‘What’s your 2k Score?’
This is always one of the first question rowers receive when starting at a new club, or when milling around the enclosures with friends of friends at Henley. The amount of pressure we place on the score of this test is unlike anything else in rowing. Many will see the scores as the culmination of hundreds of hours of training, all concentrated into between five and nine minutes of almost unbearable pain. On test day athletes will be anxious, and coaches hopeful that their training programme was producing results. Each person has their own tactics to make it the distance; there are the ones who aim for the negative split, have power tens and pushes at points throughout, and then even splitting throughout, however there is one outcome all are trying to avoid – the dreaded fly and die. It is much harder to perform well than it is to perform poorly.
The pressure surrounding the 2k is often due to their involvement in rankings and selections. This leads to some trying to outperform and digging deep, thinking ‘it’s only 2000m, how hard can it be to hold a lower split?’ With 800m to go, that question will be answered with buckets of lactic acid in the legs and fire in the lungs. When this test is only done a few times per season, the stigma and lack of familiarity can have a few effects upon athletes; some relish in the test and the adrenaline is pumping on the start line only to go too hard and break before the end, others fear the ergo and often underperform to limit the pain. Flying and dying is a common outcome, and can be bittersweet. Aiming for glory, and being unable to bear the pain or so exhausted that the legs cannot push anymore. If the ambition was high enough then the early meters may have been eaten quickly enough to make up for the slowing and give a respectable time, maybe even a PB. Yet then come the doubts of what could have been. Not going off hard enough is worse, the pain still comes but much later into the test, and having too much in the tank for the final push, bringing the split down drastically, not enough to make up for the lack of power earlier in the erg.
To perform well in the 2000m ergo is an art as well as a science. You have to know your body, your targets, and have restraint. Without a target and a plan there is very little chance of performing to the highest possible standard. Without an aim, it is very easy to fly and die, as at the beginning it is easy to knock the split down and go for the line. Restraint is key here and will pay off later in the test, sticking to the splits and holding on when the going gets tough. Acceptance is also a large factor in the ergo test, if the pain to come creates fear then even subconsciously the splits may rise to put off the pain, or when pain comes the pressure will drop in an attempt to limit it. One of the best pieces of advice to remember when undertaking the 2k is that once the pain arrives it will not get worse but will be over quicker if the pressure is kept on. Lightening off is only extending the pain, and putting off the relief of seeing the clock tick over to 0m.
Every athlete will have their rituals and traditions surrounding the test, some more specific than others. Certain bits of kit to be worn, a particular song to play, pushes at points throughout or even a meal the day before. All add to the stigma surrounding the test and making it seem like a bogeyman of an ergo workout. Individually it may calm nerves or help prepare for the test, but a whole club going through these motions on test day adds to the aura of the 2k. However these add to athlete preparedness, and goes hand in hand with the proper warm up and nutrition before the ergo. The intricacies in the run up to the test may give some an edge, getting their mental game on point, but to others it may psych them out and leave them shaking with nerves at the start.
The key to a successful 2k test is knowing yourself, and accepting that it is going to be painful. Ignoring the stigma and seeing it as just another session works for some, whereas others who revel in the test will hype themselves up in the lead to the test. All is about personal preference and understanding. If there is any speck of uncertainty going into the start line, then the next 2000m will be a struggle from start to finish.
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