Pain, Toughness, Hardness And Other Tales

[[old] remador]

I read this in an article - not a scintifical one - about rowing competitions:<br><br>"Marathon runners talk about hitting 'the wall' at the twenty-third mile of the race. What rowers confront ins't a wall; it's a hole - an abyss of pain, which opens up in the second minute of the race. Large needles are being driven into your thigh muscles, while your forearms seem to be splitting. Then the pain becomes confused and disorganized, not like th windedness of the runner or the leg burn of the biker but an all-over, savage unpleasantness. As you pass the five-hundred mark, with three-quarters of the race still to row, you realize with dread that you are not going to make it to the finish, but at the same time the idea of letting your teammates down by not rowing your hardest is unthinkable. Therefore, you are going to die".<br><br>How about giving the same kind of subjective insights about erging competitions? It could be nice...<br><br>AM

[[old] PaulS]

Sounds like the person planned or trained badly for their race.<br><br>Interpretation of pain is so subjective as to be nearly useless, for example, I've seen a soccer player wrything in pain while holding his big toe in an iced whirlpool*, while a rower was in the same whirlpool to mid-thigh, being amused by the soccer player. <br><br>- Paul Smith<br><br>*This is a devilish device designed to keep a "thermal barrier" from building up by circulating the slurry of crushed ice and water around the "horse trough" sized bath, guarantying maximum exposer to 32F- temperatures. I think the body heels more quickly out of the fear you will have to do more of it. There is a heated version of the same thing that is much more pleasant (AKA A Hot tub)

[[old] dougsurf]

<table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> </td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Sounds like the person planned or trained badly for their race.<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table> <br><br>I agree. My guess, assuming some decent shape, is that his splits looked like:<br>1st 20/1:18, 500/1:37, 1000/1:59, 1500/2:15, 2000/DFL<br><br>Doug

[[old] GeorgeD]

I dont find a 2k painful but it is stressfull and that last 2-300 is distressing .... but hey its not about having fun its about pushing the limits , anyway give it a few minutes of sucking air into lungs that are really pissed off and your faced with a situation of either euphoria or depression. <br><br>If its euphoria then all you can think about is the next time when you will go quicker, if its depression all you can think about is the next time when you will go quicker <br><br>No one said we were bright <br><br>- George

[[old] remador]

Well, just to clarify the issue, he was talking about what he thinks to be the normal experience of world-class oarsmen. Though I am not one of them, I think, from personal experience and that of my mates, that it is a good description. 2Km hard rowing without the taste of blood in your mouth - it's a promenade. He also says that oarsmen don't like to talk about pain, as if it was going to break their mind toughness.<br><br>AM <br><br>

[[old] Canoeist]

Maybe it is a sign of old age, but I rarely get the lactic acid burn during rows that everyone talks so much about. I remember the lactic acid burn during weight lifting sessions of my younger years. But, I can't recall the same burning sensation when rowing. To me, the pain during rows is more of extreme exhaustion of the muscles. The pain is compounded with the pain similar to swimming a full lap in a pool without taking a breath of air. <br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Paul Flack

[[old] remador]

I feel that, when I'm sculling or sweeping at very high intensity, my arms and shoulders hurt more than while erging. Anyone feels the same? (Yes, feathering makes it harder, but I think there is something else)<br><br>AM

[[old] Afterburner]

Ya, mostly during really bad conditions when you're struggling to keep the boat set. It's the whole controlling the hand levels thing...<br><br>Heather Johnson<br>F20 HWT 5'7" 2k 7:32.2 20min 5057

[[old] Ash]

I usually find a 2k extremely painful, legs always screaming by 1200m if i'm doing a test, and the last 300m is insane with every stroke more painful than the last, your body's way of telling you your mad. My most painful race has actually been a mile test (1609m) over the summer that was at a slower pace than my current 2k. took me around 10 minutes to get off the floor and a full week to recover properly. <br><br>6:12.0 target for Sunday, i bet thats going to hurt! Yay!

[[old] dadams]

Ash,<br>Never done the mile thing, but I agree with you on all other accounts. The legs feel as if they'll explode. No matter what you do, you can't seem to get enough air into the lungs. Then you realize you still have 800m left!!! And that says nothing of what is felt after it's all over. You lungs couldn't be big enough. Huge gulps of air, and it feels as if you're trapped under water.<br><br>And the most insane thing......we all seem to come back for more!!! <br><br>Dwayne

[[old] wrez]

last 200-300 on 2k i think im gonna shit myself and puke at the same time.. lol<br><br>

[[old] Canoeist]

<!--QuoteBegin-Ash+Oct 22 2004, 02:42 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> (Ash @ Oct 22 2004, 02:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <br>6:12.0 target for Sunday <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><br> Ash, you continue to improve as you get older. Looking at all of your times listed in your signature, I can no longer lead you in races. Keep up the great work .<br><br>And good luck Sunday! The last time that I raced you, about a year ago, your 2K time was around 6:25.<br><br>Paul Flack