Beginners

[Tritorow]

Hi everyone,
I just started rowing 2 weeks ago and joined Free Spirits today, so I thought I would introduce myself a bit. I do lots of cross training...sprint triathlons, pickle ball, paddle boarding, skiing, some classes at the gym, etc. I was looking for something to tone more vs. straight cardio and also low impact and decided to buy a used concept 2 model D (PM3). I have gotten over 50,000m in over past 2 weeks since my purchase. I will be 59 next month and I'm female, so some of the times on the forums are very intimidating, but I love competition, so planning to join in on most of the contests. We live in Michigan June thru Nov. and in the Florida Keys (officially florida residents now!) all winter/spring. My husband is retired and my sons are in their 20's now, so I have lots of time to devote to fitness . It is more a matter of what the body will withstand vs. time available. If someone could let me know how to get started with the CTC contests, I have actually already done the intervals and will input my time. If there is a "primer" on how the boats work and times are averaged per boat, I'd appreciate a link or info. I know there has to be one female and one lightweight per boat. Looking forward to getting to know the group and enjoying many more meters of rowing!

[plummy]

Hi Janet - link to the CTC main page (FAQs):

http://www.c2ctc.com/faq.php

Thank you for the intro - 50k in your first 2 weeks is pretty mighty - well done.

I have family in the Michigan area (Manchester/Livonia/Plymouth) - there's 'undreds of 'em!!

Plummy

[Jill]

Hello there Janet and welcome to Free Spirits.

That’s a very impressive intro about your tough exercise regime and there will be many Free Spirits who will smile ( enormously ) when they read your words “ I love competition “.

Best wishes Janet and I do hope that you will have a happy and fulfilling time here as a member of the club.

[Tritorow]

Thanks for the welcome, plummy and jill. Plummy, your relatives are within 1/2 hr. of us in Michigan, as we live in Ann Arbor (home of U of M, but Mich State fans as both my husband and son are State grads). Learning the ropes of the erg and the forums and looking forward to participating in the challenges! Fortunately we have a truck we drive to florida for winter, so should be able to fit erg in .

[Wolfmiester]

Hi Janet,
a warm welcome from me to.
Love this bit ...

Fortunately we have a truck we drive to florida for winter, so should be able to fit erg in .

[MSI_11]

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and rowing in general. In the past I have only use rowing as an addition to my running and cycling training. I am 41 year old female, just few weeks ago had my leg surgery and trying something new and it looks like I found it . Today I started PBP so fingers crossed, I need to add that all kinds of competitions are a great motivator for me. Really looking forward to be part of this team

[Wolfmiester]

Welcome Marta, and very best wishes with life on the erg

[plummy]

Welcome aboard Marta, great to have you with us and looking forward to hearing about your progress.

I worked for a company based in Armley for 9 years so know a little bit of Leeds.

[Jill]

Hello there Marta, it is very pleasing to read that you have joined Free Spirits and I hope that you will find erging a satisfying addition to your other sporting activities.

Best wishes to you - I am sure that your love of competition will be most welcome.

You are not that far away from me, as I live in Doncaster.

[MSI_11]

Hi,
It already 2 months since I incorporated rowing into my training and I think I feel like I am ready to join January CTC for Free Spirits team Can someone please post a link where I can find instructions how to do it cos I am a little bit confused at the moment and don't want make something stupid adding my name to the wrong list thank you and happy rowing

[plummy]

Hi Marta - welcome to Free Spirits and the forum (and the CTC!).

If you go to the "Links" tab on the main forum and from the drop down box select CTC (Cross Team Challenge) it'll take you to the CTC web page. In the top right corner it says "add or update a person". That will take you to small menu to fill in your details and select your team affiliation (Free Spirits) and you should be good to go!

If you get stuck, feel free to ask.

Plummy

[MSI_11]

Thx Plummy for quick answer Do I need to wait till January to add my name for January ctc challenge or can I add it now and it will automatically cross to next month challenge? just don't want to mess with leaderboard Thx for your patience

[plummy]

You can add it now. Your name will only appear on the table if you enter a distance/time for the event of the month. This month it's 30 minutes so you are welcome to have a go at that (it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are as we score points for the number of "boats" floated (we need 5 people - 3 (usually HWT) men as three places are classed as "open" and usually the HWT guys get the best scores, 1 x LWT and 1 x female)).

You are welcome to enter whichever events take your fancy so you are not obligated to do all of them (but it would be nice if you are happy to have a go )

[MSI_11]

Thx for info, I will definitely give it a go

[Ian Bee]

Thx for info, I will definitely give it a go

Great to see your name on the board - Well done

[MSI_11]

Thank you

[Wolfmiester]

well done Marta, welcome to the addiction

[MSI_11]

well done Marta, welcome to the addiction

Thx

[MSI_11]

Hi, it's me again with another question
Just wondering - if you doing recovery session are you lowering DF or you rowing with lower SPM, or you row like usual just with less power? Which option is better in your opinion?
Thx

[plummy]

Not an expert on recovery as I tend to "go for it" most rows (not good advice I know).
For me it would be at a reduced max heartrate which may be difficult if you haven't got a heart rate monitor so the nearest alternative suggestion would be row at a stroke rate and pace you are very comfortable at - like one where you could hold a conversation whilst rowing if needed.

[MSI_11]

Not an expert on recovery as I tend to "go for it" most rows (not good advice I know).
For me it would be at a reduced max heartrate which may be difficult if you haven't got a heart rate monitor so the nearest alternative suggestion would be row at a stroke rate and pace you are very comfortable at - like one where you could hold a conversation whilst rowing if needed.

Thx Plummy, today I actually found my old Garmin HR strap and connected to machine at the gym, so I may try this option. Thx for advice

Sent from my ASUS_Z017D using Tapatalk

[CamiCrew]

Hi Marta! Great to see you enjoying the erg after surgery and jumping right in to the CTC. Welcome!

Santa was kind and brought me a polar HR chest belt so I'm also getting reacquainted with watching heart rate.

For recovery rows, agree with plummy, but I'd also pick a comfortable low rate like 22 and not think much about the numbers on the screen. I don't adjust the drag factor just the exertion level.

Cheers

[MSI_11]

Hi, did 30 min recovery today trying to stay in UT2 band, so yes connecting Garmin to erg was a good idea thx for help

Sent from my ASUS_Z017D using Tapatalk

[maxscience]

Hi,

new user here as I just got a new Model D with PM5. I already downloaded all of the available iPhone apps as I already use Zwift since a month with an Elite trainer on a bike. I use that with my Apple Watch as HRM but will get a Wahoo Tickr as a HRM for the rower, mainly to display HR in RowPro. I am basically new to rowing so thought of using RowPro training plans, even though it looks very outdated as a software. Best would be to have full rowing support in Zwift with actual rowing avatars on lakes and rivers.
Any RowPro or Zwift PM5 users here?

[plummy]

Hi Maxscience - welcome to the forum. I don't use Zwift but do use Rowpro from time to time (more so for solo rowing distraction to be honest against pace boats but occasionally on line when it suits). There is a thread dedicated to Rowpro sessions but it is full of cobwebs as it is rarely used I think.

I'm pretty sure there are a few users here but we tend to just hop on to other people's sessions when they set them up.

Whereabouts are you based? Time zones can make a huge differences as to who and how many are likely to join in.

Plummy