Yo Ed-
I'll tell you what I like to do to get ready for the fall races-
I like to eat. I need to have a big ham & Eggs omlette for breakfast
before I go out to row in the mornings. It can get pretty cool in the
mornings, and you can't send your body out into the frigid morning
running on empty. I get up two hours before workout time, have three
eggs, ham (no Bacon) and toast. And lots of coffee. It helps to clear
you out and get things going in the morning. If you've ever gone out
for a row and had the feeling about half way through like you need to
hang your ass over the side and drop a load, then you know why I drink
coffee in the morning. Also, I like to bring a little extra coffee down
to the coach. He's a nice enough guy, but he can be a mean sonofabitch
in the mornings if he doesn't get his coffee.
I've been rowing a lot of years, and probably my favorite workout to get
ready for head races is ten minute pieces (four or five) going four
minutes at rate 26, 3 minutes at 28, two minutes at 30 and one minute at
32. Maybe bump the rates up a couple for the last piece or two. Do
this three times a week, and then on the other days do some technique
and some work at higher rates (keeping in touch with rate 36 or so--the
last thing you want is for your three man to have a heart attack and
fall out of the boat when he hears that we're above a 35).
I find the 4k piece at full speed to be excellent....and on race day, you pace
yourself just like it was the 4k, but take it to the finish line.....of course
some longer...8k and 12k pieces....and sprints at 500, 1000 and 1500 (above
race pace) should be blended in as well.
Hands down, the most essential fall workout is a one hour erg piece close to AT.
This workout is, of course, for the those very serious oarsmen. It will not only
make the 3 mile head race seem like a sprint, but for those doing 6k testing,
this workout is indispensable. A faster lightweight oarsmen will hold a
1:47-1:50 split, and I imagine 1:45 or lower for the faster heavyweight
(HR ~ 170 or at 85-90% max). A teammate and I usually do one of these a week.
It has become a test in a sense, seeing how much faster we can go every week.
This teammate I speak of has held a 1:45 split for a total of over 17,000 for
the hour.
from Thomas ( Crazy Tom ) Casparis of the Swiss National Team:
In a pair, double or single, 120 minute steady state row at an 18. If
you do not die of boredom ( Cheap shot aimed at my coach ), doing this
at least once a week from October to May will give you the power and
endurance required for any competition you may be preparing for.
A good workout for head races are 3x20 minutes on the water. It is a lot of rowing
but it works. You start out at an 18 spm for the first ten minutes of the first
piece and then up to 20 spm for the next ten. The next piece go for 10 minutes
at a 20spm and then 22spm for next 10 minutes. On the last one go 22spm for
first ten and 24 for last ten. You can try it, I like it. I also like to do
2 10k a week on the erg. They are long but help build up endurance.
From Matt Bartoldus of UNC-Wilmington Crew, clearly a workhorse. This one isn't for short attention spans, but is undoubtedly a solid workout:
My favorite fall (even spring) work out is:
2 x 30' steady state with pyramid SR
Very standard but effective. Not only does it do wonders to rusty rowers, it
makes or breaks a coxswain. Anyone who can keep a crew motivated through this
type of workout has got a gift.
From Rob Wright:
Right now I'm coxing/coaching a master's women's eight, which is rough
to coordinate on-the-water time due to people having real lives. In
preparing for the Charles, and with the shortening of the days, I have
found that steady state on the square is a great way of skipping the
skill-n-drill before the hard work. That way, you are forced to focus
both on power and technique, since a dropoff in one or the other results
in bloody knuckles and near-crabs. Square-blades rowing forces the
technique and power issue because the rowers know and fear what will
happen for any lapse in concentration. It makes any long, steady-state
piece go by quickly since everyone is focused on their work.
Also, doing a 20 min. race-pace piece is essential for preparing for any
head race. Especially when the coxswain knows the courses on which you
will be racing, he can roughly gauge in that piece where the hard turns
and bridges might be and talk them through the race course. A good
run-through of a race-length piece at race-pace is needed about once per
week to keep everyone's minds fresh on the goal of the workouts -- race
day.
