrected it.

Brilliant!! Bob Bestor bested by Baker!!

[CONLEJM]

For those of you who enter your times/distances manually:

Instructions for retrieving and entering the validation code on the PM3 / PM4

It is possible to use your PM3 or PM4 to 'verify' any result entered into the ranking. In order to do so, first download and install the most recent version of firmware for your PM3 or PM4 (must be a version 90 or later for PM3 and any version on PM4) by going to: http://www.concept2.com/us/service/software/firmware/. After you have installed this firmware on your PM3/PM4 do the following:

• Make sure that the date and time on your PM3/PM4 is accurate.
  Set up and row your piece (being sure to set up your workout correctly).
  After you have rowed your piece, select the 'View Detail' button associated with the piece - this is possible by viewing workout details of a workout on your LogCard or memory.
  On the View Detail screen, the 4th button down from the top has no action associated with it.
  Double clicking on this button will cause a 16 digit number to appear in the upper right hand corner of the monitor.
  After you have entered your piece into your logbook, select 'Edit'.
  On this screen you'll find a link to go to the Verification Code Entry page at the bottom of the page.
  Enter your verification code into the form field labeled "PM3/PM4 verification code" on the Verification Code Entry page.
  You will receive a special entry code.
  Enter that entry code into the form field on the Edit This Result page and click Update.
  Now submit your piece to the online ranking.
  This will update your result Type to "IND_V" or verified.

Any questions or difficulties, please email ranking@concept2.com.

[glenmbaker]

Brilliant!! Bob Bestor bested by Baker!!

Ouch...was that really necessary? Between Cap'n Izzz's 7-11 puns and your alliterative prowess this is getting to be a painful place!

[CONLEJM]

I have a rather simplistic (and admittedly juvenile) view of exercise. I typically look at a class of athletes, consider their physiques (ignoring genetics, anabolic or other drugs, age, etc.) and I either want to "look like that", or I don't. And then I "exercise like them".

I wil look at "runners", for instance. In my simplistic worldview, there are distance runners and there are sprinters. It seems to me that sprinters tend to be more muscular than distance runners, and I personally would like to look muscular. So I would take up sprinting rather than distance running.

So I apply that same paradigm to rowing. I think there are distance rowers and there are speed rowers. I imagine that speed rowing would build more muscle than distance rowing. So I prefer rowing for speed rather than for distance. And as long as I am getting in a solid 45 - 60 minutes of cardio workout in the process, I am pretty satisfied. And I really like being able to rank my rows to see my progress versus my peers.

Today I rowed a 5K in 18:17.9 (1:49.7 pace) and then an easier 30 minute row for 7,703 meters (1:56.8 pace). It felt great rowing after a couple days of rest, and I feel great afterwards.

My goal by May is to break 18 minutes for the 5K, and I know I will succeed. 25 years ago, if you could break 18 minutes for the 5K, you would get invited to try out for the UNH crew team. I'm sure it's different now, but back in the day that was the pace to beat.

[glenmbaker]

It felt great rowing after a couple days of rest, and I feel great afterwards.

Ha...that's it! That is truly the best goal I can think of...to be able to feel great both during and after the workout.

Well done sir!

[The Blacksmith]

Here's a pic of that Iron Hummingbird I made a while back. It is kind of crude, but I did it early on in my career. Sorry about the pic-my camera was acting up.

[Hummingbird]

Here's a pic of that Iron Hummingbird I made a while back. It is kind of crude, but I did it early on in my career. Sorry about the pic-my camera was acting up.

I love it! Thank you very much; that cheered me up (you don't want to know why, promise; nothing to do with rowing. Snoopy is not so much sleeping as in a blue funk and pretending he's not here--perhaps..just got an idea).

But what can you possibly mean by 'crude' when you're working in iron? Besides which, few art forms require or even aspire to absolute realism. There's absolutely no doubt what it is in my mind, or (I'm sure) to anyone who has observed hummingbirds. Bravo! I'll even let you stay #2 for that

Next question: do you have a photo gallery of your other work?

[The Blacksmith]

Thanks for the compliment-always nice to have my work appreciated. Compared to what I can do now, it is on the crude side. I can make a rose (with thorns and all) that is very close to life like. It amazing what a decade or so can do for you skill. No, no galleries yet-I really need to get on that. It's a problem being a single Dad and finding time to work,deal with all the paperwork etc and still get enough marketing stuff done. Here's a table I did 4'x8' top-single piece of highly figured black walnut-legs are 2x2 inch solid bar-forged taper on the arches goes from 2x2 inch to 1/2x2 inches. The arch started at 34 inches long-stretched to 54inches before bending to shape. made for a "high profile" client-not allowed to disclose who I made it for. Hope it's not ticking anyone off by showing it. If so, my apologies.