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Yes, it will soon be here and I’m not sure I’m doing enough training. I read what others are doing on various other sites (concept2 forum) and I keep referring to the C2 training guide and am pretty convinced I’m behind schedule. At this point in the training I should have already completed 30k! – the most I’ve done (and that was a few weeks ago now) was 25k, which really hurt.

Maybe I’m panicking for no reason, after all I row lots of 10 – 15k pieces and only last night I rowed a pretty good 20k which gave me a good confidence boost – even if the last 2k was starting to hurt my fingers.

So 3 things to focus on: stroke rate, energy and fluid levels and skin protection. To elaborate.

Stroke rate
Seems to be a bit of an issue depending on who you believe. On the one hand there’s the really low stroke rate camp who are convinced that it is better to try and keep your heart rate down even if it means you are pulling harder from the start. Then there’s the other camp, who I am leaning towards, who advocate higher stroke rates: 24 – 26spm which keeps the heart fairly high (80 – 90% mhr) – but has the advantage of lower power requirements albeit at the expense of muscle fatigue due to the increased number of strokes.

I prefer higher rates as I think towards the end I will have no power but may still be able to turn the wheel over with higher rates and if I condition myself to accept those rates now, I think psychologically I’ll be better equipped to get through it. I could be wrong but I can’t experiment on the day so that’s what I shall stick with. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Energy and fluid levels
Still practising with fluids but am pretty happy with the isotonic mix that I have been using for the past 6 months or so. Well at least I haven’t suffered with cramp or dehydration (yet!). Will probably have extra water on hand as I tend to leak a lot. Which reminds me, extra towels on the floor. As for energy, I am currently using glucose tabs at every 5k – not sure if they are being effective but it gives me something to look forward to. That’s another good point – Give yourself milestones and treats – ie: drink every 2k, a sweet every 5 k, towel down every other 2k etc. I know a towel isn’t really a treat but it still gives you something to look forward to! Oh, and eat lots of bananas, they are the easiest and cleanest way to get those fruity vitamins inside you.

Might invest in some gel bars and give them a go over the next few weeks. I’ve heard they are especially good on the second half and kick in within about 20mins of ingestion. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Skin protection
Definitely spend time taping up fingers. Allowing movement between the joints. If you are like me with 4 sore fingers on each hand this means 16 strips of tape (2 on each finger). On the day I’ll probably go overboard and do my thumbs too, right now I’m trying to save tape as I’m beginning to run out and can’t remember what it’s called to order it again! Actually I will have enough on the day as I’m saving my special roll and just cutting the wider roll down the middle which does the same thing it just takes longer.

Apart from fingers I haven’t used any other lotions, creams or potions, although I have made the seat super comfortable recently: I’ve found some rubber underlay with a towel over the top works really well. Just fold the underlay a few times (I’ve got 3 layers) and then fold a small towel over the top of that. This gives lots of springy support for my poor glutues maximus muscles and soaks up all the sweat that seems to pour from me after about 10k – I’m sure I never used to sweat this much when I was a young pup.

Anyhow, best get ready to row again…

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m not exactly prolific when it comes to blogging. If I had the time I might try to post something every few days, maybe sometime.

Anyway, quick update on how things are going with only 6 weeks to the big day. Yes, ONLY! If you say it quickly it sounds like quite a way off but when you stop to consider that the last week is tapering down to nothing, that only leaves 5 weeks. Then break that down into 4-5 sessions a week, that’s 20-30 sessions – not many – especially as I still haven’t reached the 25k mark. I could bore you with a long list of excuses but the bare fact is that I am finding it difficult to fit everything in at the moment. Work is busy, both at the College and at home, we are also having the woodburner installed with all the upheaval that comes with that (more on that on another post I think).

Anyway, excuses, excuses, I’m not doing too bad I suppose. A few days ago I managed by best ever 1hr distance – 15789m with an average pace of 1.54. Then I managed a good 18k at 1.58 pace. The longest row so far was a few weeks ago (22 Feb) being a half marathon at 1.58.8 which was OK – but tiring.

So what have I learnt about training for a rowing marathon? Well, prepare for long rows well – drink, towels, clothing, entertainment, ventilation etc. I’m using an isotonic solution and forcing myself to take a sip every 2k. This was a tip I’ve carried over from running marathons were the theory is that you should never feel thirsty and if you do it’s too late – you are already dehydrated – causing cramps etc. So I’m taking lots of fluids, which is just as well as I must sweat about a gallon every time!

The other little tip I should share is taping your fingers up. I have begun to get hard patches where my fingers rub the handle but have found that taping with elasticated bandage seems to help. Just make sure you find the kind of tape that’s quite narrow as you don’t want to tape over your joints, otherwise this could cause more problems than it solves. I’ve yet to do a really long row with them but it has got to be better than the pain of untaped fingers.

What else, oh yes, try to wear clothing that breathes. Don’t wear really thick cotton T-shirts because if you are anything like me these will just become wet and really uncomfortable. Try to get one of those really lightweight running shirts that let the sweat evaporate – it’s worth it!

Entertainment is my iPod of course. I’m listening to a montage of guitar classics that Zach put together for me at the moment. Sometimes I listen to podcasts which helps to relieve the boredom as well – thank you Paul and Marcus at boagworld.com for you interesting podcasts on the world of web development.

So, that’s where we are – I’m rowing 4-5 times a week but should really step it up to at least 5 over the next 5 weeks. I’m following concept2 (80k) marathon guide which mixes long rows with VO2 max and long interval sessions – see their site for details. Still looking good for the sub 3hr mark but I’ll know more after my next long row which will be 25k on Wednesday or Thursday.

Yes, the mataphorical cat’s out of the bag. My latest challenge is now just 10 weeks away (26th April to be precise) and involves sitting on my arse derierre for a little under 3 hrs rowing 26.something miles. I don’t know yet just how crazy an idea it is yet. I don’t suppose I’ll find out until it’s too late – probably about 3/4 of the way through.

So far I’ve clocked up a longest row of 20k at 1.59 pace. This is approximately half the distance which puts me bang on course, according to my Concept 2 training guide. Only thing is their ideal training programme is 24 weeks long – I’m trying to squeeze it into 12. Still I reckon the past few months of training for the 2k will put me in good stead – at least that’s the theory!

The other thing I’ve started up again is the distance running with Mike on Sundays. It’s a bit of a juggling act as each time I run my muscles take a pounding – which is kinda counterproductive for indoor rowing but, hey, I can’t afford to wait until after 26th April to start training for the next challenge (a summer mountain marathon – hopefully).

Oh, I’ve also joined Twitter (OK, I was already signed up months ago but never bothered with it). It seems to be making waves so I guess I need to jump on the proferbial bandwagon and see if I can get the big idea. I must say, sorry Paul from BoagWorld, I’m really struggling to see why people get excited about it. Still, I’ve got a pretty open mind, so I’ll give it a shot. I just know one of my clients is going to want it.