BRIC 2016

[Pie Man]

Who is going and in which class? It will be nice to put some faces to names.

Although my finish position would be higher in the Open class I would be twenty years older than the next oldest competitor so I will enter the 40-49 LWT using this as a introduction to racing for next year when I will be 50...

Oh and if you don't mind sharing what time are you hoping for? I'd be very happy with anything around 7:10 and a top ten finish. But taking part will be great so however I finish it will be good.

[Bloodbuzz Corio]

Piers I'll be there, and also 40-49 LWT. Hoping a combination of training between now and then and the excitement of the big day allow me to get a PB - anything 6:59.5 or below would be awesome!

[Pie Man]

That certainly would be a great time but perfectly possible for you.

[JohnAd]

I'll be in 40-49 HWT and going for sub 7. Also looking forward to putting some faces to names.

[Gammmmo]

Piers...so you're hoping for a time around 30s quicker than the pb on your signature?

I'd like to go but 2k is a low priority distance for me right now, and I'm a bit strapped for cash for travel, accommodation etc as it's miles away for me.

[Pie Man]

Yup, to be honest I'd like to be under 7:10. While doing a 10' row for the c2ctc.com last month I 'passed' 2k with roughly 7:25 on the clock, finishing at 2709m @ 1:50.7 for the 10'. The Pete Plan pyramid I did last night was 1:46.7 av with the 750-1000-750 section at 1:47.4 average which some say is a good indicator of 2k pace. But I haven't done a proper 2k this season, that 2k time was part of a 3x2k r5:00 piece so isn't really representative, I should probably just remove it, in fact tomorrow I am due to do a 4 x 2k r5:00 with an target time of my 2k PB!

I am in two minds about fitting in a proper 2k test as the various hard rows I have done recently do affect me for a few days and a proper 2k is going to be even tougher on me. However trusting the various indicators is one thing, pacing and executing my best 2k without ever trying it is another so I may have to try one sooner rather than later. This month the indoor rowing league have a 1609m piece to set a time which I may attempt around 1:46 pace.

It would be a long way to go Gammmmo for less than 7 minutes of 'fun' especially as I think our class would be early in the morning so you couldn't even get away with traveling on the day.

[Edward4492]

Pie man, do a 1250m at what you think your target for 2k will be. If you're thinking 7:10, then hold 1:47- 1:48 the whole way. This may sound silly and I get some negative feed back when I mention this, but it works; set the monitor for 2000m, set up your splits for 250m. You're still doing a 1250m piece (so you'll finish with 750m left on the screen). No sprint. You want the mental image of what your race 2k will look like. Then be honest with yourself about how you felt.If you were fading bad near the end, maybe you couldn't hold the split, time to re-assess. If you were feeling very fresh, maybe go out a little faster. You get the idea. 1250m is a great distance on the lead up as it isn't too stressful either mentally or physically. And of course you can go back and review your 250m splits.

Don't count on the "excitement" of the event to carry you to some other-worldly PR.The best you can hope for in a race is to match what your training predicted or best it by a few seconds. Based on your pyramid 7:10 looks very realistic.Last year my best (8) x 500m was at 1:44.5 and I pulled 7:06; so that gives you an idea (of course we're all different).

Regardless, good luck!

[Pie Man]

Thanks Edward, that sounds like a relatively 'low' impact way of testing myself. The PP has given me an idea of what I can do in the run in depending on how I am feeling so I should be able to get an honest appraisal of my 2k without knocking myself out for 3 days.

Great that Rohan and John are both going to be there as well, hopefully we will be able to cheer John on in his race.

[Gammmmo]

Piers, if you think you might feel some pressure by doing the BRIC, personally I would do a test 2K prior (even if it was at 95%) just to get a guage of where you are, especially given your 2K PB is likely due for a big update, and as a confidence builder. As said, on the day I'd have thought you'd want a plan you pretty much are certain you can execute. The preparation might not be perfect on the day and/or there may be alot of distractions. Of course everyone is different and I can see that some people might want to PB on the day...but IMO that's adding even more pressure. I suppose it depends on how you handle pressure.

When I did the Devon Indoor Champs I predicted my 5K time to within 1 or 2 seconds. It was a PB by 3s and a decent effort. I suppose the only downside to this mentality is it can be somewhat self-limiting.

[Pie Man]

Thanks Gammmmo,

You are right about the pressure, I need an achievable target, especially with the all the distractions as I don't normally like having anyone on the erg next to me, let alone a huge room of them. I'm going to give the mile a go at 1:49/50 on Friday, see how I feel after that. Going forward the occasional 1250m just to see how a new pace feels may help in honing in on a BRIC target, with perhaps a 2k attempt a few weeks before the event.

[Rocket Roy]

Where is it and when is it?
Also how much is it to Enter?

[Pie Man]

10/12/16 at the Olympic velodrome £32.50 to enter, http://indoorchamps.britishrowing.org/ entries by the end of November.

[Rocket Roy]

10/12/16 at the Olympic velodrome £32.50 to enter, http://indoorchamps.britishrowing.org/ entries by the end of November.

£32.50...????????????????????????????????????

you must be joking. I thought it was dear at £7.50 many years ago.

[Pie Man]

I'm afraid not, it's £6 to spectate...

[Rocket Roy]

I'm afraid not, it's £6 to spectate...

Now they are having a laugh!!!!!