April ctc - 2/4/6/8 mins - 1:00'/1:30'/2:00r

[Grobi]

C2TweetCrew have announced the April ctc:

"We would like the April C2ctc chosen by C2tweetcrew to be called the Tom Robinson Band Challenge.

2, 4, 6, 8, with rest of 1min, 1min 30sec, 2mins

So
2mins (static start)
1min rest
4mins (rolling start)
1min 30sec rest
6mins (rolling start)
2mins rest
8mins (rolling start)

Record your distance for 20 minutes of rowing (resting metres don't count)."

Pacing should be interesting as the the active time increases faster than rest time in the course of the session, so I can't see a happy ending there

[Rob C]

so I can't see a happy ending there

Since when has there been a happy ending with anything CTC related

[CamiCrew]

Rob I was going to ask Peter to define happy ending... but there's always the joy of achievement, right And endorphins

That one looks extra brutal because it's time based. The clock doesn't care how hard you're pulling.

[Liefcat]

[...} so I can't see a happy ending there

So much for my happy ending...

[Caratacus]

Any thoughts on how to pace this? Nearly time to give it a go - I was thinking 5k-3 or is that a bit optimistic?

[Caratacus]

To answer my own question: yes 5k-3 a bit optimistic! Managed nearly 5k-1 and might get 5k-2 on a really good day

[zootMutant]

You're a rock star for having a go at this on the very first day and figuring out the pacing for us!

That looks really painful.

[strider77]

Well done Felton-a brave and excellent effort =D>

I was thinking 5k-1 to 5k -2 the problem is I have no idea what my 5k is these days

[zootMutant]

I was thinking 5k-1 to 5k -2 the problem is I have no idea what my 5k is these days

Too funny. Neither do I. Well, once you complete this challenge 3-4 times, you'll have a pretty good idea, won't you?

[Claudius]

Hello,

after suffering from a flu and couldnt make a 2nd march attempt (I liked the 300m!). Congratulations to all brave participants of this sprint event ! But now in april comes another one and I started more or less recovered. Hope this time there is space, time and health for a 2nd attempt with a quicker pace .

sporty wishes

Claudius

[JonT]

On this style of c2ctc where the intervals increase through to the end I always tell myself to focus on the longer intervals because that is where there is the most to win or lose. I said "tell myself", that doesn't mean I listen.

First of all I clearly forgot to engage brain. I looked at my 5k PB (1:58) and duly subtracted 2. Forgetting that that was set quite some time back when I was doing a lot more rowing each month!!

So clearly the pace was massively optimistic. As you can see, the pain grew and grew and the pace fell and fell. But there's plenty of April left to have a crack, and I left the c2ctc leader board with Free Spirits I at the top =D>



I have no idea how to stop the image above being cropped at the right hand side - but believe me that's the least pretty bit.

[Caratacus]

Great effort Jon, nice to be at the top of the leaderboard (however briefly)

[JonT]

Actually the low point was thanks to the 'feature' in RowPro where it tells you how far through the row you are. It was more than a little dispiriting to see that you are only half way through as you hit the fourth minute of the third interval!

In my mind I was nearly there, after all I was most of the way through the third of four intervals. In reality there was a world of pain waiting

[Grobi]

Well done Felton for putting in an early marker!
Very strong row Claudius, that final 8 min rep looks especially painful!
Nice one Jon, although I can't see that image you're talking about?

Decided to have a go myself tonight, just in case Dave, Alan and Steve were bored so they'd have a proper target by now

The pattern of this ctc reminds me of an advice to pace a 2k I read somewhere. If your desired overall pace is "2k", a proper way to do it with a negative splitting is

40% (800m) @ 2k+1
30% (600m) @ 2k
20% (400m) @ 2k-1
10% (200m) @ 2k-2

This ctc has exactlly the same pattern, only in reverse order (and time based of course), you start with the 10% (2 mins.) and finish with the 40% (8 mins.)I had the idea of an overall pace of 1:54, so I aimed at a pace of 1:52, 1:53, 1:54, 1:55. That's how it went:

2 mins. / 1:52.1 / 30
4 mins. / 1:52.8 / 29
6 mins. / 1:53.7 / 29
8 mins. / 1:55.3 / 29

Total: 5260m / 1:54.0 / 29

It went pretty much according to plan until the final rep had started Eight minutes can be a very long time and I had to slow down to 1:57/1:58 before I could get the pace down somewhere near I wanted it to be.

Still happy with that, over to Dave, Alan and Steve

[Grobi]

Had my second go at this tonight and the plan simple: same like two days ago This is how it went:

2 mins. / 1:51.9 / 31
4 mins. / 1:52.7 / 29
6 mins. / 1:53.7 / 29
8 mins. / 1:53.6 / 29

Total: 5295m / 1:53.3 / 29

The first three reps were almost a perfect copy of my first go. Up to that point I had gained a whole 3m against my previous attempt. The big difference this time was in the final rep (pace was even a tenth quicker than in the six mins.). I never had to slow down at any point and was quite confident right from the start. I'd even say it was kind of fun (well, in the weird fashion only indoor rowers understand ). So very happy with an improvement of 35m over my first attempt.

Have fun guys

[E-Clair]

Guessed to start out at 2:15 and see what developed. Immediately felt too good, so adjusted to 2:11.

drag 127
2' 461m 2:10.1x 27
4' 905m 2:12.5x 25
6' 1350m 2:13.3x 25
8' 1809m 2:12.6x 25
close enough
20' 4524m 2:12.6x 25

[Paul Victory]

Had my first attempt at this today. I did a 5k TT just over a week ago at 1:54.2 pace. This is a lot slower than my SB, but probably a fair reflection of my current form. But I decided to try to average 1:50 pace, even though I knew this would be challenging.

Didn't quite work out according to plan. I did the 2 minutes at just under 1:50 pace, but really struggled in the 4 minutes and felt like HDing during the 6 minutes. But I eased back a bit and even managed a final sprint in the 8 minutes to finish with 5389m @ 1:51.3. This gets me a (very temporary, I'm sure ) seat in FS1 - probably the first time I've managed that this late in a month.

Splits were as follows:

2:00 546 1:49.8
4:00 1081 1:51.0
6:00 1608 1:51.9
8:00 2153 1:51.4

[strider77]

Bravo Peter =D>

Bravo Paul =D>

[strider77]

First effort done at 6:15 a.m. in the gym-ran there and back don't worry its only just ove a mile

Paul is still too strong for me but I managed to sneak past Peter's distance ...just

2 mins-537-1:51.7-31
4 mins-1056-1:53.6-32
6 mins-1586-1:53.4-32
8 mins-2139-1:52.2-34

Total: 5319-1:52.8-32

[gregsmith01748]

Lot's of good rowing on this month's CTC. Things have been a bit hectic for me lately, with my job taking a lot mor energy and travel. This has cut the amount of training I've done since February roughly in half compared to November through January.

But, I really wanted to post an entry, and this morning I seemed to be craving a bit of abuse. So, I set a target of 1:50. This is way slower than my 5K SB from early in January (1:46.4 pace), but I thought was about the best I could do in my current shape and on slides. I was right. Holding it nearly killed me!

I ended up with 5468m (1:49.7) and a seat in FS#1 for the moment. I might be able to improve a little bit if I leave the erg off slides, but I'm not sure I will get around to it before the end of the month.

The heart rate plot tells the tale.

[Paul Victory]

Well done Greg. I'm surprised I stayed in Free Spirits 1 until this late in the month. Now all I need to do is find another 90 meters.

[zootMutant]

But, I really wanted to post an entry, and this morning I seemed to be craving a bit of abuse.

Don't you love it when you're able to satisfy your cravings?

Mighty fine row, Greg, with an impressive heart rate.

[Grobi]

Well done Alan, all those meters you put in for the WEC are paying off now! =D>

Unfortunaltely that means I have to have another go

Very impressive rowing Greg, well done! =D>

[strider77]

Grobi wrote:- Unfortunaltely that means I have to have another go

Do not feel that you have to Peter, if you do it just means more pain for me as I will have to go again and you do not want your good friend Strider to be in pain surely ?

I have to agree with you about Greg-awesome power =D>

[sander]

5478m

The full story is here: http://blog.rowsandall.com/2016/04/21/april-ctc/





Hard, but doable. With good stroke counting and good music in the background. As you can see I had something left in the tank in the final minute. This is slightly under my 5k pace.

I have never been in Free Spirits I this late in the month. I hope I copied the value correctly.