Metrics [rowing]
Jan. 24th, 2017 09:57 amI will be the first to confess that the recent rainy weather has contributed to my failures to get out and go rowing over the past week or so. Thankfully, things started to let up last night, so I finally made it out this morning.
This is going to be a good year for rowing. I have all of last year's efforts under my belt as a good baseline for what to expect and which regattas to attend. For this early part of the year, I'm starting out by gathering some baseline information. In doing so, I have ZERO regrets about having bought a SpeedCoach GPS towards the end of the fall. It makes a night-and-day difference for getting in a structured workout on the water, and takes away a whole lot of the psychological headgame where I bargain with myself about what I'm going to get done on the water. In addition, the near-instant feedback between the speed readout and what feels good and right in terms of my rowing stroke is invaluable - faster, even, than having a coach in a launch right next to me.
This morning I rowed 3 1k race pieces. They weren't particularly fast, but at least they were consistent, within 4-6 seconds of each other. Pretty soon here I'll also do a 5k at head race pace, and I may continue to do some additional test race pieces while trying out a handful of equipment changes (different oars, different boats).
I have a good sense of my speed on the erg, but I really haven't had any sense of my speed on the water. The baseline info will make for a good anchor point as I work to make the boat move faster.
This is going to be a good year for rowing. I have all of last year's efforts under my belt as a good baseline for what to expect and which regattas to attend. For this early part of the year, I'm starting out by gathering some baseline information. In doing so, I have ZERO regrets about having bought a SpeedCoach GPS towards the end of the fall. It makes a night-and-day difference for getting in a structured workout on the water, and takes away a whole lot of the psychological headgame where I bargain with myself about what I'm going to get done on the water. In addition, the near-instant feedback between the speed readout and what feels good and right in terms of my rowing stroke is invaluable - faster, even, than having a coach in a launch right next to me.
This morning I rowed 3 1k race pieces. They weren't particularly fast, but at least they were consistent, within 4-6 seconds of each other. Pretty soon here I'll also do a 5k at head race pace, and I may continue to do some additional test race pieces while trying out a handful of equipment changes (different oars, different boats).
I have a good sense of my speed on the erg, but I really haven't had any sense of my speed on the water. The baseline info will make for a good anchor point as I work to make the boat move faster.