LUNA-TICS TEAM ROOM: Year-round "Looney" fun.

[Kona2]

Need four more entries to float the DISCOVERY ! And even more could give us another boat....

[Kona2]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

Strategeries....! Some amazing times being recorded for the 500 m by many... and race plans do seem to make a big difference...Olympians aside!

[BAZzy]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

Strategeries....! Some amazing times being recorded for the 500 m by many... and race plans do seem to make a big difference...Olympians aside!

Ha...! I had a race plan for this morning's attempt, but it fell apart at the 100M mark when a little voice said "the faster you go, the sooner it will be over". Plenty of logic there Baz, but the last 50M was tough. Managed a 1:46, now a "bex" and a lie down, Cheers, Baz and good luck to all...!

[Shabana]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

There are still two or three more days of 500m comp to go, Zach!

Seriously, I was pleased to go under 1:35, and 1:30 is realistically well out of reach now. But you have given me an intermediate target to go for, stretch for sure but perhaps possible.

Hopefully I can give you a reason to try the 500 again
Andrew

[Shabana]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

There are still two or three more days of 500m comp to go, Zach!

Seriously, I was pleased to go under 1:35, and 1:30 is realistically well out of reach now. But you have given me an intermediate target to go for, stretch for sure but perhaps possible.

Hopefully I can give you a reason to try the 500 again
Andrew

Came really close! I will be having another go...

For what it is worth, my research seems to indicate that for sprints the highest drag factor and stroke rate that you can muster with good form is the most commonly accepted guideline. I can't do a high stroke rate, I have been trying to increase it but find 24 too fast for long periods. My last sprint effort was with a df of180 and sr of 34.

[BigBrett58]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

There are still two or three more days of 500m comp to go, Zach!

Seriously, I was pleased to go under 1:35, and 1:30 is realistically well out of reach now. But you have given me an intermediate target to go for, stretch for sure but perhaps possible.

Hopefully I can give you a reason to try the 500 again
Andrew

Came really close! I will be having another go...

For what it is worth, my research seems to indicate that for sprints the highest drag factor and stroke rate that you can muster with good form is the most commonly accepted guideline. I can't do a high stroke rate, I have been trying to increase it but find 24 too fast for long periods. My last sprint effort was with a df of180 and sr of 34.

I tried damper settings of 2,4,6,8,10 to see which setting felt the easiest to get a pace under 1:40. 10 seemed to be the clear winner. I let me heart rate drop to 100-110 from the warm up sprints and gave it a go. My previous best from yesterday was 1:44.7 I believe. I started off thinking "wow, this doesn't feel bad". With about 150m left i thought, "oh my god, I'm going to suffocate". I literally felt like I was breathing in no oxygen. I let my pace get away from my for 60 meters or so but with 50 meters left I thought I could power through without air anyway. When I got done, I just wanted to get the straps off so that if I collapsed, they wouldn't find me strapped to the machine. I still had my pride to think about. Evidently, I powered into a 1:34.7 which well exceeded what I thought was possible. Thanks for the strong recommendation to take the drag factor higher. I think that was the only way I was going to eek out that time.

[Kona2]

Two or three days remain for Round 2...500 m

Check out the Concept2 blog from yesterday - it's all about the Spring Series, why it was created, and some of the elite athletes that are participating (we rowed with Olympians!). We've got a bunch of boats in the virtual waters...lots of good race plans being shared...and the results of those plans are incredible! Mark those times with an asterisk...who knows if they will end up being your best ever!

Shaving a few seconds off a 500 m time is really hard work. The MERCURY boat, for example, has knocked off three or four seconds since the boat hit the virtual waters for round 2. Thanks to all who are giving the 500 m sprints a go. I think the world record is 1:14 for the guys, and 1:24:5 for women. Stroke rate is in the 50s. Lordy.

Welcome back to Barry S, and welcome to Leila T. The Tudury's are fully represented on the 500 m results board!

MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:

5.05 MM Brett
3.55 MM Rebecca
3.3 MM Cornel
2.8 MM Gary (I'm betting that you're working on a 3 MM goal for the year)
2.5 MM Norma
1.6 MM David T
1.25 MM Linda M
1.15 MM Patrick S
100 K Sorin

Thanks, everyone, for erging with us!

david t 500 m
Isabelle 500 m
Juliette 500 m
Leila 500 m
Baz 1,000 m
GMan 2,047 m
Joerg 2,238 m
Ken P 2,297 m
Leigh 2,872 m
Gines 3,318 m
Patrick S 4,012 m
Linda M 4,322 m
Brett 4,787 m ...a few 500 m tries, and some warm up sprints...whew!
Ben 5,000 m
Carol M 5,000 m
David T 5,000 m
Jessica 5,000 m
Karin 5,000 m
Rebecca 5,000 m
Ryan 5,000 m
Sorin 5,000 m
Teresa G 5,000 m
Andrea 5,630 m
Priscilla 6,015 m
Tombeur 6,030 m
Barry S 6,169 m
Zach 8,141 m
Corey 10,000 m
Derric 10,000 m
Michael C 10,000 m
Patrick S 10,000 m
Virginia 10,000 m
William C 10,000 m
Ed 10,001 m...a one aught palindrome!
Ross 10,833 m
Andrew 11,062 m
Maria 12,000 m
danwho 12,121 m ...a Welkian palindrome!
Dennis 13,431 m ...a palindrome!
Norma 15,151 m ...a palindrome!
Stuart 16,361 m ...a palindrome!
Minnie 16,631 m
Ron 20,102 m ...a palindrome!
Cornell 20,500 m
Gary 21,097 m ...he moons us!
Warnie 23,848 m ... he moons us!
Jantuut 32,688 m ...he moons us!

[TallErgs]

I go to sleep for one night and people are knocking out amazing 500m times. Well done everybody!

[Jodi]

There are still two or three more days of 500m comp to go, Zach!

Seriously, I was pleased to go under 1:35, and 1:30 is realistically well out of reach now. But you have given me an intermediate target to go for, stretch for sure but perhaps possible.

Hopefully I can give you a reason to try the 500 again
Andrew

Came really close! I will be having another go...

For what it is worth, my research seems to indicate that for sprints the highest drag factor and stroke rate that you can muster with good form is the most commonly accepted guideline. I can't do a high stroke rate, I have been trying to increase it but find 24 too fast for long periods. My last sprint effort was with a df of180 and sr of 34.

I tried damper settings of 2,4,6,8,10 to see which setting felt the easiest to get a pace under 1:40. 10 seemed to be the clear winner. I let me heart rate drop to 100-110 from the warm up sprints and gave it a go. My previous best from yesterday was 1:44.7 I believe. I started off thinking "wow, this doesn't feel bad". With about 150m left i thought, "oh my god, I'm going to suffocate". I literally felt like I was breathing in no oxygen. I let my pace get away from my for 60 meters or so but with 50 meters left I thought I could power through without air anyway. When I got done, I just wanted to get the straps off so that if I collapsed, they wouldn't find me strapped to the machine. I still had my pride to think about. Evidently, I powered into a 1:34.7 which well exceeded what I thought was possible. Thanks for the strong recommendation to take the drag factor higher. I think that was the only way I was going to eek out that time.

So let me make sure that I have this right. You guys are saying that if I up my damper setting I should be able to increase my 500m time? Does it really work that way? Before I give this distance another go I just want to be sure to get the best possible time out of it because it was an ass kicker at my usual damper setting of 3.5! (Sorry if anyone’s offended by that).
Strange how much this distance intimidates me and makes me feel like a rookie rower. I’d rather do a 6,000m row any day of the week. But I feel like I have to try, for myself, just to know that I gave it my best effort.
And I admit that I want to see the Eagle soar higher in the Women’s ratings.

[danwho]

So let me make sure that I have this right. You guys are saying that if I up my damper setting I should be able to increase my 500m time? Does it really work that way? Before I give this distance another go I just want to be sure to get the best possible time out of it because it was an ass kicker at my usual damper setting of 3.5! (Sorry if anyone’s offended by that).
Strange how much this distance intimidates me and makes me feel like a rookie rower. I’d rather do a 6,000m row any day of the week. But I feel like I have to try, for myself, just to know that I gave it my best effort.
And I admit that I want to see the Eagle soar higher in the Women’s ratings.

[TallErgs]

Well, today is a sad sad day. My original Model D is going out the door - sold to a coworker that was going to buy a Nordictrack erg. I didn't think I'd get so attached to something that has caused me SO MUCH PAIN in the last three years. But, it's also the one of the key reasons why I was able to turn my life around. In 2017, I was almost 250lbs, and walking with chronic back and knee pain. The wife and I bought a lightly used Model D, and we both started our journey. By the late spring of 2018, I was down to 195lbs and I've been stable since then - thanks in part to the Concept 2 rower.

We still have our second Model D that we bought in 2018, and then the BikeErg that we bought in 2020. I know it's disappointing to hear, but I'll still be sticking around the team for a while longer.

[Kona2]

I bet you’re making room for a ski erg....

[SweatSlide]

Well Shoot.... 500m is HARD! My first 4 100m splits were 1:25-1:30. There was no 5th split. I completely bonked. Hopefully I can muster another try tomorrow. I really want to break 1:30.

[danwho]

So let me make sure that I have this right. You guys are saying that if I up my damper setting I should be able to increase my 500m time? Does it really work that way? Before I give this distance another go I just want to be sure to get the best possible time out of it because it was an ass kicker at my usual damper setting of 3.5! (Sorry if anyone’s offended by that).
Strange how much this distance intimidates me and makes me feel like a rookie rower. I’d rather do a 6,000m row any day of the week. But I feel like I have to try, for myself, just to know that I gave it my best effort.
And I admit that I want to see the Eagle soar higher in the Women’s ratings.

I usually keep my damper setting at 3.5 too (I forget the corresponding df on my machine). I bumped the setting up to 5 for the 500m. I plan to try one more time at 6.

[TallErgs]

In preparation for next week's challenge, I did a 90% to 95% effort 30 minute row tonight. Tonight/Tomorrow/Saturday would be great days to knock one out, so that when the first attempt can be made on Monday you're zeroed in on your pacing!

There are still two or three more days of 500m comp to go, Zach!

Seriously, I was pleased to go under 1:35, and 1:30 is realistically well out of reach now. But you have given me an intermediate target to go for, stretch for sure but perhaps possible.

Hopefully I can give you a reason to try the 500 again
Andrew

You absolutely gave me a reason to go again! Your time drops between your first posted time and your current one are incredible - incredibly well done! I've returned the favor and given you a reason to push for a new time

Edit: Drag factor of 120 / average of 445 watts. Drag factor of 180 / average of 490 watts. I still felt like I was dying at the end of each.