They don’t call it the ‘wheel of death’ for no reason.
 |
| Staring down the eye of the barrel |
Picture this. You’re staring at a screen. Counting down
the meters as your entire body becomes weaker with every stroke. Now imagine
doing it for around 3 HOURS!! 42,195km
of immense pain fueled by plenty of support and one HUGE desire to FINISH.
On the 15th of June 2013 we decided to take on
our biggest challenge to date: a MARATHON on the ergo. 5 ‘tough-minded’ rowers
participated in the fund-raising event, attempting to push their bodies further
than ever before. Trust us, it wasn’t for the faint of heart.
A cold winters morning was the least of our worries as we
walked into the sheds on Saturday morning. It was EARLY, it was DARK and it was
QUIET – your typical scenario in a rowing off-season. Yet here we were:
hydrated, carbo-loaded and ready to complete one hell of an ergo!!
In fact ‘ready’ was an understatement. We were more than
ready! Energy Gels were a new, and unsurprisingly REVOLTING addition to our
diet. For those who don’t know: energy gels are carbohydrate gels commonly
taken in endurance events to provide energy and promote recovery. As recommended
by our coaches, we arranged times to consume these during the marathon. One 15
minutes before, and then one every 45 minutes during, as well as frequent
‘drinking-strokes’ – strokes we’d take ‘light’ in exchange for a sip of water.
It was a good routine, and definitely proved beneficial, especially in the back
half of the ergo.
 |
| Creative ways of hydrating |
We estimated a 30-minute gap between girls and boys. That
way we were predicted to finish around the same time. Georgie being the only
girl to compete downed her first energy gel before disembarking at 7am.
Alongside her: 15yr old ‘HARD-AS-ROCK’ cox Tommy Nicholson also attempting the
venture. The two went off quite comfortably. Both were aiming to negative split
- meaning to increase the speed as the marathon progressed. Georgie also aimed
to maintain her heart rate around 160bpm (60-75% of her max).
Theo, Jason and a lightweight Callum MacKenzie were next
in line. Theo and Callum did the ergo as a tandem, swapping every 6km, whilst
Jason did the full marathon. It was 7.30am and we now had 4 machines churning
away, slowly counting down from 42,195km.
 |
| 10km down... 32km to go!! |
9.00: By this
time people had HURLED themselves out of bed to come and SUPPORT. It was just
past Jason, Theo and Callum’s halfway point, whilst Georgie was into her final
12km. Now the pain was starting to CRAWL its way in. Legs started to feel HEAVY.
Bodies started to get TIRED. For young Tommy, this was the end point. Having COURAGEOUSLY
completed 28km of the ergo, he maturely decided to call it a morning. Great
effort!! Especially considering the
kid’s only 160cms and 50kgs.
9.30: It’s the Last
30 minutes!! The light at the end of the tunnel was prominent. It’s now a MIND
GAME. Legs were CRAMPING, backs were TIGHTENING, and arms were beginning to
feel HEAVY. The pain was definitely present, but masked by the thought of being
NEARLY DONE!! We’re counting down the minutes.
10.00: With every
last bit of strength we took our FINAL STROKE. Nothing was more relieving then
dropping that handle. But wow we were a mess!! DOMS was our new BEST FRIEND,
not to mention the place reeked of sweat and energy gel. But ey we did it!! Now
it was onto our next challenge… STAIRS.
So with that we finished what we set out to do… and more.
Georgie now holds the SECOND BEST time for her age group, and Jason was only 7
minutes off the record for his. Theo and Callum managed to pull an admirable
Tandem score, and Tommy finished the rest of his ergo that night. Believe us it
was tough, but thanks to all the support we made it through. A big CONGRATS for
everyone that made the attempt!! One down, plenty more to come!
The ‘Nut-Up or Shut-Up’ team
No comments:
Post a Comment