Nearly five years ago I set a rowing personal best for 5,016 meters in 20 minutes. Twice after, I rowed over 5,000 meters in 20 minutes. I posted then: I can’t tell you how good the accomplishment feels. I didn’t plan on doing it today. I started rowing faster and harder than usual, felt good, and kept the pace. Not long ago, I struggled to keep up 900 calories per[…] Keep reading →

Three weeks ago I rowed 4,994 meters in 20 minutes, a speed that felt surprising to keep up the whole time. I’ve been approaching 5,000 meters in 20 minutes for a while. Today I rowed 20 minutes 5,016 meters 334 calories or 1,003 calories / hour 1:59.6 min / 500m split I can’t tell you how good the accomplishment feels. I didn’t plan on doing it today. I started rowing[…] Keep reading →

I finished this week: Bonhoeffer (2003), Directed by Martin Doblmeier: Wow, I knew of him before, and 90 minutes can only cover so much, but this documentary showed the challenge of living by your values in a corrupt system. While safe in the U.S. during the war, he chose to return to Germany to continue acting. He struggled with his conscience. He led others. The documentary also shows some of[…] Keep reading →

I exercise on a five-day rotation between lifting, resting, and cardio so months with 31 days give me an extra rest day to experiment. This time I decided to try to recapture my nearly five-year-old achievement of 5,000 meters in 20 minutes on the rowing machine, which means averaging 2:00/500m for 20 minutes. A well-trained man in his 20s or 30s could do it easily. A serious competitor might not[…] Keep reading →

In my podcast conversation with Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of the Spartan Race, we talked about the difference between exercising indoors versus outdoors. He said we give more exercising outdoors. I had been thinking for a while of bringing my rowing machine to my roof but hadn’t figured out how to get it up there since I don’t like taking the elevator. Joe carries boulders and tree trunks[…] Keep reading →

I recently shared this experience with someone who described the feeling of suffering after beating their personal best for rowing a 2k: Your story reminds me of finishing my first running marathon. In the area where runners could get their bags and put on warm clothes, some happy-go-lucky guy, despite also having just finished, jauntily walks in saying spritely, “You did it! It hurts now, but the pain will pass[…] Keep reading →

A quick update on past subjects because it’s a busy weekend. This morning I spoke at TEDxConnecticutCollege, as I wrote about a couple weeks ago. I’m pleased to share that several people described me as professional. They told me to expect about a month for the video. Darn, that’s a long time to wait. sa Tomorrow I’m competing in an indoor rowing competition—the one I wrote about in Old Athletes[…] Keep reading →

The standard distance people compare rowing skills is 2,000 meters. Because of current and wind, you can’t compare times on the water, but you can with a rowing machine. World records are around 5:40, something like a sub-four-minute mile. Most rowers will describe the experience of rowing a 2k for time some of the most grueling six-to-eight minutes of their lives. Here’s why. Rowing works you to your soul Benching[…] Keep reading →

I recently interviewed Olympic gold medalist and Crossfit Games champion Anna Tunnicliffe Tobias, whom I met through America’s Cup winner and podcast guest Dawn Riley. Given Anna’s achievements, she’s remarkably down to Earth (as is Dawn). In researching her, I found that last year’s Crossfit Games included a rowing marathon—that is, rowing 42,195 meters. The athletes learn what events they’ll do only hours before competing, so they just had to[…] Keep reading →