Cycling is the best crossover sport for rowers. I was an elite cyclist, but have been running pretty seriously the last few years. I have the build for an elite runner (5'10"/135lbs) and can consistently run 10-12 hour weeks, but im still mediocre. I'm still trying to break 30 minutes in the 10k, which is still pretty fast, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of college runners, faster than that.
slammed wrote:
Cycling is the best crossover sport for rowers. I was an elite cyclist, but have been running pretty seriously the last few years. I have the build for an elite runner (5'10"/135lbs) and can consistently run 10-12 hour weeks, but im still mediocre. I'm still trying to break 30 minutes in the 10k, which is still pretty fast, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of college runners, faster than that.
agreed. i raced seriously for a decade and remember a few rowers storming through the ranks. rode with Cam Wurf on Priority Health and that guy was a monster.
Ruxton Towers XC wrote:
I was not a talented collegiate runner (D3 walk-on) and I was never a real rower. However, I wanted to chime in and say that two of my most satisfying athletic achievements are the two times I broke into the 6:xx range for the 2km on the ERG (as an old guy).
The ERG has been great because as I gained weight in my forties and as I had various injuries related to my running form, the ERG was a lot more forgiving than just piling on more mileage as a runner. Gaining 15 lbs over the last decade has hurt my running a lot more than it hurt my ERG times.
I remember when I first broke into the 6:00’s as well, when you could say you averaged a 1:45 split, which was a nice round number. My favorite memory though was finally going under 17:00 and joining the 16:xx club for the 5k. I remember hitting 4500 meters with 500 to go and my coach behind me screaming 1:38’s!!! That last 500m… form went to hell, chain was swinging all over the place, nothing but white hot pain.
NoDepth wrote:
If you would get blown out of the water by the rowers in IVY leagues IDK if you are as talented as you say. Almost every human in the world will be assessed around their running ability. There is a massive financial and location barrier for rowing that means the top 100 in the nation would equate to probably the top ~2000+ in the nation in running. (every kid does the mile in PE) With running some farmer kid in Kenya can be the best 5k runner in the world with little investment except some time training. the Depth in running is much deeper than any other sport in the world except for maybe mens soccer. This isn't to say what you have done isn't impressive just putting perspective of the depth of running. is pulling from a pool of almost the entire worlds population so the depth of competition is great. where with other sports (except soccer) the top athletes are great but the 100th best in that sport isn't equivalent to the 100th best in running or soccer and with rowing it's not even close. similar thing with winter olympic sports often very expensive and location based.
As for the running good job don't think that you have maxed out your potential like you said enjoy the consistency slowly increase volume year over year and the intensity on workout days and you can keep improving into your 40s since you are new to the sport.
VO2Max is just 1 metric running efficiency is the other which is very hard to measure but we know the more you run the more your running efficiency tends to improve. Sounds like you have a monster VO2Max so just need to put the time in to get the other part.
Fair, but I did say I was talented for division III, and definitely not at the Ivy League level. Although to be honest I’m not sure what those guys were actually pulling as far as times. No doubt faster than me. I only started rowing in college by pure chance, so didn’t know anything about the sport. I’ve heard my 2k and 5k records at my school have since gone down, I think a couple of times actually. The only way I know how to measure rowing talent is by erg times and since mine were pretty good I think it’s fair to say I had talent. I wasn’t working harder or training harder than anyone else, but my times were better. To me that’s talent. Not national level talent by any means whatsoever. I mean a runner that can run a 16:00 5k is certainly talented in my opinion, but not D1 level I don’t think. A 2:40 marathoner is downright mindblowing to me but that’s more than 20 minutes off the Olympic trials qualifying. It’s all relative right?
ivy league = rich kids wrote:
is this as bougie as sport as cycling or tennis? How much does your racing rowboat cost?
Do the top racers buy their own oars from some specialty racing rowboat oar brand, from England probably?
Is the big race still Cambridge vs Oxford? I always had the impression this was old-school British stuff.
One last question, can your racing rowboat outrun a very fast fish? Do animals like fish, seals, or squids see you rowing and race along?
My brother did lightweight crew at Cal Berkeley back in the day. I think it didn't cost him anything except his in-state UC tuition (only about $5K per year back then, when he started). There probably wasn't any reasonable way to keep rowing after college for free though, so he stopped.
Lightweight was 155lbs, at last back then. My brother ran his freshman year of high school, and probably would have had running talent from what I saw, but he had to stop running due to Osgood Schlatter's. Thereafter even into his 20s, I know his legs would still hurt if he tried running. Not sure how good he was at rowing, but he was good enough to make the team and had the build for lightweight at 6'2" and a under 155lbs.
Third at the Head of the Charles in her first attempt. Came back the following year to win and set a course record.
To the OP and the others who have gone between running and rowing:
A few things that struck me between college running and rowing:
1) rowers train more at less intensity. I went from singles to triples. They can get away with it (less gravity/intensity = lower injury risk), also way more strength training. I still had a stressie though, a rib stressie with a cold is hell btw.
2) cycling everywhere is a must, no worries about 'saving the legs'
(Not surprised rowers transition into successful cyclists- an aerobic beast is an aerobic beast - see Jason Osbourne, also lots of Aussie rower to cyclists... )
3) body image (especially on the women's side!) I always felt like a giant on the xc/track team, the only runner who couldn't fit into xxs/xs clothes (I'm 5'9 / 130, not 5'1 / 100). I didn't have any of those worries in rowing, it was a much more positive experience just focusing on performance and not size (this was a few decades ago, I understand running has improved a lot since).
4) Indoor 2k Erg tests remind me of running indoor miles in badly heated indoor tracks and tower running. All out efforts in bad air giving you a few days of 'track hack' (air quality pending).
5) rowers throw better parties. Not as crazy as swimming, so don't get too worried.
I'm finding imho learning how to move more effectively (regardless of sport) is key to maximising fitness. If you never teach your body how to move quickly and efficiently in your sport, it will be difficult to get better results. In my case as a tall old lady - it's weight training and pelvic floor pt to keep my form for running, but for guys it will be a different program (don't neglect the posterior chain). Also from rowing to running you will need to strengthen your lower legs/feet more too to deal with the increased gravity/load (unless you enjoy foot/Achilles injuries - swimmers struggle with this when they switch to running too).
Have you ever read David Halberstam's "The Amateurs?" That's not really a question, but a recommendation. (Unless you have read it: what did you think?) It's about Olympic-level rowers and has tons of content on competitive drive. You seem to have that in spades. Really enjoyed your post...well done in bringing some positivity here!