The time has come!

Are you ready to row 5km? I’m hoping so!

These last 8 weeks, you have been true Dark Horses following a progressive plan (which seems like a lifetime ago right now), and you are now ready to sit down, strap in and get ready to see if all that hard work has paid off.

I’ve got a good feeling about this.

Before we start…

Let’s take a moment to celebrate all the small things you have achieved up to this point.

Yes, the end may be in sight, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate some of the wins you’ve had along the way to get you to this point, and it would be remiss of me not to congratulate you on that at this point in time.

For many of you, some of the workouts in weeks 7 and 8 will be the longest you have ever sat on a rowing machine, and that’s a credit to you and your dedication to the goal.

I know you have doubts, and some (most) of you will be overthinking things right now, so rely on the work you have done, keep your focus and concentration and let’s give you a few final pointers before you start this final part of the couch to 5km journey.

Things to consider.

1. Find a good rhythm early and maintain this for as long as you can. It doesn’t have to be an SPM on the screen you use as a metric for this; it can be the beat of a soundtrack or just how you feel, but find this before the first 1000m make and settle in there.
2. Try not to talk too much. Especially if you are doing this with a friend or family member, try and zone them out as much as possible and focus on your breathing and keeping that pace, as mentioned in point 1.
3. Everything after 2.5k is downhill. Okay, I know this isn’t technically true but mentally if you can get that into your mind then its going to make that last 250 strokes a whole lot easier!
4. Bringing it home on the final stretch. That last 1000m is going to be mentally tough, especially if you’ve paced it correctly and have just enough to get you over the line. Here is where you can start to pick up the pace as you get 500< and just work on bringing home the glory.
5. Checkout these rowalong videos if you want a pace boat for any of the times available. Rowing with Shane is always more fun despite the pain

Over to you!!

Workout.

5000m for time.

Let us know how you get on, and let’s celebrate your success as part of this 8-week series.