Esther

The Even Split strategy entails choosing your goal time for the test (say, 7:15 or 6:30), figuring out the average split for that time (1:48.7 or 1:37.5), and then attempting to hold that split for the entire test. Physiologically, rowers train to pick the boat up out of the water, accelerate it to faster-than-race-pace speed, and then hold onto that speed for as long as possible. If you find yourself struggling in the middle thousand meters of your 2K test, dial into your team’s race focuses — like a power 10 at the 1000-meter mark or a 15 to sit up at 500 meters to go — to help you bring your focus back and your splits under control. If it feels good to go harder in the first 20 strokes than your goal split, that’s okay, but the most important focus is locking onto the “easy” split with a good rhythm, good breathing, and minimal effort.

The Even Split strategy entails choosing your goal time for the test (say, 7:15 or 6:30), figuring out the average split for that time (1:48.7 or 1:37.5), and then attempting to hold that split for the entire test. Physiologically, rowers train to pick the boat up out of the water, accelerate it to faster-than-race-pace speed, and then hold onto that speed for as long as possible. If you find yourself struggling in the middle thousand meters of your 2K test, dial into your team’s race focuses — like a power 10 at the 1000-meter mark or a 15 to sit up at 500 meters to go — to help you bring your focus back and your splits under control. If it feels good to go harder in the first 20 strokes than your goal split, that’s okay, but the most important focus is locking onto the “easy” split with a good rhythm, good breathing, and minimal effort.

Today, I sat down to write about strategies for breaking through the no-PR plateau – when you’re training and racing hard, and should be getting faster, but for some reason your 2K – or 6K – isn’t showing it. After taking big chunks of time off her 2K in her first year of rowing, it had been months and months since 2K Ninja #1 had PR’d. The Ninjas put in a lot of hard work and in just under 2 months, 2K Ninja #1 was on her way with a 2K PR that got her recruited to – and accepted at – her dream college. Our training mixed some of the things she was already doing, like steady state and longer hard pieces, with strength training, super-focused steady state, and some really tough 2K prep workouts.

Yes, it can be used to make ice cream or Brie cheese, but on its own, full-fat or low-fat milk is an awesome power food. Likewise, plain Greek yogurt (with no added sugar) and low-fat cheese can be great tools for getting enough protein without a lot of crazy extras. And chocolate milk remains one of the best recovery nutrition tools you can buy in your grocery store. A glass of low-fat milk with a handful of almonds or a banana is a great pre-workout or for when the afternoon drag hits in the office!