================================================================ INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER #137 ======================== 01-February-2006 ========================= _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. The Fish Game 2. Cartoon By Rog 3. LogCard Reader 4. 2006 English IRC 5. Rugby Training Guide 6. New British and World Record 7. Fly To America For Free 8. Roadrunner at 50 9. 2006 World IRC 10. Surrey 3.5 IRC Report 11. Forthcoming Races and Events **************************** Feedback Back Issues Subscription Information ________________________________________________________________ With Bells On ***************** For a glitzier, HTML version of our newsletter with pictures, cartoons and all the funny jokes (possibly), go to: http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/newsletter.htm. To receive the newsletter in HTML format, send an email to subscription@concept2.co.uk with HTML as the subject title. How To Write To Us ***************** Please don't reply directly to this email, 'cos we won't ever see it. Instead send your bouquets or brickbats to editor@concept2.co.uk. Indoor Rowing Glossary ***************** A guide to some of the more common terms used in indoor rowing can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/rowing/glossary.php ========================================================= The Fish Game ========================================================= The latest version of the PM3 Monitor software contains a "brill"iant new game, designed to make your training sessions swim by. If you download and install the "cod"e, and ex"salmon" the 'More Options' menu on the monitor, you can now try and become a "dab" hand at the Fish Game and mackerel fist of becoming the best there is. Well that's annoying. Let's start again. Download the latest version of the PM3 firmware and you can play the whizzy new Fish Game. On the PM3 screen, you're a fish facing the onslaught of good and not-so-good fish. You can move your fish up and down the left side of the screen by altering the intensity of your row. The aim of the game is to score points by gobbling up all the good fish is headed your way (small fish are worth 30 points; striped fish are worth 60 points) while also avoiding the large toothy, be-finned predators, who take 45 points off your points value if they catch you. Each game runs for four minutes, with a play again option at the end. Your fish game workout information (time, distance, pace per 500 metres, and so on) will be logged to your LogCard (or PM3 Memory if rowing without a LogCard) just like a regular workout would be. Since the Fish Game runs on the PM3, getting the Fish Game on your PM3 requires you to update your PM3 Firmware. Mac users: You will need to use a PC to run this download. The Fish Game can be downloaded from http://www.concept2.com/05/rower/service/pm3_betaupdate.asp ========================================================= Cartoon By Rog ========================================================= http://www.concept2.co.uk/email/images/cartoon137.jpg ========================================================= LogCard Reader ========================================================= While we're on the subject of the PM3: you can now buy a LogCard reader to take the pain out of transferring your row data to your PC. With a LogCard reader, you no longer have to have your PC within a cable's length of your PM3. Simply plug the card reader into your PC, and insert the LogCard into it. You can then use the free C2 LogCard Utility program to transfer your workout data to your computer. This is especially ideal if you don't own an Indoor Rower with a PM3 but have access to one down your gym or club. The LogCard Reader costs £27.50, or £29.99 with a LogCard, and can be brought from http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/card_reader.php. ========================================================= 2006 English IRC ========================================================= The English IRC took place on Sunday, 29th of January at the Manchester Velodrome. Matt Rostron, from organisers Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club, has the following report: "No matter what time we get to the venue on race day, we are never the first there. The lights went on at 7.30am accompanied by the security guard telling us that are some people waiting outside to come in and register already! "A record entry for the Velodrome of nearly 600 competitors plus a new race area layout, provided a great atmosphere, aided by, as always, Nigel Mayglothling. Nigel did his usual act of arriving two minutes before the first race, took his jacket off, put the headset on and talked, screamed, cajoled, encouraged, laughed, bullied, told jokes, provided background information and made everyone relax and enjoy the experience – if that's possible, for eight hours solid! Truly worth his weight in gold. "The day started at a pace and didn't stop. The first race was at 9.30am and we had races every 15 – 20 minutes. Competitors aged from 12 to 80 plus came from across the country; they flew in from Ireland and the South Coast during the day before, arrived by train, National Express and there was even had a couple who had altered the flight home from holiday so they could arrive at Manchester Airport in time to race. I sometimes wonder what we have started here and worry for the mental well being of some of the people who come to compete! "The 2,000m races were broken up all day with sections of tiny juniors racing in the Go-Row races over two, three or four minutes and we definitely discovered some of the stars of the future, if their times or their height and feet sizes were anything to go by. We also had the ever popular ergo breaking races too, or the 500m dash as the official name states. I'm sure these races are encouraged by Concept2 themselves so they can show just how tough their machines are. Even three days later, I can still see these machines bending and straining under the pressure of 18 stones of power-lifter trying to tie the machine into a knot. Great fun - if you remember to stand well back. "In amongst all these shorter, fun races we also had lots of very serious racing. Tracy Watkins from the Sub 7 club won the Fastest Woman prize, with a time 7:12.6. Stuart Williams from the Mad Team IRC won one of the best races of the day with a time of 6:03.7. But the acclaim must go to Anna Bailey – again – who broke the World record with a blistering time of 7:31.5. Many congratulations to them all. "Our guest of honour was Sir Steve Redgrave who very kindly agreed to help out with prize-giving all day. He was there with his 'Liverpool 8' team, a project that aims to encourage a group of young people from the L8 postcode in Liverpool to not only try rowing, but to race at the highest level – the goal is to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta later this year. The team of Sir Steve, Paul Rafferty and Paul Turner must be doing something right as several of the lads picked up medals on the day. They were followed throughout the day by the ITV1 cameras that are following the trials and tribulations throughout the whole experience and will be shown on the television after the race at Henley in July. "Steve must have got a pang of jealousy at his lads picking up medals because, just as the team events were about to start, he appeared in kit with Paul Turner and two of the lads and got on a machine much to the delight of the crowd. After a little shaky start where one of the team fell off the seat several times they got into a great rhythm and very nearly caught up the leaders. He didn't seem too disappointed with the bronze medal – something he's not that used to picking up I would imagine! "He stayed around to present all the medals and even did a question and answer session for juniors too, which was a great experience for them all. "I'd like to thank everyone who competed, Simon, Dom and James from Concept 2; John Wilson; Martin, Ian and all at Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club; the Velodrome; the ever enthusiastic Nigel; Sir Steve and some of the best races I have ever seen for making this the best ever Indoor Rowing Championships that I have been involved with - until next year that is!" Full results from the day, along with race analysis and replays, can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/result.php?race=englishirc2005 ========================================================= Rugby Training Guide ========================================================= Right from the start, one of the biggest markets for the Concept 2 Indoor Rower has been rugby training. Coaches and players up and down the country quickly realised that the Indoor Rower was ideal for cross-training purposes for the sport, as it could be used to develop both the aerobic endurance parts of a player's game and the anaerobic explosive parts. Many early training programmes were devised for rugby players, and you can still see the results today, as rugby greats like Andy Ripley and Roger Uttley have gone on to carve a name for themselves in the indoor rowing arena. In England's preparation for the World Cup, Martin Johnson's injury history meant he only did one session a day on his feet. Most of his aerobic work was done on an Indoor Rower. The Rugby Training Guide has been created to help coaches and players get the most out of the machine as possible. The Guide has been written by Peter Herbert, a retired exercise physiology lecturer who was Fitness Adviser to Llanelli RFC (1985-2000) and the Wales Rugby Team between 1992-1994 and 2000-2002. During these periods Llanelli enjoyed their most successful period winning numerous National League and Cup Finals, reaching the European Cup semi- finals twice and beating Australia, the then World Champions in 1993. Peter also finished fourth in the 60-69 Lwt event in the 2005 World IRC, so he has his indoor rowing credentials too. The Rugby Training Guide can be downloaded from http://www.concept2.co.uk/training/rugby.php. ========================================================= New British Record ========================================================= Jo Hammond beat her own Women's 19-29 Lwt British and World records at national team testing recently. Weighing in on the day at just 58.9 kilos, Jo set a blisteringly fast mark of 6:57.0, just three tenths of a second off Lisa Schlenker of the United States time of 6:56.7, the fastest ever for a lightweight woman. Jo's time is a genuinely impressive one, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you an interview with her in a forthcoming newsletter. ========================================================= Fly To America For Free ========================================================= You can now fly to the Land of the Free for free if you buy a Concept2 Indoor Rower. As well as a free heart rate interface, every machine that is bought online in the month of February will come with a voucher for a free return flight to the United States, flying with leading scheduled airlines to Atlanta, Boston, New York or Washington. Obviously there's a bit of small print to go with this, so go to http://www.concept2.co.uk/shop/america.php for more information. ========================================================= Roadrunner at 50 ========================================================= David Hislop is one of the more recognisable faces on the indoor rowing circuit. As well as racing at as many events as possible, David is the organiser of the Scottish IRC in Stranraer, and, under the nom de keyboard, 'Roadrunner' is one of the most prolific posters on the Concept2 Forum (http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum). David's recently reached a significant milestone in his life, and his wife Kay sent in the following letter: "As some of you may know, David 'Roadrunner' Hislop reached the grand old age of 50 on 2nd December. "I am aware that many people would view this with some trepidation as all you can see ahead is wrinkles, grey hair and Saga holidays, but David was delighted, excitedly crossing the days off his calendar until the big day. I couldn't understand his delight as I was greatly traumatised when I hit 40, but then of course I'm not a rower and I wasn't moving into a new age category. "Some women may be suspicious when their husband disappears in the early hours of the morning. Waking up at 5am to look across at his empty side of the bed and imagine him sleepwalking or crumpled in a heap on the floor somewhere but, now I know better, I roll over and go back to sleep…he's on the rowing machine! In the dark but for the light from a small inspection lamp. "Yes, I know it's good for him, but he makes me look fat, and as he has no padding of his own left, he has to travel everywhere with his seat pad. "Then the dilemma, what do we get him for this momentous coming of age? I have often heard him say how much easier it would be to get to competitions if we lived closer to an airport and, as those of you who have visited our neighbourhood know…we don't, although there is an old military airbase nearby with a runway that can be used by light aircraft. A flying lesson later and problem solved!" ========================================================= 2006 World IRC ========================================================= With just under a fortnight until the close of entries, there are currently 71 members of the British team lining up to compete in the 25th World Indoor Rowing Championship in Boston, USA on February 25th. The deadline for entry is February 10th, so that's still plenty of time to take part if you want. The current British team can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/wirc/team.php. ========================================================= Surrey 3.5 IRC Report ========================================================= The Surrey 3.5 IRC took place on the 14th of January. Thanks to Neil Ridge and Phil Morris for their reports. The championship aimed to be original, hence the title and theme. There were three events: 3,000m metres, 805 metres and a three and a half minute relay. Rowers were categorised as normal in terms of age, weight and sex, but also according to their previous success/experience on the circuit, with three additional categories of Premiership, Championship and Division One. With three and a half (i.e. four) places on the podium, there was a chance for the novices to get amongst the medals. The first person to break through the magic 10-minute target for the 3,000m was Bexhill's Rowing Club member Matt Helier who rowed a very impressive time for a 17 year old of 9:54.8. In race 5 Sub 7 IRC's Tracy Watkins (W30-39) kept her current form with a great row finishing in a time of 11:12.9 and taking gold. Also in the same race Countrywide MAD Team member Shelley Wilkins secured victory in the W30-39L with a time of 11:37.8 and finishing third overall. Sandwiched between those two was Emma O'Hara, who won the 19-29 Hwt race in 11:33.5. Race 6 was the big 3,000m race of the day. Neil Ridge (Old Wrecks IRC) hit the front very early on and stayed there; after 9:41.7 of very well paced rowing and open water Neil came home the victor, followed by a very close last 300m sprint for home between Andy Jones (Team Oarsome) and Pete Marston (Countrywide MAD Team), Andy coming home to take second place in 9:43.7 to Pete Marston's 9:44.4 Race 9 brought together 2 "friends" Andy Burrows and Phil Morris. They had come to an agreement that they would row the first 2500m at a restricted rate of 1:45/500m and then with 500m to go it would be a race for the line. They hit the 2500m mark and the pace started to rise, the action hotted up when they reached 300m to go, Andy Burrows started to wind it up, but Phil Morris did not react quick enough, Andy was pulling splits of 1:27, then Phil made his move to try and close the 4m gap that Andy had opened, pulling 1:24/500m splits for the last 200m was not enough, Andy came home the victor in a time of 10:17.6 against 10:17.7, Phil as a consolation did pull the fastest final 500m time for any of the 3,000m races with a time of 1:32.8 There were plenty of great 805m (half mile) races too, including a return to racing for "Big Trev" after months off with injury. The overall race was won by Gwyn Samuel in a time of 2:20.8, just beating Rob Smith (2:21.6) and Big Trev (2:23.0) in the last 100 metres. All race results can be found at http://www.indoorrowing.org.uk/ Pictures of the event taken by Neil Gear can be found at http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/2464143 http://photos.wanadoo.co.uk/album/2464141 Comments regarding the event can be found on the Concept 2 rowing forum http://www.concept2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9591 ========================================================= Forthcoming Races And Events ========================================================= Name: Scottish IRC Date: 05/02/06 Venue: Wishaw Sports Centre, Wishaw Distance: 2,000m Organiser: David Hislop E: DavidSHis@aol.com W: http://www.scottish-rowing.org.uk Name: World IRC Date: 25/02/06 Venue: Agganis Arena, Boston, USA Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Concept2 E: info@concept2.co.uk W: http://concept2.co.uk/wirc/ Name: Cornish IRC Date 12/03/06 Venue: Phoenix Leisure Centre, Launceston Distance: 2,000m Organiser: Martin Williams T: 01566 772551 Other: Entry Form available from http://www.concept2.co.uk/racing/calendar_uk.php?id=179 Name South London IRC Date: 18/03/06 Venue: TBC Distance: Bleep Test (includes Kings/Queens of Sprints), 1000m Handicap, Pairs 1000m Relays Organisers: Phil Morris and Neil Ridge E: thepirate@teammorris.fsnet.co.uk E: neil@ridge1966.wanadoo.co.uk ____________________________________________________FEEDBACK You like? 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