INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER # 23 ======================== 20-October-2000 ======================= _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. British Indoor Rowing Championship 2. Supersprints 3. Tel's Tales #1 4. Regional Races 5. Where's the Erg? 6. Tel's Tales #2 7. The Long and Winding Rhodes 8. Forthcoming Events 9. Training Camp 10. Red Nose Row _________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= British Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= Thrill! to the sight of some of Britain's best athletes straining every sinew in their bodies! Rub! shoulders with these same athletes due to the way the championship operates on a "no heat" system! Marvel! at how so many people put themselves through the wringer year after year and SEEM TO ENJOY IT! Roll Your Eyes! as the theme to Chariots of Fire gets played for the umpty-umpth time! Yes, it's back, bigger, bolder and better than ever before, it's the (deep breath) British Indoor Rowing Championship! Taking place this year on November 26th, everything's now starting to move into top gear for the premier event in the British indoor rowing calendar. We've got some big name rowers competing, both from home and from abroad, as well as some special guests. Steve Trapmore, the stroke of the Men's Eight that so thrillingly won gold at the Olympics, has promised to pop down to present some of the prizes, as well as a number of other celebrities who we hope to announce a bit closer to the date. In other exciting British Indoor Rowing Championship related news...The next couple of days will see the launch of our whizzy new championship web site which will be updated daily with all the latest news and entries. If you can't wait that long, our current page (http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/brit_champ_r.htm) contains both an HTML and PDF version of the entry form as well as results and reports from last year. While we're on the subject of entry forms: the deadline for this year is November 8th and if you want to earn yourself a couple of extra brownie points, try and get the entry form in as early as possible. Also, at the bottom of each entry form there's a section asking you to fill in your sporting background. Make sure you fill this in, as not only is it used by the race commentators, but we'll be posting up everybody's comments on our new BIRC web site. ========================================================= Supersprints: A Limerick ========================================================= An Englishman called Steve Did something hard to believe Some said he was too old For a fifth medal of gold But not only did he do it but he then went on to win the Supersprints where the gates had to shut early and the traffic was brought to a complete standstill by the thousands of people that went to see him achieve. While the last line might need a touch more polish before it gets in the Oxford Anthology, we're still pretty pleased with it, although not as pleased as the organizers of the Supersprints were when they saw 20,000 people, twice as many as they had expected, pile into the rowing course at Eton on October 14th to see what was billed as Steve Redgrave's international retirement. Back in a coxless pair with Matthew Pinsent, the two were in little danger of being caught over the 350 metre long course, especially once the Olympic silver-winning American pair caught a crab just before the last. Redgrave said the win was "very enjoyable indeed. Maybe one or two more races and I'll be at my best." Which we think is a joke. The other British competitors fared less well. James Cracknell, the bow in the coxless four, switched to the single sculls and came second while two of the silver medallists from the women's quad sculls, Miriam Batten and Gillian Lindsey, finished third in the women's double sculls. The event was rounded off with a relay involving the men's singles sculls, the women's double sculls and the men's pair, with Redgrave and Pinsent capping a sterling display for Britain when they held off the Russians on the last leg to win. Also taking place on the day was the One Minute Challenge, with the aim being to row as far as you could in that time on an Indoor Rower. In total, 403 people took part, and tankards were awarded to the winners in each age and weight category. Full results can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/local.htm ========================================================= Tel's Tales #1 ========================================================= "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die! But before you do, I will just tell you quickly about my plan to take over the planet." "What, that you plan to use your orbiting spacecraft to crash the world's stock markets and, in the ensuing melee, rob Fort Knox and use the proceeds to become the dominant super power?" "What! However did you know that?" Bond smiled. That e-mail to webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk had turned out useful after all. Now if only he could remember what three times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill had said about the difference between the damper settings on the rowing machine, he might just be able to save the world after all. Barry Teal: Could you please advise me of the correct breathing technique for rowing? I do the usual "exhale on the effort (drive/row), and inhale on the recovery" - trouble is that as I approach the end of recovery/start of the drive, I cannot get a full inhalation, hence after 2,000m I'm falling off the Rower exhausted. Any help would be much appreciated by myself and others doing the sponsored row. Terry O'Neill: There is no recommended breathing pattern. Conventional wisdom amongst weight lifters is to breathe out as you drive the weight up but they are dealing with much greater loads than rowers. Unless you have a respiratory problem you should not be having a problem with breathing on the Rower. We breathe for two reasons: to take on oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide. A sedentary man would be able to breathe about 100 litres of air a minute (top rowers breathe 250 litres), of which 20.8% is oxygen. This gives you a potential oxygen intake of approximately 20 litres. Depending on your ability to exchange oxygen, a normal person would get somewhere around 3-5 litres of oxygen/minute, which is sufficient for an enormous amount of work. As far as the build up of carbon dioxide is concerned, this is detected by sensory glands and the breathing pattern will change subconsciously. If you don't have a respiratory problem then what you are experiencing is psychological. Just relax and forget about breathing: that will take care of itself and you can get on with your sponsored row. ========================================================= Regional Races ========================================================= The second Nuneaton and Bedworth Indoor Rowing Championship took place on the 24th of September. Although the event was organised by Bedworth Leisure Centre, it took place at Pringles Leisure Centre in Nuneaton due to the increasing popularity of the event. The competition itself was run over the standard distance of 2,000 metres and saw a high level of performance, with 14 personal bests being set. The fastest time was by Marcus Harvey of Nuneaton who won the 40-49 category with 6:19.3. Fastest for the women, meanwhile, was Jane Fisher, who won the 30-39 event here with 7:12.0, four seconds faster than the time that won her silver in last year's world championships in Boston. The performance of the day, however, was undoubtedly that of Leeds man Philip Stubley, who rowed 7:01.8, knocking a mighty four seconds off his existing 60-69 Lwt British record. Full results for the event can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/local.htm The other event that's occurred recently was the Rower's Revenge Triathlon, which took place in Marlow at the start of the month. 180 entries were received, 80 more than last year, and 144 athletes completed the course, which comprised 4000 metres on an Indoor Rower, a 25 km bike ride and a 7.5 km run. The overall winner was Mark Edmonds of Tri UK Ltd in 1 hour 27 minutes and 55 seconds. A report and results can also be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/local.htm ========================================================= Where's The Erg ========================================================= There have been two spots of the Indoor Rower since the last newsletter. Firstly, Tony Owen saw Professor (Lord) Robert Winston on one in the Daily Mail on October 10th, while Andrew Mason spotted one on Sky 1 on October 2nd in "CI5 The New Professionals". Somewhat unconvincingly he also wishes to point out that "I was not watching the program merely flicking through the channels at the moment the erg appeared." Both good spots but we want something more than this. We're not going to rest until we spot an MP pulling away on one on Prime Minister's Question Time or a lioness beating her PB in the Serengeti while David Attenborough stares on in disbelief. Send your sightings into webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk ========================================================= Tel's Tales #2 ========================================================= A quick survey of any Sunday newspaper supplement reveals just how big an industry is devoted to helping people to lose weight. With that being the case, we should have been ready for the fact that when we touched on the subject two or three newsletters ago, we were opening up a can of worms the approximate size of Lincoln cathedral. The amount of e-mails we receive about using the Rower for weight loss probably outdoes anything else in our mailbag, so we'll be bringing you a comprehensive guide to the subject in a future newsletter. For now we'll just clear up a question a couple of you had, Elizabeth Murray for one... "I thought it was the case that a low-intensity workout combined with a healthy eating (low-fat) regime meant that as you can exercise for longer, you subsequently burn more fat. In a reply to an e-mail, however, you said 'The advantages of a higher intensity regime are that the rate of burning calories is far higher, and even if the percentage of fat in the fuel is lower, you will burn more calories.' "I am new to this whole exercising lark and have been offered so much advice that my head is swimming. All I want to know is how the hell do I lose the 2 stones that I am currently lugging around with me. And how, once it is gone, do I keep it off!?" Terry O'Neill: I know it is confusing and I hope I can clear it up for you. When you exercise you burn fuel that is a mixture of fat and carbohydrates. The mixture changes depending on the intensity of the exercise, extremely hard training is mainly carbohydrates, whereas long steady exercise is predominantly fat. The harder the training is, the higher the rate at which the calories are burned and so it is possible that when training at a higher intensity, even though the percentage of fat in the fuel is lower, because you are burning fuel at a higher rate then you can end up burning more fat. The other advantage is that high intensity training has what is called overrun. This means that even when you have stopped training your metabolism continues to run at a higher rate and continues to burn calories. To benefit from this type of training you have to have a reasonable level of fitness or you will not be able to cope with the loading of a high intensity programme. For this reason we recommend that for weight management you start off with the long steady rows which will improve your basic fitness level and enable you to opt for a more intensive alternative if you so wish. In either case, healthy eating is a must. ========================================================= The Long and Winding Rhodes ========================================================= Yeovil fitness instructor Neil Rhodes has completed his somewhat barmy mission to row a million metres in as fast a time as possible. After only eight and a half days, Neil completed the distance, a truly Herculean effort and one that certainly deserves applause as well as the loan of a feather cushion. Not that it seems to have bothered Neil unduly: "I haven't been sat around since the row. Thanks to Godfrey Rowsports Erg Grip, I don't even require a comfy chair. I took the Wednesday off and was back in the gym training on the Thursday. I don't mean to sound blasé about it, but it really wasn't a problem for me. I think the fact that I train all day with my job really helped me. You see, I train WITH my clients, I don't just stand around with a stopwatch. If you're going to talk the talk, you should walk the walk." Or row the row as the case may be. Ahem. His longest continual session was just over two hours, with the furthest distance in one day being 125,278 metres. On his fastest day he completed 112,620 in 8 hours 52 minutes. "At no point during the challenge did I feel in trouble, just bored." This is now Neil's tenth year of indoor rowing, having first encountered the machine in 1990. "It was horrible and I was hooked on trying to defeat the damn thing, defeat as in trying to make 2 minutes not feel like 2 hours. I don't need to tell you how good the machine is, but once you realise just how good it is, you use it and promote it." Since then, Neil's gone on to become a familiar name in the world of indoor rowing, and earlier on this year he organised "The Big One", the team 100,000 metre championship that took place in March at Millfield School in Somerset. Remember, if you've got any indoor rowing exploits that you think will make the Concept 2 office go "They did what? Where? When? And for how long? Sweet baby Moses!" then make sure you let us know at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk ========================================================= Forthcoming Events ========================================================= Marie Curie Indoor Rowing Challenge: 29th October: Thornton Sports Centre, Wyre, Lancs. Charity event featuring 2,000m, 5,000m, 10,000m races. Contact lfenton@mariecurie.org.uk for more details. BluRed Indoor Rowing Championship: 5th November: Edgehill College, Bideford, North Devon Fourth annual championship. 2000 metre race. Contact jjewell@tycoelectronics.com for more details. Irish Indoor Rowing Championship: 18th November: Sportslink Leisure Centre, Santry, Dublin. First Irish National Championship. Now with added rumour that the entire Irish rowing squad have to attend! Contact IIRC@eircom.net for details or check out. http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/irish_champ_r.htm ========================================================= Training Camp ========================================================= The first ever Indoor Rowing Training Camp took place at the beginning of this month as Terry O'Neill led a group of thirty people to the former Olympic rowing lake in Banyoles, Spain for a pre- British Indoor Rowing Championship tool-up. The trip consisted of much rowing and cycling and, if the rumours are correct, much drinking of el vino as well. Everything about the Training Camp went pretty much A-OK, although apparently there was the odd glitch. Terry O'Neill takes up the story... "The feedback from the Training Camp was very positive. Still, I would expect that, as a pre-requisite for inclusion was no wimps or whingers. There were, however, some very good and positive suggestions as to how we could improve future expeditions. The number one was more accurate details of some of the bicycle trips. It seemed that some of my estimations of distance were a little short of reality. I have given this a lot of thought and, whilst accepting no blame, I have found out why this occurred. All the bike rides we did on the camp I had done in a car and measured the distances with my mileometer. This was of course some time ago and the car was English and the distance was in miles. Since then I have gone completely metric and so the first trip to the coast, which was 35 miles (or 50 kilometres), I said would be about 80km for the round trip, rather than the 100km it turned out to be. No one would have known this but for my trusty assistant Dominic who managed to wangle his state of the art bike out there with built in satellite tracking (the only thing this bike didn't have was an early morning Teasmaid which he needed more than the bloody pedometer) so of course, as soon as we get back it's "here do you know that was 100 bloody K". I tried to explain that it was no further than it's ever been and it's only the method of measuring that has changed. They didn't buy this so I rapidly pulled out the pre-requisite clause of no whinging and slapped it on the table. That, and the offer to buy a round of beer, placated the mob. "I decided from then on to stick to estimated time rather than distances as if they took longer to complete the journey I could fall back on the old "You must be a pony old bike rider" attack. I almost got away with this except my directions were a little off which I put down entirely to the ridiculous habit the continentals have of driving on the wrong side of the road which, if you think about it logically, means right is left and left is right. Now I am not an unsympathetic person and I realise that after 4 hours in the saddle, having climbed up a mountain of 1,125 metres, that you are a little puffed out and your sense of direction goes out the window. Now I ask you - the great British Public - if, in a state of absolute fatigue, you arrive at a crossroad where I have said turn left, which on the continent means turn right, and you turn left completely forgetting the continental correction factor, is that my fault?" Despite all this, everybody got back in one piece and had a great time. Some pictures from the training camp are available at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/news.htm. Make sure you keep 'em peeled in future newsletters for the next one. ========================================================= Red Nose Row ========================================================= As nation speaks unto nation and says "are you taking part in the Red Nose Row" and the other nation replies "maybe after I check out http://www.concept2.co.uk/rnr/index.html" we've been fielding several inquiries this week about the On-Line World Ranking(http://www.e-row.com/ranking/home.asp) where you can enter all your times. Although we cover many of the questions in the On-line World Ranking FAQ section a couple more have been thrown up since, so we thought we'd answer them here... "I can't get onto the On-line World Ranking at all" Something that has happened to several people over the last week or so. Unfortunately there was a problem with the server in America. According to them "The ship cannae take it Captain. She's breaking up and we need more dilithium crystals". Which means both that they've been watching too much Star Trek and also that they've had to change servers. Anyway, that's all been sorted so you shouldn't experience any difficulty getting onto it now. "I can't see where to enter my distances for the Red Nose Row" Once you've logged in, you enter your times and distances as normal in the Enter New Results page. There you should see a big white box asking you whether you want your time to count towards the Red Nose Row. If you can't see this box, this is probably due to your profile being set up incorrectly. Under the Individual page, follow the Edit Profile link to make sure that your nationality is set as either British or Irish as only these get Red Nose row information. "How do my friends know that I've completed the distances I say I have?" There are three possibilities here: 1. Give your friends your e-mail address and password so they can check your logbook for yourself 2. Print out the logbook page 3. Assess what it is about your life that makes your friends disbelieve every word you say and work on that instead. "I notice that some of the names on the Honour Board have a camera symbol next to them: what's that all about?" You'll see on the Honour Board that the names of people are in red. If you click on somebody's name it'll bring up a window containing details such as their name, age, weight and any personal comment they may have entered in their profile. If there's a little camera symbol next to their name, there'll also be a picture of them there. If you want to have your picture displayed to the world, you can either e-mail it to us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk or, if you don't have access to either a scanner or a digital camera, you can mail us a normal photo to the usual address: Concept 2 Ranking Photo Vermont House Nott'm Sth and Wilford Ind. Est. Ruddington Lane, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7HQ Remember to include a SAE if you want us to return your photo and (very important this) make sure you also write your name and address on the back of the photo itself. "How does that whole pledge thing work?" This is there both so that we have a rough estimate of the amount of money that's being raised for Comic Relief and also, somewhat more sneakily, to help motivate people to raise as much money as possible. If you've not yet entered an amount, when you're on your results page you'll see a link saying Enter Pledge Amount. If you select that you'll be able to type in how much you've been pledged so far. From then on, the link will be replaced by one saying Edit Pledge Amount if you need to change the amount you've entered. The amount you've been pledged will not be available for anybody else to see. "I fear computers may take over the planet and keep us as slaves, forcing us to mine silicon for their evil metallic needs. Should I use the On-Line World Ranking?" Although you can do it the old-fashioned way on bits of paper, using the On-Line World Ranking may curry favour if the future turns out to be similar to the one depicted in the film Terminator. If you do need any further help with the ranking and/or the Red Nose Row side of things you can always drop us a line at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk and, with any luck, we'll get back to you quicker than a very quick thing. Also, a special mention goes to reader Mike Crossley whose set up his own web site devoted to the Red Nose Row. http://www.giants.freeserve.co.uk contains his log, diary and an on-line sponsorship form. Big up. ____________________________________________F E E D B A C K Like what you read? Dislike what you read? Stories, anecdotes or ideas for future Newsletters? Make sure to tell us at webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk _________________________________________________________ _______________________________________SUBSCRIPTION INFO If you think you're on this mailing list accidentally, just return the e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. If you receive more than one copy of this e-mail, return it with "multiple" as the header.