You're gonna need one of these...

Image is nothing... from Nick White For the last 20 all you go to do is lift off the handbrake...crank it over 40 (forget technique...who needs it...look at the Romanians) and grunt wildly and grimace 'til you cross the line. Even if you don't win, ppl will say "jesus, that guy's f$#@n grinding it!!!!" Image is nothing, Balls are everything Have a good one Nick White Drummoyne RC, Sydney AUS. Self-destructive, and self-delusion from Joseph B. Cantey, IV, UVA Novice 8+ The self-destructive way to do it is to convince yourself that "there's just one more to go..." and pull out at about a 1:30. If, and only if, you can convince your body that it's only got one stroke left, you can really empty the tank (and, immediately afterwards, your stomach). Brain Cell Salad From Eric Kratochvil I never worry about the last twenty seconds of a flat-out piece because the flat-out pieces that i tend to do are set distance ones. So, I will offer my advice on the last twenty strokes. I have noticed that i get somewhere around 10 meters to each stroke, so this is about 200 meters. At this point of the piece I just hold my breath hoping that I will pass out. It is very impressive to pass out after a piece, and the coaches seem to think that i am pulling real hard the when this happens. This also works for races too. JAM IT! from Timothy Kiesow Ed, I like to "JAM IT!" with about 25 strokes left. My coach last year taught our crew this very dependable tactic and I've used it ever since at the end of a flat-out piece. To properly "JAM IT!", you take a ½ stroke with 25 (or whatever you prefer) strokes left which instantly shoots the rate and power up...at least that's what I keep telling myself and it hasn't failed yet. You then crank out that last 24 strokes as hard as hell and wait for the tunnel to close in around you.....see the pretty stars. The Ol' Power 100 Trick from Michael B. Scher I read your 20 stroke thing and must I say it was quite confusing. Anyhow no one likes my race plan, but I improve everytime and they go up and down more than a yo-yo. I know it is not 20 strokes, but I figured I would tell you my whole plan; it works for me. First I do a start and 3 at as hard as I can go. Then I settle to my race pace around 36 spm. After about three hundred meters when you start to feel the pressure I start my relaxing power 100. Yep I count to a hundred. I just try to maintain a reasonable split until I hit one hundred. By the end of my 100 strokes I should be rowing at about 38spm. When I hit one hundred in my head I start my sprint home. I ussually have about 1000 meters left at this point. My rating gets up to about 39-40 spm and my splits come down. I maintain this new split until I get to about 200 meters where I ask myself for something special and I just try to get the rating up as high as it goes. I can not remember ever going above a 42 on that last 20 so it does not go too much higher. In this way my first and third 500s are about the same. My second 500 is the slowest and my last 500 is my fastest. Anyhow people always tell you how to do your 2k, but it really comes down to believing in yourself and having confidence in what you can do. Then you will always get your best time because you know without a reason of a doubt what you are going to do. You know I am sick of this crap about people worrying about their ergs. I don't worry because I know I am going to perform when the time comes. People choking is merely a lack of confidence. Thats why some people suck at tests and races, but do well in workouts. They're phsyco mental cases who have no sense of how to win. They're scared to win, when you just have to have confidence and put everything on the line. You have to say to yourself I put in the time, I put in the practice and I can do this. That is actually what I think in the last 20 seconds. "You put in the time and you know you can do this!" Fantasize from [email protected] For the last 40 i usually pretend that i am passing the four i need to take to take first...every 10 seconds is a seat in the boat....they are working hard but i have to work harder...i have to keep my splits at 100+% or else they will beat me... Bust It Out, But Then Again... from Tom Lynch For me, I start mental games on a 2k piece a bit before the last 20 strokes. If I am pulling anywhere near max as I should be, then my thighs will be in lactic burn with about 400m left, give or take, so I start gunning down for the last 350m. At that point, I remind myself that I will only have about 1 minute to go, and my legs are feeling the burn, so what the heck- how much more could it hurt? I love to bust it out then in the last 300m, counting down from 30 jacking the rate and going anerobic. On the other hand, Mike Teti gave me something else to consider at the ID camp last weekend: he observed that going out at the beginning and end of a piece like a banshee but dying in the middle is a weak effort, guaranteed to cost a loss in world class racing where everybody is fast all the way though the piece. That makes sense, so now I have to reconsider: how do I convince myself to go for the burn earlier, and hold it longer? Hmm...