Recently I discovered an app that allows me to connect to a Concept2 rower. The activity is sent to LogBook and from there it can be connected to Strava and Garmin. Probably a bad thing for me to know because I am hopelessly addicted to vast amounts of data that I most likely will not use. Just a geek that way, I guess.
The program for Juggernaut PB AI involved a lot of rowing and also some legs. Yet somehow I got it into my head that I should test a 1000m row, if for any other reason than to use the app and see all the screens of data. In the past, I would just row to a distance and stop when I hit that distance. Never changing any of the settings on the rower meant that it kept rolling when I had reached the distance so I don’t think that was extremely accurate. This time around, I set the workout to be a specific distance so that when I hit 1000m it would stop tracking and give me the best numbers.
ErgData Screens
I was really happy with how this went. I believe I have been on the rower all of 5 times in the past year. With the Peloton, I figured my lungs would be able to hold up pretty well and they did until the last 200m. My legs, however, were an entirely different story. My quads started to burn with 400-500m left. I just tried to settle in and hold the pace as best as I could knowing with each pull I was closer to being done. I knew that the last time I attempted this I was a little over the 3 minute mark and wanted to PR this as I feel like I am in better shape now compared to the last time I tested it.
Garmin Screens
Once the ErgData records the activity, I can upload it to LogBook. From there it is sent magically to Garmin and within a minute it will appear in my watch and in Garmin Connect.
The only data that I wish I had access to would be the HR info. I could have started an activity on my watch which would have captured that, but then I would have had the watch activity as well as the ErgData activity. I would need an HR strap synced with ErgData to capture all of that and right now it just ain’t that serious.
I am far from an efficient rower. Most of my strategy here was “hang on as long as possible”. I was able to hold the same pace, but looking at the power output above, I can see it start off strong and then begin to dip. If I were to do this again, I think it would make sense to not go as hard during the first 500m so that I would be able to have a stronger finish and not see the power output drop as it did. I also stopped pulling with 15m left to go. I knew I had pulled hard enough to take it to the end and my mind just wouldn’t tell my legs to pull one more time. Maybe if I had it in me for one final pull I could have shaved a second or two off. Who knows? It isn’t likely that I will now begin a rowing program so that I can PR this again. Just a fun test to break up the normal routine.
New PR
The last time I tested this was September 9, 2020. I finished 1000 in 3:22 (91 strokes, 1:41 min/500m). Any PR is a PR, right? Four seconds might not seem like a great improvement, but for me, this was a win today.