Mark Wilson and Jim Dietz share insider tips for how to line up your boat at EVERY turn, EVERY bridge, EVERY dock including the warm up, Chute and start line for the Head of the Charles Regatta Steering Guide - for scullers (1x, 2x).
Mark and Jim run All American Rowing Camp. You can buy their in person coaching on the Charles River .
Faster Masters sells training programs for head racing - scroll down for more detail.
01:30 If you are coming to race for the first time and don't know the course, this will help you.
03:50 Be 100% on the day. You need this... to all line up when you race. Only the weather is variable!
05:30 The warm up line - Mark and Jim recommend you boat from the Falls launch area and row the whole 4,700 meters course down to the start including the Basin. This is the way to steer the right line through the warm up.
Time yourself through the warm up from Falls to the start the day before.
It is narrow at Elliot Bridge - stay close to the bank. Listen to marshals.
This area is the most busy in the whole warm up.
08:50 the Buoys are not permanently on the bottom of the river. They can move. So check them out during your warm up.
10:00 Know the race number and event ahead of yours.
11:30 Powerhouse stretch is a good place for a warm up burst of 10 or 20 strokes.
13:40 If the Basin is blowing - time your arrival to minimise time waiting.
Line up with even or odd number crews.
16:50 The Chute and Start line. Start your speed coach earlier than teh line
18:30 Video of the Start under the Boston University Bridge
20:00 Mile 1 - The green buoys by Magazine Beach - how to steer this
21:30 Powerhouse stretch - look out for a wind change as you pass Riverside. And come into the stretch decide early if you are going for the Centre or Cambridge arch based on traffic from other boats.
22:30 Mile 2 - The most tricky part is going into Weeks footbridge. If you took the Cambridge arch, the turn is more gentle here.
Look to port coming into Weeks the buoy line is gradual. Look every 3rd stroke.
Stay as close as you can.
Make a sharp turn by sowing down into the bridge.
It's a narrow bridge you can turn under the bridge.
Do a pressure 20 coming out of weeks - don't be surprised.
30:00 Anderson Bridge is the start of your fatigue. The wind may change here. Be aware.
Weeks to Anderson - going in look on your left for the bridge abutment.
The turn at Anderson is as steep as Weeks. Look for the White Condominium after Anderson heading towards Cambridge.
32:30 The blue line is the turn line - it's gradual.
Look to your right - oars on the buoys - as close as you can.
Look every 3rd stroke.
33:30 There is passing going on here....
If you are a slower crew, you know to give way.
Let them pass... Then go back to your shorter line.
35:00 Do your research on the scullers around you. If they are local they will know the course. Follow their puddles.
36:00 The last bridge is Elliot Street.
the Cambridge into Elliot turn is quite sharp.
Know how close you can cut in.
Look at your right and beware the BBN Dock.
There are 3 buoys after.... then row as close to the trees as you can without hitting them.
39:00 The last 60 strokes.
Go straight after the trees.
The Boardwalk on the Boston shore - that's the last 20 strokes.
After the finish line keep paddling - get out of the way for following crews.
It's a privilege to race here - do your home work.
42:00 Practice as often as you can at race speed.
Boats handle differently at race speeds.
Faster Masters Rowing sells training programs for head racing - we have a specific HOCR plan - It's included in the Monthly Subscription programs - Individual, Crew and Club.
How tapering works. Faster Masters Rowing Radio - the podcast for masters rowers. Tips, advice and discussion from Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe.
Support this show with a donation
https://fastermastersrowing.com/podcast
Timestamps
01:30 This Past Week - what we do to advocate for masters rowing. We hosted a Rigging webinar.
13:00 Tapering - the purpose of the taper is recovery.
Get to the start line raring to go.
14:55 Super compensation system in your body.
The amount you taper for a 6 day week training program.
7 to 8 days out the training volume reduces to half. The frequency of training does not change.
17:00 Mental preparation for the race
Repair your boat
Sharpening technique - practice what you are good at. Build confidence.
Race Plan
Dinner the night before 6 pm, no social media the night before.
21:00 Pre race Checklist
This episode also covers head race checklists
https://fastermastersrowing.com/planning-your-fall-rowing-season/
Plan for the unexpected to happen
Don't want to have to make decisions in a fluster.
23:00 If you are the person who is always 5 minutes late.....
25:00 Socialise after the event, not before the race.?
Be prepared, specify what you need to be best prepared.
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Tools say a lot about a rower. Learn what the pro coach carries in her single and in the coach boat
01:00 This past week - Marlene published an article Winning Head Races in Rowing
https://ludum.com/blog/training-plans/winning-head-races-in-rowing/
07:00 Your first head race - how to get mental and physical confidence.
Test yourself to find the optimal rate.
Try 3 minutes of the race one point in rate higher than you think. Analyse afterwards how you went.
Marlene has a mini bag with
- Top nut wrench
- Small adjustable spanner
- Pusher outer tool for clip height washers
and a bungee cord - 2 feet long.
- Metric and Standard wrench for top nut, 10mm and 8mm
- 3 Screwdrivers - C2, Flat head and Philips head
- Metric and Standard tape measure. 5 meters long
- Sharpie magic marker
- Electrical tape - white - and a pair of scissors.
Enough to get you back to the boathouse safely where a full repair can be done.
26:00 Rebecca's 3 gadgets she loves
- T-bar spanner
- Martinoli nut tool
- CARE pitch gauge
- The wing nut tool (for the slides under the deck)
30:00 Rules for lending tools
Have a deposit - leave me your phone / sunglasses / water bottle.
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Efficiency in rowing: Time pressures weigh heavy on most masters rowers. How can we get more efficient with our busy rowing lives? Faster Masters Rowing Radio hosts Rebecca Caroe and Marlene Royle discuss tips and challenges
Support this podcast
https://fastermastersrowing.com/podcast
02:00 New Zealand Masters Rowing Championships rescheduled to 29-31 October.
National Championships will include 500m sprints for masters in 2x (handicapped)
Rigging for Masters Webinar - tickets are on sale
Event is 6 October 2021
https://fastermastersrowing.com/rigging
03:45 Rowing in a double with novices - coaching from 2x
11:00 Efficiency getting to the boathouse
- the night before: Clothes, Weather, Time alarm clock, Driving time, eating for energy, Program, Text your crew to agree bad weather plan.
15:00 Decide in the shed, not in bed
Apps for local wind forecasts
Windy
Windfinder
Wind Guru
17:30 Equipment efficiency
- Have a routine - oars first, then PFDs, then the boat.
Help each other, two people per boat get the oars, two hold the boat (for a 4x or 4)
22:45 Coaching efficiency
Scan the boat to check are the oarlocks in the right direction, are oars in right sides?, Height spacer washers, Do footstretchers need to be changed?
Remind each other - have you checked your footstretcher before you push out into the lake / river
25:00 Training efficiency.
Warming up - how much time do you need?
Know the practice routine warmup.
Rules about when we talk during the outing. Technique discussion and feedback during breaks.
Etiquette is important especially in big boats - 4s and 8s.
29:00 Warming down efficiency
When to start your warm down. Try to include 5 minutes each practice.
Marlene recommends stretching after you get out of the boat.
Rebecca stretches during the debrief after putting the boat away.
Consistency to day to day habits helps.
33:00 Meal preparation efficiency
Make bags of whole foods to take with you.
Always have food in your gym bag or car.
Don't skip refuelling.
Double batch your evening meal - make a large lasagne and freeze half.
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Faster Masters Rowing Radio - the podcast for masters rowers. Tips, advice and discussion from Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe.
Support this show with a donation
https://fastermastersrowing.com/podcast
02:00 This Past Week We have been discussing future articles with Ed Hewitt at Row2k.
On the newsletter you can join our Advocates group where we share one article a month which you can share with your club group.
- basic boat set up for your private boat and for club boats
- customise your own boat
11:00 Volter Nolte - How to get a longer stroke
Using rigging adjustments for comfort. You will row better if you are comfortable in the rowing boat.
What are your rowing activities that contribute to your rowing practice?
23:00 Coming to practice regularly.
Objective measurements like kms rowed and number of practices you attend.
Compare yourself with your own previous performance. Use video to do the comparison.
26:00 James Loehr's book - Mental Strength for Athletes has the premise - no matter what you want you must have the physical preparation to do it.
When you step into the boat you become the performer.
https://amzn.to/3zniq2w
31:00 The process of acquiring skill in rowing.
What would I think of someone who does this # practices a week, this # kms rowed a week. View the facts objectively.
32:00 What do you want to get out of your rowing?
Outsiders don't really care as much as you do.
The Satisfaction you get is driven by you.
34:00 Your persona at the boat house - it has its own aura and is not the same as a gym.
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Faster Masters Rowing Radio - the podcast for masters rowers. Tips, advice and discussion from Marlene Royle and Rebecca Caroe.
Support this show with a donation
https://fastermastersrowing.com/podcast
02:00 This Past Week we launched our Advocacy page - if you want masters rowing articles to go in your club newsletter sign up here
https://fastermastersrowing.com/advocacy
04:00 Rowing Tales call for articles. If you
07:00 Figuring out club integration
- self organising masters and welcoming new members
Welcome lesson includes orientation, boats, oars, racks, carrying boats. How fit are they, co-ordination, allocate to a training group.
13:30 Integrating different technique styles in sweep
- look at the body and stroke lengths. Agree as a crew what to focus on
- set the finish position first - where you adjust to. Measure on the deck 58-60-62 cm behind the pin
- timing the finish first using pause drills. Check the correct hand is doing the right job - squaring, tapping down
- agree a reference point when to square the blade
20:00 In the crew half are tall and half medium height would it make sense to put them bow 4 and stern 4?
- how to spot shoulder lifting.
Watch the shoulders rising at the catch.
Handles also rise up.
Blades going deep at the start of the drive.
Legs - look for knees moving away from the chest or the chest lifting off the knees
24:30 Use the big muscles first
You can only use each muscle group once in a stroke.
26:00 How to correct shoulder lifting
You could be holding tension in the trapezius muscles in the shoulders.
Make a connection between the legs and handle. Hold the lats strong.
27:40 How to teach the legs only rowing drill.
Start with the blade feathered - mime the movement and keep torso still.
Start at the finish and move up the slide to full compression (feathered) in stages.
Move rhythmically doing this feathered.
Then add in the squared blade and keep the body doing the same thing (square blades)
Train the legs to work on their own.
30:00 Norm Graf's image of holding the grapefruit. Try to hold the angle a little longer.
31:30 How to know when to swing?
It depends on keeping the pressure on the blade. Consistent pressure is key.
34:00 Put you hands under your arm and pull your shoulder blades down. You can feel the lats engage.
See more resources - scroll down
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Marlene and Rebecca tackle the topic of rhythm in rowing.
- What is rhythm? How to get it, how to lose it and get it back.
How to get rhythm, learn it and be confident.
04:00 Jonathan Tyson's wife asks we were reviewing stroke and talking about left hand over/ahead of right to allow for the oar handles to pass over one another. She asked why don’t we design / rig so that the oar handles are separated, meaning both hands could stay at the same level during recovery and drive?
10:00 For the 1k racing 12 week programme sold on Faster Masters Rowing, how are the sessions described - is there a 500m split time and stroke rate target, with the split times set based on your ultimate target speed?--Australian listener.
12:45 James Dundon from 612endurance sculling club in Minneapolis, MN reported coordinating a small boats race at a variety of lakes in town every Saturday this summer. Racers are split into four waves. We make it competitive by having the wave winner move up a wave and last place moves down a wave. 3 x 1k pieces
16:00 Rhythm - how do you describe the rowing rhythm? It's hard to achieve rhythm if you cannot trust the oar to use your body weight
20:00 Teaching rhythm to athletes - keep your handles in motion. Try the drill of half pressure catch and 3/4 pressure finish. Trust the oar and load it up in order to trust it.
26:00 Sarah Powell seeks solutions for mounting oars on walls [Munsen Rings]
34:15 Jeanette Brimble asks about timing the exit and start of the recovery transition. Your goal is to release without interrupting the rhythm. Check you are feathering outside the water not in the water. End of the leg drive equals the release timing. Feel the release timing from foot pressure in your shoes.
42:00 Funny boat names
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After the summer racing regattas end, it's time to rest, reflect and plan the long distance races you want to do.
This episode explains how to organise the 3-4 month training block to suit your peak event and the training you need to do.
02:30 This Past Week - we had an article published on Ludum
https://ludum.com/blog/athlete-health-fitness/managing-your-training-in-masters-rowing/
First take the calendar and find the events you'd like to do. Select your peak event first - the big one. Your first race should be something local to where you live / train. You can row twice in one day and it should be low key and easy to travel to logistically.
14:00 Choosing your first race. The night before the race you may be nervous or excited. Practice sessions may be race simulations but they don't create this tension. Get your checklists sorted.
16:00 Spacing between races. Get 2-3 weeks between each race. Try to pick ones which dob't involve a lot of travel. Some people like to race the weekend before the peak event to kick off their training taper.
19:30 You can choose to race not at the peak event intensity e.g. rate limit your last race before the peak event.
23:00 How peaking works. The goal is to be fully rested before you race.
Super compensation is the principle of accumulated tiredness from a training period or block. The Taper period is reducing the volume of training. Maintain the frequency of training. The duration of sessions decreases over time. Your muscles start to recovery and replace muscle glycogen.
27:00 To tolerate pain you must be rested.
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How to Get Your Blades Off the Water - Faster Masters Rowing Radio - the podcast for masters rowers.
Support this show with a donation.
Timestamps
03:00 This past week. As coaches we develop too - we change our understanding over time.
Most rowers who keep their oars on the water during the recovery do it because the boat is not set and balanced.
What causes imbalance?
There's a long list of possible reasons including:
13:00 What blade skills do you need to have to get your blades off the water?
You must be committed and intentional to get your oar blades off the water. It doesn't just "happen".
Trying to get your oars off the water after the finish won't work. You can ONLY to do it as you take the oars out of the water.
The way to do it is this: On the drive phase, as your hands come close to your body - you tap down on the handle and get the oar blade spoon out of the water. The depth of downward pressure on the handle determines the blade spoon height above the water's surface.
Press lower to get greater height above the water.
Press less to let your oar be closer to the water on the recovery. Mostly, if your oars touch the water on the recovery it slows down the boat and the reason you are touching the water is that you have not pressed downwards sufficiently at the extraction point.
19:00 Get the set / balance on the follow through after taking the oars out of the water.
By the time the oars are perpendicular, your boat should be set level.
Teach how to feather first
https://fastermastersrowing.com/how-to-feather-correctly/
Teach how to feel the weight of the oar in your hand
Tapping drills and progressions to different body positions
Delayed feather drill
Set a high standard for drills
27:00 Do these drills slowly - this is key. Many athletes feather too quickly and lose connection to the boat.
31:00 Consistency - in a crew build up to more people rowing as you practice getting your blades off the water.
Look at your blades to see what they are doing compared to what you THINK you are doing.
35:00 Practice concentration.
38:00 An easy reference point - if your wrist bends you are too late tapping down. Pressure in the water helps the blade to come out of the water.
40:00 When you perfect the release, the boat speed goes up.
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