The end of the challenge. The end of this blog.

So, a day off for my 40th celebrations and then back on the ergo today.

I thought I would do a 5k with the first 1,609 at a 1:45 split. Easy after the 40 before 40 I thought.

Er, no.

Without the push of the sponsored row even getting to 1,000m, 10 seconds slower than 1:40 pace was a struggle and I gave up at 1,200m in. The rest of the row was a bit of a farce. Stopping. Paddling, sprinting. I did not know quite what I was up to.

So, 5,000m today and back on to my old plan of not really knowing what I am up to. I need to get on to a plan. The Pete Plan beckons...

Now that the 40 before 40 is done there are so many people to thank. This is what I said on the Free Spirits rowing site...

I certainly could not have survived and completed it without the support of many many people. Lots to thank.

Firstly, a the people who donated. Without you I would not have finished. Simple as that. Some days I would be really low and tired and then I would get home to an email saying I had had a donation and this would force me out to the garage.
Secondly, my wife, Tamsin and my children. Tamsin thinks I am bonkers, but has never questioned my decision to do this. It has knocked holes in our normal life and a lot of the holes have been filled, uncomplainingly by her. It was particularly grim in the mid 30s of the rows when I was sore and knackered and my sense of humour had been left on the ergo at about row 30. My children have just accepted I am rowing more than usual and I was so touched when my eldest handed me her weekly pocket money as a donation.
Thirdly, my form at school, 7 Hart. They make me laugh and drive me crazy but they got together and managed to sell £68 worth of popcorn and biscuits in twenty minutes at school. Great support, they are brilliant and that was a great effort.
Lastly, all Free Spirits. It has been said many times, but the support on this site is fantastic. I have never felt alone. All those who rowed with me on RowPro. Brilliant. I felt loved. This helped a lot. All those who have left messages of support and advice have helped more than they know.

This is the last post on this blog.

Thank you very much.

Metres today: 5,000

Rep 40: PB in 3:07.8 @ 1:33.9 - And it is ALL OVER

The plan was to have three and a half days rest and then hit the final rep hard. This was upset somewhat by slipping on damp grass and falling amazingly heavily on my shoulders, neck and head and suffering whiplash. This happened on Sunday and by today (Tuesday) I was much better - although looking over my right shoulder is a bit of a problem.

I had a very quiet (child free) day and headed for Cambridge for a day out. Looking at HDTVs, drinking coffee without worrying about the kids, a nice Wagamama meal, lots of reading, the Fitzwilliam. Lovely.

Then a manic two hours of kids and cooking followed by the warm up for the race. The RowPro race was supposed to be fancy dress but I had decided to make my avatar row naked. I took a disproportionate amount of time getting the t-shirt and shorts to match the skin tone...

Anyway. The race. There was a good turn out, with five of us on the river. John was aiming for a 1:30 piece so I knew I would have something to chase. I also knew he might blow up (he'd warned me). My old rival Petr Oliva was there too as well as Bill and Plummy.

I had felt pretty odd warming up. With hindsight that might have been "lack of fatigue". The race started and I shot out of the blocks pulling 1:24s. The first 250m was a dream with me having to consciously back off to avoid burning out. I shot past John at around 300m - he'd obviously given up the ghost. He went backwards so fast I had a fleeting thought that his RowPro had crashed but the pain was kicking in and I gave it no further thought.

As I approached 500m I began to struggle, but my split was something amazing like 1:33.5 at this point. I knew that I could finish from 300m out so I dug in for the next 200m, aiming not to slip below 1:34 for any stroke. I was in severe pain through this but was amazed to see the average split hanging on to the high 1:33s throughout.

With 250m to go I knew I could hang on. I have now done enough races that I know you can pull it out for the finish, that it hurts like hell but can be borne. Sometimes I wonder whether the elite athletes feel throughout the race how I felt in the last 250m! I was fairly stunned to see that the split did not slip below 1:35 through this. I was not looking at the average split but the projected finish which was something stupid like 3:07.

I was really struggling as I hit the last 100m but raised the rate and went for it. It was gutbusting effort, increasing with every stroke, but all I managed was to keep the split at 1:35! I suspect that I was truly all out at this point. The effort was so great, I was working so hard but the split just did not change.

I felt nauseous for a fair while after the race. Now, two hours later my legs, particularly my calves ache, and my lungs are odd. But it was a monster personal best - 2.1 seconds inside my old best. I have no idea if I can beat that time, it was a massive row. Here are the results.

	Name	Time	Split
1	Thomas William-Powlett	3:07.8	1:33.9
2	Petr Oliva	3:13.7	1:36.9
3	John Glynn	3:19.3	1:39.7
4	William Docter	3:21.6	1:40.8
5	David Plumb	3:32.1	1:46.1

The last metre of the race was the last metre of my 5 millionth recorded with Concept 2. I think I get a certificate for that. Yay.

Metres today: 4,000

Rep 39: penultimate row - 1:39.6 with fast first half. Tough.

One left. My body has been hurting in the last week so yesterday I had an incredibly gentle half hour on the erg which helped ease a lot of my aches and pains.

Today I wanted to get the feel of the speed of a PB attempt again. And boy is it going to be hard. I did the first 500m in 1:33.8 but suspect that there is no way I could have held on to that for a full 500m. After going through 500m I dipped down to a 2:00 split and it took a lot of effort to get back on to the 1:46s I needed to finish on time. At one point I thought I wouldn't make it but gritted out the last 100m in under 1:45 to make sure of the time.

So, unless I have a complete failure on Tuesday night I will complete this task. There is no way I could have done it without the steady flow of sponsorship which was very very motivating. Several days (and most of the last week) the only thing getting me out to the garage has been the thought of boosting the money raised to my target of £1,000.

Tonight I visit my friends who are the driving force behind Project 40. No row and certainly no abstinence of any sort tonight. Then a gentle stretch out on Sunday night, complete rest on Monday and then on Tuesday my last row in my 30s. My last metre in my 30s will be the 5 millionth on my machine.

The final 1,000m row is on RowPro in "fancy dress". I have no idea of the ensemble I will be "wearing" but no doubt the shorts will be red to reflect the state of my backside.

Metres today: 3,004

Rep 38: 3:19.6 @ 1:38.8 - proving very tough

It has been getting harder recently - here is a post from freespiritsrowing.com:

Well, I am sitting here at the erg after a 2k warm up and now know one thing for sure. I am not mentally tough enough to do the 42. I said 40, 40's the target and 40 is what I will do.

I know this because as warming up I was pondering whether 42 was truly feasible. Given that I waled out here yawning and I could barely hold a 2:15 at a heart rate of 130 I think I have my answer. So, the rest of the time I was wondering how to get to Tuesday in the best possible shape for a PB given the state I am in right now. I have not really talked about the state my body is in because I'm such a hypochondriac that as soon as I admit it I'm done for. But now the floodgates have opened, lets see:

• My calves are sore and feel crampy all the time
• My shoulders are tight most of the time
• I am too tired to interact with the family properly
• I have not marked for a week (yay!)
• I dread coming out to row now - my metres are very low and I am very unlikely to reach my personal target of hitting 5 million lifetime before I am 40. I have about 24k to go on that.
• I am avoiding the booze at the moment!!!

All that has kept me going is donations. someone at work handed me a £10 note today, and it looks like my little form have raised £50 odd selling biscuits and popcorn the darlings. I have £100+ pledged so get ever nearer to the £1,000.
So, how to get to Tuesday in a position to row 1:34.9/3:09.8 (or better) for a 1k. Sadly I realise that the best thing to do is to do one tonight (38) one on Saturday morning (39) and save the last row for Tuesday 27th.

Then I rowed:

Small bonus on the metres front. So knackered yesterday I clearly forgot to upload the metres I rowed. So a bonus 5k.

The row was, er, not fun.

I have found starting off very hard in the last few days (strength waning?) so I lowered the drag to 118 (usually 125ish) and aimed to rate high (in the 30s). This was a good plan...for the firrst 500m. Getting to 500m was tough, and I was truly struggling at this point. The 1:39.9 pace boat started baring down on me. I was not sure I could hold it off since I had little to dig in with. I got there but not by much and could not have held on much longer.

Lifetime metres now 4,984,010 so I might make it after all with a slow stretch out tomorrow.

So, I am struggling. I need rest and more rest. No row tomorrow, one on Saturday morning and then a long rest before the final PB attempt on Tuesday night.

Metres today: 5,032

Rep 37: 3:16.1 @ 1:38.1 - hard but steady.

Warmed up properly today but didn't feel great. I wanted to do another faster one to make up for yesterday.

I duly delivered but it wasn't fun.

I am getting towards the end of this series and wonder whether I will be motivated to do the full 42 (+195) for a full marathon of sprinting.

Metres today: 5,000

Rep 36: 3:19.5 @ 1:39.8 - first 1,000m of nightmarish 5,000m row

Well, I finished the row. But it was hell. I am a complete idiot of course. I wanted to complete the Blue Moon challenge (2 x 5,000m) today so did a gentle 5,000m warm up followed almost immediately by a full on 5,000m with a 1,000m at 1:40 at the start!

Madness and I paid for it, getting slower and slower, not maintaining an even pace is a killer and I pretty much stopped three or four times. The row was a RowPro on-line session with five of us:

1	Peter Marston	0:00.0	5,000m	0:00.0
2	John Glynn	17:28.1	5,000m	1:44.8
3	Anthony Webb	17:49.0	5,000m	1:46.9
4	Evaluation User	18:10.3	5,000m	1:49.0
5	Thomas William-Powlett	18:35.6	5,000m	1:51.6

Something was up with RowPro because Pete certainly finished fast, but not THAT fast (the speed of light is certainly too much to ask).

My advice. Never, ever fly and die on a 5k.

Metres today: 11,000

Rep 35: Fatigue sets in - 3:19.3

Yesterday was a killer. Fantastic, I felt euphoric afterwards, but a killer. It was so good I was wondering whether I was going to fall ill today. I didn't but I did have a 3 mile walk pushing the pushchair up and down country lanes which was tiring. I am built to row not walk.

So, if I am not falling ill I need to plan for a massive 5k on Tuesday. This means a day off tomorrow and as gentle as possible today. I went off as hard as I could (i.e. pretty gently!) got a half length lead on the 1:40 pace boat and stuck to it like glue. It was pretty hard, much harder than a 3:19.3 should be. This was borne out by a final heart rate of 178 - much higher than any first row since the first week, and surely not totally related to my gentle 2k warm up.

So a rest day tomorrow and we'll see what happens on Tuesday night.

Metres today: 5,000

Reps 33 and 34: I've gone a bit mad?

So, yesterday I rested. I was jaded and just couldn't envisage rowing.

I was still jaded this morning, calves and shoulders in particular were aching dully. At this time I pondered taking advice and not rowing at all.

But, a quiet afternoon ignited my desire to row. The aches had gone and I knew that if I was to succeed in my aim of beating 40 and going for 42k + 195m and a full marathon of sprinting I needed at least one a day for the next 9 days.

So, I warmed up properly and started with a 1:38.2 row to keep up my series of getting faster. Of course I broke this series two days ago, but it is nice to know I can still get faster. 3:16.3 is 6.4 seconds slower than my pb and is getting pretty fast.

I then warmed down, and whilst I did this I hatched a crazy plan. I want to do the Blue Moon on Tuesday but don't want to sprint 1,000m then row 5,000m twice. Why not sprint the first 1,000 of a 5,000? As I rowed the 2,500m recovery row I thought about this. And thought about it. And felt better with each stroke. And decided that doing a 1:40 first half of a 2,000m would be the ideal way to simulate the quick 5,000m row. Also, doing the extra sprint today would allow me a recovery day on Wednesday if needed.

So, off I set for a 2,000m, aiming to finish in sub seven with a 1:39.9 first half and 1:50.1 second half. Why sub-seven? Not sure. I think I just wanted to see how it felt. If I am going to do a 5,000 at pace I might as well make it fast?!

The row was good. The only problem was I forgot to set up 2 x 1,000m splits and instead ended up with 20 x 100m splits which took a bit of calculating at the end to check I had met the target of a sub 3:20 1k. I was pretty sure I had done it and the RowPro file confirmed a 3:19.4 @ 1:39.7.

At the gear change to 1:50 I found I had more than I expected. I never dropped below 1:50 and slowly built to 1:48s. The last 100m was at 1:45s. Awful to say it, but the latter part of the row felt like a hard warm down and I would say it was the easiest sub-seven row I have done. I am not losing weight at all on this regime, but I am certainly getting fitter, and I guess I will be trying for a sub 18 minute row on Tuesday. With a 3:20 first half, this means that the remaining 4,000m needs to be done in 14:40 @ 1:50. After today I reckon that is definitely possible. My PB would mean doing the rest of the row at 1:48. We'll see about that. The way I feel today (pretty euphoric, amazing what a rest does for you) that is not beyond me. No doubt I will eat humble pie.

But to be honest I would like to do a longer row. The sprints are fine but a change is as good as a rest and a long hard row at a less frenetic pace would be a relief.

Metres today: 9,500

Rep 32: Same day - 3:19.5 @ 1:39.8 - strangely easier

So I am officially mental. Warming down I couldn't bear the thought of one row only at a "slow" pace. I had to try for another rep. This I duly did, and when I have recovered I will no doubt re-type this post. But it was strange, more pain, higher heart rate but mentally easier!

Later: I just felt bad having at least tried to be faster on every other row. Today I was not ready to row. I just did not fancy it. So I did not bother to warm up and just went for it. The first row was long and difficult. I was shattered at the end. But after the row I warmed down pretty hard and during that row I started to feel better and like I could try for another - albeit slowly.

I lowered the drag factor and planned to row at a faster stroke rate. I also wanted to be ahead at half way and then hold on. This is what happened. It hurt like hell, my heart was racing, but mentally I found it a little easier. This must be because I was fully and properly warmed up.

Metres this session: 5,500

Rep 31: Too tired to pull hard - 3:19.6 @ 1:39.8

Just absolutely shattered all day today. I couldn't face going for a faster row so thought I would do a 1:39.9 dead and see what happened to the heart rate (lowest yet) I rated very low, but still struggled with the row with my lungs hurting a lot at the end. I was hoping that the row would get me going and I could do two today but it does not look likely. I think the lack of rest days and the poor warming up/down are taking their toll too. The person who said managing them around my life would be one of the hardest challenges was right. Sitting here after that row I cannot see myself trying for another but I will do a 2.5k warm down at 2:05 and then see how I feel. Stranger things have happened.

Metres so far today: 1,000

Rep 30: 3:16.5 @ 1:38.3 - upside down row

I have found that rows that are not even paced are easier. I decided to do today's with the first half of the row at 1:40 and the second faster, at 1:37. An upside down row.

The row was fine though the racing for the finish shot my heart rate up rapidly. I am finding all these rows tough but body seems fully adapted and the recovery is pretty good now.

Metres today: 3,000

Rep 29: 3:16.7 @ 1:38.4 - hard but bearable

Before I started this series of rows I feared the 1,000m. I would sit before races in a cold sweat worrying that I would not be able to get to 1,000m within 3 minutes 20 seconds. I have to say that I now begin to lose my fear. Today I was in a tearing hurry and had to row with no warm up and precious little warm down. Yet in the row I managed a split of 1:38.4 and a time of 3:16.7 with a heart rate of 173! This is exactly 10 beats slower than the first row. Now I have since learned that the blood volume adapts quickly to the exercise and that the heart rate therefore drops fast in response to exercise but I am still pretty impressed! In a 2k race if I look at my heart rate and it is 180 I feel pretty good about that and feel I have enough left for the second half. If I got to half way in a 2k race with a heart rate of 173 I'd think I was slacking, yet getting to half way at a split of 1:38.4 is way inside my PB for this distance.

So today, the target was 1:38.4 and after yesterday's blast I though I would go for even pace today. I have learned that this is a lot harder than a "fly and die" during the row, but easier to recover from. My plan was to hit 1:38.4 as soon as I could and sit on it throughout the row. As usual I would be chasing the previous day's row, and this would mean that it would be an interesting race with me miles behind at half way and clawing back through the second half.

And so it was. I was huffing and puffing and it was not easy or pain free, but I did get home in exactly the right time once more. I think doing two at that pace could be very challenging and I am not planning that any time soon. Like I have said before, I have found that can recover from one 1k row at this pace in 24 hours, but recovering from two is pretty hard and three is a nightmare.

Metres today: 1,503

28: 3:16.9 @ 1:38.5 - power row

I felt good all day today. I begin to realise that doing two in one day takes at least 48 hours to recover from. I was contemplating a crazy 5,000m row with the first 1,000m at 1:40 pace but discretion is the better part of valour and with hindsight I am glad it is.

Since I felt good I thought that a blast for the first 500m might be interesting since at the end of all this I intend to try and break my 1,000m personal best.

I shot out of the blocks at 1:26 and kept pulling away at constant effort with the split slowly dropping. I hit half way at 1:33.5 and eased back. An interesting first 500. Initially it was euphoric, no pain for the first 200m and rattling along at 35 strokes per minute. As I got tired though the pace dropped and the doubts kept in. Easing off at 500m was hard and the split went way down. I had to fight to keep it up at something reasonable and in the end I had to go back to 1:38s at the end to hit my target.

Whether I could have held the 1:33.5 pace for the second 500m is very very doubtful, but I might have hung on at 1:37/38 for a PB? I think if I held on to 1:38 for the 500-700m block I can the ndestroy myself with a 300m run to the line? Time will tell. I want to get to the 25th May with 42 in the bag so I can have two days rest, and on the 27th I can have a pop at my PB as I complete a marathon in under 1:40! This means that I can do one a day for the next 14 days, as long as I remain healthy.

Metres today: 3,000 (no warm up)

Rep 27: 3:17.2 @ 1:38.6 - lung busting

I did a lot of driving today and spent the afternoon in the Sun working on my sister-in-law's allotment. Amazing difference in her soil. Here a spade goes in 5mm before hitting flint. There there is friable loam as far down as you can go. At least two full fork depths and I suspect endless more. Her allotment has been abandoned for years, so it is a big job. No photos though. I forgot the camera and also forgot my wife's camera phone. I tilled some Earth, cleared a parking space and fixed up a gutter to collect water. Very Heath Robinson but it will work. IT had also been a massive struggle to get out of bed this morning. My body is dog tired and I suspect I am approaching the point where I cannot go faster each day.

So I came out to row a little jaded and to be honest, my heart was not in it. Again if it were not for the sponsorship I would have been cracking open another beer. But quite out of the blue today, my daughter offered to sponsor me her monthly income (£1) for the rows. Now, if everyone else sponsored me one month's income...

As I was not up for it I decided to go out hard and hold on. I felt no pain at all for the first 250m and was cruising at around 1:36 but the fatigue then crept in and I found myself labouring at half way. I was supposedly "eased off" at this point, but it didn't feel like it! I held on for the target of a 1:38.6 split but it was hard work all the way, and my lungs were hurting at the end. The second half of the row is clearly where the cumulative days are beginning to hit me.

Writing this now, 10 minutes later I couldn't row another today. I feel this plan of going ever faster will come to an end sooner rather than later but I will keep trying and see if I surprise myself. 3:17.0 tomorrow?

The dropping split...


Metres today: 4,003

Rep 26: 3:17.4 @ 1:38.7 - hard work

An early one so I can be social this evening. Still full of pizza from lunch but still managed a steady 3:17.4. Steady in pace, but still pretty hard work. I suspect that I may be coming close to the point where recovery is going to be harder between rows.

I rowed my race from yesterday, and was waiting for the handle down. Unfortunately the RowPro camera work was like the ITV camera work on the boat race this year. There was a cut away and then suddenly I was ahead. I rowed steadily all the way, but it was pretty grim in the last 100, and I was unable to watch the split too closely. I finished too hard for my target of 1:38.8 and finished comfortably in 3:17.4 with a 1:38.7 split.

A long, steady 2,500 warm down completed the day.

Metres today: 4,000

Reps 24 and 25: nearly handled down today

Legs were tired all day but otherwise I felt pretty sound so planned to do two today. I am pretty stupid, so started to think about doing each one from now on in 0.1 seconds faster than the last on the split.

I had agreat start to the session, managing exactly 200m with my eyes shut in one of the crazy challenges in my rowing club.

I managed the first row at 1:39.0 (just) which meant that the second row had to be 1:38.9. Given the first row was very tough, and my lungs were suffering afterwards, I thought as I paddled 2k between the rows that a 1:38.9 row was going to be very challenging. Doing a massive start just does not cut it any more. I did that for the internet row yesterday (pulling 1:26 on the first few strokes!) so a 1:38.9 would have to be a long hard first 500m, getting well ahead of the game before clinging on until the end. My 3rd row last Saturday (where I was well down at half way) was a nightmarish experience. Playing catch up is no fun. So, I decided to rate higher on the second row (at around 30) and to hit half way at around a 1:37.5 split. I could then ease off for the second 500m.

Well, that was the plan. I turned out to be rather tired but hit half way at 1:37.5 OK. But at 600 or so I handled down. Simple as that. No warning. I sat there for what seemed an eternity (maybe two strokes) and thought, hell, I can still get a sub 1:40. I started rowing again and found I had lost about a length on the pace boat. I then got angry and really went for home for perhaps the second time in this series of rows. The rate shot up, the stroke shortened, the teeth gnashes, my heart pounded and through the total pain I saw myself gradually catching up and overtaking the pace boat. I had managed the 1:39.8 exactly, but it was not exactly how I meant to do it.

My heart rate after the first row remains up and down.


I was too tired to complete a 2,000m warm down and wanted a beer and to get out in the garden.

Metres today: 7,004

Rep 23: 3:18.2 @ 1:39.1 - warm up grim ,row good

I was really unsure about this one. In the morning at school I felt distinctly dodgy, but this passed through the day and by 7pm I was contemplating doing two. Sense (and the fact I had a headache I could not shake) took hold so I planned for a 1:39.1 to continue the downward trend. As I get more tired I suspect I may try doing two one day and then having a rest day, but that can wait for now.

The row tonight was on RowPro and after last time when I did not realise that no one was coming I checked before hand. Two were registered. Warming up was grim. I felt stiff and my headache began to thump and for the first time in the series of rows I felt that I may handle down. But, this was a RowPro session so I needed to put-up.

Wolfie and badocter were there and it really helped. I had no headache in the race and it was surprisingly comfortable - I went hard for the first 500m and eased back for the second. It helped enormously having the guys along side so a big thank you to them!

So what started badly ended well. I think a long bath tonight is in order again.

Metres today: 5,000

rep 22: 3:18.4 @ 1:39.2 - minor struggle

I felt fine today but just did not want to come out and row this evening. If it was not for the sponsorship I would have stayed indoors. But this is all fora good cause that I believe in so I donned the lycra once more and headed for the garage.

My warm up (all 1,000m of it) was lethargic and I was a little concerned about managing the 1:39.2 pace I wanted to keep the broad downwards progression in my times. The pace boat was my similar piece last Sunday but I wanted to beat that boat.

My 10 stroke hard start now no longer cuts any slack with the pace boat and it was a long slog for home from 900m out. With 400 to go I was way ahead but ran in to trouble in teh run home and was clinging on to the lead by the end.

Mission accomplished, but it was not clever and not pretty. 18 to go. As someone has said, it is all downhill from here. At the very least however I want to get to 43 since that would mean that I had sprinted a marathon (42,195)!

Metres today: 4,000

Rep 21: 3:18.5 @ 1:39.3 - back on it

After two days off I was feeling much better today. My throat was no longer sore and I did not feel lethargic all day. Just as well because I was back at work! My legs were troubling me a little during the day but I felt I could probably try for another rep.

Advice from my friends at Free Spirits helped me make my mind up and I set off for a warm up. Ths warm up felt OK, though the wheel was initially hard to move and I felt naked - I had forgotten the chest strap. Once the strap was on I suddenly felt stronger. What's THAT all about? Half of sport is in the head I reckon. I felt a bit bigger on the warm up. Like I was full of water. Not sure what was going on there either.

Anyway, I did the row with the third rep from Saturday as the pace boat. I was tracking it comfortably when I remembered that this row had me well behind at half way! Erk. Pulled my finger out at that point to keep things even paced. The row turned out fine. The rest offset the illness I suspect and I can't help wondering if the illness was as much a reaction to doing three in one day as it was to do with a virus.

I even managed another video today. Not my greatest creation (too long before the cut to the last few strokes) but not bad for 5 minutes work!



Metres today: 4,000

A day off; ill, sore, exhausted

So, I did not row yesterday. I was ill all day and had a sore and aching body. I woke today with a sore throat and still sore legs. I suspect that the three 1ks I did on Saturday night are the reason for the legs but everything else is virus.

But I did three for a reason - to give proper time for recovery from illness, so I will probably not row today either and hope that I am OK to start up again on Tuesday.

Metres yesterday: 0

Ill and sore...

Not a good night. Sore throat kept waking me up, then sore legs when I got out of bed. Runny nose. Maybe the colds I have been exposed to have finished incubating.

Contemplating a rest day today, but we'll see.

Reps 18, 19 and 20: Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.

I was working in the garden today, mowing, putting up wires for the wisteria, levelling parts of the lawn that have been annoying me (one part down, one part up). Tonight was the first time in a while I have had some real time to row. I told MBH "about an hour" and went off to row.

I had also been suffering from hayfever all day and was feeling weird at the back of my throat. Cold brewing or hayfever symptoms, I am not sure. I have found that the day before being ill I row like a demon, so I thought I would probably try for two pieces today. I had this feeling that if I got through two OK I might try for three reps, since if I did two, then I would have 19 down and 20 would be tantalisingly close. Also, if I was the day before being ill, surely three would be easy?

Warming up I felt awful. Stiff and sore from my labours in the garden. I doubted whether two reps would be doable at this stage. I did a 1k warm up and then the first rep. This went well (3:18.6 @ 1:39.3), much better than I expected - I was obviously loosening up. I did a 2k warm down and set off for the second one. This was of course tougher but I kept up with the pace boat all the way and actually RowPro put the split at my lowest yet despite the time being the same as a previous row (3:18.5 @ 1:39.2).

Another 2k warm down, then the decision on whether to do another. I was feeling OK, though pretty tired but I thought I would give it a go. I did the first 10 strokes hard with my eyes shut and was disappointed to find I was level with the pace boat. The pace boat steadily drew away and by half way I was in trouble, struggling and about 2m down. This was the crisis point. Could I make it, or would I wimp out and handle down or just ease back to a 1:40.0 piece. I thought "in for a for a penny, in for a pound" and kicked on. I drew back slowly and with 100m to go I was level with the pace boat, but suffering greatly. I held on for the last few strokes but it hurt with the highest heart rate yet of 184 (3:18.6 @ 1:39.3). I was very pleased!

I finished with a 2k warm down. I tried to hold 2:00 for the middle 1000m but it was well beyond me.

I have now done 20 rows in 16 days and am half way through the 40 rows. If I do the same number in the next 16 days I will have 40 rows in 32 days and 50 will beckon. Whether I can keep getting faster and two two a day I don't know. I guess I will find out.

Metres today: 10,000

Rep 17: 3:18.5 @ 1:39.3 - the longest row

Hmmm. This was a weird one. I was pressed for time again (as someone said, making the time is one of the biggest challenges) and did only a short warm up. The row was long. Very long. I distinctly remember the one minute passing and thinking "what!?" since I had clearly been rowing for about 20 minutes by then. I just stuck at it, knowing that I can do the time if I stick to the pace.

I came home in a good time, 3:18.5, and ultimately it was not too painful but mentally it was a long, long way.

Metres today: 2,406

Rep 16: 3:18.8 @ 1:39.4

A good row today. My legs had been tired for most of the day but yet again, as soon as I got on the erg I felt good. Someone on my team forum suggested that at the end of the 40 days I go for a PB and I wanted to get a feel for what 1k pb pace felt like that. I aimed to do the first half of the 1k at 1:34.5 and the second half at a pace that would bring me home at 1:39.3 - my time from yesterday.

The 1:34 pace felt quite easy for the first 100m but it was a relief to slow down at half way. Whether I could keep that pace up for the full 1,000m is debatable, but I suspect that I would be able to give it a shot. I have two rows "in the bank" and if I kept them as rest days who knows.

With a 500m warm up and this strange sort of half and half row my heart rate continued its trend of "coping" with the stresses of 1,000m at 2k pb pace.



I failed to hit the same split as yesterday though. I thought that I had nailed it but it seems that I missed out by 0.1 seconds. I will try to put that right tomorrow.


Metres today: 3,500

Rep 15: 3:18.6 @ 1:39.3

Oops, I was aghast to see the time click over to 1:39.3 average split after the last stroke. If I aim to row the next row "never slower" than the previous one, this makes my life a little more difficult.

I did a good warm up today and then tried to row the whole piece at a rating of 25 or below. Again, I couldn't sustain this beyond 500m and had to shift up to 30 strokes per minute to get home.

I thought I was right on the money for 3:19.4 but to my shock the last stroke took me to 3:19.3! I guess I should aim for that tomorrow but may stick to 3:19.4. We'll see how I feel.

My left thigh is much worse than my right - and the left is the one with the dodgy knee. No idea if they are related.

Metres today: 4,282

Reps 13: 3:19.0 @ 1:39.5 and rep 14: 3:18.9!

Buoyed by the donations yesterday, I wanted to do something special today so even though I usually have time pressure on a Tuesday I thought I would go for two in one session. I dashed home from school, fighting my way through the traffic, and was rowing by 4:30pm.

I aimed to do the first as controlled as possible but still hit the 3:19.0 time and did this well. The second I again thought that I would avoid the sprint start and just row long powerful strokes and see what happened. The second row was harder of course and I held the long strokes to 500m when it became clear that I would not hit the target time at this pace. I upped the rate to 30 and got home in a new fastest time, and the first in the 3:18.x bracket.

Typing now (5 hours later) my legs are again sore. I had been getting used to it but doing two is pretty tough. Hot baths with a but of thigh pummelling seem to help a lot too though I couldn't do that since I dashed out to sort out the kids then I was taking Elizabeth (7) to the school's excellent performance of "Olivia!".

My knee was very sore at the start of this 40 day trial and whilst it is much better it is still bothering me when I kneel down. This is best avoided I guess but I wish it would improve.

Metres today: 5,500

Rep 12: 3:19.0 @ 1:39.5 - no warm up - ow

I didn't fancy it today. But another donation shamed me in to going out to the garage once more. I have loads of work to do so just jumped on and pulled 1,000m without warm up. I thought I had pinged my back, and my seating was all over the place but I settled down and rowed a 1:39.5 pace - at last down to my 2k pb split, which has been a bit of a target. It was OK at the start bu hard all the way in. 500m seemed to take an age to come up. Given my heart was at resting when I surprised it with the first stroke it should not be surprising that it struggled to get up to only 171 in the piece. This gives me hope that when warmed up, should I get to the end of this a mile PB attempt should be possible. I am not sure about a 1,000m attempt since I reckon I couldn't keep up with the mental strain of rowing much faster. We'll see.

Oddness with the time - the PM3 monitor says 3:19.0 @ 1:39.5 and RowPro wasy 3:18.9 @ 1:39.4. Not sure what to make of that and will stick with the PM3 since that is what I watch during the row!

Typing straight after the row, I find as I type that my lungs are protesting a lot. If this had been a 2k race I would have been stuffed. I think I need to start taking my inhaler morning and evening AND, dare I say it, actually warm up.

Suitably chastened I am about to start a 2.5k warm down. Aiming for 2:00 split.

Metres today (will be): 3,500

Rep 11: 3:19.2 @ 1:39.6 - painful fly and die

Had one of the many dinner parties to celebrate my 40th last night and ate and drank too much. I had planned to have today off the rowing but the nagging feeling that I should try to row one 1,000m piece each day got to me and I dragged my aching and tired body out to the garage/office once more. As I said to my wife, she won't let me row the Atlantic so this is about the closest I can get with a full time job. How long one a day lasts I don't know but I kept it up today at least.

I felt dodgy swarming up so again elected to go off fast. I went off very fast. I had nearly half a length on the pace boat after 200m and stuck rigidly to the 1:40 split fot the next 500m; which seemed to go on for ever. I then had 300m to go and had about 1m on the pace boat. The 300m felt like another 1,000m and I only just kept to the target of 1:39.6 for 500m pace albeit with a slower overall row than yesterday morning. Talk about "fly and die".

Despite this I finished the row and thought "I'll do another". Quite where THAT thought came from I don't know. The lunacy of it struck me 500m in to a VERY gentle warm down when my legs were like jelly. I knew immediately that mentally I could not manage a 1,00m at 1:40 pace so paddled the rest of the warm-down with my metaphorical tail between my legs.

Metres today: 4,000

Rep 10: 3:19.1 @ 1:39.6 - v. tough (morning row)

Very tired from yesterday (and a couple of glasses of wine last night) during the warm up. Not sure as I warmed up whether I could make a 1:40 1,000m. I was stiff and sore. Very stiff and sore. The bath on Thursday may well have to be repeated frequently since Friday was the only morning where I have not woken up feeling stiff and sore.

Anyway, I knew the row would be tough and rowing long would be a trial so I set off at fast speed and high rate. The plan was to get to half way ahead of the 1:39.6 split which is my current target and then hold one to the end. This was exactly how it panned out - the first 300m was the worst. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest (which is usually a sign that I am in trouble) and to be honest if I had been on a normal training day I would have backed off at that point. But sub 1:40 is sub 1:40 so I had to plough on. I controlled my speed with my stroke rate, not my stroke power since the power didn't seem to want to come on! I rated this as an 8 in difficulty.

The 2.5km warm down was hard, I tried to go relatively hard at the start and keep my heart rate up for the first 1,000m, then eased back. Typing this I am pretty shattered. I am still pondering doing another on Sunday and staying one ahead, but we'll see. My body does appear to be adapting and a morning row straight after one the evening before is always going to be hard.

25% of the rows complete. 30 left though. erk.

Metres today: 5,231

Rep 9: 3:19.1 @ 1:39.6 - hurt!

This was an early (5:30pm) row to leave as much time as possible before the Saturday morning row. With the double header tomorrow I then can take Sunday off and not row again until Monday night.

I did a short warm up (500m) then the 1,000m piece. The row was fine until the last 200m when it became a struggle. After the row I was in a lot of trouble. Agonizing legs and lungs. I was amazed at my end heart rate of 175! The lowest yet. I had been entering sprint mode to keep at the 1:39.6 pace I had set myself and suspect I went a little too hard hencethe faster time and possibly the pain.

I had some insight to how hard a 1,000m is if you are not used to it today. A young trainee at work raced a 1,000m piece at his gym. He said it was a near death experience and rowed it nearly 30 seconds slower than any of my pieces so far. My favourite quote of his today was he went to bed worried he might not wake up because of the stresses he'd put his body through! Great fun. He wanted reassurance that I was not finishing these 1,000m pieces without being out of breath. I was able to put him right on that one!

2,500m warm down today, but the 2:00 pace was too hard with the pain in my legs so I backed off.

Metres today: 4,017

Reps 7: 3:19.4 @ 1:39.7 and rep 8: 3:19.3!

With my youngest coming down with a virus and my legs being more painful during the day I decided that I would endeavour to get ahead of the game. I may need a day off, and certainly want one before long. I was thinking of doing 2 on Saturday morning but that would have meant three in twelve hours. Ouch. So I realised that I should do two today if I felt good.

The first was done with little warm up, and I tried to keep to the 1:39.7 split from yesterday. It was OK.

The second one was 20 minutes later on RowPro with plummy from Free Spirits. I had a woeful start again but I am clearly getting fitter since the rest of the race was bearable. Much harder than the first (rated a "6") but doable. I had to concentrate on every stroke keeping up with the pace but did not need to "go for home".

I did a long, reasonably hard warm down today - 2,500m at a fair pace and 160 heart rate. It was amazingly nice to not sprint or do a gentle warm down. I'll do that again.

I must be getting fitter (or getting ill - the "pre-illness spike"?) - I just wish my legs didn't hurt all day, but I made my bed and I should lie in it. I hesitate to say it but today I started to enjoy the challenge at last.

Metres today: 6,002

Rep 6: 3:19.4 @ 1:39.7 - comfortable

It was a blip I think. Much much better today. After feeling woeful all day, with tired, sore legs I felt fantastic on the warm up and knew I would be fine. What a difference a day makes. There's a song there somewhere?

The race was on RowPro with six of us on the virtual race course. The adrenaline was pumping and I had a very responsive fast start. I was so busy watching the race on the monitor the first 200m flew by and I still felt great. I decided to make the most of this and rowed long and strong for the middle 500m. I was rating 26 and pulling 1:40 which was great. With 300m to go I started to concentrate on keeping the split where I wanted it. I was aiming for a 1:39.7 average split and in the end it was comfortable.

Hope they remain like this. I was so shattered today (I am sure that this was influenced by my daughter screaming her head off for an hour or so in the middle of the night), my legs were sore and leaden, and I was planning to factor in a rest day by doing two rows on Saturday morning. I think that this should still be the plan, and I hope that tomorrow is as good as today - then I will feel confident about the rows on Saturday morning. I could have done two today I think with 30mins rest or so between them.

Metres today: 6,075

My blades for this evening...

Should be in:
C:\Program Files\Digital Rowing\RowPro\Media\oar emblems

Rep 5: 3:19.8 @ 1:39.9- not fun

I did it but today was mentally hard. Headache after school, little time to warm up because of family and work commitments, then the row. Recovering, my lungs felt very odd - not a good sign. HR lower than the previous rows by some way (177). Physically the battle was OK though it took a lot of concentration to stay with the pace boat. I thought I had done enough to keep my "500m split ever faster" but it was not to be.

Hope this is a blip.

Metres today: 2,506

Rep 4: 3:19.6 @ 1:39.8

Straight after work and on the rower today. Lots and lots of GCSE coursework to mark!

I felt the best on a warm up that I have on any of the rows so far. There have only been 4 of course. I therefore decided to row "long and strong" and consciously lowered the rate. I had a good start and then aimed to pace my row from yesterday. I am toying with the idea of never having a 500m split slower than the previous row, so wanted a 1:38.8. If I have selecteda "too easy" pace at 1:40 (and I don't think I have at the moment) then never going slower will keep me honest.

The row went well. Another one in the bag. I seem to be doing a 2k before and after as warm up and warm down. I don't want to do too much, but I want to get to 5 million lifetime metres before I am 40 too so need about 5,000m a day to manage that.

Metres today: 5,002

Rep 3: 3:19.5 @ 1:39.8

I'd had a long rest, 36 hours, before this row. I felt a little tired when I was warming up but I had asked my wife to film this row so the adrenaline was flowing when she said "go".



I was not doing this row as an internet race and my start was therefore much better (I did not lose 1 second before I made the first stroke). The rest of the race was as comfortable as rowing 1,000m at this pace could be. I did not need to strike out for home and did my fastest row yet.

I feel much better in myself than I did after the first one. Wonder how long this will last.

8.5% of my target raised, 7.5% of the rows complete. Wonder how long I will stay ahead?

Metres today: 5,343

Rep 2: 3:19.8 @ 1:39.9

This had to be early morning because of family commitments. Only 8 hours after yesterdays, and my legs were aching when I was woken by my sallest daughter screaming "Daddy".

A long warm up then and the race was tough. Again RowPro gave me a very dodgy start despite me concentrating on my response time. I did not get ahead of the 1:40 split until the last 100m and had to "go for home" from 150m out just to make it that comfortable. Funnily enough the same time as yesterday but the PM3 monitor said 1:39.9 overall split (29k RowPro file) today.

So, 36 hours off. I am glad for that.

Metres today: 5,101

Rep 1: 3:19.8 @ 1:40.0

If I hadn't managed this one it would have been a little embarassing so I was unlikely to fail. I went to warm up at 7pm and realised that I had mucked up the internet session since it was scheduled for GMT and I am on British Summer Time. Luckily for me, A friend made the same mistake and we were joined on an ad hoc basis by an American rowing in Boston.

My wife was all set to film the first race for a youtube video but the camera turns out to have died at this vital moment! Gaagh. It looks to be beyond repair (in this modern World) so a new one will be sought.

Unused to internet racing I had a shocking, shocking start and after gunning the first few strokes found that I still was behind the pace. This made for an uncomfortable first half when I was always behind the pace and was rowing at something like 1:39 and always playing catch-up.

Once I had the pace the second half was more comfortable. The other two in the race were somewhat ahead by this stage and they both beat me. But they don't have another 39 to do!

Final time was 3:19.8 @ 1:40.0 per 500m (rowpro file)

Afterwards I was somewhat wobbly and did a long (5,000m) gentle (HR<130) warm down and felt better afterwards. It made me realise how I am pretty unprepared for this. How do I warm up? (I barely did today with the internet mucking around) How do I warm down?

Our American racer was very friendly and encouraged me to go to the CRASH-Bs (World Championships). How I would love to do that!

Metres today: 8,000

Getting a little worried...

So, two days off to rest my knee and a long row today.

I did a 10,000m row pretty gently with 500m bursts at 1:40 pace at 1,000, 3,000, 5,000, 7,000 and 9,000m. They got progressively harder and I wasn't sure I could complete the last one. I did it pretty well in the end.

Sometimes I think this random task I have set up for myself is going to be easy, but today I am a little worried. How will I feel if I cannot complete even a week?!

I broached this mad scheme with my form at school today. They seem to be up for helping raise a little money and that would be fabulous.

I have also started up a google spreadsheet to record details of each 1,000m piece. I am interested to see how the times and heart rate change.

Metres today: 10,000

Three days to go...

So, in 44 days I am going to be 40 years old.

I intend to row 1,000m flat out at a pace I could barely have achieved 20 years ago every day for forty days. 1 minute 40 seconds for each 500m means 3 minutes 20 seconds, or 10 seconds slower than my best ever time - which was set six months ago. I hope to finish on the day before my birthday and have a long, long bath. Actually I anticipate lots of baths!

This will be a challenge. I have never rowed every day for forty days! I have knackered my knee in a timely manner and not so long ago gave blood. Rowing 1,000m hard hurts a lot. I think that this should be possible physically as long as I warm up and down sensibly. The challenge will be to find the time to do that each day - I forsee some early mornings.

I have hardly rowed in the last two weeks. I am out of condition. Hopefully this new regime will sort me out. In my dreams I will find the last 1,000m row a doddle and set a new personal best but I suspect that I will stumble over the line. My nature is that if I find it easy I will just raise the stakes and make a new rule like "no row can count if it is slower than a previous row".

Currently the rules are:

1) Row 1,000m in 3 minutes 20 seconds or better;
2) No days off without some "rows in the bank".

I will try and do two on the first day with about half an hour in-between. If I can manage that I will be delighted.