============================================================ INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER # 26 ======================= 01-December-2000 ===================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship 2. Tel's Men's Open Final Tale 3. On-Line Store 4. Tel's Tales #1 5. Irish Indoor Rowing Championship 6. Regional Races 7. Tel's Tales #2 8. 100,000 Metre Team Events 9. Top Tips _________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= Race Reports +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So that was pretty exciting then. With 1,900 entrants this year's championship was always going to be big, and over 6,000 people piled through the doors to catch a glimpse of proceedings. The big race of the day was, without doubt, the Men's Open, and the crowd who thronged around James Cracknell in the warm-up room beforehand made it clear who the star of the show was. The question was, of course, whether everything would follow the script, especially with fellow Olympic gold medallist Kieran West and Italian powerhouse Mario Palmisano lurking in the background. Despite the three thousand spectators crammed into the hall, the room was silent on the countdown to the race as on the word "Go" Cracknell set off like a rocket, starting at 1:18s and settling into an early rhythm of about 1:26. Despite the best efforts of West and Palmisano there was never really any chance of catching him, and they came in second and third respectively, with Palmisano holding off an excellent late charge from Ian Weighel of Oxford. The Women's Open final, meanwhile, was won by 20 year Debbie Flood from Reading University, who powered home in 6:53.8, over a quarter of a minute ahead of Jessica Wilson from Oxford in second place. The closest race of the day was in the Men's 40-44 Hwt event. Nigel Glover of the Metropolitan Police was aiming for his fourth consecutive title. It was Dubliner Sean Tunney who hit the front at the halfway stage and had opened up a significant margin by 1,500 metres. Seeing his title drift away from him, Glover made his move and with 100 metres to go they were neck and neck, the lead swapping hands with each stroke. By the finishing line everyone in the hall was on their feet to see the first ever dead heat in championship history as both men came home in 6:12.9, just 0.3 seconds outside the championship record set by Glover in 1998. Almost as close was the Men's 30-39 Hwt race, which saw Tony Larkman improve on his silver medal last year by winning the race in 6:05.1 a scant 0.7 seconds ahead of Nik Fleming. As always, the championships were a day for records. In the very first race of the day Pauline Rayner from Thames RC, broke her own 60-69 world record by nearly two seconds, crossing the line in 7:52.7. The race also saw a staggering five other records fall, with British records for Janet Parker (8:08.1, 50-59 Lwt), Gillian Burrell (8:51.8, 60-69 Lwt) and Paddy Rouse (9:03.5, 70-79 Hwt) as well as championship records for Brenda Davies (8:25.9, 55-59 Lwt) and Mavis Surridge (9:32.8, 70-79 Lwt). Helen Mangan also provided a chance for the crowd to exercise their lungs when she also broke her own world record for 40-49 Lwt with 7:16.3, while the third and final world record went to John Hodgson, who not only won silver in the 80-89 Lwt with 9:23.4 but also demolished the 90-99 Lwt record (and the Hwt record come to think of it) by over two minutes, making Britain officially the best indoor rowing country in the universe with 13 world records. Other top performances during the course of the day were by Graham Price in the 40-44 Lwt, with a new British record of 6:32.8, and for the junior women Faridah Newman and Lizzie Tatman both broke the British record in winning the J13 and J18 Lwt with 7:51.9 and 7:37.6 respectively. The day is not just about the top athletes, however, and many people were there just for the atmosphere and to try and set personal bests. To everybody who turned up on the day, we salute you. Full results, reports and photographs can be found on the Championship web site at http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/results.htm World Indoor Rowing Championship +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Out of the ashes of the British Championship rises phoenix-like the World Indoor Rowing Championship. Taking place once again in Boston (USA not Lincolnshire) at the end of February, not only is the World Championship your chance to race against some of the finest athletes in the world today, but we're also trying to persuade Terry O'Neill to organise the after race party again. Each year Concept 2 provides funding for six athletes to go over and compete. The funding is worked out by a comparison of the athlete's time at the British Championship with the current World Championship Record. This year the twelve people who did the best by that formula were: 1. John Hodgson, Armley S Ctr, M90-99L, 9:36.2, 123.59% 2. Pauline Rayner, Thames RC, W60-69, 7:52.7, 104.65% 3. Paddy Rouse, TJ Exercise Studio, W70-79, 9:03.5, 101.91% 4. Helen Mangan, Hooton, Cheshire, W40-44L, 7:16.3, 101.65% 5. Mavis Surridge, South Reading L Ctr, W70-79L, 9:32.6, 100.07% 6. Herbert Leah, Tyldesley, M70-79L, 7:25.2, 99.96% 7. Anna Bailey, One on One, Worcs., W50-59, 7:20.9, 99.02% 8. Graham Price, Newark RC, M40-49L, 6:36.2, 98.4% 9. Andy Ripley, Tideway Scullers Sch., M50-59, 6:17.2, 97.48% 10. James Cracknell, Leander Club, MOpen, 5:48.4, 97.45% 11. Chris Mollison, Leander Club, M18L, 6:29.0, 97.38% 12. Sarah Springman, Rob Roy BC, W40-49, 7:03.6, 97.17% Race Photographs +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For the first time this year there's the opportunity to purchase photographs taken at the British Indoor Rowing Championship by one of the professional snappers who were there. Hopefully by early on next week we'll be putting about 780 thumbnails of the blighters up onto the BIRC web site (http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/index.html) where you'll be able to select the ones that show you in the most flattering light and purchase them either on-line or via the phone. ========================================================= Tel's British Indoor Rowing Championship Men's Open Final Tale ========================================================= In a day of great races the high point for me was the Men's Open final. We had been bigging it up all day as the revenge of the Italians (for their narrow defeat in the final of the coxless fours in Sydney). In the end, the margin of James Cracknell's victory was quite comfortable and in fact it was another British Olympic champion Kieran West that came second with the gallant Italian Mario Palmisano in third. Why I was so pleased for James was that four years ago at the Atlanta Olympics I was his coach and he had an absolutely wretched time. The day before he was due to take part in his first ever Olympic race he was struck down with a respiratory infection. Instead of performing on the world stage as the reward for four years hard work, he was isolated from the rest of the team and locked in a cupboard. Locked is a bit of an exaggeration but cupboard isn't, as there was a real need to isolate James from the rest of the team. Something like this could destroy a team in no time and Steve Redgrave was going for his fourth gold medal. Steve was in the same apartment as James and if he had picked up the infection, then history would have been rewritten. I was absolutely gutted for James but he was not someone who inspired sympathy, in fact he was a real pain in the posterior. Since then I have followed his career closely and the way he handled himself on Sunday was superb. He was generous with his time, signing autographs and talking to adoring fans, a big difference from the horrible kid that I'm sure Harry Enfield modelled his character "Kevin" on. On Sunday it came home to me what the problem had been. The athletic talent had always been there but we, the coaches, saw an immaturity that would lead to tantrums and the fear that he would storm off. From James' point of view there was frustration born from an inner belief in himself and the need to demonstrate it. Now the ghost of Atlanta is well and truly buried. As Olympic champion he had a lot to lose by competing at the BIRC had he not won. But the way he attacked the race, it looked like the thought had never crossed his mind. On Sunday we not only saw an outstanding athletic display but all the qualities of a true champion. Steve Redgrave may have retired but British rowing has a bright future as long as we have the likes of James Cracknell pulling on the Union Jack. ========================================================= On-Line Store ========================================================= Somewhere beneath the seventh circle of hell, Dante reserved an extra one for Christmas shopping. Huge brawling hordes of humanity, annoying Christmas carols being played over the tannoy, crying children, long queues and remembering you forgot to buy anything for Uncle Willie when you're in the car on the way home, these all serve to remind you why every year you vow to get your Christmas shopping done by Bonfire Night. Well, this year there's a way to try and preserve some of that precious goodwill to all men. The Concept 2 on-line store (http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/merchandise.php3) has a huge array of Christmas gifts (well, huge in the sense of them all being stuff connected to indoor rowing) for you to buy, ranging from clothing, to heart rate monitors to, umm, rowing machines. If you get your order in by midnight on Monday 18th of December then, acts of God willing, we'll be able to get it delivered anywhere in the British Isles in time for Christmas. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #1 ========================================================= Every fortnight three times Olympic rowing coach Terry O'Neill answers any questions you might have about anything in the world. Of course, if it's nothing to do with indoor rowing he might get it wrong but still, if you've got a question, send it in to webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk For those of you who have Sky Digital, if you tune into Channel 642 on December 3rd between 3 and 4 pm, you'll have the pleasure of being one of about twenty people in the country see Ten Take Tel make his screen debut on the Ideal Shopping Channel. Nick Taylor : "I have reached the stage where I have a personal best of 7:03 for the 2,000 metres (heavyweight man, age 44) but however hard I try to beat this I fail. When I get to about 1,000 metres my throat goes very dry and burns; this results in me finding it harder to breathe as all my breath is taken by mouth at this stage. This is a problem I'm sure others must suffer with. Is there anyway I can alleviate this as I feel I can do a lot better than I am." Terry O'Neill: There is something you can do. The first thing to realise is that you have created a mental block by adding a degree of difficulty to the task. Every time you attempt to improve your time and fail, you confirm your doubts about being able to break through this barrier, so this negative cycle has to be broken (I'll come back to that). The breathing is part of the problem and a form of panic sets in and it all contributes to the doubts you have about being able to improve your time. We breathe for two reasons, take in oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. There is far more oxygen available than anyone can possibly use and it is not the unavailability of oxygen that is a problem, it is that the aerobic system of energy production is too slow to supply the energy at the rate we need it when doing a flat out 2,000 metres. Because we are relying on the anaerobic system for a large part of our energy needs, we are building up carbon dioxide in the blood and it is the need to get this out through the lungs that raises the breathing pattern. You have to focus on the need to blow out hard every few strokes because CO2 is heavier than air and lays in the bottom of your lungs. Blowing out will not dry the throat because air picks up moisture on the way in. You can only blow out what you breathe in though, and if you are breathing in through your mouth then your throat will dry out. Unless you have a blocked nose you should be able to get enough air into the lungs through the nose. Here is a little trick; as you come forward you can leave your mouth open but put your tongue up at the back of the mouth so that you are actually breathing through the nose but feel the forward motion is forcing the air into your lungs. Then every few strokes you can take a deep gulp through the mouth just as a comfort thing. By reducing the amount of breathing through the mouth you will reduce the drying out of the throat. Now to get the confidence cycle going you have to have something tangible to hang onto. If you want to row 2,000 metres in 7 minutes then you have to be able to row 1,000 metres between 3:20-3:25 and 500m in around 1:35. If you can do this then you are capable of 7 minutes, you just have to get your head around it. ========================================================= Irish Indoor Rowing Championship ========================================================= The first ever Irish Indoor Rowing Championship went off on Saturday 18th November. Here's Donal Hanrahan of IrishRowing.com (http://www.irishrowing.com) to tell us all about it: "The Irish Indoor Rowing Championship went off in military fashion in Dublin. Organised by John Holland the event attracted an entry of 200 with a large number of visitors from the UK. Using the full Concept 2 racing set-up, the Santry Sports Centre hummed to the sound of rapidly accumulating lactic acid and spinning flywheels. "The overall honours went to Darren Barber (CAN) (6:07.1) whose achievements prior to winning the Championship included an Olympic Gold with the Canadian 8 at Barcelona in 1992. Hot on his heels were Albert Maher (6:08.2) and Liam Gleeson (6:10.1) Maher seemed distracted by the close attention of Gleeson and a final surge just failed to close the gap between himself and the powerful Barber. Eamonn Joyce took fourth overall and the Hwt Men U23 section with a respectable 6:13.3. Michael O'Mahony (Mersey Fire Service) took fifth in 6:16.4. "The battle among the women came down to Emear Moran (7:20.0) Women Junior 16 and Susan O'Brien (7:21.1) Hwt Women U23. A tit for tat battle saw Moran fight all the way to hold a narrowing lead. Christina Nugent took the third spot and the Lwt Women's 30-39 title (7:25.2) a fraction ahead of Siobhan Jacob (7:26.1) who took the Hwt Women's 30-39 section. Jacob, renowned for refusing to give up, harried Nugent all the way through the 2,000 metres but was unable to make up the early difference. "If there were prizes for husband and wife teams they would have gone to John and Patricia O'Keeffe, who both won their respective sections in the 50-59 age bracket. The Irish television station TG4 were on hand to record the harrowing scenes and are scheduled to show highlights within the next couple of weeks. See you all next year." Full results can be found on our web site at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/irish_champ_r.htm ========================================================= Regional Races ========================================================= Hyped up after competing in the British Indoor Rowing Championship? Disappointed about missing out and looking for another race to test yourself in? Then what you want is one of the ever-growing series of regional races. First off there's the East Midlands Indoor Rowing Championship, which will be taking place on January 14th at Leicester Rowing Club. More details can be obtained by e-mailing Mike Watson at mike@terminus.ericsson.se. Then there's the North of England Indoor Rowing Championship. Now a well-established part of the indoor rowing scene, the North of England IRC is the second biggest race in Britain, and this year is expected to attract over 400 entrants. The race will be taking place on January 28th at Wardle High School in Littleborough, Rochdale. Further details can be found by e-mailing the organisers at matt_rostron@hotmail.com, and an entry form is available from the calendar page of our web site at http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/calendar.htm. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #2 ========================================================= Last newsletter we featured a letter asking about overcoming boredom on the Indoor Rower. This provoked our biggest news bag since the time a misprint made it seem like Terry O'Neill suggested he did a cow every day before breakfast. The first response was from Neil Rhodes who points out that the letter misquoted him and that he never said that rowing was boring, which we should have made clear. After that, however, the suggestions came flooding in thick and fast. Eric Murray's suggestion was that "if you get bored rowing, a simple tip is to cover over the time section on the display with some masking tape. It is amazing how much you will do and not realise it. I even find it gives me a boost when I realise that I have done an hour and I feel like I could go on even more." Many people suggested listening to music, including Migs Ferguson who also chipped in with the idea that you should try and recite things from memory such as "Kings and Queens of England and Scotland, USA Presidents, USA States and their capitals, chemical tables and such like." She also suggested reciting poems learned in childhood such as "If", "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and her favourite, Campbell's "Lord Ullin's Daughter". The longest answer came from Phil Ansley-Watson: "You don't have time to be bored if you're doing it properly. There's the rhythm to maintain, the pace to control, wondering where, when you're doing 2:02s, that 1:58 came from or why you've suddenly turned in a 2:05. "Sure, the first two minutes of the warm up, 5 minutes starting at about 2:15 and accelerating towards 2:10 or lower, is hell and you wonder how you're going to do 5,000 metres or 60 minutes but after that it gets better. "Anyone who gets bored is either not working hard enough or is doing one of these stupid short sessions typical of fitness clubs which seem to involve rates between 40 and 50 and splits in excess of 3:00. It's great fun in a health centre to switch from average splits to calories and demolish the person next to you who thinks they're going great guns at about 450/hr. "Yes, I'm very competitive. No, I'm not as good as I'd like to be. Yes, I do want my 2,000 metre time consistently below 7:00! Bored!! No way!" If you've got any further suggestions, get 'em sent into webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk and we'll run them in a future newsletter. ========================================================= 100,000 Metres Mixed Team ========================================================= Fashion's a funny thing; one day the Big Brother stars couldn't move for media offers, the next the producers of Celebrity Ready Steady Cook are failing to return their calls. Sometimes, of course, the reverse happens and after a bit of silence on the 100,000 metre team row front it's sprung back with a vengeance over the last couple of weeks. First off a team from, appropriately, Fitness First raised between 300 and 500 pounds for Macmillan Cancer Relief after completing the distance in 6:12:59 on Friday 3rd November. Then firemen from the Essex Fire and Rescue Service also set about raising some money for charity from the event. With enough people for two teams, it was decided to have one lot in normal kit going for a fire service record, while the second team did the row in full fire gear. As organiser Andy Fearn points out, "to row 100,000 metres is hard enough, but to row in full fire gear is madness, but with good coaching and a lot of encouragement from the public we set a reasonable time [6:04:48] and raised a lot of money for charity." The second team set off an hour before the other team and they were there to cheer the others on as they came home in an impressive 5:32:16. Last newsletter we also told you about the LA Fitness team who were going to have a crack at the mixed team record of 5:32:35 held by Wolfson College, Oxford. Marc Jenner takes over: "Sadly, despite the support of Olympic bronze medallist Kelly Holmes, our attempt failed, although it was very close. We clocked 5.35.51, just 3 minutes 20 seconds outside the record. It is worth noting that we lost two of our best rowers on the morning of the attempt and replaced them at the last-minute with a couple of willing volunteers from the gym." Not put off by the LA Fitness failure, a BG team from Reading will be having a crack at the mixed team record this Saturday, so hopefully we'll be able to bring you news of that next time around. ========================================================= Top Tips ========================================================= The British Indoor Rowing Championship provided an opportunity for several people to give us their top tip for training success. Remember, if you've got a tip you'd like to share with everybody else, just drop us a line at the usual address, webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk Geoff Loughborough (50) from Surrey: "Don't go on holiday in the middle of training. I went to Nepal in October which screwed up my training as my time over 2,000 metres on the Indoor Rower was 30 seconds slower when I returned. I also think weight training is the key to improve your time once you have reached a plateau." Alan Howard-Spink (50) from Buckinghamshire: "Most people put energy into their legs and arms but forget about their back, which should be kept straight. Also you should keep the monitor up high, if it is low it messes up your breathing." Edward Milne (23) from Oxford: "As I train in my brother's shed a good tip is to keep the shed door open." Tanzie Page (43) from the Isle of Wight: "Have a training partner. This especially applies to women as it makes training easier and more sociable." Jamie Birch (11) from Henley: "Use your legs more than your arms." Peter Hawney (51) from Kent: "Use the Concept 2 Training Manual and adapt it to suit your needs. I also recommend group training." ____________________________________________F E E D B A C K Like what you read? Dislike what you read? Ideas for future newsletters? 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