Los Angeles Rowing Blog

Halloween Rowing Costumes

Yesterday our club had heaps of boats in the Head of the Marina race down here at Marina del Rey. This year it was particularly spooookkkkyyy since it was Halloween. I’m proud to say that we had about 40 medalists from our club, including three boats with first place medals! We had the Mens’ Masters 8+ A and B, Womens’ Masters 4+, Womens’ Masters Double, Womens’ Open 8+ and the Mixed Masters 8+.

Our home court advantage really came across when our boats managed to execute the course’s hairpin turn like Michael Schumacher while the other boats continued on towards the breakwater. Note to next year’s crews: Robert’s tip of ‘Ports Out, but not holding’ was shockingly effective and needs to have a solid place in your playbook. See forthcoming ‘Robert’s Tips’ book.

It was the usual hilarious hang down at the beach beforehand, some great team spirit and cheering, and afterwards a scrumptious buffet-style banquet put on by the race organizers, the California Yacht Club. Thanks everyone for coming out and rowing and/or cheering.

Here are the photos.

And, here they are as a slideshow.

Here are the official results:

MM8+ A
Place: 1st
Elapsed time: 17:58.0
Final time: 17:55.50

MM8+ B
Place: 4th
Elapsed time: 21:03.00
Final time: 20:54.90

WM4+
Place: 2nd
Elapsed time: 23:54.00
Final time: 23:47.09

WM2x
Place: 1st
Elapsed time: 23:22.00
Final time: 23:03.75

WO8+
Place: 1st
Elapsed time: 19:45.00
Final time: 19:45.00

MxM8+
Place: 2nd
Elapsed time: 19:05.00
Final time: 18:48.10

Well done, champs!

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News, Photos, Racing / Competition, Video

by Mark May

I recently heard that you will be moving on to a new club. It is with heartfelt sadness to see you go. You have provided us with many years of valuable service transporting our boats to the various regattas in California and the Southwest. Remember the good times we had crashing on the shores of Los Gatos with Robert B. or transporting our boats to the many races in SD, LB and at Lake Merritt. I must say that you have contributed to the many medals our club has won over the years.

It is true that for the last several years we have neglected you. Left you to rust in the elements and become vandalized. But we have much renewed motivation to continue using you now that our club has recruited many a new rower, beginner and advanced alike, seriouly interested in competing in races. But alas, it is not to be.

What I don’t understand is why you didn’t let us know earlier. We have a wonderful system of communication called LA Rowing Groups. We could have put out a poll to the club to see where the current membership stands on the issue or at least post a message. Or perhaps you did and I just didn’t see it during my daily checks of postings over the last year. Needless to say, once I heard that you were considering leaving us for another club there were those who diligently tried to justify your existence. We offered FREE storage. Members rallied to repair you and maintain your registration. There were those even willing to eventually purchase a vehicle with a tow package to help you transport our boats. But alas, the powers to be thought you were a waste of time, a money pit.

It’s a pity LARC Trailer. Our club has come a long way from being mediocre recreational club to a club respected and admired by many in the rowing community. You leaving us is like the proverbial one step forward, two steps back.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck with your new club. Perhaps we will cross paths again as you proudly transport your clubs boats on the highways and byways to your next regatta. Better yet, maybe you can spare some space to transport our boats. You can’t be any more expensive than the $40 a seat rental LMU charges.

With Fondest Regards

Mark

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Everyone eventually sets goals for themselves. A little less than a year ago I set one for myself; to see how many races I can enter in a span of 18 months. That was back in October of 2008 and so far I have raced at the Head of the Marina, 4 of the 5 Long Beach Bay Series, the Crash B’s in Long Beach, the Desert Sprints, the LB Spring Regatta, SW Regionals and most recently Master’s Nationals. To hell with winning any of them. I already have a shoe box full of medals at home. All I wanted to do is see how many I could enter (am I giving you a hint as to how I did?).

It just so happen that my vacation to visit the family in Richmond Va. coincided with the dates of the race in Camden, NJ. Joining me was my son Nathan. My original flight plans were from Burbank to NY with a connecting flight to Richmond. Deciding to change the plans to enter the races was an easy one. All the other logistics of renting a boat, transporting oars, finding a place to stay, etc. wasn’t so easy. So, the plan was to cancel my connecting flight to Richmond, meet my friend Gerry in NY, spend the day touring, after which we would grab the NJ transit train to Camden for the races at the Cooper River Lake. From there my sister would meet up with us at the races after which she would drive us the rest of the way to Richmond for the rest of our vacation.

I was fortunate enough to be able to rent a boat from Dave Trond from Vespoli and have my oars transported by A.C. Dupont of LB Rowing Association. The boat I was rowing was a Vespoli M27XL (205-260), a little too large for me but all they had at the time. Gerry made arrangements for us to stay in a residence hall at Rutgers University in Camden. This wasn’t your typical dorm room. It was a two bedroom suite with a full kitchen and living room. All for $75 bucks a night!

After meeting up with Dave Trond and rigging the boat I set off for a practice. The row was actually pretty good considering I hit a couple of logs submerged just below the surface of the water (oops, sorry Dave). The next day was my first race, the Men’s D 1x.

There were 21 entrants in this race requiring 4 heats. I was in the last heat with 6 boats, lane 2. Clearly my starts were of the greatest concern so I decided to take it real slow building up the rate throughout the start. I had no real start strategy, just keeping the boat set. While I was last out of the start I quickly pulled up to 2nd place in the first 250m. I and kept that position to the 500m mark. I had a tendency in past races to tense up, trying to pull ahead and then tiring myselfbut forced myself to keep the pace to the 750m mark. Doing this caused me to fall to 3rd place. But at the 750m mark I brought the rate up, started cranking on the oar and went from 3rd to 1st, winning my heat. The crowd went wild (Or at least my son, sister and friend did). I was totally drained but made it to semi finals which were less than an hour later.

Needless to say Semi’s didn’t go as well. It seemed I was good for only one race. Ended up 5th out of 6 boats but made an effort at least. We spent the rest of the day touring a haunted prison in Philadelphia and visiting the residence of Edgar Allen Poe.

The next day was Men’s C 1x. I wasn’t expecting much in this race. There were 23 entrants with 4 heats. I was in the first heat lane 2. Used the same strategy but just didn’t have enough to make the semi’s. Not much to say here except I didn’t come in last and that’s always a good thing.

It was a great two days of rowing. We met rowers from all over the country. Share experiences, cursed the hot, humid weather of the east coast and pigged out on chili dogs after the race. My son seeing the excitement of racing decided to give it a try. He’ll be joining the next LTR class. It was an honor representing our club at Master’s Nationals.

See you on the water!

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News, Racing / Competition

By Jessica Jacobs.

Exploding from the blocks at the start, our stroke rate ascended dangerously over 40 strokes per minute. The Paul Varga barreled down the course, unstoppable, with no intention of letting-up; legs bursting at the seams heading into the final sprint with every last ounce of life we could muster…

LARC Women's 8+

This was the ninth race for my LARC Competitive Women’s 8+ team: The 2009 USRowing Southwest Regional Championships at Lake Merritt. Loading up on carbs in San Francisco’s North Beach district the night before, we were unsuspecting of what would be required from us the following day.

The Master’s Women 8+ (AA-B) was nicely executed with a quick time of 3:43. We felt good, yet felt like we could do better.  For the Women’s Open 8+, our coxswain Beth rounded us up and told us what she needed us to do. I dare not disclose the secrets here. It was big and ballsy, but necessary. We understood what we were about to do and that it would hurt. After a quick round of the warm-up area, passing by our fellow LARC teammates who were cheering us like mad from the shore, we took to the stake boats.

Off the blocks we attacked the start like a machine, sending it off at the finish

Beth defining the plan.

every single stroke. Beth cracked the whip on us the whole way down the course and we didn’t hold back. Crossing the finish line we were overcome with exhilaration (or rather, an awesome endorphin high). We raced our race, and it felt great. Our reward: a beautiful shinning bronze medal to hang on our necks.

What a fun weekend to travel to the Bay Area! It was fantastic having another crew from LARC be there to share the experience and the fun. GO LARC!

LARC Women's 8+

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By Mark May:

This year’s SW Regionals took place at Lake Merritt in Oakland California. This is the month that the Lake Merritt Rowing Club typically has their annual Lake Merritt Sprints which our club usually enters (emphasis on usually) but this year was replaced with the SW Regionals.

It was nice to see the club rowing again on beautiful Lake Merritt. LARC had 5 entries 3 of which I will provide some details on (hopefully someone from the Women’s 8+ will share their race experience with the blog).

The races are in order based on the Schedule:

Men’s Master’s B

Women’s Master’s AA-B

Men’s Master’s D

Women’s Open

Mixed Master’s 8+ A-D

Mark

The first race was the Men’s Master’s B. I entered this race fully aware that I would definitely not win but I hate driving 389 miles for one 4 minute race, so I told myself, “what the hell, go for it”. There were five entries in this race ranging in age from 35 to 50; Humboldt, Dolphin, LARC, Long Beach, Bair Island. I recognized the name of the guy from Dolphin but couldn’t remember where. Then I realized he was a former member of the infamous Kent Mitchell Rowing Club. For those not knowing the club, it is made up of ex-national and Olympic Rowers from across the nation. And of course Long Beach Rowing has a history of pumping out National and Olympic Rowers as well. Both were on either side of me. For a start I did a ½, ½, ¾, lengthen and full and went into a high 10 to a settle. I was told that the Long Beach guy jumped the start but that I caught up to him (woo hoo). All five were tight at the 500M mark when the others took off and left me in their dust (or spray). Only about 15 seconds from the first place to last place finish Final Result: DFL but with a good feeling of accomplishment.

Go LARC!!

The next race was the Men’s Master’s D. I was really hoping to do well in this race. There were four entries; LARC, Rio Salado, San Diego and Marin. I raced the guy from Rio Salado at the Desert Sprints back in March beating me by only a few seconds so as far as I was concerned he was going to be the guy to beat. I had no idea how the other rowers were but both clubs have a history of winning races. By this time the wind started picking up a bit coming in from the NW pushing our bows to port so the line up and start was quick. Maybe I can call a “do-over” since I was totally unprepared when they called attention, ROW. Dug a little too deep on the port side but quickly recovered. I stayed with Rio Salado for most of the course but somewhere between 500 and 750M he pulled ahead (maybe it was due to me bouncing from buoy to buoy like a pin ball in my lane). Final Result: 2nd Place.

The third and final race was the Mixed Master’s 8+ A-D. Forgive me if my recollection of the race is a little off. It’s hard to remember when you’re rowing your guts out so Beth, feel free to chime in. This was a full race with 7 boats; Bair Island A, Deep Water, Lion’s, North Bay, Lake Casitas, LARC and Bair Island B. Our lineup was Claire, Tamara, David, Mimi, Arthur, Gary, Rebecca, yours truly and one of the best cox’ns I’ve had the pleasure of rowing with………Beth.

LARC Mixed Masters Crew, medalists!

This was a race to remember. Not so much the race itself but the line up. Imagine seven 8+’s lining up with a fairly strong wind. Then think log jam. We started the line up well but after that it was a nightmare. Before I tell what happened there are two important lessons to learn here: 1. Always listen to the cox’n 2. Know how to scull a sweep boat before a race.  Need I say more? We backed up to the lane 6 stake boat, the kind ladies held on to our stern, the bow started to drift to port, Beth called to scull but before we knew it we were perpendicular to the course with bow touching the lane 5 stake boat and no way to right ourselves even after several attempts. Fortunately the good people in the chase boat made like a tug boat pushing a cruise ship away from the dock and pushed our bow straight into our lane (thanks Lake Merritt).

The start was a countdown. We planned on a start of ½, ½, ¾, lengthen, full, a high 20 to a settle at 30. During practices we were having some difficulty with settling from the high 20 but although we didn’t settle to the 30 we had good run and was moving the boat. Our start was pretty close to a 40 (I think) to a 34 settle. The Bair Island “A” boat took off right from the start but the rest of the boats were tight right up to the 500M mark including the Lion’s boat which I knew we had to beat. The Bair Island “B” boat was in the lane next to us and was pretty much bow to bow. It seemed like there was no moving on them. Beth called it good though. We did a power 15 cranking really hard and started pulling away. I thought I heard Beth say we were pulling up on the 1st place boat which motivated us to pull even harder. At 750M Beth called a rate increase and we pulled away even farther. At the 500M mark we were bow to bow, by the end of the race we were cox’n to 5 seat. We crossed the finish line second. With a handicap we came in 3rd. Final Result: 3rd Place Races like the one at Lake Merritt are made for a club like ours. We have proven how competitive LARC can be and hopefully this experience will motivate others to enter races in the future. All who raced this weekend came home with a medal, some never having raced before others who have never won never won a race before, but all leaving with fond memories. Ah the things we do for a .99 hunk of metal.

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In yesterday’s USRowing SW Masters/Open Championships held at Lake Merritt, LARC rocked. Mark May turned in a second place finish in the single scull, the strong women’s eight made it to second in the Open race, and the mixed eight turned in a brilliant second place showing.

Yep, you guys in the Mixed Eight were huge! I was in the Lions Mixed Eight and while we were second for a while, LARC had the heart and the strength to make it all the way. Kudos to the team!

Results: (position/field)
Mark May
MM1x (B): 4:12:68 (05/05)
MM1x (D): 4:21:14 (02/04)

———
S. Sheffer/J. Jacobs/L. McGurk/C. Goble/M. Merritt/M. Storm/E. Mulvanny/L. Schaffhauser (B. York)

WO8+ : 3:55:49 (03/07)

WM8+ (AA-B): 3:43:28 (04/05)

———
C. Date/T. Rosenberg/D. Dennick/M. Nichols/A. Ontman/G. Bell/R. MacGillivray/M. May (B. York)

MxM8+ (A-D): 3:54:04 (02/07)

Riggs

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It’s my pleasure to let you all know that, in tandem with Ryan’s brilliant upgrade of the launch to the “right” engine system, last Saturday 20th we finally placed the name on the launch!

You can see a slideshow of last Saturday’s installation project HERE. (Hit PLAY)

Thanks Ryan Reid, and also Gary Smoot, who came in to save the sticky process…

The name “Tener R” comes from my father Tener Riggs Eckelberry (Senior), who died on October 23, 2007 in Southwest France.

There is a short bio HERE. Scroll down for a fascinating collection of his postwar stories including some great CIA anecdotes…

Here is a photo from the last quality time I spent with my father, in 2006:. Some of you will recognize this as the photo I use, cropped, for all my social media profiles.

I am honored and thankful for the opportunity to remember my father in this fashion.

Thanks, LARC.

Riggs

(Tener Riggs Eckelberry Jr.)

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Announcements, News, Photos

by Jessica Jacobs

Scott McKee, former rowing coach at Rutgers and Columbia, now director of Phase IV

Yet another successful LARC event was organized by LARC’s Head of the Department of the Social Chair, Simon Hunter. Last night sixteen members from Los Angeles Rowing Club plus one member from Marina Aquatic Center gathered at the Phase IV Scientific Health and Performance Center for an overview lecture on Scientific Training Principles for Rowers, presented by Scott McKee.

Scott McKee is not only the director of Phase IV, but he is also a former rowing coach, giving him a solid foundation of knowledge and expertise on rowing.

Phase IV science is a holistic approach to strengthening, building and maintaining fitness. Based on the ‘Four Pillars’; Structural Integrity, Metabolic Fitness, Nutrition and Technique, Phase IV has the facility and equipment to analyze and advise individuals in each of these areas to maximize health and fitness.

Including testing for VO2 Max, and Lactate threshold testing, Phase IV has the technology to analyze foot-pressure analysis on a bike, running-gait, as well as up-to-date training techniques to detect and correct minute discrepancies in one’s approach to a variety of sports.

A visual representation of the phases of a properly scheduled workout... Periodization!

Scott also presented an overview of a Periodization Training Program, approaching fitness development in a ’scientifically rational sequence’. This concept is based on facts compiled over many years of testing and illustrates a productive method of building fitness in sequence: Starting one’s training cycle with anatomical adaptation (low intensity), and gradually over the course of 6-12 months building into a fitness peak (high intensity, for competitions), then repeating the cycle again.

According to Scott, this method of Periodization Training is not only a scientifically-proven method, but it is the “better butter burner”, by focusing a majority of training on developing a solid aerobic base. Much of the fuel source for aerobic activity comes from fat (as well as other components) whereas in the higher intensity exercises such as anaerobic threshold and anaerobic levels of training, the primary fuel source is derived from carbohydrates. With this approach we are more productively building lean muscle mass, which is ideal for energy output. And we can eat more butter! (Well, maybe I just added that last part…)

Scott emphasized the importance of recovery, variety, and technique as essential components to building and maintaining fitness.

At the conclusion of the lecture, Scott addressed some questions from the audience.  Here are some tips that we gathered:

Sixteen LA Rowing Club members attended the seminar

-Always stretch before and after your workout. Scott recognizes there are a lot of different theories about stretching, and he makes a point: “The only time you have a cold muscle is when youíre dead”. However, it is important to know how to stretch and what muscles to stretch to prevent pulling or straining a muscle. Do some research or ask a professional to learn what stretches are most effective for rowers.

-Replenish adequate fluid and nutrition directly after a workout. There is a 15-30 minute window post-workout where cellular recovery is substantially more efficient than waiting until later. By replenishing fluids and nutrition within this window, it can take about 4 hours for recovery; whereas by waiting longer to replenish yourself, cellular recover can then take up to 24 hours for the same recovery!

-Rest and recovery between workouts is key to building fitness

Thank you to LARC’s Social Chair, and Scott McKee for taking the time to arrange such an inspiring and informative lecture on fitness for LARC!

For more information about Phase IV, visit www.phase-iv.net

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by Jessica Jacobs:

A brand new indoor rowing studio has hit the scene of Los Angeles: iRow Studio.

iRow Studio owner, Iva Boteva, is an experienced rowing coach and champion rower. She brings to her studio a unique balance of workout and technique that sets iRow Studio apart from other indoor rowing studios.

Open to all level of rowers, Iva is skilled in giving individual attention to all of her students. However, she does not limit her valuable instruction to rowers only. She also offers a weekly class specifically geared towards non-rowers to introduce them to using the rowing machine with proper technique.

It is critical for rowers and non-rowers alike to use proper technique on the rowing machine; not only does this prevent injury, but it allows a person to engage the proper muscle groups to condition themselves in a productive and efficient way. Using poor technique on a rowing machine not only risks injury, but it is also far less effective.

Arranged by the Head of the Department of the Social Chair at Los Angeles Rowing Club, Simon Hunter, LARC members were given a sneak peak as iRow’s first clients. Ten LARC members signed up to break-in Iva’s new studio, myself being one.

With freshly painted walls, mirrors hardly hung the day before, ten Ergs were lined up facing a long wall of mirrors. iRow Studio is an intimate space with natural light; a perfect place for individual focus and attention.

Iva started us off with a familiar warm up for rowers; the ‘pick drill’. Here she coached us to use technique at each position and to feel connection from the very start of the class. Working our way up from arms only all the way into full strokes, we gently warmed up our bodies at an even, steady state pace.

Once warmed up, Iva led us directly into a technique drill, pausing at different positions throughout the stroke. Watching ourselves in the mirror during the pause drills, we were able to follow other class members and Iva, and notice where we might have technical discrepancies.

Next we started the workout: (3) Five minute pieces at a stroke rate of 24 spm, full pressure with rest in between. Here we were challenged to maintain solid form and breathing technique while pushing our physical limits. Between each piece, Iva coached us on stroke continuum, and maintaining power output range during these pieces. She also remarked on individual questions and comments.

Into the last piece, sweat and groans were flying from every direction in the room (at least, from my erg!), but it wasn’t over then. Simon, being somewhat of a comedian, bought us a 30 second punishment by suggesting those pieces ‘were 4 ½ minutes too long’! In good fun, Iva had us finish the class off with a 30 second all-out-sprint. Thank you, Simon.

Afterwards, feeling energized and fit, LARC members continued the event at a local Culver City restaurant for drinks and dinner, rower-style.

iRow Studio is a great addition to the fitness world. Whether you are new or experienced to rowing, iRow Studio is a perfect place to surround yourself with real people, achieve personal fitness goals and be a part of a productive and fun-loving community.

In addition to erg classes, Iva will also offer a weight-circuit training class at her studio.

iRow Studio is located in a central location, just on the edge of Culver City at:
3560 S. La Cienega Blvd ste K, Los Angeles, CA 90016

Current Schedule:
Mondays – 6pm (beginner/intermediate), 7:15pm (intermediate/advanced)

Tuesdays – 10am (all levels welcome)

Wednesdays – same as Mondays

Thursdays – no classes

Fridays – noon class (all levels welcome)

Saturdays – 10am class (all levels welcome) and 11:30am (FREE Intro to Rowing Class – 1/2 hour only, tell your friends who are curious about it, or if you need a refresher of the basics, come again).

Sundays: 10am circuit strength training (lots of fun, and mostly exercises that use your own body weight or very light weights appropriate for all levels of fitness), 11:15am erg class (all levels welcome)

Classes are 1 hour long. Cost is $20 per class for the erg classes, and $10 per class for the circuit class.

For more information, visit Iva’s website at: www.larowingcoach.com

For more articles by Jessica, visit her site at hubpages.com:http://hubpages.com/profile/celei

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News community, erg, erg studio, fitness, indoor rowing, los angeles rowing, rowing, rowing in los angeles

Last Tuesday I had the chance to try out the new iPhone app from Performance Phones LLC using NK’s speed coach technology. The app is called Speed Coach Mobile, and uses the accelerometer and GPS system built in to the iPhone to record data about your rowing workout.

I mounted the phone next to the Cox Box, in two duct taped ziplock bags, with some silica gel to absorb any condensation inside the bags. The iPhone is very fragile when it comes to water exposure, even more than a regular phone or device: it has a water sensor that causes the phone to irreparably shut down at the slightest exposure to water (I tried out this feature a few months ago, ack).

Output from Speed Coach Mobile, Facebook, and Google. Click to enlarge.

Having the app next to the trusty Cox Box, I was able to compare the accuracy of the strokes-per-minute feature. I am happy to say that the two devices were within half a beat of each other for the entire workout. It was very impressive.

The main screen of the app shows 500m split, strokes per minute, distance in meters, time of current interval, average split, stroke count, interval number, and time of day. All these fields are customizable so you can set it up to show more or less.

In the preferences you can set it for the various types of boat you row, for example, row, kayak, even dragon-boat. As far as rowing goes, it’s designed to work with any size boat, from single scull to 8’s.

Our plan was to do 3x 12 minute pieces at 90% pressure, followed by 6 minutes of paddle / rest. It was very simple to program this workout into the app and things were looking good, but we ran out of space in the marina to do the workout. It would be very good for that kind of thing though because of the timing and interval features.

Today I have uploaded the workout details to Facebook, where you can tag the team members, and even your coach. A stack of data is available, graphs and maps too.

An aspect of the app that is not so good is that the upload to Facebook costs money (I don’t know how much per upload). They give you 15 free uploads, but still, I don’t like that, considering the app’s steep cost of $65. I understand that the app was difficult to develop, and that the rowing community is relatively small (their reasons for the high price), but that seems irrelevant to me, the end user. How about pricing the app at $70 and providing free uploads? Most Garmin sports watches have free upload software that comes with them.

That said, the cost is still roughly half the price of a real Speed Coach (not including the cost of your iPhone), and it is a fantastic product. I absolutely recommend it. For more information head to Performance Phones LLC’s website:

http://www.performancephones.com/

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Coxswain's Corner, News, Strategy / Tactics iphone, iphone app, los angeles, row, rowing