Endurance erging - A place to discuss 42, 50, 100k upwards.

[DavidA]

...
The last kilometers, a surge of energy, mental strength kicks in. My arms are stiff, my butt hurts, I feel the fatigue in my back, and I sense a leg cramp might hit at any moment. I try to stay focused on the PM5 and watch the distance go down. But it’s not going down fast enough. I push, I pull, I breathe, breathe, keep a rhythm, keep the rhythm. I try to speed up for the last few strokes, it’s hard, really hard. I finish my 100K.
A scream of joy and pain comes out of my mouth, scaring my wife and kids. I unclip my feet and collapse on the floor, exhausted. I try to catch my breath. I stay lying there for a while, just focusing on my breathing, enjoying the moment. I stand up, walk a bit, look at the PM5 to see my performance : 8:17:21.6s. I’m happy I finished, I’m satisfied with the result.
Post-100K Observations :
• I think I was missing a few rowing sessions and more specific strength training to have more upper body strength and endurance, particularly in my arms.
• The lack of soreness makes me think that my training load before the 100K was adequate.
• The lack of "energy" at the end makes me think that my nutrition did not provide enough calories.
• Hydration, using only water mixed with powder for mineral salts and a few calories, worked well for me.
• The physical and mental preparation with rowing, cycling, and strength training seemed to complement each other and allowed me to vary the pleasures and efforts.
• If you believe in yourself, then it’s possible.
Would I do it again? At the moment, I don’t feel like it, but asking the question might already be projecting myself toward the next 100K. Only time will tell.
Thank you for reading to the end, and I hope my modest experience can provide some answers to all the brave souls embarking on this adventure.

Huge congratulations!!
That is quite an accomplishment!
Also good to have been able to keep pushing yourself to finish, even when that was getting difficult.

David

[piggydwarf]

Iain and Stu, thank you both for the insight. There are some great points there that made a few things click for me in terms of my mindset approaching this. This one especially is a great reminder: "I would not have the patience to stick with a plan of long very slow rows with no variation and no plan works if it isn't carried out."

Rather than just thinking "I need to make sure I go slow enough so that I don't over-work myself" I will remind myself "I need to make sure I have fun enough so that I don't over-bore myself" too! I've spent the past week playing with some varied paces and really enjoying that. I am going to continue fairly unstructured for now, but with the intent to improve the kind of output I can sustain in the faster ranges. I think a rotation of mini-goals will be helpful for keeping things moving in the right direction, especially targeting my bests for the 1 hour and the half marathon.

Training build so far:
Week 1: 36.0 km
Week 2: 43.6 km
Week 3: 50.3 km
Week 4: 55.0 km

I have the luxury of coming in with a steady base of mixed crosstraining time per week already (gym, stairmaster, bike, and also walking with intent at a pace that would probably still be relevant to an ultra at my lower level) so even though my specific proficiency on the erg leaves a lot to be desired, I so far feel quite prepared to keep building up for this goal without issue (fingers crossed). The excitement is still high this early on in the process and keeping that up is the top priority!

[Dangerscouse]

Rather than just thinking "I need to make sure I go slow enough so that I don't over-work myself" I will remind myself "I need to make sure I have fun enough so that I don't over-bore myself" too! I've spent the past week playing with some varied paces and really enjoying that. I am going to continue fairly unstructured for now, but with the intent to improve the kind of output I can sustain in the faster ranges. I think a rotation of mini-goals will be helpful for keeping things moving in the right direction, especially targeting my bests for the 1 hour and the half marathon.

Exactly that. Finding the sweet spot for each training day is essential. Some days you'll feel better and able to cope with more, and nudge up the pace accordingly. Other days you might drop it down, so try and consider intuitively what feels right on any given day, and those mini-goals will be perfect for when you're firing on all cylinders.

I got HM and 60 mins PBs when I was training my ultra distances, so it definitely helps to justify the length of time you'll spend on the erg.

I'm a big advocate of variety of paces and stroke rate, so you need a good mixture to really keep improving, but this can be cross training that you mention. I did a weekly hot dynamic pilates class and a 45 min spin class in addition to the rowing, which I really think helped to challenge me in different ways, whilst keeping up the intensity.

I did seem to recover quickly, so that may or may not work for you, but you've got to keep an eye on that. You'll hopefully already know the difference between laziness and proper fatigue, but that's a skill that will be very valuable.

[reevio]

Awesome effort! I have never attempted 100k and it scares me somewhat so not sure I ever will… Impressive mental strength.

Only once did the FM on a whim, but intending to have another crack at that in December to claim a very soft PB

I did complete another FM in December as part of the Holiday Challenge and it was pretty horrible for the final ~10k.

My main takeaway when chatting to friends who are more into endurance running is that there is no "walk" option. i.e you can't switch to a casual pace and give your muscles a break really. It's always the same movement / muscles being engaged.

My legs were quivering and twitching all over the place and I was terrified that if i stood up i'd seize up and never get going again!

[carldstevens]

Apologies if the text contains any spelling or grammar mistakes, as I do not master English and have used a translation software.
Hello,
From beginner to 100K.

My name is Hervé.
I hesitated for a long time before sharing my experience with you, as my testimony is only of interest if it brings something that hasn't already been posted. After reading all the pages, it seems that I can add something new....

A

Awesome achievement !

[mgcsoptom]

7in7 MARATHON CHALLENGE FUNDRAISER-May11th to 17th
We are holding an Erg Endurance Challenge in May 2025. We are doing a ‘7in7 Marathon Week’ as a fundraiser for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. As a similar event to Kevin Sinfield’s 7in7 running marathons which raised funds for MND in memory of Rob Burrow who passed away last year. Our rowing group is based in Shropshire under the guidance of GymMostyn rowing. Five members will be undertaking the 7in7 challenge and other members will be joining in support on one by or no more of the days.
Any rowers in online communities are most welcome to join us and seek to contribute to our fundraising efforts on our group fundraising page on justGiving. Details will follow over the next few days.

[carldstevens]

I am a bit useless at remembering to stretch.

I don't stretch at all.

I'm the same, i just jump on and go. Although I do use my massage gun every evening.

[ericMX73]

I rowed a Century yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that we can now set it up via the PM5 as a "single distance" and it provides splits every 20k and a projected time to finish. THANK YOU CONCEPT2! They must have just made this change in the last year? No more setting it up as a single interval with no splits data.

I was able to beat my previous time by about ~14 min because I never got off the erg to stretch towards the end like I had to do last season.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal S/M HR

8:02:35.0 100,000m 2:24.7 115 696 19 142
1:33:49.7 20,000m 2:20.7 126 732 20 139
1:37:00.3 40,000m 2:25.5 114 690 19 137
1:38:36.0 60,000m 2:27.9 108 672 19 142
1:36:51.2 80,000m 2:25.2 114 692 20 136
1:36:17.8 100,000m 2:24.4 116 699 21 160

The first 4 hours I watched the Dakar 2025 race on Peacock which got me right to 50k. Then Black Hawk Down, for 2 hours 24 min. Then finished the challenge with some episodes of Midsummer Murder, which is not the most motivational thing to watch but I couldn't waste time trying to exit the darn Samsung TV app selector. I need to get more proficient with the Samsung remote if I'm going to do this again next season.

I picked one of the coldest days this month and started at ~4am. The garage temp was 51f to 56f (10c to 13c) for the 8 hour duration with fans blowing at my fore and aft. There was virtually no detectable perspiration while being centered in that wind tunnel LOL.

I had planned two coolers. One for each 50k. Each one had a 40oz bottle of ice water (with Ultima electrolyte powder) and another with orange juice based fruit smoothy blend. For the middle I had an 8oz sweetened iced black coffee. That coffee in the middle was quite the boost both mentally and physically. Also along the way I had set up peanut butter, honey, oatmeal, choc chip balls on toothpicks for quick access. Everything I ate or drank had been tested previously. I used a Breathe Right nasal strip and that helped a great deal. I see all the pro athletes using them so why not!

Hope this helps inspire anyone interested in these longer endurance challenges.

[iain]

Eric that is a great achievement. Especially speeding up for the last 2 splits. SO sub 8 next year

[Dangerscouse]

I rowed a Century yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that we can now set it up via the PM5 as a "single distance" and it provides splits every 20k and a projected time to finish. THANK YOU CONCEPT2! They must have just made this change in the last year? No more setting it up as a single interval with no splits data.

I was able to beat my previous time by about ~14 min because I never got off the erg to stretch towards the end like I had to do last season.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal S/M HR

8:02:35.0 100,000m 2:24.7 115 696 19 142
1:33:49.7 20,000m 2:20.7 126 732 20 139
1:37:00.3 40,000m 2:25.5 114 690 19 137
1:38:36.0 60,000m 2:27.9 108 672 19 142
1:36:51.2 80,000m 2:25.2 114 692 20 136
1:36:17.8 100,000m 2:24.4 116 699 21 160

The first 4 hours I watched the Dakar 2025 race on Peacock which got me right to 50k. Then Black Hawk Down, for 2 hours 24 min. Then finished the challenge with some episodes of Midsummer Murder, which is not the most motivational thing to watch but I couldn't waste time trying to exit the darn Samsung TV app selector. I need to get more proficient with the Samsung remote if I'm going to do this again next season.

I picked one of the coldest days this month and started at ~4am. The garage temp was 51f to 56f (10c to 13c) for the 8 hour duration with fans blowing at my fore and aft. There was virtually no detectable perspiration while being centered in that wind tunnel LOL.

I had planned two coolers. One for each 50k. Each one had a 40oz bottle of ice water (with Ultima electrolyte powder) and another with orange juice based fruit smoothy blend. For the middle I had an 8oz sweetened iced black coffee. That coffee in the middle was quite the boost both mentally and physically. Also along the way I had set up peanut butter, honey, oatmeal, choc chip balls on toothpicks for quick access. Everything I ate or drank had been tested previously. I used a Breathe Right nasal strip and that helped a great deal. I see all the pro athletes using them so why not!

Hope this helps inspire anyone interested in these longer endurance challenges.

Congratulations Eric, and one day I'll get round to doing this again.

[Sakly]

I rowed a Century yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that we can now set it up via the PM5 as a "single distance" and it provides splits every 20k and a projected time to finish. THANK YOU CONCEPT2! They must have just made this change in the last year? No more setting it up as a single interval with no splits data.

I was able to beat my previous time by about ~14 min because I never got off the erg to stretch towards the end like I had to do last season.

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal S/M HR

8:02:35.0 100,000m 2:24.7 115 696 19 142
1:33:49.7 20,000m 2:20.7 126 732 20 139
1:37:00.3 40,000m 2:25.5 114 690 19 137
1:38:36.0 60,000m 2:27.9 108 672 19 142
1:36:51.2 80,000m 2:25.2 114 692 20 136
1:36:17.8 100,000m 2:24.4 116 699 21 160

The first 4 hours I watched the Dakar 2025 race on Peacock which got me right to 50k. Then Black Hawk Down, for 2 hours 24 min. Then finished the challenge with some episodes of Midsummer Murder, which is not the most motivational thing to watch but I couldn't waste time trying to exit the darn Samsung TV app selector. I need to get more proficient with the Samsung remote if I'm going to do this again next season.

I picked one of the coldest days this month and started at ~4am. The garage temp was 51f to 56f (10c to 13c) for the 8 hour duration with fans blowing at my fore and aft. There was virtually no detectable perspiration while being centered in that wind tunnel LOL.

I had planned two coolers. One for each 50k. Each one had a 40oz bottle of ice water (with Ultima electrolyte powder) and another with orange juice based fruit smoothy blend. For the middle I had an 8oz sweetened iced black coffee. That coffee in the middle was quite the boost both mentally and physically. Also along the way I had set up peanut butter, honey, oatmeal, choc chip balls on toothpicks for quick access. Everything I ate or drank had been tested previously. I used a Breathe Right nasal strip and that helped a great deal. I see all the pro athletes using them so why not!

Hope this helps inspire anyone interested in these longer endurance challenges.

Great result!
I don't know if I ever will attack this beast

[blazs]

Anyone doing endurance erging on SkiErg? What distances do you ski?

[alex9026]

Time Meters Pace Watts Cal S/M HR

8:02:35.0 100,000m 2:24.7 115 696 19 142
1:33:49.7 20,000m 2:20.7 126 732 20 139
1:37:00.3 40,000m 2:25.5 114 690 19 137
1:38:36.0 60,000m 2:27.9 108 672 19 142
1:36:51.2 80,000m 2:25.2 114 692 20 136
1:36:17.8 100,000m 2:24.4 116 699 21 160

Fantastic. Closing in on a sub 8. Nothing but admiration to churn out these sort of metres.

[ericMX73]

Eric that is a great achievement. Especially speeding up for the last 2 splits. SO sub 8 next year

Thanks! Gosh, I guess shooting for sub-8 pace will be a goal for next season. These endurance rows sure are an adventure. Ya never really know how it's going to play out. There's only so much we can control.

[ericMX73]

Congratulations Eric, and one day I'll get round to doing this again.

Thanks mate! All your wisdom in this thread has been immensely helpful.