Rowing WOD 9/14/13:

Renegade Rowing Team – Rowing in the Darkness!

Row 3k @5k Goal Pace

We test our 5k on Saturday, September 28th.  Today is a day to see where you’re at and dial in your goal race pace.  Whatever your goal split is for your next 5k, I want you to hold it for every stroke today.  The goal is to build consistency and confidence by getting used to the stroke rating, pressure, breathing, and intensity you’ll need to maintain.  Be sure to get in a good 10-15 minute warm up and mobility session beforehand.  Also have a mental game plan.  Put together three or four positive thoughts that you will go to when things get tough.  Mental toughness is key.

Post your 5k goal and your average split for today’s 3k to comments.

Rowing WOD 9/7/13:

Renegade Rowing Practice this week!

4 x 5min w/ 2min Rest

• @5k+1
• @5k
• @5k-1
• @5k-2

When competing we need to be able to follow a game plan and execute it with control at full intensity, whether it’s a 5k row or a snatch ladder.  Many of you are looking to break an 18min or 20min 5k.  Those that can develop a race plan, hit their splits, and stick to their stroke ratings will come out on top and crush that goal.

Today’s Rowing WOD is all about focusing on that control and execution at full intensity.  Each piece should be full pressure trying to hold your ideal race pace.  You should visualize what it will be like in the middle of your 5k and what you will do to maintain mental toughness.  Be smooth, be consistent, breathe, and execute!

All week we’ve been flirting with higher volume, longer pieces, and that 5k pace.  Think back to your 5k Test and where it got tough.  Mentally prepare yourself to crush it.  Be ready for the pain, accept it, and push through!

Post your average 500m splits for each piece to comments as well as your 5k Goal!

Rowing WOD 8/31/13:

5k Row for Time

How well does your body process and use oxygen to do work?  How long can you sustain work?  Today’s assessment will give you an idea of both your aerobic capacity and endurance.  Set your monitor for 5,000 meters and get after it.  Be sure to record your time, average 500m split, average stroke rating, and average watts.  This will give you an idea of your work capacity over about 20 minutes.

For those wondering why we’re doing such a long test and how to attack it, think of this as a Girl Wod like “Mary”.  The athlete who can efficiently and effectively move their body weight will be able to consistently do more work aerobically without having to dip into anaerobic energy stores.  Also, when tackling “Mary”, good competitors will go in with a game plan based on what they know they can maintain.  The first couple of rounds may be used to ease into the work without flying and dying.

Whether you’re a Vet or Novice, the goal should be to maintain a consistent 500m split and stroke rating throughout the whole piece.  If this is your first 5k aim to build your confidence by negative splitting.  Start the first 1k at a moderately hard pace that you can consistently hold.  Then every 1k after that try to pull a little bit faster, perhaps 1 split second every 1k.  What you should avoid is going out to hard, say 1:45 /500m, and then dying half way through to limp in at a split of 2:00 /500m.

Novices should try to maintain a stroke rating of 24 to 26.  Vets should work on executing a race plan, maintaining their splits, and rowing at a stroke rating of at least 26 to 28.

Let us know how you do!  Post your results to Comments.