How to make it easier?

[Wilpert]

So I want to work on doing some longer sessions (that’s longer by my standards) over 10 k. Perhaps I’ll start with a one hour row or something like that

I’ve done a 10k and that was all good but it was at a fairly hard but not all out effort.

This will sound like a daft question. But if I want to row for longer without burn out, what do I need to change. Can I just put less effort in to each stroke or do I need to lower the damper setting?

I’m thinking like when I would run on the road, a long run you would just run slower.
If I cycled I’d just reduce the gear and ride slower.
But when I try to row more gently I’m finding the sr slows too much?

Sorry if this sounds like a daft question but I’m thinking there must be an answer. ?

[JaapvanE]

I reduce drag slighty, but above all I reduce pace. And get used to the distance by adding small steps. A jump from 10k to 1 hour I made by rowing an 11k, then a 12k, etc.

[Wilpert]

That’s kind of my problem.

For my 10k my damper setting was 2 and my sr was average 21 so I don’t really have too much room for reduction.

Is it a bad idea to row longer sessions at ridiculously slower pace like 16 or something like that?

[max_ratcliffe]

By and large, leave the damper setting out of it. Pick a setting that works for you, and use that for all pieces (except, perhaps 500m and 1' TTs).

I often row at r16, although some find that too slow. If you ever find yourself interested in the wolverine plan, you'll be doing a lot of r16 and r18 sequences (and lots of other rates too).

Certainly nothing wrong with r18. Try that for a bit and see how you go.

[Ombrax]

The simplest (and in my opinion most logical) thing to do is to reduce the pace.

Based on your other sessions choose something that seems appropriate for the longer distance or time. Then, at around the halfway point you can reassess - if things are going very well you might consider going for negative splits the rest of the way (gradually increasing the pace every XXXX meters), if things seem OK, but not to the point where you really feel like it's a piece of cake, then you might stick to your current pace, and if things are starting to go downhill, then by all means, slow down - that's definitely preferable to go HD at say, the 75% mark. (HD = Handle Down = totally giving up on your planned workout)

Good Luck

[mitchel674]

It's all about the pace, not the drag factor or rating. You're just pushing a little less forcefully with each stroke. This adds up to an easier pace that you can sustain for longer periods of time.

I like to set out on my long rows with a specific pace in mind and typically row at 22spm. My goal is often to just keep hitting that pace with each stroke.

[Dangerscouse]

Personally I like to do a variety of pace and stroke rates.

For a longer distance, some days I'll do it at r24, others at r20, and in recent weeks I've done a few r18 sessions too. Pace is usually linked, to some extent, to the stroke rate so I'll row faster at r24 than r18. I like to try and maintain the integrity of the stroke, so it doesn't become too weak and I'm just moving too easily.

I don't change drag factor for almost any session. I'd change it if I did a really short distance, but not for anything over 500m.

[Wilpert]

Ok thanks all.

I just did a one hour session,

Brought my pace down to 2:22 @19/20 spm

Finished the session by covering 12575 and I still had a fair bit in the tank.

During the session I got up and grabbed a drink so I could have covered a tiny bit more but all in all it felt right.

My hr started to drift up a bit in the last 10 minutes which told me that if this was going to be a longer session I’d probably need to go a tad slower.

As I’m short at only 5’5” my body type isn’t made for fast rowing but I feel a half marathon will be doable in the coming months.

Perhaps I’ll try to stretch my next long row up to 1500mts and see how it feel. Maybe aim for 2:25 splits but should I sleep the sr down to the same or increase it.

Fwiw I weighed myself and i sweated about half a kg

[Dangerscouse]

Maybe aim for 2:25 splits but should I sleep the sr down to the same or increase it.

Fwiw I weighed myself and i sweated about half a kg

Don't overthink stroke rate, as it is only a means to an end, and it's always based on whatever makes you most efficient. I've done FMs at r20; r24 & r28, and I found r24 was ideal for me, but that doesn't mean it would be for you or other...if you wanted to do it

It's fairly common for me to plan on rowing at r20, and then go higher or lower than that, just because it feels more natural on that day. Even adapting during a session can be useful, as it doesn't have to be all the same throughout.

[btlifter]

You can adjust stroke rate down, for sure.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend changing your damper.

...but, as somebody else mentioned, the simplest thing to do is simply pull less hard on each stroke. There's no rule that you must exert maxmlimal effort with each pull.

Some might pushback and suggest strokes must all be the same to develop a strong stroke. Respectfully, those people are wrong. I promise.

[GlennUk]

FWIW I Concentrate on erging for endurance, anything FM and over with my longet sessions 11.5hrs for 116K.

Im following the Eddie Fletcher marathon/100k plan and its geared to working specifically to HR values as opposed to a pace. Logically if one is trying to row for long distance/durations one needs to be able to maintain a given pace, despite the tendency for the HR to increase over time, resulting in being unable to continue if not paced correctly.

If you practice you will find yout storeke/hr and pace can all be controlled within fine limits to allow you to row for linger distances. Typically this means lower spm, lower paces and a lower Hr but consistent through most of the row.

[Dangerscouse]

FWIW I Concentrate on erging for endurance, anything FM and over with my longet sessions 11.5hrs for 116K.

Im following the Eddie Fletcher marathon/100k plan and its geared to working specifically to HR values as opposed to a pace. Logically if one is trying to row for long distance/durations one needs to be able to maintain a given pace, despite the tendency for the HR to increase over time, resulting in being unable to continue if not paced correctly.

If you practice you will find yout storeke/hr and pace can all be controlled within fine limits to allow you to row for linger distances. Typically this means lower spm, lower paces and a lower Hr but consistent through most of the row.

Now, I want to make it totally clear that I'm not disparaging Eddie's training, but HR isn't the limiter for me. When I had to stop on my last attempt at 100k, at 85k, due to it feeling horrific from 65k, but my HR never got over 80-82%.

I don't know what to make of it, but as a bit more detail, I managed to row at circa 90% for the last 8k of my FM PB, so it's not really been an absolute limiter for me.

Admittedly my HR does seem to be a bit of an outlier so it might well be me that's the anomaly, but I just think it's useful to note

[Dangerscouse]

...but, as somebody else mentioned, the simplest thing to do is simply pull less hard on each stroke. There's no rule that you must exert maxmlimal effort with each pull.

Some might pushback and suggest strokes must all be the same to develop a strong stroke. Respectfully, those people are wrong. I promise.

FWIW, I'd say that constant changes to most aspects of rowing (apart from drag) are valuable, and force you to adapt to different stresses

I love closing my eyes and interrogating each stroke just to see how it feels and letting it take it's own course. Usually it ends up similar, but that's probably more down to muscle memory than an over-riding decision to do it.

[jamesg]

But if I want to row for longer without burn out, what do I need to change.

Sounds as if you want to do some training. Good idea, it never fails. Training whatever brings its own rewards in terms of better health and results.

[Wilpert]

Yes, agreed, training always a good thing.
I’ve practiced that over the years in my cycling and running.

Reason for my post was to seek advice on training in this discipline, my post states that I’m new to rowing so I was asking for advice.

Fortunately I’ve had some good responses here and I’ll follow the advice given.
I’ll also follow the advice that I need to do some training as that will be useful too.