Rowing

I completed the Concept 2 Holiday Rowing Challenge the day before yesterday (and Kim has been pestering me to post about it to the blog nearly every hour since). I also set a PR in the half marathon to do it. Since Thanksgiving I have been rowing four out of every five days for an hour. I planned on rowing this way so that I could complete the challenge before we get on a plane for the east coast with enough cushion in case I couldn’t row some days for unforeseen reasons.

Concept2’s rowing ergometers have been the industry standard for some time. They have sliding seats like rowing racing shells and use a flywheel to simulate the resistance of oars. Last fall Kim and I purchased a Concept 2 rower to help us stay in shape and to help keep my blood pressure under control. I had used their rowers at the gym before and liked them. One advantage that Concept2’s ergometers offered when introduced was that they measure work (this is what ergometer means) so the work that was done on one machine could be directly compared the the work done on another machine. You can imagine how this information might be useful.

Throughout the year Concept2 offers team and individual rowing challenges to keep people motivated. Some are only a couple days long, others run for whole months. To participate you upload your rowing results to their website. The Holiday rowing challenge runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. If you complete 100 kilometers you get your name in an online honors board, a downloadable certificate, and a downloadable iron on transfer. If you complete 200 kilometers you get all of the above plus a holiday challenge pin.

They also have awards for rowing different distances. Once you have rowed one million meters cumulatively you win a prize. You also get prizes for 5, 10, 15, and 20 million meters. There are also incentives for single distances. If you row a marathon you receive a pin. Not only do you get a pin for rowing a marathon, but it seems that you can get one every year. I don’t know why pins are so motivating for me, but they are.

One of the special things about the Holiday Challenge is that Concept2 donates 2 cents for every kilometer you row until you reach 100k after which they will donate 4 cents. This year the money is going to Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, American Red Cross Disaster Relief (International) or Unicef Emergency Relief Programs. Last year all the charities were water related. As of this posting Concept2 will donate $14,428.52 and they hope to donate $30,000.