MaxDev's Erging (and other things) Blog
My training using the Concept 2 indoor rower, and other subjects of interest to me.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Marathon frenzy!
Good Friday saw me finally hit my marathon target of 2:48:30, which was the last of the targets for the 2006/7 season that still remained to be achieved. While I'd improved my PB each time out the last few times I'd done this distance, it had still proved difficult until then to get down to that elusive 2:00 split.
In an effort to get there, the last time out I'd attempted to row it non-stop. I'd been well on target until 35km, albeit with a HR running at 170+ for over 2 hours, and then blown up quite spectacularly, doing a feeble last 7km to limp home in 2:50:46.9, even though this was a new PB by 3 minutes. This led me to the conclusion that trying to row a marathon non-stop is a VERY BAD IDEA, and I decided I wouldn't be doing this again.
I'm quite comfortable rowing a half-marathon without a break however, so I felt I should only need one break during the full distance. The problem I find with this, however, is that it's almost impossible to take a worthwhile break and get a decent amount of fluid on board in less than a minute, which means you need to factor this extra minute into your split calculations.
To hit my target, I therefore needed to row two half-marathons in 1:23:45 each, and I set off with this pace (or just inside it, as I normally slow down at least a little in the second half) in mind. HR-wise (high 150s/160 mainly) and raceplan-wise, this went much more smoothly than any previous attempt, and I reached the halfway point about half a minute up, at close to 1:23:15, and still felt pretty good.
The second half was a little more mentally demanding, and the split fell off just a little, while my HR rose to low 160s average, but it never looked like I was going to fail to finish inside 2:48:00. A big sprint finish for the final 2195m got it down even further (and actually made the second half quicker than the first by some 30 seconds), and I finally came home in 2:46:54.7, a new PB by almost 4 minutes, and a 1:58.7 split for the full distance (including the rest break).
The 2:00 split is still very demanding, and I don't expect to be able to repeat this performance on demand. Everything went right - I ate well (and substantially) the night before, was well hydrated, normal heart rate. Conditions were good - not too warm in my garage at home, and enough of a breeze to get a good through draft to keep me cool.
I still needed several hours of rest afterwards, and could feel it in my quads, biceps and abs the following day, but with the exception of my hands, which had developed a whole series of blisters and 'hot-spots' at the top of each palm, I felt I could have done a decent session the day afterwards without too much hardship, though not at anything like the intensity of the marathon.
If I'd failed to hit the target, I had planned to have another go on Easter Day, but I'm very glad I didn't fail, as I doubt that I could have rowed at anything like the required pace for a second marathon in three days.
In an effort to get there, the last time out I'd attempted to row it non-stop. I'd been well on target until 35km, albeit with a HR running at 170+ for over 2 hours, and then blown up quite spectacularly, doing a feeble last 7km to limp home in 2:50:46.9, even though this was a new PB by 3 minutes. This led me to the conclusion that trying to row a marathon non-stop is a VERY BAD IDEA, and I decided I wouldn't be doing this again.
I'm quite comfortable rowing a half-marathon without a break however, so I felt I should only need one break during the full distance. The problem I find with this, however, is that it's almost impossible to take a worthwhile break and get a decent amount of fluid on board in less than a minute, which means you need to factor this extra minute into your split calculations.
To hit my target, I therefore needed to row two half-marathons in 1:23:45 each, and I set off with this pace (or just inside it, as I normally slow down at least a little in the second half) in mind. HR-wise (high 150s/160 mainly) and raceplan-wise, this went much more smoothly than any previous attempt, and I reached the halfway point about half a minute up, at close to 1:23:15, and still felt pretty good.
The second half was a little more mentally demanding, and the split fell off just a little, while my HR rose to low 160s average, but it never looked like I was going to fail to finish inside 2:48:00. A big sprint finish for the final 2195m got it down even further (and actually made the second half quicker than the first by some 30 seconds), and I finally came home in 2:46:54.7, a new PB by almost 4 minutes, and a 1:58.7 split for the full distance (including the rest break).
The 2:00 split is still very demanding, and I don't expect to be able to repeat this performance on demand. Everything went right - I ate well (and substantially) the night before, was well hydrated, normal heart rate. Conditions were good - not too warm in my garage at home, and enough of a breeze to get a good through draft to keep me cool.
I still needed several hours of rest afterwards, and could feel it in my quads, biceps and abs the following day, but with the exception of my hands, which had developed a whole series of blisters and 'hot-spots' at the top of each palm, I felt I could have done a decent session the day afterwards without too much hardship, though not at anything like the intensity of the marathon.
If I'd failed to hit the target, I had planned to have another go on Easter Day, but I'm very glad I didn't fail, as I doubt that I could have rowed at anything like the required pace for a second marathon in three days.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]