Training for BIRC 2010 !

[spidermac]

Good luck to all Free spirits will be watching on line - between coughs!!!

[cweed]

I see at least one massive PB in the results....

I can't wait for the write ups!!

[Paul Victory]

Are the results available online? I've found a commentary, but it just gives a summary of the junior races.

Paul V

[billwright]

The only two photos that I took that were any good were of Odd on the Winner's Rostrum.




Gratulerer Odd - Mesterskap av Stor Britannia

It was great to meet so many Free Spirits - some for the first time - good efforts all round.

Bill

[Doc RowSlo]

Just back home after a great day out
It really was fantastic to see such a large FS turnout this year and I got to meet quite a few new faces (or, at least to put faces to names that I already knew).
Apart from the company, which was fabulous, the highlights for me were Odd's impressive row in the 50's LWT (he can tell the story), seeing John Hogson row 13:32 at the age of 100 and the titanic battle in the 30's HWT between TO's Danny Graham and Al Taylor. Very impressive specimens and the Aussie looked utterly comfortable rowing to gold in 6:05 in bare feet and with absolutely faultless technique.

My own race was a bit of a disappointment in all honesty. I really didn't feel right at all and was completely devoid of energy in the 3rd 500 even though I didn't feel that bad! Ended up with 7th in 6:34.2 and didn't need the bucket that I'd placed between Laurence's erg and my own
Not particularly down about it as I'm pretty sure that that elusive 6:29 is there for the taking, given favourable circumstances

Many thanks to all the Free Spirits who made the day a memorable one, both in Birmingham and around the world

[Paul Victory]

I'm having major difficulties accessing the results website, but these are the results I've been able to download so far. Congrats to all concerned.

Paul V

Name Category Position Age Time
Andrew Richards 35 - 39 M H 13 37 06:32.0
Jason Hewitt 35 - 39 M H 8 39 06:27.5
Matthew Leonard 35 - 39 M H 7 39 06:21.3
Peter Weiss 40 - 44 M H 29 43 06:55.6
Lee Winslow 45 - 49 M H 7 45 06:34.2
Steve Smith 45 - 49 M H 10 46 06:37.8
Laurence Casey 45 - 49 M H 20 48 06:48.6
Andrew Stanway 45 - 49 M H 60 47 07:29.1
David Plumb 45 - 49 M L 16 47 07:13.9

[Huw Thomas]

great to meet everyone at the BIRC
Particularly great row Odd - congratulations +++ on your podium
well done Steve (06:37. amazing!

Hope everyone achieved what they wanted ...if not there's always next year.

Myself... 6:43.2 1:40.8 7th in the 50-55 HW Content

now gotta catch wolfie!!

Huw

[Paul Victory]

Still trying to download results. Only missing the Burrells at this stage (I thinkj).

Paul V

Name Category Position Age Time
Andrew Richards 35 - 39 M H 13 37 06:32.0
Jason Hewitt 35 - 39 M H 8 39 06:27.5
Matthew Leonard 35 - 39 M H 7 39 06:21.3
Peter Weiss 40 - 44 M H 29 43 06:55.6
Lee Winslow 45 - 49 M H 7 45 06:34.2
Steve Smith 45 - 49 M H 10 46 06:37.8
Laurence Casey 45 - 49 M H 20 48 06:48.6
Andrew Stanway 45 - 49 M H 60 47 07:29.1
David Plumb 45 - 49 M L 16 47 07:13.9
Huw Thomas 50 - 54 M H 7 50 06:43.2
Tor Arne Gunneroed 50 - 54 M H 33 54 07:17.6
Paul Grinham 50 - 54 M H 34 50 07:28.7
Odd Geir Aarrestad 50 - 54 M L 1 50 06:43.7
Peter Tullett 50 - 54 M L 7 51 07:07.0
Alan Wisniewski 55 - 59 M H 11 59 07:00.9
Colin Bradley 55 - 59 M H 20 57 07:12.7
William Wright 60 - 64 M H 10 64 08:17.5
Olaf Ellefsen 65 - 69 M H 3 66 07:17.7

[Paul Victory]

Still trying to download results. Only missing the Burrells at this stage (I thinkj).

Paul V

Name Category Position Age Time
Andrew Richards 35 - 39 M H 13 37 06:32.0
Jason Hewitt 35 - 39 M H 8 39 06:27.5
Matthew Leonard 35 - 39 M H 7 39 06:21.3
Peter Weiss 40 - 44 M H 29 43 06:55.6
Lee Winslow 45 - 49 M H 7 45 06:34.2
Steve Smith 45 - 49 M H 10 46 06:37.8
Laurence Casey 45 - 49 M H 20 48 06:48.6
Andrew Stanway 45 - 49 M H 60 47 07:29.1
David Plumb 45 - 49 M L 16 47 07:13.9
Huw Thomas 50 - 54 M H 7 50 06:43.2
Tor Arne Gunneroed 50 - 54 M H 33 54 07:17.6
Paul Grinham 50 - 54 M H 34 50 07:28.7
Odd Geir Aarrestad 50 - 54 M L 1 50 06:43.7
Peter Tullett 50 - 54 M L 7 51 07:07.0
Alan Wisniewski 55 - 59 M H 11 59 07:00.9
Colin Bradley 55 - 59 M H 20 57 07:12.7
William Wright 60 - 64 M H 10 64 08:17.5
Olaf Ellefsen 65 - 69 M H 3 66 07:17.7

I've tried about 10 times to download the remaining times, but no luck!

Hopefully, we'll hear directly from the combatants.

Paul V

[hewitt]

Congratulations to everyone who rowed today and achived there targets,and to everyone who PBd and got medals. Its a damn hard place to PB.

I scared myself today.The race was going very well for the first 1300m,1:35 pace,then it all went wrong.I started to taste blood in my mouth(iron),i swollowed it and my throat was so dry i handled down, then i picked the handle back up and carried on,but i was only pulling 1:41s for a while.I managed to finish in 6:27.x,but the blood taste scared me.

I have thought about it for the rest of the day and decided to take a back seat for a while,until i get my head back into it.

[colin bradley]

Not much to add really Paul, but you have had better luck than me on seeing any results on the C2 BIRC site I managed to get on for around 20 seconds so I was glad to see your postings.
Very enjoyable day in my home City Brum, highlights for me were Odd's golden row (what a nice guy ) John Hodgsons World record for 100 years young,that brought a tear to my eye again. And watching the master himself Mr. Benton pull a 5:50.x

My own row went fine for the first 1200m the target was sub 7:10 but the last 800m was just hanging on for grim death with a slow decline in pace to the line trying to hold position. Still it was a PB by 1.1 secs. Lunch time ale well enjoyed and earned

Well done to all who competed like Jason says not the easiest place to PB the after effects were horrible.

[Den-J]

nice erging everyone I hope you all enjoyed the day
oh and Colin ..I hate your new pb

[colin bradley]

Yay !!!! now that has made my day. Sorry Den.

[Jon]

Congratulations to all who rowed today - I've not been able to scrutinise the results (as web site too busy), but was extremely impressed with all efforts. Odd, that was an awe inspiring row, beautifully executed and well deserved. Matt, that was a great row and a full 2 seconds off a PB marks significant progress. I wish I'd seen more, but your were just a spec from where I was sitting in the bull pen! Colin, you PBed in great style, your post race state was testament to complete effort. Anybody I've missed, apologies.

Jason, thanks for the relentless enthusiasm you have given this thread. I'm sure you'll go on to use this experience to smash your PB in fine style. There is time yet my friend.

Sorry not to see you there today Jane, but I hope you get better soon and see you at the next event hopefully.

Peter, great to see you over so soon again after your last trip. To think I wasn't even thinking of coming, when some of you travel from so far away!

I was in the same situation as many in not achieving what I'd hoped to, but despite this still thoroughly enjoyed the event. [I was disappointed C2 didn't have the bull pen entries very well organised, in truth, it was a bit of a shambles and none of the officials knew what I should do and my team mates had already started. I was to row on machine '101' but no such machine existed. I was instructed just to do a 2K on any of the machines on the last row which were not connected to the race]. I would hope they can improve this for future disorganized competitors like myself! I might drop C2 a line. Not that I would have necessarily rowed a better time mind.

It was great to part of the FreeSpirits and to be amongst such a good crowd of people. This really made my day and I have returned home full of motivation and training aspirations. Everyone who was there today had overcome their own personal challenges to compete and this is worthy of celebration, regardless of the times achieved.

To all those Freespirits on the other side of the Atlantic, countdown to CRASH-B now, good luck with that!

Now whose going to start 'Training for BIRC 2011 Thread' (or should it be EIRC 2011 first)!

[paulguk]

Just a quick post to say thanks to all those that said "Hello" today. This was my first BIRC - actually my first race - and i think the nerves showed and thus it was good to have some kindred spirits in blue and orange to chat to. As for my race the occassion certainly got to me and I went off way ahead of my target pace but managed to rein it it in before to much damage was done - i think!. Ended up with a SB but not the planned PB.
Next year?

[Liefcat]

Great participation and efforts from FS (though a few are disappointed with their result)

Special congrats to the guys that PBed, I could detect Mat, Colin & Wolfie, if there are more a special congrats to them, too

And a special congrats to Odd for his great win And huge respect to him and Huw for their storming performance in spite of their knee problems

Too bad you couldn´t get a bullpen machine to "ride on", Jon Must take your revenge at EIRC

Looking forward to reading more reports

[kirbyt]

Wow. Lots of great results guys. Wolfie, big congrats for breaking 6:40. Really breaking 6:40. I suppose Thomas and I will have to be jealous of you now that you have the better 2k pb but I'm just happy for you. Huw and Lee were also impressive as were Laurence and Matt with his super fast 6:21. Jason, I think it took lots of guts to taste blood and handle down and still row a very respectable 6:27--I'm not sure I would have done the same. And Odd, congratulations on the British championship. Our best lightweight came through when it counted. Props also to Andrew, Peter Stan, Plummy, Tor, Paul, Pete, Alan, Colin, Bill, and Olaf(who won a bronze).

[Mat]

What a day My first BIRC, and a huge honour to share it with such a great bunch of team-mates. I should really have known that a team that provides so much support and encouragement through the forum would be even better in the flesh It really was great to meet again with those I met at EIRC, and then to meet so many more for the first time

The event itself was on an even grander scale than I could have imagined, and once I'd finally managed to breathe without coughing again after my own race, it was fantastic to see not just inspiring older competitors but so many incredible young athletes coming through this sport

Congratulations to all FS for their accomplishments today - Odd for a stunning performance and well deserved Gold , and to Colin and Steve for shiny new, and hard fought PBs . Also to those whose recovery from injury and illness is inspiring - Huw whose rehabilitation has been incredible to follow, and Bill whose performance race may not have been close to PB, but for whom the sheer fact that he was racing at all so soon after surgery is amazing .

There were some disappointments today, but as BIRC marks the beginning of our UK IRC season, there's any number of new races to choose from in the months ahead, and plenty of time to reap rewards from the hard training, and we've all lived to erg another day

For my own part, I was really pleased with a PB by 2s to come in at 6:21.1 (1:35.2) The last few weeks have been tough and full of self doubt, but today's race couldn't have gone better if I'd planned it (and believe me, I still wasn't sure of the plan as I sat waiting for the "ROW" signal ). I saw 1:35s for most of the first 1000m, allowed a few 1:36's in for the third 500m, and then put what little was left into the final 500m. Really pleased with a well positioned stepping stone between the old PB and 6:20. So - the plan is to step off the pace for a week or two and then have a think about that next step

Thanks guys for a fantastic day - what a team

[Scoop]

Evening All. This is Scoop, your roving reporter back from BIRC and ready to dish the latest on the UK indoor rowing scene.

Quite a lot has already been said above, so I'm hoping that I can use this missive to pull all the results together with an overview of the day. This was the fastest moving day I have ever seen with the races moving like express trains and very easy to blink and miss three (especially if you were rowing yourself).

A huge FS contingent at BIRC today. Lovely to meet up with old and new faces and to put faces to names on the board. More on that later.

First race was the ladies HW of most age categories. At this point a word to our friend and EIRC Gold medallist, Jane Daffern. Jane was registered for this race but I spoke to Plummy and he explained that Jane has decided to let a few events go by without her presence. As we can all imagine it is nearly impossible to top a gold medal at a major championship so all we can say is Jane, we miss you and we're thinking about you and whatever you have decided to do is fine by us. You'll always be a winner in our books

The day began to accelerate uncontrollably from this point, with all 20+ FS due to have competed within the next 90 minutes. Next race was the 50-54 and 55-59 MHWT heats and we were ably represented by Alan (Strider), Huw Thomas, Tor and Paul Grinham. I saw the beginning of the race before I dashed to do my WU and in spite of a false start in his race Huw seemed to be looking very solid on the front row. When I caught up with them later there was good news. Huw had pulled a brilliant 6:43.4, a mere 3.1" off his PB to come 7th (and a tribute to his sheer determination and punishing training schedule after recovering from the most horrendous knee problems), Colin had only gone and flaming-well PB'd AGAIN with a fantastic 7:12.8, knocking a second off the old one to come 20th and Tor had PB'd (since this was his first 2k ) with a marvellous 7:17.6 to come 33rd. Competition was stiff! Strider came in at 7:00.9 for 11th place in his race, and he was slightly disappointed, but I had a quick look and it is worth noting that his time would have given him a bronze in the 60-64 category which is where he'll be next year Now an embarrassing admission from me in that I didn't (knowingly) manage to meet or speak to Paul, but I have obviously seen his post so congratulations to you too Paul on your 7:28.7

BIRC steamrollered on with the MHWT's and at 10am saw the race that has probably been the most eagerly anticipated of the season. Jason, Mat, Jon, Andy (Flatlander), the resident UK 35-39 big guns and all capable of pulling very naughty 2k times indeed, were joined by Olaf from Norway in the 65-69. Once again the chaos of warming up and being herded into the arena didn't allow me to watch them but some massive performances. Jason who has already reported that he fell victim to the famously dry air in the National Indoor Arena still managed to pull a fantastic 6:27.5 to finish 8th when most others would have given up. Mat gave us the fastest FS time of the day, a truly magnificent 6:21.3 and a PB by 2 seconds to finish 7th and Andy, who was disappointed with his performance last year and who has only returned to training relatively recently brought us a brilliant 6:32.0, only 3.2 seconds off his PB to finish 13th (good luck with the panto Andy ). Jon, who had a confused start with lack of instructions due to being in the bullpen nevertheless pulled a splendid 6:28.5, only 5" off PB and with a HD with 300 to go Marvellous performance . Olaf was not be outdone and he finished with a superb bronze medal in 7:17.7 Outstanding.

Then suddenly I was sat on my erg next to Lee and with Wolfie and Stan behind us and Peter Weiss somewhere is the maze of ergs. I was expecting a nice shiny new one but this erg looked like it had already done a few (hundred) sub 7's in it's time. No matter. The PM4 was working which is the main thing I suppose. (Just trying to build in a few lame excuses for my performance before I tell you about it ) Difficult to keep an eye on the others during the race but I held it together well for the first 800 at around 1:41. all of this time I was hoping that Wolfies name wouldn't appear on my monitor (because that would mean he was going slower than we wanted him to ) and he didn't. I had a dreadful middle section from 800-1600 before I retrieved a little honour with a stronger finish. 6:48.6 for me, 3.4" off PB for 20th and not altogether disappointed after my poor training. Peter, who shows extraordinary dedication in making regular visits from Germany to compete with us rowed a great 6:55.9 for 29th and 5" behind PB. he told me he was 'moderately pleased' but I think we can say it was much better than that. Stan defied all the experts to come in at under 7:30 - he made 7:29.1 for 60th and a great row - a target he wasn't entirely sure he'd reach so well done Stan, whilst Lee who was next to me managed a great 6:34.2, a mere 1.9" off his PB to take a brilliant 7th - he was a tad disappointed but only because this wasn't his day to break 6:30 which he undoubtedly will soon One person who did get to the elusive target he had set himself was the inimitable Wolfie who had rowed himself into the sub 6:40 club with an astounding 6:37.8, 10th place and a PB by 2.7" This really is an amazing achievement after his already marvellous 6:40.2 in the August CTC. Talking to him afterwards he had been (relatively) relaxed and comfortable during the race and in spite of my odd CTC wins against him I now realise that there was never any doubt as to who was 'Da man' between us. Well done Steve

Still more erging to come as the LWT's took the stage. Plummy was on at 10:30 and came in with 7:13.9 and 16th (which is a sight better than I could have managed after 2 weeks on a luxury cruise ) At 10:50, Roger Burrell (75-79), Odd (50-54) and Pete Tullett (50-54) set off. Pete rowed a great race in 7:07.0 and improved his last years BIRC time by about 2" whilst taking 7th place. Roger a very commendable 8:36.6 for another Bronze whilst Odd, as the pictures above show screamed away for a magnificent Gold in 6:43.7. This is 7 seconds off his PB but remember that Odd too has been battling with knee problems and only managed to get 10 days training in for BIRC, which makes this achievement all the more remarkable.

Our lightweight ladies wound up the FS participation at 11:15. The indomitable Rachel Rhodes rowed a splendid 8:52.6, only 0.3" off her Manchester PB for 6th place, whilst the ever-remarkable Gillian Burrell took Gold once again in the 75-79 ladies with an astounding 9:23.7

Won't expand on the Open here but both Graham Benton and Debbie Flood's wins were majestic - maybe they should have children together

This missive has already gone on long enough but a just a quick word to say what a pleasure it was to meet Odd, Olaf and Tor, the Norwegian FS and true gentlemen all three, to see our record holding Bill Wright who has given me so much support now lending his support to the team and looking so well to see Paul Gould again who also came to lend his support and to meet Gary Dakin again - the man who trademarked painful intervals on the erg. As always a pleasure to see the regular crowd and to meet Huw for the first time. Also managed to chat to Pete Marston and Gwyn Samuel. Wolfie is local to Birmingham and naturally led to the local hostalry for some beer and banter. The banter was pleasant, the beer wasn't

It's been a sad week for me and I hope you won't mind me mentioning this here. I deliberately avoided telling anyone earlier on the forum or today as I didn't want to affect the happy and positive FS mood of BIRC but my Mum passed away on Wednesday morning. I know about the 'merciful release' bit etc etc but it's still very hard - there's never the right time to lose your Mum. This has led to a very emotional and sleep-deprived 3 days. I wanted to dedicate my row to her today but it was a bit rubbish so I might wait until I've done a better one.

Scoop

[JLiddil]

It's been a sad week for me and I hope you won't mind me mentioning this here. I deliberately avoided telling anyone earlier on the forum or today as I didn't want to affect the happy and positive FS mood of BIRC but my Mum passed away on Wednesday morning. I know about the 'merciful release' bit etc etc but it's still very hard - there's never the right time to lose your Mum. This has led to a very emotional and sleep-deprived 3 days. I wanted to dedicate my row to her today but it was a bit rubbish so I might wait until I've done a better one.

Scoop

Really sorry to hear this. I agree there is never a good time for these events. Remember you did the best you could today under the circumstances. I am sure your mum would have been proud of any results so don't beat yourself up over not achieving what you expected. It is not rubbish as you got out there and tried despite the difficult past few days. That in and of itself is an inspiration to carry on when times challenge us. And your report is great, informative and well written particularly for those of us across the pond who can only mentally visualize the event.

On the other hand there are those who medal but don't get their way and don't even appear on the podium. That is something a mother should not be proud of.

[Peter_S]

Laurence,
Sorry to hear of the loss of your Mum. As you said, there is never a right time to lose your mum. It takes time, and you will not feel perfect, but it will get better. Memories last.

I am sure your mum would have been proud of any results so don't beat yourself up over not achieving what you expected.

JD is right. But if your Mum was like my Mother was, she would have been proud even though she was not totally sure what it was you did, or why you did it.
Peter

[Wolfmiester]

Hello all, great day yesterday.
Laurenace, you are a top man. That is a very selfless act you did there by not mentioning the personal pain you were sufferring, my thoughts and thanks are very strongly with you now.
I agree that the beer could have been better, but the little gathering was great fun for an hour or so
Super to be able to meet so many new faces for the first time - Odd, Tor, Olaf (VERY glad they enjoyed the Birmingham game and the English pint!), Matt, Jon, Huw, Lee, Doug G.
And of course all the "old" regulars, especially Bill Wright who not only turned up to say high but jumped on an erg and completed the 2k - inspirational.
The NIA has a reputation for a terrible racing atmosphere, with very dry air. But I think that this year it was the best I have experienced.
Much like Matt, my race could not have got any better.
The plan was an almost flat 1:39.9 and after a quick 8 strokes I was @ 1:34.x so quickly settled at 1:40. Through 500 I was still 1:38.x, so maintained the 1:40s. At 1k I felt good and was now @ 1:39.8 ave. With 750 to go, I reminded myself of all the 750 intervals and told myself that a PB was on. Doug Gormley was now on my screen at +4m, so he provided a little encouragement too. With 500 to go I was waiting for it to really hurt, but if I''m honest it never really happened. Again I reminded my self of the race plan, "get to 300m, put in 10 good strokes, and then go for it". So that's what I did, without really having to go mad with the SR I pulled it down to 1:35s and finished under the 6:40 "barrier".
All the months of interval sessions have paid off.
Congrats to Colin, Matt & Tor (or was it Olaf?) for their hard earned PBs too.
I know that Lee, Jon, Peter, Jason, Pete & Laurence have their PBs in sight for next time.
Thanks also to Huw & Doug for the post event beers

[colin bradley]

Scoop,
What can I say my friend, so sad to hear about your moms passing, its just so final is'nt it. Try to remember all the good times when you think of her.

[Jon]

Laurence,

I am so sorry to hear about your mother. I can't begin to imagine what a challenge it will be when I lose one of my parents, irrespective of age and circumstances. I think devoting your race to her memory is a most fitting tribute, especially given the stress you overcame to compete. As others have mentioned you are a selfless individual and a wonderful part of a great team. I am sure your mother would have been extremely proud of your efforts. I loved reading your account. I missed so much on the day. I think being still relatively new to the team, and being introduced to so many new faces makes it a little more difficult to follow the action, but it was so fast moving as you say. I'm also pretty crap at remembering names and faces, but I'll get there. I think the low image resolution of the avatars, combined with many nicknames being used only confuses the issue

I didn't sleep at all well last night and was awake for around two hours. I feel pretty exhausted today, so I certainly can't acuse myself of not trying yesterday. I've also got an end expiratory wheeze, and my cough continues.

Having raced, I at least get to enjoy the fun of a full race post mortem, which is where we get to learn most from these experiences. The conversations with fellow team mates has helped too to provide some (many) ideas and focus for future training. Aside from the confusion around my starting time, my main mistake was going off far too optimistically. The monitor was giving a predicted time of 6.16 a couple of minutes in. I might have been more likely to have managed of 6.24 - instead, I did the infamous 'fly and die' race and ended up significantly below my PB.

I think I've settled on a return to the IP for now with a lot more attention given to analysing the data from the new heart rate monitor and more time given to planning sessions. Just some consistent training would be likely to help, but I think the low intensity, UT2 and UT1 intervals are on the menu.

Thanks again to all for the great company yesterday.

[plummy]

Scoop, your write-up was superb and considering your inner torment at the recent loss of your mum all the more incredible that you have taken the time to be so generous. My thoughts are with you and the rest of your family.


For my race - what can I say other than a total disaster. I think that is my slowest ever race 2k and not because I didn't try, that was ALL I had. Up to around 1k all was well in so far as I had a plan (keep the rate up and hold 1:47 until 750~500 to go and push on if anything left). Shortly after 1k my lungs started burning and with 650 to go my legs just crumpled and my pace dropped to 1:51/2 - just nothing there. Suffice to say, I'm very, very disappointed.

The day itself had many highlights though - meeting so many new faces (an old faces). Odd's stunning gold medal performance and John Hodgson rowing at 100 years old take the top plaudits. PB's for Mat/Wolfie/Andrew/Tor/Colin (hope I've not missed anyone).

To all who turned up and either raced or supported - well done and thank you for making it another great FS day.

Plummy