Concept2’s, Judy Geer offers a great bit of advise for Tanya and Mikko as they train towards their 2000 meter best. Judy joined Concept2 in 1983 after getting her Master’s Degree in Engineering. She is now a member of the Marketing Team and enjoys the challenge of keeping C2 customers motivated and enthusiastic about rowing. Judy competed as a member of the U.S. National Rowing Team for 9 years, including the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics. She also coached women’s rowing at Dartmouth College, and continues to coach sculling at the Craftsbury Sculling Center. [break]

One of the most important aspects of race preparation is determining your optimum race pace. In the excitement of race day, it’s all too easy to go out too hard, which generally means dying early and ending up with a disappointing finish. The key to avoiding this is to know your pace ahead of time.

Pace is expressed as time per 500 meters. This is displayed in the central box on the PM (Performance Monitor) (see photo). A pace of 2:14 means that it takes you 2 minutes and 14 seconds to row 500 meters. The smaller the number, the less time it takes you to row 500 meters. So, the smaller your pace number, the faster you are rowing. At the end of a fixed distance piece, your average pace for the piece will be displayed as shown.

Here is a step-by-step protocol for determining your pace for a 2000 meter (a.k.a. 2K) race, developed by C2 co-founder Dick Dreissigacker.

Step 1: Your baseline 2k: Set your PM for a fixed distance work piece of 2000 meters. As you row, it will count down to 0 meters. Row the 2K, starting easy, at a pace that you KNOW you can maintain for the whole piece. If you feel comfortable and strong, increase your intensity in the second half of the piece. At the end of the 2K row, record your average pace (time/500M) for the entire 2K. (This will be recorded on the PM and stored in Memory or LogCard if you have one.)

Step 2: At least a week later. For your next 2K piece, start out rowing at your average pace from the first piece.  If you feel comfortable and strong, increase your intensity in the second half of the piece. And again, at the end of the row, record your average pace for the entire 2000 meters. (time/500M)

Repeat this process until you close in on the best average pace that you are able maintain for 2000 meters. As you get closer to your real race pace, the 2Ks will get tougher, so be sure to be rested before you attempt each 2K trial. You probably shouldn’t do more than one of these test 2Ks per week, especially as the race date approaches.

After three or four of these pieces you should be homing in on your target 2K race pace. This is the pace at which you should start your 2K race. It will take discipline to keep to this race pace but stick with it, at least until the last 500 meters. At that time, if you feel strong, you can go ahead and increase the intensity. In fact, your goal is to completely “empty the tank” by the end of the race. This race pace will also be a good target for interval workouts as you prepare for the big event.

Good Luck!