============================================================ INDOOR ROWING NEWSLETTER # 28 ======================== 12-January-2001 ====================== _________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. Red Nose Row: When Titans Clash 2. Nottingham Boat Race 3. Red Nose Row: Million Metre Challenge 4. Faridah Newman 5. Red Nose Row: Red Nose Day 6. Tel's Tales #1 7. Forthcoming Events 8. Top Tips 9. 24 Hour Tesco Row 10. London Boat Show 11. Tel's Tales #2 12. Two Million Metre Challenge 13. Tel's Tales #3 14. Music To Row To _________________________________________________________________ ========================================================= Red Nose Row #1 ========================================================= More and more details are starting to be firmed up for what seasoned observers are already calling "that 100,000 metre team race for Red Nose Row between Leander Club and Royce's Gym at Great Marlow School on February 14th". The two teams have provisionally confirmed their line-ups, and they are as follows: For Leander there could be up to four Olympic gold medallists in the shape of Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell from the coxless four and Luka Grubor from the eight. It's also rumoured that Steve Redgrave may make it his first sporting event since the Olympics. Also bringing their gold medals to the table will be Steve Williams and Toby Garbett, victorious as part of the coxed four at last year's World Championship in Zagreb, and Peter Fields, who indoor rowing fans may remember as the 6'10" tyro who devastated the, ahem, fields to win the J18 race at both the 1998 and the 1999 British Indoor Rowing Championships. The remaining three spots are picked up by Alex Storey, a member of the Cambridge boat in 1997 and 1998, and up and coming stars Ian Lawson, who won a bronze at the World Student Games in Poland in the double sculls and Pete Gardener, the National Champion in the single scull. Royce's team currently has a squad of eleven hungry men all determined to defend their current world record of 4:40:48. The team has been training hard and is confident it can defeat the Redgrave squad. "The worst thing that Steve and his men can do is underestimate us", said team coach Royce Banks. "The boys have been training hard and practicing their changeover technique for a while now." You can find photographs and details of every member on the new special super-doopery Head to Head section of our Red Nose Row web site: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rnr/rnr_head2head_index.htm Like all the best offers in life, both the squads are subject to availability. One other thing: for various reasons to do with security and limited space, the head to head is going to have to be a closed event with no tickets. Sorry. We will, however, be doing our darnedest to try and compensate by having live score updates and a web cam at the event. ========================================================= Nottingham Boat Race ========================================================= With the River Trent in flood and unfit for rowing for weeks on end, the two Universities in Nottingham decided the annual Nottingham Boat Races for the Bacon Cup should still go ahead, but using Concept 2 Slides linked in race formation instead of risking the swollen and debris-strewn river. Nigel Mayglothling organised the day: "With TV and local press in attendance, the eight races that make up the Bacon Series were hosted in the Nottingham Trent Student Union. A large and deafening crowd urged on the crews as they raced over four minutes in "University Eights", four from each crew racing at a time. Four Concept 2 machines were linked in line, allowing a "halfway report" as the other half of each eight assumed their start positions for the second "half" of each race. With the top seven of eight scores to count in each race crews knew where they stood at halfway as if they were racing on the river, but with fresh legs coming "on board." Competition became increasingly frantic as rowers tried not only to defeat their opposition, but also to be top-scorer or avoid being "discarded" in their own crews. "The Slides for the Senior Crews added a special sparkle to the event, a novelty picked up on by the TV; "a rowing race without water, a bit like skiing without snow." Well why not, the format works, the day was great fun for spectators and racers alike and ensured that the Nottingham Universities Bacon Boat Race Series went ahead, when so many of our other "Rowing" events have been cancelled this winter. As a head to head event the racing was obviously exciting, but this type of racing also allows crews racing over the Internet or "by mail" and submitting scores after events in the same way that we register individual 2,000 metre scores; food for thought?" Full results can be found at http://www.concept2.co.uk/local.htm ========================================================= Red Nose Row #2 ========================================================= One of the key prongs of the Red Nose Row this time around is the Million Metre Challenge. Dead straight forward: you've got to try and row a million metres anytime from September 16th up to Red Nose Day itself, March 16th. The take up's been pretty darn nice, with megamoolah amounts of people up and down the country chugging away on their Indoor Rowers to notch up that magic million. While many people are recording their times and distances on paper - sooo twentieth century - a fair few of you are notching your results up on our on-line ranking (http://166.82.35.96/sranking/home.asp). A quick butcher's at the honour board there reveals that since the last newsletter six people have become the first to break a million. Step forward and take a bow Bedfordshire's Denise Aitcheson! (clap clap clap) Mike Crossley from Warrington! (clap clap clap) Bridgend man Karl St John Patterson! (clap clap clap) Keith Pryce from Preston! (clap clap clap) Jackie Tompkins from Pontefract! (clap clap clap) and, of course, Ronald Wilson from Newcastle upon Tyne! (clap clap clap). These six will all get a certificate signed by Steve Redgrave to celebrate their troubles. Another 14 people are on 750,000 metres, so the race is on to see who can become the Magnificent Seventh. Remember, even if you've not yet started on your million metres, you can still take part. Although with only two months to go until the deadline it's going to be tricky to get the full million, don't forget Redgrave-signed certificates will go to anybody who reaches any of the 250,000 metre stopping posts along the way. For more information on the Million Metre Challenge, visit http://www.concept2.co.uk/rnr/rnr_mmc_index.htm ========================================================= Faridah Newman ========================================================= Anybody who tuned into Blue Peter on Wednesday looking for tips on how to turn an old bottle of Fairy Liquid, some match boxes and an industrial load of sticky back plastic into a convincing replica of Tracy Island, will have caught sight of Faridah Newman strutting her stuff on an Indoor Rower. Faridah, who won the J13 category at the PPP healthcare British Indoor Rowing Championship and is the current British J12 record holder, was taking part in a spot highlighting potential stars of the future. In the long term, Faridah's aims are to get to the Junior World Championships in 2004 and then the Olympics in 2008. In the short term she's got her sights firmly fixed upon Fie Udby's 12 and under world record of 7:30.3. Does she think she's going to break it? "Definitely." ========================================================= Red Nose Row #3 ========================================================= Of course, the big day for the Red Nose Row is Red Nose Day itself, when we hope that a record number of rowers up and down the country will take part in as many wacky, dippy, and possibly even dappy events as is humanly possible. There are a chocamungous number of things you can do on the day itself (if you're scrabbling for ideas, check this out: http://www.concept2.co.uk/rnr/rnr_events_index.htm. Wicked). The one thing we want, however, is for all you crazy kids out there to make sure you keep us informed as to what you're planning to do, both before and after the event. Not only does this mean that we can keep track of things and help publicise them in the newsletter and elsewhere, but as we've been promoted to the status of an official partner this year, Comic Relief themselves want to keep their eye on what's going on. What ideally we need from you is the following: Who - you are What - you're planning on doing When - you're planning on doing it Where - you're planning on doing it Other - stuff, such as if you're doing it in fancy dress on top of a double decker bus while eating chocolate Contact - details, postal address, phone number, e-mail address etc. Send that into rnr@vermonthouse.co.uk and we'll be eternally grateful and remember you in our will. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #1 ========================================================= Chris Kenyon: For the past few years my training has been mainly on the Indoor Rower using a heart rate monitor. The recent comments on avoiding boredom on the ergo prompted me to write about my experience of what I can only describe as being "self induced heart rate drift". This occurs when my mind wanders to thoughts of on and off water competition. Turning my mind back to the mundane, such as mowing the lawn, painting blades etc, brings my heart rate back down to the target training level. I assume that such thoughts of aggression/competition trigger the release of adrenalin thus increasing my heart rate. Is this normal in training or could it be indicative of a health problem? My resting pulse rate is 52, maximum is 183 and PB 2,000 metre time set earlier this year 7:11.1. A recent health check showed blood pressure higher than "standard" but not at an unusual or worrying level for my age. Terry O'Neill: When I was coaching the Olympic squad we taught a training technique called autogenesis. This was introduced because quite often crews would warm up but then sit around at the start for ten minutes or more, especially if there was a false start. Autogenesis would work by imagining you were actually taking part in the race and some of the boys would actually break out in a sweat just sitting there and going through the race in their minds. So your drift when you let your mind wander is perfectly normal. As for your blood pressure this can go up and down on a day-to-day basis so a one off reading is not necessarily anything to worry about but something to keep your eye on. Generally regular exercise is recommended as a counter measure for high blood pressure. ========================================================= Forthcoming Events ========================================================= Name: East Midlands IRC Date: 14/01/01 Venue: Leicester Rowing Club Events: 2,000m individual 5,000m team Contact: mike@terminus.ericsson.se Other: A map can be found on their web site at http://www.lri.u-net.com. Name: North of England IRC Date: 28/01/01 Venue: Wardle High School, Littleborough, Rochdale Events: 2,000m individual 4 person teams Other: The second biggest event in the British calendar, the deadline for entries is January 15th. An entry form is available from http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/north_entry_form_2000.htm Name: Welsh IRC Date: 24/02/01 Venue: David Lloyd Leisure Centre, Cardiff Event: 2,000m Contact: Michael Hnatiw, michael.hnatiw@ntlworld.com Name: The Big One Date: 11/03/01 Venue: To Be Confirmed Event: 100,000 metre 10 person team event Contact: Neil Rhodes, neil.rhodes@classicfm.net Other: Closing date for entries is January 26th ========================================================= Top Tips ========================================================= This week's top tip(s) come(s) from Simon Barnes. "On the subject of 'favourite' training sessions, occasionally I drop the resistance to level 1 or 2 and row 38-40 strokes per minute for 2,000 metres, doing this twice at about 5 seconds per 500 metres slower than race pace. I believe that this provides useful conditioning (not least mentally) for a sustained race rate of about 36 s.p.m. as well as encouraging a focus on maintaining technique and rhythm. "The other, possibly unusual, session I do is 500 hack squats, touching my backside down on a couple of stacked milk crates (about 18" high, pretty much making my thighs parallel to the ground). This takes about 8 to 10 minutes - a testing, specific leg and lower back workout sustainable at only 140-150 beats per minute. (It's generally advisable to massage legs in the shower afterwards and schedule an active recovery session (if needed) for the following day rather than rest.) "Since coming on the Banyoles training camp, I'd swear by the one, two and three minute interval sessions, with equal rest and trying for about 110% of race pace (in terms of seconds per 500 metres calculated via metres per second). I also find the occasional, stand-alone five minutes at race pace (trying for a strong finish) a good confidence booster. I also believe that a weekly 'eye balls out' 5,000 metre piece (equivalent I guess to lactate threshold) sustains a good aerobic base." Simon also mentioned in his e-mail that it could be interesting to ask those competitors at the British Indoor Rowing Championship who improved their times what most significantly influenced their performance for the better, whether it be training, diet, mental approach, technique or whatnot. If you were one of those competitors, or if like Simon you've got a top tip you'd like to share with the world, then makes sure it gets to webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk. ========================================================= 24 Hour Tesco Row ========================================================= Normally December 21st, the day of the winter solstice, is only of interest to geography teachers and particularly hardy druids. This year, however, at 10 a.m. at Tesco's flagship branch on Cromwell Rd, Kensington, Will Mason and Tim Thurnham set off on a 24 hour row. The aim of the effort was to collect money both for SPARKS (SPort Aiding medical Research for KidS) for whom they're hoping to raise 25,000 pounds in total and also to fund their entry in the 2001 Ward Evans Atlantic Rowing Challenge. Will takes over the story: "The aim was to start our training program by simulating one day of the Atlantic Rowing Challenge. We rowed shifts of two hours and rested (or rather, collected money) for two. At night we even managed to sleep in the boat, which was on display yards from Cromwell Road! "The actual rowing was surprisingly easy considering neither of us were really fit. Although the pace dropped off during the night, generally there was enough activity and people to talk with to stave off the boredom. In fact, from that point of view, I found it easier than doing one hour on the Indoor Rower at home. Of course, in the Atlantic we won't be able to pop into Tesco's after each shift to get fresh food or round the corner to Dirk's for a shower halfway through. "We learnt that if we actually rowed at that pace for the race we wouldn't be able to sustain it, as we were absolutely dead on our feet at the end. Of course, we'll be much fitter and stronger by then. More importantly, we learnt that good padding will be essential to our comfort (although that was never really in doubt!)" Overall the total time including changes and stretching was 26 hrs and the chaps managed to row a total distance of 312,386 m, averaging 2:18.3, as well as raising an impressive 1,400 pounds for SPARKS. For more information about the race and Will and Tim's entry, cast your gogglers at their web site http://www.brightsparkchallenge.com ========================================================= London Boat Show ========================================================= Despite the disappointment of seeing a 4 million pound yacht disappear into the murky depths of the Atlantic, Pete Goss has launched another ocean challenge. He announced at the London Boat Show that he is behind an attempt to break the Atlantic rowing record. Mark Stubbs, Mark Phillips, Mark Wood and the trend-breaking Steve King, aim to set off in the newly christened Atlantic Spirit this summer. The Atlantic Spirit, which is less than 6ft wide, was designed and built by the same team that produced Team Philips and weighs just 440lb, about half the weight of the crew. Mark Wood said: "We got a lot of ribbing because of Team Philips. People come over all the time and say you must be mental. When I am training in the gym, people say you are one of those lunatics rowing across the Atlantic. But I have every confidence in the crew and the boat. It doesn't bother me." Currently there are two records to beat. The fastest crossing of the Atlantic ever - East to West - is held at 35 days by a team of 11 Frenchmen. The record for the technically more challenging route, the North Atlantic crossing from West to East, is held at 55 days. The Goss Atlantic Row aims to beat both records by rowing the North Atlantic West to East from Newfoundland, Canada to the Isles of Scilly, UK in just 32 days. In order to do this the team will aim to have three people rowing and one sleeping at all times, and need to maintain around 20 strokes per minute and three knots. Hopefully on Day 33, they will row heroically into their spiritual home at the Goss Centre of Challenge and Adventure in Totnes, Devon, UK. The London Boat Show runs from January 4th until the 14th of this month at Earl's Court. Apart from the Goss Challenge stall, which has the Indoor Rower that the team are using to train upon, there's also a Challenge Business stand where you've got the chance to win a trip to Barbados. All you've got to do is row as far as you can in a minute. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy. ========================================================= Tel's Tales #2 ========================================================= Last newsletter Tel did a bit about calculating 2,000 metre times from your 500 metre results, saying that over a series of 4 x 500 metre pieces, the average would be 110% of your 2,000 metre time. All very well and innocent you might think. Hah. As innocent as a dog it turned out. Come the Monday the ol' webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk address was overflowing with e-mails, mostly starting with "But what? Huh? I don't..." Roger Bangay: "Your reply has caused some considerable concern regarding the fact that an individual's 110% and 105% levels are the averages taken over a series of intervals. "I personally find that my 110% effort can only be maintained over a single 500m dash. If I take my average over say four it looks a bit sick! "As I'm a 'wrinkly' I thought it might be that physically I'm a special case, and cannot use the rules that might apply to younger persons. I have checked with two other younger men and they also reckon that they will be in trouble holding their performance, unless, as one of them suggested, he could take about an hour rest between intervals! "Your comments would be most welcome, even if it's that we should forget rowing and take up tiddlywinks." Terry O'Neill: "The article I wrote about determining your 2,000 metre time from your 500m time has resulted in more questions than anything else I have written. If you think about it logically, if you row absolutely flat out for 500 metres you cannot sustain this over the 2,000. For 500 metres you will accumulate lactate but, before it builds to a level where it impedes performance, you stop. During 2,000 metres you will have to shunt the lactate out of the working muscles to other muscles where it can be recycled. You will be producing it faster than you can metabolise it so you need a high lactate tolerance. So what then is the correlation between 500 metre and 2,000 metre times? From my experience it is that you can row 2,000 metres at 90% of your 500 metre time. A series brings into play the other factors that are not covered in a one off row. Far from being disappointed with the result, you should take advantage of the fact that the information is telling you where to focus your training. A couple of people have written in to ask where this fits in relation to the French Federation 500 metre test that is published in the Training Guide (http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/training_prog.htm). Although the French results are interesting, they are for a very small controlled group and would be of no use to the population at large. The main reason we put it in was that we thought the French would be so chuffed when they saw it they would stop disrupting our holiday plans and lift the port blockade, a tactic which appeared to work. ========================================================= Two Million Metre Challenge ========================================================= Starting this Friday 12th, Nigel Anderson and Kerry Gospel of the Royal Logistics Corps are setting off on a rowing extravaganza. For the next twenty days they'll be criss-crossing the country and setting up their Indoor Rowers in various civilian and military ports of call. Once there, they're determined to churn out 50,000 metres each day, so that by the end of the challenge they'll have knocked off a cool million each. According to Kerry, the aim of the challenge is two fold: "In the first instance we're raising money for Bliss - the charity for the newborn. We're also hoping that we'll be able to raise the profile of the sport of indoor rowing itself and hopefully be able to promote good practice and technique amongst both the military and civilians." For more information on Bliss, check out their web site at http://www.bliss.org.uk/ If you'd like to make a donation to the Bliss charity, then you can make out a cheque payable to Bliss and send it to the below address. If you mark it 'Two million metre challenge' on the back, it'll help with administration. Bliss 2nd Floor Camelford House 87-89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Anybody seeking further details can contact Kerry Gospel on 07931 343498 ========================================================= Tel's Tales #3 - The Shorts ========================================================= Steve Camplin: I was wondering if any other rowers get gut trouble when rowing long distances? I generally row 15,000 metres and I believe that with the continual strain I get, being polite, a slightly upset stomach. Is this normal or could it be dietary? I'm 44, 90 kg, and do 15,000 in 59 minutes. Terry O'Neill: So you're the bloke who is responsible for global warming and the recent floods. Yours is the first letter of its kind, so either fellow travellers are too embarrassed to come out of the closet or you are unique. When you train, the muscles demand the blood and body fluid that would otherwise be employed in the digestive system, so you could experience problems if you still have undigested food in the system when you start training. You could try leaving a longer period between your last meal and training, or simply avoid food that is harder to digest on training days. If it persists, however, then you may be wise to have a word with your doctor. ************ Mark Mackay: Can you please tell me how I can eliminate blisters? My hands always give up before my legs and arms. I've tried talc, glue, bike ribbon, strips of old towels. Or is it as my girlfriend says, "you just have office hands my dear" Terry O'Neill: It may well be that your girlfriend is right. You could try Grip Masters. It's a new fitness training hand pad that we are now selling. Check out our website: http://www.concept2.co.uk/v4/merchandise.php3. Good luck. ************ Phil Mahony: I have a puzzle that has been on my mind for a while and wonder if you could give me an answer to my dilemma. If I row at, say, 1:40 at 27 strokes per minute and increase my s.p.m. to 34 but maintain 1:40 per 500 metres, what is the effect on my final time? I am quite new to rowing and can't think of the logical answer that I know must exist. Terry O'Neill: The simple answer is that if you maintain a split of 1:40 for 2,000 metres then you'll complete the distance in 6:40, regardless of stroke rate. If you increase your stroke rate and there is no corresponding reduction in your split time, then you are wasting effort. There is an energy cost in moving your body up and down the slide, and the more times you move up and down the higher the cost. This energy is not measured by the monitor, which only measures the force applied to the flywheel, so if you have increased your energy output and are showing no increase in useable energy then you are working less efficiently. ========================================================= Music To Row By ========================================================= Last newsletter we ran a top tip from Dave Cumber extolling the virtues of training while listening to music on his wireless headphones. Consesubsequentlynariness we asked you lot to send in your list of music to train to. We got a range of answers wider than Christopher Biggins after he's burgled a tuck shop, and so we've only got space for a couple. Peterborough Junior Squad, "home of some top junior ergoees", provided the following top 10 list, "edited by DJ Billi-ball-bags (Aron Truss) and The Guru (Luke Taylor)" (young 'uns these days with their crazy names eh?) 1. Jimi Hendrix - Crosstown Traffic 2. Iron Maiden - Bring your daughter to the slaughter 3. Iron Maiden - Run to the hills 4. Aerosmith - Dude looks like a lady 5. Deep Purple - Black Knight 6. The Who - Pinball Wizard 7. Motorhead - Ace of spades 8. Nirvana - Smells like teen spirit 9. Lenny Kravitz/Ozzy Osbourne - Purple Haze 10. Cream - White Room They do add, however, that some of these are strictly weight-training tracks, but serve just the same. Dick Clements, meanwhile, proposed this solution: "Any music from a Royal Marines band of course (the best military band in the world)! Try it and see." We're not sure, but we suspect there may be a generation gap between him and DJ Billi-ball-bags. Mike Linehan piped up to back Dave Cumber's choice of Robert Miles 'Dreamland': "This CD is the only one that I train to. The tracks roll into each other and whether you are doing a 2,000 metre burn or a one hour endurance workout, the rhythm and beat of the music is quite inspiring. I can be flagging badly after about 20 minutes and in kicks "Landscape" which always helps me raise performance. Apart from "One and One", which I think made the charts, I had never heard of Robert Miles. I have a few mates who also own Concept 2 machines and I even taped the music for them to train to. Listen to it yourselves, I think a CD should be issued with every new machine bought and no, I neither work for the man himself or his record label!" Think you know any better? Keep 'em rolling in to the usual address: webmaster@vermonthouse.co.uk. ____________________________________________F E E D B A C K Like what you read? Dislike what you read? 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. 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