Please take a few minutes to share a 2k race plan that either worked very well or not very well at all.
My personal favorite is what I did today. 10-15 hard strokes, then nail goal split until 1000m. At 500m in, there should be absolutely no problems. It should actually be more difficult to slow down to your goal split than anything else. 500m-1000m is still fairly easy. Coming into the half way point I like to be very close to my target split. As long as I know I'm in the ball game at the half way point, I know I'll be fine. Around 1200m in, I start to let the rate creep up a bit as I try to drop the split by a second. 1500m the rate is still climbing and I take another move to drop the split. Sprinting all depends on what is left. If I did the rest of the race correctly, there won't be much of a sprint. A sprint usually indicates too much energy left over and not enough time to use it. Don't worry about the sprint. My wife says if your last 500m is any part of your race plan that you might as well start over. Plan the body of your race and the last 500 will take care of itself.
Any other suggestions or non-suggestions?
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Great post! After a few years of trying to get my 2k right, I think the answer that I've found is there is no blanket right answer. It is the solitary time in rowing where you can do your own thing, find your own race plan, and have at it. Everyone is different, some people go out really hard and settle lower than their goal 2k and then rock in the last 500-m. That never seemed to work for me, and I was burnt after 1000-m, so I used start out 2 or 3 seconds slower than my goal 2k and negative split the workout until I was 2 or 3 seconds faster than my goal 2k in the last 500. That was my formula. My advice is, find your own.
When the time comes to do lots of piecing at your goal 2k pace in practice, don't just hammer through it. Practice, and experiment; be a student of your race and find out what works best for you both physically and psychologically. I've seen some crazy 2k strategies that have posted near record scores, so find what pacing feels the best and keeps you in the mental game the longest.
Practice everything. When you are doing 2k pace work in practice approach it like a race. In addition to pacing; experiment with warm ups, and mental triggering. I had a teammate that would sing a different song in his head every 10 strokes after the 800-m down mark and then sprint like mad with 40 strokes left. Try it, if it doesn't work try saying a mantra in your head over and over.
Ultimately, you will have to come to a consensus in the boat, but knowing your body and your limits is a good thing. Once you've figured that out you'll be much better off in the boat, no matter what the strategy.
For me the biggest difficulty with my 2k is accurately knowing what my body can handle. I judge my mental performance based upon how terrible I feel when its over. If the next 20-30 minutes don't feel awful, then I think I could've pulled harder.
I'm a big fan of even to slightly negative splitting the entire piece. I try to take about as many hard strokes at the start of the piece to get my average down to where I want it to be, this is usually around 10-15 I think, probably closer to 10. I try to settle right away to my predicted split/500m and rating (generally around a 29, would obviously like to bring this higher).
This makes the first 1000m not all that bad. 1000-500m definitely hurts, but again, nothing I haven't seen before. The last 500m is incredibly hard/would rather die/etc. At the erg race on 2/2/08, I remember bringing the rate up to about a 34 with around 300m to go. Unfortunately, my body was so weak at that point that even at a 34 my split had risen high above my desired split. My final average was slightly below 1:45, and my last 100-200m at a 34 I was pulling above 1:50. I think that I should've paced a tiny bit slower (closer to 1:45 than the 1:44 I was at), but this was the first 2k I had pulled in quite a long time so I guess I didn't expect to know exactly where I'd be at.
Anyway, to summarize, what I like best is finding my desired pace right away, grinding out strokes the entire time as close to your average as you can. If you feel like you have anything left towards the end, definitely bring it down, just don't do it too early.
Two links that basically say this in much better/more technical terms:
http://daily-erg-workout.blogspot.com
/2007/02/rowing-race-pacing-erg.html
http://www.c2forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=326&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
The second link is to a post on the concept2 forums. There's a lot of (what I think is) bad information but if you read through it and focus on posts by "Mike Caviston" he definitely seems to have done a lot of research concerning this stuff.
I've had a few coaches, who all suggest roughly similar things, but the one trick I've learned in life and rowing is that sticking to one thing you can hold is probably the easiest way to achieve what you want. Negative splitting is a pretty ideal way to go about it, but it's also sometimes a little difficult to approach mentally. Novices - we can talk about this plan some this week.
What Ben didn't mention is that he also did the first half of his 2k at a 24. I held mine a bit higher, 27-29, which for me was part of the challenge. I, like Brian, didn't know what my body could handle for my 2k yesterday because i haven't been consistent in my training lately, and I've been sick lately. But excuses aside. I still know what a good goal for right now should be, so I set out with a big range for the 2k. I told Heather (my cox) to not let me go above a 1:55 split/avg. The problem was I spent the first 1000m below that (which is my goal for later in the season) but my lack of preparation for the erg race, made it impossible to hold onto for the 2nd 1000m. I ended up with an average of about 1:55, but I didn't do it the way I wanted to. Next week I will at least do that, but more likely I'll go in with a better plan and a bit more preparation.
I definitely recovered far too quickly to have worked hard enough on my 2k.
What I saw in the novices was that those who stuck to the consistency of a rating and a split, were far more successful than those who couldn't hold on to one split or rating. One of the biggest challenges in any race, is making the decision to ignore the pain, and fight harder. I love to focus on rating to overcome that. I try to pain attention to breathing, and rhythm and let that consistency drive the splits.
I would agree in general with what has been said before. I usually pick a target and try and hold it flat for the entire race. I usually try to be a bit under (-1) for the first 500, and a bit over (+1) on the stretch from 600-400. The first 250 and last 250 don't really require thought. My rate through most of the piece is around 29 increasing as I go to attempt to maintain the split; however towards the end of the sprint I often find myself lowering the rating (28-9 or so) to take longer, harder strokes. For me at least, it seems to produce lower splits, but is much less sustainable. I need to agree with the above posts about the importance of a plan, my attempt on the 2nd was a disaster in a lrage part because I started out too high, however starting too low is worse; there is nothing as disappointing as finishing and thinking you could have pushed more. If you are going to hurt anyway, it should at least be for something meaningful.
I am a visual learner, so during my piece I picture running a race; I use the landmarks from the Schuylkill to push myself (Bridge at 1750, boathouse at 1500, post at 1000, green stairs at 750, island at 400, lane markers at 350, stands at 150).
Well, I had a plan. But I did not exactly follow my plan to a T. I started with 5 strokes, then did 10 high. After 10 high I was supposed to settle into my goal split of 1:57. Well, I couldn't settle. I rowed for at least a minute plus at 1:50, then finally slowed it down a bit. I couldn't hit a steady split or rating if you paid me. It was horrid as far as consistency is concerned. Although my splits were jumping around, they were jumping around for the better at most parts. If I pulled above a 1:59 I made myself pull below on the next stroke. At the 1000 meter mark I was supposed to increase my rating-- I don't even know if I did. I think I was dreaming or something when I was erging. I remember hurting at the end, but only for a few seconds. And it went by fast for me. I don't know if this is a good thing- b/c now I fear going into my next one knowing I should work harder and aim for a 1:55/56 steady...having it, but then dying out. I don't know where my limits are. I have a feeling I should be doing better though...I have problems with self motivation at practice, and testing my own splits. I have been working on it tho w/ extra work outs and such.
In the end...I did well on my piece and PR'd with 1:55.5 avg. I had a plan, but I am not so sure I stuck with it... I had a plan, but I am not too sure it was ambitious enough...
Heather's Never-Fail 2k Race Plan**:
First 500:
Start 5, 10 high (SR 32ish), Settle to Pace +1 over the next 10 strokes, SR28-29. The first 500 is to settle into MY pace, no matter what others are doing.
Second 500:
20 at 1500, at Pace, SR29. At 1250, make a conscious decision that you ARE going to do this. Right on Pace.
Third 500:
20 at halfway, SR30. I always take a 10 at the 700 for one of my teammates.
Last 500:
This is it. 20 at base - long, powerful legs (Pace -1). Up 2 for 20. Here you go. bring the split down. Up 2 to the end, all out.
Note: I think the most powerful part of the race plan is the last 500. I know that as long as I make it to the last 500, I'm golden, as the 20-20-20 just kicks in. It allows me to focus on each 20, instead of the fact that there are 60 strikes to go!
** It took about 6-7 years to figure out what worked for me, and I do it on the water also. The more you practice the plan, the more automatic it becomes - and the less you think during a race or erg test the better!
Now that I think of it, I haven't done all that many 2ks. I definitely don't have a set strategy yet. However, I can tell you that my approach to my first 2k this season (PIS) was unsuccessful.
Having a ton of work the week of the race, and consequently missing the 3 days of practice prior to the race, i was not physically prepared for racing, nor was I in the right mindset. Prior to arriving at the competition, I had no plan at all. My PR from last spring was about a 7:30, giving an average 500 split of 1:52.5. So, I rather hastily decided that I would aim for a 1:51 split and not rise above a 1:53. This would lead me to PR by 5-10 seconds.
I was able to maintain that kind of pace for about 800m. Then the reality of my conditioning and mental preparation hit me, and I quickly rose up to 2:00 and hit 2:15 a couple times. I finished with about an 8:03.
The obvious lesson here is to have realistic goals. You probably won't PR every time unless you're 14 and new to the sport. You should be able to use your efforts at practice to be able to judge how hard you can go for how long. This, of course, doesn't mean that pushing yourself beyond what you think you're capable of should be avoided. To the contrary. I'm just saying you aren't going to make leaps and bounds just because it's racetime, and your attitude should reflect that.
in honor of coach ben.
african ju-jiatsu bears.
roar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7vvkloC-Ac
- from your team
The way that I approach a 2k is a bit different from how Ben suggests it. I don't do high strokes at the beginning because the adrenaline takes my split down anyways. After the first 100-200 meters I really focus on the leg drive and settling into a good groove. Nothing sucks more then not having a good rhythm during a 2k! Even when it starts getting hard, the rhythm of the stroke rating often gives me enough momentum to get through it. I try to hold the same split for 1500 some meters and then start wearing down the average split.
I break my race up according to the Vails course (kind of dorky, I know). I use the bridge, flag pole, green steps, and the top/bottom of the island. I particularly like using the green steps because it breaks up that horrid 3rd 500 meters! It is so much easier to conquer if you go from 1000-700 and then 700-500. The added benefit, for me at least, is I know what the course looks like and how it feels to row on it. That way I can mentally remove myself from the erg and visually row down the course.
My opinion on the sprint during an erg race is different from on the water. I think that on an erg, you are primarily competing against yourself. I would rather hold the same pace and keep it strong then try to make up for it in the last 500 meters. I don't think that sprinting at the end necessarily means that you didn't push hard, but it does not give you an excuse to slack in the middle of the 2k. When it comes to racing , on the other hand, you have to leave something for the end of the race because that is what your competition is doing!
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