INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER #110 ====================== 24-September-2004 ======================= _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. Newsletter Special Offer 2. AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship 3. Cartoon By Rog 4. Tel's Tales 5. Race News 6. Jeff Young: Marathon Rower 7. Tel's Tales: Famous Last Words 8. SONA Redgrave Team Relay Olympic Diary 9. Enfield indoor Rowing Gala Report 10. Reader's Letters: Gary Hemmings 11. Upcoming Race and Events **************************** Feedback Back Issues Subscription Information ________________________________________________________________ With or Without Bells On ***************** If this newsletter is not displaying properly, you can read it on our website at http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/newsletter.htm. If you prefer not to receive HTML email, click on Update Profile at the bottom of this page and change your preferences to Text. With Bells On ***************** For a glitzier, HTML version of our newsletter with pictures, cartoons and great jokes (possibly), go to: http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/newsletter.htm. To receive the newsletter in HTML format, click on Update Profile at the bottom of this page and change your preferences to HTML. ========================================================= Newsletter Special Offer ========================================================= The Indoor Rowing News has been stricken by the sort of dose of flu that sees Dustin Hoffman standing helplessly by as monkeys fall from trees. That being the case, rather than come up with a new offer, we've decided to rerun one of our more popular past ones. Anyway, the long and short of it is that the Concept 2 Sports Bag is available for £25 rather than the more usual £39.70, while the Concept 2 Holdall is down to £35 from £45. They are actually proper decent bags, and with the race season coming up they're ideal for either that, or in fact any situation where you need to carry a medium to large amount of stuff by hand. This offer is only available through the newsletter, so make sure you use the links below. Sport Bag: http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/sports_bag_offer.php Holdall http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/c2_holdall_offer.php For more of this kind of thing, visit the Concept 2 Shop at http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/ ========================================================= AXA PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= Just a couple of quick things about this year's championship. Firstly, those of you looking to spend a night in Birmingham should check out http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/news.php?story=accommodation where there's information on a number of different hotels with specially negotiated rates. Secondly, the BUSA points system for students has been overhauled this year, with a team category being added as well. Despite intense lobbying, the Pot Noodle and Countdown Handicap has been rejected. Full details can be found here: http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/news.php?story=busa_events Finally, Polar, the official Heart Rate Monitor sponsor of the British IRC, are providing four Polar S120 Heart Rate Monitors worth £99.99 to the winners of the four Open titles. On top of that, anybody who breaks a championship record will receive a Polar A5, worth £79.99. Top work. ========================================================= Cartoon by Rog ========================================================= ========================================================= Tel's Tales ========================================================= Tel's Tales is the question and answer column written by three-times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill. If you've got a question you'd like Terry to answer, send it to terry@concept2.co.uk. Simon Maze: "My question relates to how long I should rest for between intervals. "The Training Guide [http://www.concept2.co.uk/guide/] recommends that 100% recovery between intervals should be "twice resting heart rate". Without a heart rate monitor, I find this difficult to gauge, mainly because I am knackered after my interval and don't want to think about monitoring my heart rate until it hits the "recovery rate". "For example, today I was meant to do 8 x 45s in the AN band where I set the rest period for 1:45. I found this too easy and ended up doing two more intervals and working at a higher rate. "On that basis, I am either resting too long or I am misreading my base fitness (I suspect the former). I have had similar sessions with the opposite result, mainly training in the AT band, where I can't complete all the intervals at the recommended rate. Terry O'Neill: If you are unable to use the "rest times two" recovery then there are a couple of other rest options you can try. One is a simple 1:1 rest work ratio. The second is a progressive rest period which in the training example you give you would steadily increase the rest period from 1:1 to possibly 3:1 over the 8 pieces. This type of interval training would be used close to competition where quality is the main factor. The final option is a regressive rest period where you would reduce the rest periods as the session went on. This would be used early in training programmes, leading to high lactate levels and is good for developing mental toughness. ========================================================= Race News ========================================================= The first race in this year's Grand Prix series takes place this Sunday at Newark Rowing Club. With any luck, we'll have results, race analysis and a report on-line on Monday/Tuesday of next week. The next race is the Cambridge GP on October 9th. The closing date for entries is September 26th, so you'll need to get a move on if you haven't already done so. The Grand Prix website is at http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ while information, and an entry form, for Cambridge can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/cambridge.php Also taking place this Sunday is the Thruxton Rowathlon. So far Dan Staite is undefeated in the series, but last year's winner Hywel Davies will be chomping at the bit to beat him and try and take that overall top spot: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowathlon Also, due to circumstances beyond the control of race organiser John Holland, the Irish IRC has had to change its date to December 12th. Details of the race, and an entry form, can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/calendar_uk.php?id=102 ========================================================= Jeff Young: Marathon Rower ========================================================= On Sunday September 5th 2004 Jeff Young rowed the Marathon distance of 42,195 metres at Foundation Fitness, in Sandhurst in order to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. Here's Jeff's report: "Well, it's finally over after four months of training five or six times a week, 600,000 metres on the rowing machine and endless hours on bikes, treadmills and cross-trainers. "I'm delighted to say that I completed the marathon in 3 hours 33 minutes 58.9 seconds, slightly outside my target time of 3 hours 30 minutes but who cares. The most important thing was to go the distance and complete the challenge I set myself. "I was joined in the row by Ros Batchelor, a friend and fellow gym member, who had previously completed an indoor rowing marathon in April 2003. Ros helped me enormously with my training and, on the day, selflessly acted as my pace setter as well as encouraging me and helping me through some difficult periods during the three and a half hours. "The day started with a breakfast at 8:00 a.m. of porridge, followed by four scrambled eggs on toast, melon, bananas and copious glasses of orange juice, water etc. to fuel up the aged body for the task ahead (try getting that lot down at 8:00 a.m. when your nerves are wrecked!). "At 9:30 a.m. we arrived at the gym; set up the Rowers for 42,195 metres; made sure we had ample supplies of fluids, bananas and anything else which might provide instant energy and eventually set off at 10:00 a.m. "We started at a steady pace for the first hour then increased it for the next hour. All was going well until I had been rowing for two and a half hours then suddenly I had a crisis. Without any warning I felt completely devoid of energy. I honestly thought I couldn't go on; there seemed to be no way I could see myself going the full distance. I'd heard about "hitting the wall" but I'd never experienced it. Now I know how Paula Radcliffe felt in Athens, albeit hers would have been a lot worse. "Nevertheless, with fantastic encouragement from my wife, my family and the many great supporters who were there, not least my co-rower Ros, I got through the barrier after 15 minutes or so. By then I could see the end in sight and the last few thousand metres seemed to pass relatively quickly. "At just after 1:30 p.m. it was over and the feeling of complete exhaustion was quickly followed by a feeling of relief, excitement, jubilation. I can't describe it. "I can't thank everybody who was there enough for the way they supported, cheered me on and encouraged me. Without them the task would have been impossible. I would have quit, I know I would! "Special thanks must go to my wife, Lynda, for all her help and support, not just on the day, but throughout the months of training; of course to Ros for all her help and encouragement and to Eleanor, the 8 year old young lady with CF who my wife looks after twice a week, she was my inspiration. It was wonderful that she was there on Sunday. How could I fail with her there? "The goal was not just a personal one, but to raise as much money as I could for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Lynda and I have been overwhelmed by people's generosity, which has resulted in pledges now totalling over £4,100.00, far exceeding the original target I had hoped for of £1,000.00." ========================================================= Tel's Tales: Famous Last Words ========================================================= Right I'm back and the burning issue is should he go or carry on, Matthew Pinsent after his fourth Olympic gold medal that is. Everyone saw how much this meant to him but may not know why. When I spoke to him after the medal ceremony, it was obvious that this was sheer relief. This year Matthew has been dogged with illness and injuries and at one point doubted whether he would even row at the Olympics, let alone win. When he first started rowing in the pair with Steve Redgrave, Steve was a colossus but the terrible burden of continually pushing his body to the limits of human endurance began to take its toll. Towards the end it was almost a question of nursing him, holding him together for one final effort. Now it's Matthew who is the iron man of British rowing, having taken on the mantle from Steve four years ago. But Matthew has been going at the top level since 1989 and he is not made of iron but flesh and blood like the rest of us. He witnessed what happened to Steve and can see himself coming apart under the burden of training required of a top athlete. Quite rightly he is considering his future, but for those of us who have enjoyed watching his career, have felt the pride when the Union Jack has been hoisted in triumph, we will miss him greatly if he decides to go. When you first meet Matthew you are impressed by his enormity, he is as deep as he is wide, like an oak tree, and it is hard to imagine him feeling vulnerable. To me he has never been a classic oarsman but a sheer powerhouse who just blasts opposition away. But all good things come to an end and, if he does decide to go, my lasting memory of Matthew is from the winter of '88-'89. I was the coach of the eight and Matthew and Tim Foster came into my group having won the junior gold medal in the pair. Tim was a superb oarsman but Matthew could not row in time. We were about to go onto the water when I made a change to the order and put Matthew at stroke. His chest went out as he saw this as a promotion up the order. I said to him, "Listen, I've put you there because you cannot keep in time with the others but they may be able to keep in time with you. If you don't buck your ideas up you'll never win anything so look at this as your last chance." ========================================================= SONA Redgrave Relay Olympic Diary ========================================================= Earlier this year, a team indoor rowing competition took place throughout the SONA health club chain. Teams of four had to row 500m each to complete 2,000m as quickly as possible. The winners from the club races all went into the final and the winners there won an all-expenses paid trip to the Olympics courtesy of AXA PPP healthcare. This is the diary of the winning American Express team, which consisted of Matt and Mark Mitchell, Graham Benton and Rob Smith. 25th May First timed attempt at American Express Fitness Centre. A bit nervous, but the end result of 5:26 was very positive, especially with a Mr Benton pulling 1:14.9 for the first leg. Obviously we didn't know what any of the other teams would be capable of but we were confident that this would get us to the final. 10th June Nerves were riding high. Some good looking teams lined up and some very big guys, all gunning for the trip to Athens. The format was simple: six heats with seven teams in each heat. Winners progress to the final. Our concern was the teams with women present, as they had 20 seconds per lady removed from their finishing time. This resulted in some teams who crossed the line in second place, actually taking the winning spot for a place in the final. Therefore we had to go out very hard, and not save an ounce for the final. This resulted in a 5:26 first time, and a place in the final. The final was tense with a false start from team one. Second time away we were off. But after a fast start (Graham hitting 1:06) Graham hit problems with the seat, and at halfway he fell off! A quick recovery saw him back on, and still finish in 1:16, which was somehow quicker than his time in the heat. Mark Mitchell followed Graham, and held the lead as twin brother Matt stepped on. Finally Rob Smith took the team home in grand style and, after a pause to watch the team with a female finish 28 seconds behind, the team were cheering all the way to Athens - a great effort all round, including a 500m PB from Matt in the final. 18th August On the plane to Athens, after watching some of the Olympics at the airport. Unsure of what to expect. A VERY bumpy ride on the plane, and arrived at the hotel Athenia just in time for a quick drink in the bar and for Graham to discover that his iPod was now the prized possession of a member of the Olympic Airways cabin crew. 19th August Collect tickets for the semi-finals of the rowing, and head off to Lake Skinias (reminds me of our lightweight rower Mark!). What a venue. Looking down the race, you realise how far 2k actually is! We couldn't see the start line. But we could see the finish line, being directly in front of us, as we sat on the front row! The racing was superb, with some of the GB crews in the B finals, pulling off superb sprint finishes. The afternoon was a time to go and see some other sights...and what would five guys traveling away from their 'better halves' go and see at the Olympic games? Obviously the beach volleyball! Unfortunately we could not get tickets until the Friday for this event, so we had to spend the rest of the afternoon dreaming about what it would be like as we wandered about the Athens sights such as the Acropolis. 20th August Not much sleep, awaiting the beach volleyball! However, it was a trip to the Athletic stadium first to cheer on the heptathlon and triple jumpers. Our seats had a great view, but unfortunately every event finished in the other corner! The 100m heats, 110m hurdle of the heptathlon, triple jump. Heck, even the 20km walk failed to do a complete lap and pass anywhere near us. We did, however, get a wave from Denise Lewis, responding to a shout from Matt, which I believe was also the highlight of her day. So it was time to walk around, and see if we could use our British Charm to negotiate better seats. Sadly the charm didn't work, but a team of rather large rowers, headed by a slightly taller Graham Benton, managed to get seats in the top tier to get better views of the heptathlon. A final push managed to get us seats at the very front and gain spectacular viewing of the high jumping. But that was nothing compared to the afternoon's event. With music banging out louder than our hearts, we sat, tongue hanging behind the serving line of the ladies beach volley. What a sport! With a live DJ holding up the event as dancing girls jiggled their...stuff, we were in heaven. We were a bit shocked at the dress code though...I mean, allowing the men to wear little more than a t-shirt and shorts. It was shocking! Well we talked about this until the early hours of the morning in the beach bar. 21st August Slightly worse for wear we headed to the rowing finals by taxi at 6:15am (good job too considering the buses were late!). We were at the front with about 100m to go. Ideal location should there happen to be any close racing to watch! With GB tattoos on the shoulders, we cheered on the crews as they went about their warm-ups - later to find out this touched a nerve of the coxless four! We went MAD as the women collected silver and bronze in the pair and double. All the crowd were British (at least that is how it felt) and the atmosphere was building throughout the morning as the sun blazed down. Then it was time! We watched the race unfold on the big screen, accompanied by English commentary with the customary token 100m of Greek around the 1,000m mark. Our joy was obvious as team GB took the lead. Then shock as the final 500m saw Canada creep in front. If we could have jumped over and pulled them across the line, we would have. When the hooter went, we were sure they had won, as they passed us nearly two foot in front. Then a deathly hush as the shock of the words "FOTO" appeared on the board for first and second place. Ninety seconds this silence went on for. We had no fingernails left. Then a deafening cheer as the result was announced. Unbelievable jumping about. It was surprising the stands didn't collapse. Then a big gasp, as the photo finish was displayed. It didn't look that close from where we were sitting. It was fantastic when the GB crew ignored the pleas from the flotilla of boats carrying officials and paddled up and down in front of the British fans for 10 minutes. They eventually paddled off for their presentation. It's amazing how you know all the words to the national anthem when the entire crowd is singing at the top of their lungs! All in all a very inspiring four days...not bad for less than one minute and 25 seconds effort! ========================================================= Enfield indoor Rowing Gala ========================================================= Frank Birch: "The second Enfield indoor Rowing Gala, held on September 12th 2004, again brought together a mix of seasoned competitors tuning up for the oncoming season, and newbies trying out in their first competition. Performance of the day came from newcomer, Cathy Rogers, whose 7:38.8 2,000m in the 40-49 LWT women category bettered the existing British Grand Prix record by some 7+ seconds and beat into second place Helen Hall, whose time was also better than the current record in the same category. Cathy's clearly a name to watch out for in the coming season, that is if she isn't distracted too much from rowing by the brand new bike she rode away with as a prize. "Best male performance of the day judged against the current Grand Prix records went to Gary Blackman (30-39 LWT) who pulled 6:30.8 against a record of 6:24.8. "The Gala saw seven competitors who competed at ERG 2003 in June of last year returning to again contest the 2,000m. Of these, Andrew Burrows won the prize for the most improved returning competitor reducing his 2003 mark of 6:54.8 to 6:37.0. "The Gala also gave an opportunity for competitors to race at 1,000m and 5,00m as well as 2000m and 13 participants took full advantage of this rare opportunity by completing all three. We're not sure how they felt but an enjoyable day was had by everyone else!" Full results and some photographs can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/result.php?race=enfield2004 ========================================================= Reader's Letters: Gary Hemmings ========================================================= Gary Hemmings: "On August 5th, 1999, I had a triple bypass and, as part of my rehabilitation, it was suggested that I go to the gym under a GP 10 week programme. I had good support from my local doctor and I started a fitness programme at my local gym, Long Stratton Leisure Centre. "The first year I just got myself fit. However, as I spent a lot of time on the rowing machine, it was suggested that I rowed a million metres keeping a log and be part of the Concept 2 Distance Award Scheme. "It's now four years later and I have just completed my five million metres (3,107 miles) at Dunston Hall Leisure Centre. I have found the whole experience a satisfying one. Many people have asked why I did not do it for charity. It was not until the last half million that I even considered this, but it's bigger than that; it's the message that it sends out, that life can take on a whole new meaning, that we can move on and live a normal life. Often when sitting on the ergo I could see that I was fitter than a lot of others, "I recall asking the physio at Papworth what's the best exercise in the gym, her reply was 'the rowing machine or the cross trainer.' "My rowing programme was to complete 30,000m each week and, as I usually attend the gym four times a week, anything over that was seen as a bonus and still is. Along with doing free weights and other cardio vascular training, this is how my programme is structured. With being diabetic I have found it difficult sometimes balancing the sugar levels and still do. Any suggestions on this would be very helpful. "Where do I go from here? Well I'm not sure but, as someone who likes rowing, I am setting my sights on doing the next Distance Award Scheme, which is 10 million metres. "I hope this message give hope and encouragement to others." For more on the Distance Award Schemes: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowing/distance_award_scheme.php If you've got a story you'd like to send us, email editor@concept2.co.uk. ========================================================= Upcoming Races and Events ========================================================= If you've got an event you'd like adding to the Event Calendar, the full version of which can be seen at http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/calendar.php, then e-mail editor@concept2.co.uk. Name: Thruxton Rowathlon Date: 26/09/04 Venue: Thruxton Race Circuit, Andover Distance: 3k row, 21k cycle, 3.5k run Organiser: Adrian Butt Contact: T: 023 8040 7612 E: adeb@hantsfiretri.com W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowathlon Other: Third race in the 2004 Concept 2 British Rowathlon series Name: Nottinghamshire IRC (GP 1) Date: 26/09/04 Venue: Newark RC Distance: 1,609m Organiser: Graham Price Contact: T: 07793 437582 or 01636 605779 (evenings) E: graham@smtt.co.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/newark.php Other: The Newark Grand Prix. First race in the 20004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series Name: Marlow Rowathlon Date: 03/10/04 Venue: Marlow Rowing Club Distance: 4k row, 25k cycle, 7.5k run Organiser: Mike Spencer Jones E: race@rowersrevenge.co.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowathlon Other: Final race in the 2004 Concept 2 British Rowathlon series Name: Cambridge GP (GP 2) Date: 09/10/04 Venue: TBC Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nik Fleming T: 07801 099714 E: fleming.n@ucles.org.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ Other: Cambridge Grand Prix. The second race in the 2004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series. Name: South Eastern IRC + Able To Row Date: 17/10/04 Venue: Maidstone Leisure Centre Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nick Bird T: 01622 683959 E: nick.bird@ceridian.com Other: Entries close 1st October. There is a full range of categories from J11 to 80+ with good quality prizes to be had. The Able to Row event is aimed at disabled athletes who want to participate in the Championships. These would be particularly welcome. Name: South East Of England IRC (GP 3) Date: 24/10/04 Venue: Southampton Institute, Southampton Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Nigel Mayglothling T: 0115 951 5516 E: nigel.mayglothling@nottingham.ac.uk W: http://www.concept2.co.uk/gp/ Other: Southampton Grand Prix. The third race in the 2004/05 Indoor Rowing Grand Prix series. ____________________________________________________FEEDBACK You like? You dislike? You want to write something for the newsletter? Want to mock us on making a basic error? Make sure to tell us at editor@concept2.co.uk. Or, of course, you could always say something at our message board: http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/ _____________________________________________________BACK ISSUES Have a blast from the past by going to http://www.concept2.co.uk/news/newsletter_archive.php and checking out the hidden treasures of the Indoor Rowing News. New issues are posted on the release date of the following newsletter.