The benefits of volume, by a
mileage monster
Rowing Session Liberation Day 9
May 2013
When I used to do triathlon I used to train between 14 and
18 hours a week. When I switched to Ironman my peak weeks were 20 hours per
week. This is pretty hard when you’ve got a full-time job, and family. People
said I was mad training such volumes and told me that quality matters more than
quantity. But I would plough on regardless and produced some pretty good
results for an amateur athlete.
Shortly after Nick Saunders, a professional triathlete came
to Jersey and made my efforts look part-time. He was better at quality and
quantity. But his results meant that
people didn’t think he was mad, they thought he was (and is) brilliant. Nowadays
the volumes that I did are regarded as normal for a triathlete and low for an
Ironman. I guess I was ahead of my time.
Years later I’ve switched to rowing and here too I find the
benefit of volume. I’m a bit older and slower, but the stamina is still there
and I still manage to train over 15 hours per week. For the 19mile Sark to
Jersey race last year I did several weeks of 60,000 meters per week (plus run,
swim and bike) to give me both physical and mental stamina and it paid off with
a new record for me an rowing partner Charlotte Bowman.
So today I’ve done another 20,000 meters to bring my weekly
total of rowing to 79,000 meters in the last 7 days. My total for the week are
14.3hrs 79k row ;87mi bike;12mi run; What is interesting to note is that I am
aware now of other members of the rowing club now rowing 3 x a day, and at least
60,000 meters. If I am ahead of my time, I’m not sure I’m going to maintain my
lead if everyone else ups their game too!
One of the reasons I like doing 20k sessions on the rowing
machine is there is no excuse. No tide. No wind. No rowing partner to help. No
100meter effort and then slack. It is unrelenting and demanding and rewards
only consistent effort. If you’re going to do the 19mile Sark to Jersey race this
year I recommend 70,000 meters a week and at least 2 sessions of 20,000 meters
and at least one of those should be on the rowing machine.
Your programme might be
Mon: Rest (I go to a spin class)
Tue: 15k on sea
Wed: Rest (I go to a spin class)
Thu: 20k on rowing machine
Fri: 5k on sea (or
rowing machine if its rough)
Sat: 10k on sea (or
rowing machine if its rough)
Sun: 20k on sea (or
rowing machine if its rough)
About
Tim Rogers is a keen rower and member of the Jersey Rowing
Club. This posting is offered to share for anyone interested in rowing and
maybe some of the sessions, courses, distances and training information above.
No comments:
Post a Comment