First head race

[Bull City]

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First Head Race

Postby Bull City on Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:09 pm
I just registered for my first "real" head race in men's veteran 1x. The race is in early November. I rowed in the Head of the Hosmer (2.8 km) at Craftsbury in June. Then my object was to (a) avoid collisions (b) row at a sustainable rate. I had a little trouble on (a), I managed to get entangled in a tree branch, but did OK with (b) managing to finish in 15 minutes.

I really enjoyed the experience. This race is 5 km and the course looks to be more challenging (bends and turns). My first look at the water will be the day of the race. My objectives are to enjoy the race, do respectably and learn from it. I'm looking for advice on a few things:

1) A fairly simple training program that I can follow for the next two months. I've been sculling for about 18 months. Currently, I get out 3 to 4 times a week for about an hour. Time on the water will increase as the summer heat decreases.

2) How should I approach what seems to be a race against the clock?

3) What kind of pre-race logistical things should I do, boat preparation and so on?

4) What should I really be thinking about?

[pmacaula]

BC - Went through the same process as you last season, though without the benefit of a week at Craftsbury, so you are well ahead already !

1) A fairly simple training program that I can follow for the next two months. I've been sculling for about 18 months. Currently, I get out 3 to 4 times a week for about an hour. Time on the water will increase as the summer heat decreases.

Others will give you better answers I am sure, but I spent as much time as practical on the water, with a steadily increasing 'head race pace' portion to my workouts. The rest was just continuous rowing. Do at least one workout per week at race pace, building up to full race distance over a few weeks, then starting to increase pace to find out what your realistic max speed is for a race (though changes in wind/water conditions always make this a moving target).
If possible, get a training partner or partners to join you for these race pace workouts. You may have a will of iron, but having another boat or boats to match up against
always increases the intensity/realism of the race simulation.
For me, the key was finding the best combination of stroke rate (28spm for me) & pace that allowed me to move the boat the fastest over 5K.
You mention that the race course has bends and turns. If you have those at home, practice race-pace turns. You can lose a huge amount of time by taking the wrong line on a turn or not being able to maintain speed while turning.

2) How should I approach what seems to be a race against the clock?

Echoing what I said above - on your home course, pick a suitable point to point 'race course' and time yourself on it. Get used to what is fast and what is slow for that distance. The ideal would be the same distance as your race.

3) What kind of pre-race logistical things should I do, boat preparation and so on?

Find out everything you can about the course & launch setup. Best is to talk to someone who has raced it before, though some regattas publish pretty good info as well.
Be really clear on distance from your launch point to the start line and how long it will take you (worst case). Ideally, you can do a w/u while rowing to the start, but many head
race courses are too congested to allow you to do race pace stuff other than on the course itself.
Acquaint yourself with all of the major obstacles on the course (turns, bridges, narrow spots), how far they are from the start and whether there is something special about them (e.g. ' no passing in the canal'). If you can keep that info in your head, great. if not, write on a bit of plastic sheet with a grease pencil. You can put it by your footstretchers & glance at it during the race to remind you what is coming up. I assume you have a StrokeCoach that tells you distance through the water. If you do this during your regular workouts so that you get used to thinking 'bridge at 2500m' or 'turn in 10 strokes', you will not need the plastic sheet during the race.
Find out what the protocol is for passing/being passed, especially in constricted portions of the race course. HOCR has a very good set of rules, which basically come down to 'a boat being passed must give way;passing boat has right of way' and 'passing boat chooses which side to pass on'.

4) What should I really be thinking about?

Get comfortable with the idea that you are going to have to keep your 'head out of the boat' while racing. For many people with a big boat sweep background, the adjustment from 'stare at the guy in front of you and pull' to being fully aware of all of the obstacles on the course - both stationary and moving, is a big one.

Of course, the big thing is having fun.

Best wishes for a great first race.

Cheers. Patrick.

[Bull City]

Thanks, Patrick. Very helpful.

[KitD]

One tip I have found useful as a steersman/sculler: Google Earth can be a real help in getting to know unfamiliar courses. You can track your ideal path down the course and get a pretty good idea on steering alignment and distances between landmarks.

[Steven M-M]

Bull City,

I agree with all of the good advice given above. Let me add just a few points. Things are more likely to go wrong at regattas, so make a list of things you'll need, like sunscreen and tools, so you don't forget. I mark my port/right hand rigger and oar with red tape and my starboard rigger/oar with green so I don't mix things up on a strange dock. Double check your oarlocks before you launch no matter how much the dockmaster is pressuring you to leave the dock.

Launch on the first call to water. I find getting into my boat calms me down. And remember your bow number, as you'll go down in sequence. Some rowers like to go out fast, so the start can be a time of lots of passing. If you're being passed, move out of the line of the faster rower sooner rather than later so it doesn't disrupt your rhythm. If you're passing take a clear line so as not to confuse the rower ahead.

I'm better if I do a consistent pace for the first 4k and then see what I've got for the last 1k. This means the beginning feels easy. I see if I can find what feels like a fast, effortless stroke knowing that the same pace/effort will feel impossibly hard between 3 and 4k. Whether I'm in the medals, the middle, or the rear, I feel like I've had a good race if I finish strong. Enjoy.

And, yes, keep your head out of the boat. Know what your competitors are doing, know where you are on the course.

[pmacaula]

Steven is absolutely right, but we both forgot the most important thing !

Go to the washroom (even if you don't think you have to) just before you launch. You are on the water a long time...

Cheers. Patrick.

[Bull City]

Thanks to all of you. I really appreciate the good advice. A few questions and thoughts:

1) Patrick mentioned a Stroke Coach. I don't have any rowing electronics. I looked at the Stroke Coach and the Speed Coach. The Stroke Coach is nice since it has no wiring or impeller, but you don't get speed or distance through the water. Which one should I get?

2) What about a heart rate monitor?

3) An "Aha" moment: I'm retired so I can drive up to the race venue sometime soon and check it out, maybe even row the course.

[john]

Thanks to all of you. I really appreciate the good advice. A few questions and thoughts:

1) Patrick mentioned a Stroke Coach. I don't have any rowing electronics. I looked at the Stroke Coach and the Speed Coach. The Stroke Coach is nice since it has no wiring or impeller, but you don't get speed or distance through the water. Which one should I get?

Hands down get a Speed Coach. Very easy to install and being able to see distance is key. As a bonus, splits or m/s provides a good way to see the effect of corrections in your stroke. It's easy to tell what happens when you change this or that. The price isn't too much different; either one is fairly pricey. But hey, welcome to rowing!

[Steven M-M]

A SpeedCoach is, in my opinion, an essential training tool. (There are some good alternatives, like the coxmate, and some folks are shifting to GPS.) I find I race better when I take off the propeller (I leave the little fin on) and pay attention only to Stroke Rate and maybe number of strokes. This has nothing to do with reducing the minuscule amount of drag caused by the impeller. I find speed and distance distracting during a race and prefer to keep my attention outside the boat. But others find speed/distance a real help to performance. So, I would get a SpeedCoach or equivalent and experiment. Heart rate monitors are also good training aides, but I would most definitely not race with one.