James can be reached at TwinFreaks CrossFit, where he is an owner and trainer. James coaches barbell lifting classes and CrossFit classes. Contact him by email at james@twinfreakscrossfit.com or by phone at 720-204-2631.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

2K Time Trial

Since I started sculling, I've been avoiding the erg. I told myself I was getting enough work in on the water, but that is a lie. My technique is just now getting good enough that I can get an easy work out done on water, but my power output doesn't begin to approach what I can do on the erg.

I realized that if I want to do the Mile High Sprints again this year, and I do, I'd have to get back on the erg, and a logical starting point would be benchmarking the 2k.

I didn't expect anything great to happen, but I won't let myself row a 2k in over 7:30, so I decided to row a 1:52/500 split. I've always had a very CrossFit erging style: I try to maintain a pace for 1500 meters, kill myself in the next 350 meters, and desecrate my corpse in the last 150, and I didn't think there would be any reason to change that now.

Much has been written on the 2k, and of course I have read most of it. Most of the good rowers recommend hitting a power 10 at 500 and 1500 meters, and a power 20 at 1,000. I always thought that was nonsense. Row as hard as you can for 1500, then row harder.

But I have found the good rowers are right about the dreaded third 500. Between 1,000 and 1.500 meters, it's normal and expected that you'll start brushing the anaerobic wall and either fight through it or slow down and ruin yet another 2k. The first few times you hit the third 500, the thinking is "fuck." When you specialize in erging, the thought is the infinitely worse, "fuck, it's happening again." To me the worst part of erging is finishing a 2k and being forced, again, to wonder how much time I lost with the negative thinking.

And, poor me, I always die early - usually 800-900 meters in. This time it was at 890 meters when I thought, "fuck, it's happening again."

And this time, out of desperation and a desire to avoid thinking about how much time I lost, I decided to try the experts' recommendation. I didn't think my body would co-operate in a power 20, so I decided to do a power 10 at exactly 1,000 meters. I thought if it didn't work, I could blame the experts instead of feeling sorry for myself.

And immediately things got better. I quit thinking about dying and started thinking about how easy it would be to maintain my pace another 110 meters. Actually, it wasn't easy, but it was entirely doable. And at 1.000 meters, I unleashed the world's weakest power 10. My split time decreased a meager 3 seconds, but when I went back to my chosen pace, something wonderful happened. It felt like I was now at a recovery pace that I could easily maintain through the third 500.

7:26:6

Not close to a PR and yet after not erging for months, it was better than my horrible 2011 Mile High Sprints time. Maybe the experts know more than me.

I should look into that.

I continue to be fascinated with my weight. I'm sure I can go to 170-172 and lift at 165 by shedding 5-7 pounds of water for an early weigh-in. I'm not at all sure that I can actually weigh 165.

165 makes me a light weight rower, which makes my CRASH-B qualifying time a whole 22 seconds slower.

If you think it's easier to erg 22 seconds than to eat chicken breasts and spinach for five months, you're not really erging.

No comments:

Post a Comment