Marathon Question

[old] davidmiller · Post by **[old] davidmiller** » October 8th, 2004, 12:40 pm

Specifically my question is this. Should I stop to either take in fluids or easily digestable foods and maybe stretch during my marathon attempt, or should I just try to hop on the erg and go for 42 thousand meters? I have heard pretty much everything on this one, from dont stop rowing for a second to at least 5 minutes of break time during a marathon, any help on this matter would be appreciated.

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » October 8th, 2004, 1:52 pm

If you're going for time then don't stop. If you're just aiming to finish then it doesn't matter and you can stop as many times as you want.

[old] grams · Post by **[old] grams** » October 8th, 2004, 2:20 pm

I don't get off the erg while doing a marathon. I stop pulling only long enough to grab a drink or some glucose tablets or hard candy which I keep next to the erg. I don't stop because I find it is hard on my system to have my my heart rate fall off during the rest, and then have to rev it up when I start again. However my splits aren't as fast as they would be if I erged like hell. If I did that I would have to rest, and my time would be slower overall. My advice: keep track of your heart rate at different levels of effort, find the rate that you feel you can maintain for a long period, and see how long you can go, stopping only enough to hydrate and eat an energy food if necessary. Grams all-time#1 ranking marathoner years 1999-2004 60-69yr lwt women 3:43:52:2 stroke rate 21 2:39/500meters (slow by your standards, no doubt) I have tried to up the stroke rate, but my times are worse. I trade too much rate for pace.

[old] NavigationHazard · Post by **[old] NavigationHazard** » October 8th, 2004, 3:40 pm

Grams, what about your half-marathon and/or 60m strategies? Do you also pause for fluids/glucose at these (comparatively) shorter distances, as you do in the full marathon, or do you erg them straight through?

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » October 8th, 2004, 4:13 pm

I kept water bottles beside me and grabbed a few gulps now and then, which cost me a few seconds each time. Also I ate some fig bars along with the water, mostly during the last 1/2. I don't usually like fig bars though. Next time (if there is one) I want to rig up a tube to drink from so I won't have to slow down, will have a green drink instead of water, and a pile of snacks to grab in between. My average rating was 29.5 strokes per minute. I usually gain pace with rate so that wasn't a factor. It was mostly just a question of water and energy.

[old] grams · Post by **[old] grams** » October 8th, 2004, 5:22 pm

Make that losing too much pace for rate. Meaning if I kick it up past about 24-25 spm my stroke gets too short. What happens is that I am pretty short (5'3") so a critical dimension for me is how much I lean back. Adding a bit more lean really improves my time because I can pull a longer chain length. But that also means that my recovery time needs to be longer because of the extra lean. When I increase the rate I don't do as much leaning. The only time I have done repeated short bits with rests in between was when I was 'training' for Ergmania last year. Usually I never stop unless my cd gets stuck or I forgot to turn on the fan or whatever. I just did 1hr 16 minutes without stopping except to take 3 quick sips of water. I just put on the tunes and put the meter down so I can't see it, and erg till the cd is finished. Or keep going into the next cd. Then I check the numbers later. That way I pay more attention to my stroke and what my body is telling me about my energy level and recovery from my injuries. These workouts are all done strapless, so I don't rush my recovery. I want to do another marathon, so I am working up to 12-16000 meters 2 times a week, and a hm 1 time a week. If I do that schedule for 3-4 weeks I will be ready for a marathon. I will watch the meter for some of those sessions so I know what it feels like to do the pace I want to hold for the marathon. One more thing. The night before I do a hm or marathon I eat some rice or oatmeal. It helps with the energy level the next day. I don't eat before I do the long session, except for some fruit juice and coffee. It slows me down to eat first. I keep some glucose tablets next to the erg and pop one when I feel my blood sugar dipping for all of my sessions. Bottom line-try different things one at a time and see what feels right to you. It took me several months to figure out what worked for me. grams

[old] Bill · Post by **[old] Bill** » October 8th, 2004, 6:27 pm

Hey John, 29.5 spm for a whole marathon ........ wow ! For me that is bordering on my sprinting spm what spm do you do on 500, 1000 & 2k Bill

[old] JimR · Post by **[old] JimR** » October 9th, 2004, 10:09 am

John - How did you figure out your SPM??? JimR

[old] ssiegel · Post by **[old] ssiegel** » October 9th, 2004, 10:36 am

I would argue that it depends on the individual and goal. Some have suggested no fluids to save the time, and this may work for some, but for others, the lack of fluids could slow them down more than the time it would take to get the fluids they need in their body during the row. Same for food. You may have to experiment and see what works for you. Most distance recommendations (for running, biking, etc) are to drink 6 oz (+/-) of fluids every 20 min (+/-). If you use a fluid mixed with something like Gu or Hammer Gel, this also takes care of some of the calorie concerns. However, you will need to experiment and see what works for you. Best wishes and please let us know how your marathoning goes

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » October 9th, 2004, 2:23 pm

Hi Bill, 500m ~46, 1000m ~39.7, 2k ~34/37, 5k 33.0, 6k 32.8, 10k 32.3, hm 31.8 Jim, The marathon was 8 meters per stroke all the way so was easy to calculate. All my PB's from 5k up have been at 8 meters per stroke. Ssiegel, I think it's a given for anyone to keep drinking through a marathon. However, you don't need to stop to drink water or to eat.

[old] JimR · Post by **[old] JimR** » October 9th, 2004, 3:58 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (John Rupp @ Oct 9 2004, 02:23 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> Jim, The marathon was 8 meters per stroke all the way so was easy to calculate.  </td></tr></table> John - I focus on rowing by meters per stroke ... but I sure can't hold a precise number for long distances ... I tend to stay in a fairly tight range (+/- 1 mps). I was thinking that when you said 29.5 you had a way of knowing exactly how many strokes you took (and I wondered what it was). JimR

[old] John Rupp · Post by **[old] John Rupp** » October 9th, 2004, 5:10 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (JimR @ Oct 9 2004, 12:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'>John - I focus on rowing by meters per stroke ... but I sure can't hold a precise number for long distances ... I tend to stay in a fairly tight range (+/- 1 mps). I was thinking that when you said 29.5 you had a way of knowing exactly how many strokes you took (and I wondered what it was).  </td></tr></table> Jim, Why not hold a precise number for long distances? This is very easy to do. 8 meters per stroke is 5 strokes every 40 meters, i.e. 25 strokes every 200 meters. Yes I know exactly how many strokes I took. 42195 / 8 = 5274.375 strokes 5274.375 x 60 / 2:58:46.2 = 5274.375 x 60 / 10726.2 = 29.5 strokes per minute

Concept2 Forum

Marathon Question

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training

Training