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

[sanbornm]

On Saturday Dec 4th I completed my 100 km row in 7 hours 56.56 minutes. This was nearly 30 minutes slower than I’d hoped, but I’m just happy to have finished it. It was a grueling physical challenge. As of the writing of this message, a project which I started with what I thought was a lofty goal of raising $10,000 has raised over $71,000 dollars in Quentin’s name, money that will directly and immediately benefit children and families like Quentin’s who have suffered a devastating loss. It fills me with that strange feeling of happiness for what we’ve accomplished and sadness for the loss of such a wonderful person.
I felt well prepared and excited for the row. The morning of the event was an emotional one at our house, with both Andrea and I feeling the weight of the day before we even left the house. My plan was to keep a steady stroke rate of around 24 SPM, while keeping my instantaneous watts around 150. I had found in training that looking at pace was sometime defeating, and just rowing to a planned cadence and pressure on the handle was the best way to go. Once the initial excitement passed, I was able to settle into this rhythm. I also had a plan of taking on fluids (50:50 juice water mix with salt) and food every 20 minutes, which I stuck to.
Things went well at first. I took my first break at the three-hour mark (around 42 km completed). The cheering from the people around (particularly from the Dark and Stormy corner) and the blood flow to the legs and ass from a quick walk around made me feel rejuvenated. Things continued to go smoothly up to about the 65 or 70 km mark, when the tendons in the back of my left knee started getting irritated and very sore. This continued to worsen, and by the time I hit the 75 km mark each trip up to the catch was particularly painful. This left me in a pretty dark place, with a slowed pace and the knowledge that I had another 2.5+ hours to go.
The last 25 km were really quite difficult, and I had to break often. I can’t even say the breaks were that useful. It wasn’t the sore ass or tired hamstrings that was the problem, and the breaks were doing little to help with my knee. Like a lunatic I sprinted the final 200 meters with a peak pace of 1:45/500m after rowing for nearly 8 hours. I was fighting back tears for the last 1000m or so, and I couldn’t help but sit there and weep when I finished. The weight of the day, and the support of all the people around me was overwhelming.
So, I finished with a time of 7:56:56.2. It didn’t go according to plan, but I’m immensely proud to have finished.

[max_ratcliffe]

Outstanding effort Mike. I can't imagine how tough the last 25k or so must have been once the pain kicked in (and that nagging worry that you might be hurting yourself?).

Amazing achievement and a worthy tribute to your friend.

$71k too!

[Dangerscouse]

On Saturday Dec 4th I completed my 100 km row in 7 hours 56.56 minutes. This was nearly 30 minutes slower than I’d hoped, but I’m just happy to have finished it. It was a grueling physical challenge. As of the writing of this message, a project which I started with what I thought was a lofty goal of raising $10,000 has raised over $71,000 dollars in Quentin’s name, money that will directly and immediately benefit children and families like Quentin’s who have suffered a devastating loss. It fills me with that strange feeling of happiness for what we’ve accomplished and sadness for the loss of such a wonderful person.
I felt well prepared and excited for the row. The morning of the event was an emotional one at our house, with both Andrea and I feeling the weight of the day before we even left the house. My plan was to keep a steady stroke rate of around 24 SPM, while keeping my instantaneous watts around 150. I had found in training that looking at pace was sometime defeating, and just rowing to a planned cadence and pressure on the handle was the best way to go. Once the initial excitement passed, I was able to settle into this rhythm. I also had a plan of taking on fluids (50:50 juice water mix with salt) and food every 20 minutes, which I stuck to.
Things went well at first. I took my first break at the three-hour mark (around 42 km completed). The cheering from the people around (particularly from the Dark and Stormy corner) and the blood flow to the legs and ass from a quick walk around made me feel rejuvenated. Things continued to go smoothly up to about the 65 or 70 km mark, when the tendons in the back of my left knee started getting irritated and very sore. This continued to worsen, and by the time I hit the 75 km mark each trip up to the catch was particularly painful. This left me in a pretty dark place, with a slowed pace and the knowledge that I had another 2.5+ hours to go.
The last 25 km were really quite difficult, and I had to break often. I can’t even say the breaks were that useful. It wasn’t the sore ass or tired hamstrings that was the problem, and the breaks were doing little to help with my knee. Like a lunatic I sprinted the final 200 meters with a peak pace of 1:45/500m after rowing for nearly 8 hours. I was fighting back tears for the last 1000m or so, and I couldn’t help but sit there and weep when I finished. The weight of the day, and the support of all the people around me was overwhelming.
So, I finished with a time of 7:56:56.2. It didn’t go according to plan, but I’m immensely proud to have finished.

You should be very proud Mike. The last 25k is like the asteroid belt, and there's no way of telling how you're going to feel. It's an emotional and physical battlefield that is hard to explain unless you've experienced it, and I can safely say it's far worse than anyone's expectations.

To totally misquote Mike Tyson, everyone's got a plan until they row a 100k

[DavidA]

On Saturday Dec 4th I completed my 100 km row in 7 hours 56.56 minutes. This was nearly 30 minutes slower than I’d hoped, but I’m just happy to have finished it. It was a grueling physical challenge. As of the writing of this message, a project which I started with what I thought was a lofty goal of raising $10,000 has raised over $71,000 dollars in Quentin’s name, money that will directly and immediately benefit children and families like Quentin’s who have suffered a devastating loss. It fills me with that strange feeling of happiness for what we’ve accomplished and sadness for the loss of such a wonderful person.
I felt well prepared and excited for the row. The morning of the event was an emotional one at our house, with both Andrea and I feeling the weight of the day before we even left the house. My plan was to keep a steady stroke rate of around 24 SPM, while keeping my instantaneous watts around 150. I had found in training that looking at pace was sometime defeating, and just rowing to a planned cadence and pressure on the handle was the best way to go. Once the initial excitement passed, I was able to settle into this rhythm. I also had a plan of taking on fluids (50:50 juice water mix with salt) and food every 20 minutes, which I stuck to.
Things went well at first. I took my first break at the three-hour mark (around 42 km completed). The cheering from the people around (particularly from the Dark and Stormy corner) and the blood flow to the legs and ass from a quick walk around made me feel rejuvenated. Things continued to go smoothly up to about the 65 or 70 km mark, when the tendons in the back of my left knee started getting irritated and very sore. This continued to worsen, and by the time I hit the 75 km mark each trip up to the catch was particularly painful. This left me in a pretty dark place, with a slowed pace and the knowledge that I had another 2.5+ hours to go.
The last 25 km were really quite difficult, and I had to break often. I can’t even say the breaks were that useful. It wasn’t the sore ass or tired hamstrings that was the problem, and the breaks were doing little to help with my knee. Like a lunatic I sprinted the final 200 meters with a peak pace of 1:45/500m after rowing for nearly 8 hours. I was fighting back tears for the last 1000m or so, and I couldn’t help but sit there and weep when I finished. The weight of the day, and the support of all the people around me was overwhelming.
So, I finished with a time of 7:56:56.2. It didn’t go according to plan, but I’m immensely proud to have finished.

HUGE congratulations on completing such a long row, and even more on the money you raised!

David

[GlennUk]

Ok, so completed my 100K - 7:27:10.3. Happy to have completed it, but the 2:13.9 splits were a bit slower than I would have liked. This was my rookie 100K and I'll give it another attempt in 2 years when I am 60. I made a few rookie mistakes, but I'll post a review in a couple of days when I have recovered somewhat... Many thanks to the Eddie Fletcher Plan - this plan gives you a real confidence that you have prepared as well as you cold have.

On to th next goal.

Hi MAl

thats a really solid time/pace congrats, is this your first 100K?

Nice to see your following the EF plan, i am too, which gives me more confidence that it works!

[GlennUk]

Did a 60 km test last Sunday in preparation for my 100km attempt. Went really well. Was just a little off the goal pace, but that doesn't factor in some unscheduled breaks to help my training partner with some equipment issues. The 60 km was difficult, but didn't leave me feeling like 100 km was not attainable. Do I think I can finish 100 km? absolutely. Can I bank on finishing in under 7.5 hours? That will be a challenge.

Anyways, one week until the event and it should be fun. I developed a team division to the fundraiser as well, and so there will be 12 teams of 4-6 people rowing along with me. It should be a fun and festive atmosphere. The project has been successful at raising over $51,000 for the Lumara Society and honestly I couldn't be happier about that.

Wish me luck,
Mike

PS - 60 km distance 4hr 31 min

Mike, interesting to see the difference between this post and your previous one. Well done

[GlennUk]

....... the last 35k of a 100k is unpredictable and can get very dark with lots of variables coming into play.

Having the camaraderie of others will be invaluable, as the loneliness of an ultra distance can get sightly overwhelming if you let it seep in, not least as the mind games start to exponentially increase when you get past 65k. They are manageable, but just start your coping strategies before you think you need them.

THe psychology of the long distance events is IMHO probably one of the biggest factors assuming of course, one has undertaken reasonable physical prep.

It can all go belly up if you are not mentally prepared for all that may befall you, PITA, mechanical issues, aching shoulders/wrists, going too fast, not managing stroke rate/HR/pace etc, etc.

Its not enough to recognise the potential issues, but to prepare a strategy for dealing with them imho.

[GlennUk]

On Saturday Dec 4th I completed my 100 km row in 7 hours 56.56 minutes. This was nearly 30 minutes slower than I’d hoped, but I’m just happy to have finished it. It was a grueling physical challenge. As of the writing of this message, a project which I started with what I thought was a lofty goal of raising $10,000 has raised over $71,000 dollars in Quentin’s name, money that will directly and immediately benefit children and families like Quentin’s who have suffered a devastating loss. It fills me with that strange feeling of happiness for what we’ve accomplished and sadness for the loss of such a wonderful person.
I felt well prepared and excited for the row. The morning of the event was an emotional one at our house, with both Andrea and I feeling the weight of the day before we even left the house. My plan was to keep a steady stroke rate of around 24 SPM, while keeping my instantaneous watts around 150. I had found in training that looking at pace was sometime defeating, and just rowing to a planned cadence and pressure on the handle was the best way to go. Once the initial excitement passed, I was able to settle into this rhythm. I also had a plan of taking on fluids (50:50 juice water mix with salt) and food every 20 minutes, which I stuck to.
Things went well at first. I took my first break at the three-hour mark (around 42 km completed). The cheering from the people around (particularly from the Dark and Stormy corner) and the blood flow to the legs and ass from a quick walk around made me feel rejuvenated. Things continued to go smoothly up to about the 65 or 70 km mark, when the tendons in the back of my left knee started getting irritated and very sore. This continued to worsen, and by the time I hit the 75 km mark each trip up to the catch was particularly painful. This left me in a pretty dark place, with a slowed pace and the knowledge that I had another 2.5+ hours to go.
The last 25 km were really quite difficult, and I had to break often. I can’t even say the breaks were that useful. It wasn’t the sore ass or tired hamstrings that was the problem, and the breaks were doing little to help with my knee. Like a lunatic I sprinted the final 200 meters with a peak pace of 1:45/500m after rowing for nearly 8 hours. I was fighting back tears for the last 1000m or so, and I couldn’t help but sit there and weep when I finished. The weight of the day, and the support of all the people around me was overwhelming.
So, I finished with a time of 7:56:56.2. It didn’t go according to plan, but I’m immensely proud to have finished.

HAve to say congrats on a huge effort, the time may not be what you hoped for, but you have achieved something that few will ever attempt let alone succeed at.

Combined with the huge sum of money you have raised you should be happy and proud at what you have achieved.

Well done, very impressed.

Glenn

[GlennUk]

Hi All

I haven't posted much recently, have been plugging away after coming back form the 'lay off' due to problems with Vitamin B12.

Unsurprisingly my '100k' pace has dropped slightly from around 2:21.6/500m to something like 2:26.0/500m for a given HR/spm.

It would be easy to go back to the start of the plan in an effort to improve my pace, however, my long term goal is a) to complete my 115,972m challenge i have set myself, and b) to move forward and see how much i can improve a number of PB times specifically the marathon (i have now erged the distance 3 times, twice last week!) and probably give the 50k and 100k distances some attention too.

Oddly the online facebook erging group i belong too had a meet two weeks ago. During which i made a final attempt at the CTC 1 minute challenge and set an all time PB for the time plus the 1st 100m was also an all time pb for me (both previous pbs set in c.2010). I found that odd that training to row for c.10-12 hours should result in being able to set PBs at such short distances, anyway just goes to show that there is som elife on the old dog yet.

THe EF plan finishes between Xmas and New year so i am considering doing my row then, not sure what day but it wil depend on how i feel mentally and physically.

Fingers crossed all goes well between now and then.

[Tsnor]

i made a final attempt at the CTC 1 minute challenge and set an all time PB for the time plus the 1st 100m was also an all time pb for me (both previous pbs set in c.2010). I found that odd that training to row for c.10-12 hours should result in being able to set PBs at such short distances,

Research says those long sessions you did for the 10-12 hour distance build up your base engine, and that the short duration power increase should be expected. It's the heart of "polarized" and "pyramid" training schemes, and why the elite rowing teams that report workout composition are showing mostly long slow work.

Example: "..When the researchers analysed the 37-week data, their findings were very interesting. One of the most important of these was that internationally successful junior rowers performed 95% of all specific rowing training at a heart rate corresponding to a blood lactate concentration under 2mmol/L.." (key word there is "specific", they also lifted) https://www.sportsperformancebulletin.c ... -recovery/

That said, I doubt Brian Shaw did too much long/slow work before setting the 1 min world record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVl0Zt-kZys and It's neat that that the circa 10-12 hour row prep work did that well for you. NICE. Did you track resting heart rate? It may have gotten lower.

[GlennUk]

Research says those long sessions you did for the 10-12 hour distance build up your base engine, and that the short duration power increase should be expected. It's the heart of "polarized" and "pyramid" training schemes, and why the elite rowing teams that report workout composition are showing mostly long slow work.

Did you track resting heart rate? It may have gotten lower.

I think the thing that surprised me was that im 11 years older than when i set my previous PB and had not expected to get anywhere near the power and 'endurance' that i had then, i was of course aware of the work re long sessions low rate work, i guess i was really surprised that even at 60 it has had a significant impact on my performance compared with 10-11 years ago.

Re RHR. i dont monitor on a regular basis, i do occasionally borrow my sons old smart watch to get an average RHGR over a few days, last time i did that it had gone form something mid 60s to low 50s, but that was after starting exercising after a long lay off (May 2020) and after starting to exercise regularly and following the Eddie Fletcher Marathon plan. Not sur eill see much difference, but be interesting to see.

[Tsnor]

I think the thing that surprised me was that im 11 years older than when i set my previous PB and had not expected to get anywhere near the power and 'endurance' that i had then, i was of course aware of the work re long sessions low rate work, i guess i was really surprised that even at 60 it has had a significant impact on my performance compared with 10-11 years ago.

Thanks for posting. Your results are really encouraging/motivating.

[GlennUk]

Hi all

Just to report i have completed my 115972m row yesterday. Completed in 11hrs 17 minutes which was about an hour and 17 minutes longer than id hoped for.

Things went well up until abou 6.5hours when the dreaded PITA occured and never really went away, despite numerous stops to alleviate the pain. Ill put out more thoughts later, what i learned and what i would do different.

Cheers all and happy new year to you all.

[Dangerscouse]

Hi all

Just to report i have completed my 115972m row yesterday. Completed in 11hrs 17 minutes which was about an hour and 17 minutes longer than id hoped for.

Things went well up until abou 6.5hours when the dreaded PITA occured and never really went away, despite numerous stops to alleviate the pain. Ill put out more thoughts later, what i learned and what i would do different.

Cheers all and happy new year to you all.

Congratulations Glenn, that's a superb result especially with the last five hours being in pain.

[Dutch]

Hi all

Just to report i have completed my 115972m row yesterday. Completed in 11hrs 17 minutes which was about an hour and 17 minutes longer than id hoped for.

Things went well up until abou 6.5hours when the dreaded PITA occured and never really went away, despite numerous stops to alleviate the pain. Ill put out more thoughts later, what i learned and what i would do different.

Cheers all and happy new year to you all.

Way to go Glenn! Absolutely brilliant physically and most of all mentally . I love the fact it is well past 100k as well.

I look forward to the breakdown.