The 2008 Team Moto Madmen and Women

yamadog · Post by **yamadog** » January 27th, 2008, 8:45 pm

This has been my half-marathon weekend. I ran one on Saturday and rowed one today. I gotta say the erg was much easier than the half on foot.

New P.B. on the erg did my half in 01:33:22, 3 minutes off my previous P.B.

Wayne

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:01 pm

Damn you, Wayne

Seriously, though, nice time. I'm going to try and set a record in the 'half' on Thursday and NEVER, EVER row that distance again.

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:03 pm

Which begs the question, if we are going to continue this beyond the January Challenge, what are the challenges going to be?

2whlrcr · Post by **2whlrcr** » January 27th, 2008, 9:09 pm

C3H6O3 wrote:Which begs the question, if we are going to continue this beyond the January Challenge, what are the challenges going to be?

Who can walk away from the rower the longest, after the challenge is over.

yamadog · Post by **yamadog** » January 27th, 2008, 9:15 pm

C3H6O3 wrote:Damn you, Wayne Seriously, though, nice time. I'm going to try and set a record in the 'half' on Thursday and NEVER, EVER row that distance again.

I feel the pain. Rowing longer than an hour is as hard mentally as it is physically

Good luck on Thursday.

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:16 pm

2whlrcr wrote:Who can walk away from the rower the longest, after the challenge is over.

If you would have asked me that before I ever started using it, I would have said 'no problem' but now I am absolutely hooked on this thing. No way I could win that challenge now.

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:19 pm

I know we should be looking at the drag factor but what damper setting are you guys using for the 'half'?

yamadog · Post by **yamadog** » January 27th, 2008, 9:24 pm

C3H6O3 wrote:I know we should be looking at the drag factor but what damper setting are you guys using for the 'half'?

I have been using 5-6. I'm still not 100% from the rotator cuff surgery so this setting seems to work well for me. BTW, I'm 5'9 and about 167 pounds. I haven't really delved into the "drag factor" yet.

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:36 pm

For comparison's sake, I'm ~5'7 and ~150 lbs.

On my previous outings I've used 4/5 but last time I went between 8 and 10. Using the higher damper setting, I averaged higher watts and fewer strokes per minute and was 2-minutes and 40-seconds ahead of pace with 3,897m to go (still a long freakin' way). As I said, I was on pace to break the 1-hour, 30-minute mark with about 6,000m to go and then I just bonked. Was it muscle fatigue from having the damper setting too high or did I start to run out of fuel? I am going to be totally carbed- and caffeined-up on Thursday so I guess we shall see.

2whlrcr · Post by **2whlrcr** » January 27th, 2008, 9:46 pm

C3H6O3 wrote:I know we should be looking at the drag factor but what damper setting are you guys using for the 'half'?

140 drag factor for me.

2whlrcr · Post by **2whlrcr** » January 27th, 2008, 9:51 pm

C3H6O3 wrote:For comparison's sake, I'm ~5'7 and ~150 lbs.

On my previous outings I've used 4/5 but last time I went between 8 and 10. Using the higher damper setting, I averaged higher watts and fewer strokes per minute and was 2-minutes and 40-seconds ahead of pace with 3,897m to go (still a long freakin' way). As I said, I was on pace to break the 1-hour, 30-minute mark with about 6,000m to go and then I just bonked. Was it muscle fatigue from having the damper setting too high or did I start to run out of fuel? I am going to be totally carbed- and caffeined-up on Thursday so I guess we shall see.

Im my opinion that drag factor is way too high for anything other than a 500M personal best attempt. You may beat your time, but I think you would be more effecient with a lower drag factor, especially considering your size. And effeciency counts, especially in longer pieces.

I don't set my machine to 10 for anything. But I'm old and weak.

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 9:53 pm

These are my drag factors:

Damper = 3 (DF = 101)
Damper = 5 (DF = 130)
Damper = 7 (DF = 165)
Damper = 8 (DF = 188)
Damper = 10 (DF = 210)

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 10:07 pm

2whlrcr wrote:In my opinion that drag factor is way too high for anything other than a 500M personal best attempt. You may beat your time, but I think you would be more effecient with a lower drag factor, especially considering your size. And effeciency counts, especially in longer pieces.

Yeah, I agree, Mike. I remember seeing a recommended drag factor of about 135 for longer pieces. I think I'll try setting it on 6 (>130, <165) next time.

I'm still very new to rowing-for-rowing's-sake (where efficiency is crucial) so I'm constantly tinkering/learning.

michelle · Post by **michelle** » January 27th, 2008, 11:18 pm

In the world of real rowing (training and racing in boats and on the C2), the drag factor is usually WAY lower than what you guys are using. A HWT man might go up as high as 130, but more commonly around 120. LTW women will go down to 110. Sometimes we do "erg weights" where we set the damper really high and do reps, but for regular workouts it's usually between 4-5. Think about it... would you wear weights on your ankles when you're running a half marathon?

C3H6O3 · Post by **C3H6O3** » January 27th, 2008, 11:24 pm

Well, if I set the damper lower then I would have to up my strokes per minute wouldn't I? What is everyone SPM? With the damper on 10 I averaged 25 SPM. With the damper on 5, it was 29.