You would be better off by doing some core exercises to strengthen your back and run a bit more.
Rowing is good for your back. However, it is not good for your running. Rowing uses very little in the way of calf musculature. Rowers are generally terrible runners. You also need to have good technique to keep from hurting your back.
slimjim: It doesn’t seem like you’ve had any rowers reply yet, so I’ll give it a shot. Rowing can be great for running and biking cross training IF you use proper technique. Too many times people on ergometers have poor technique and effectively waste the benefits of the workout. If done proper, you should get a great core (ab and back workout) as well as a good quad, hamstring and calf workout. I used to row for U. of Washington, where, during the fall season we would work a lot of long sets, focusing solely on heart rate and not so much on power. From my impressions, it is the fastest way to elevate you aerobic capacity, specifically because you are working so many, diverse muscle groups.
I have no idea where the notion came from that rowers are terrible runners. During my years at UW, we had two former state champions in the mile, who could both go under 4:30 in their prime. One at least rows for the national team now.
Anyways, long story short - using an erg inthe off season might be the best cross training for tris and running.
As a former sweep rower and sculler, rowing is more cross training for cycling if anything, maybe swimming. Rowing is just such a unique sport/exercise but it really does offer up a great total body workout; however, if done correctly, it is absolutely torturous. I elicited so much pain on the erg that my body gets sick every time I look at a C2 erg. I do miss rowing however, beautiful sport but very time consuming if you don’t live close to the water.
Dave in VA
out of curiosity: on a C2 erg, what are average/ok/good/great times for the 500 m? anyone?
Depends on what your goal for the marathon is. If your main limiter is aerobic endurance, and you run out of steam during your marathons, then maybe a brick with some erging and then a marathon pace run off the erg may not be so bad. However, if it is your legs that are not used to the pounding and your run-specific musculature is your limiter during the marathon, you’d be better off just running. If you have experience on the erg, maybe you could make it work as a psychological boost if you hate running all the time, but performance-wise, you’d be better off running. If you’re trying to PR in the marathon, then forget about erging. No specificity. As most people have already said, core exercises and running are your best bet.
Depends on how long your pulling for, a decent average 500m split for 2K is 1:35 and under for rowers, maybe 1:45 and under for non-rowers. For 6K, decent for rowers is under 1:40, for non-rowers maybe 1:50. For a longer workout like an hour on the erg, for rowers under 1:47, non-rowers perhaps under 2:10.
Dave in VA
out of curiosity: on a C2 erg, what are average/ok/good/great times for the 500 m? anyone?
Depends on what you weigh, male or female and the distance you are pulling.
I rowed lightweight in college and could pull a 2000m in about 6:45 so that is about 1:41/500m. A pace I used to train at was probably closer to 7:10-7:15 for 2000m so around 1:47-1:49/500m. For a flat out 500m I could go somewhere in the mid to high 1:20’s. 2000m is one of the big benchmarks in rowing, basically what the mile is to running. I would say if you are a fairly fit person and not built like a horse jockey an average to good training pace would be around 2:00/500m. Hope that helps.
i rowed at university of cincinnati, and totally disagree. rowing builds mass in the back and legs (not to mention butt). it does not translate well to running at all, and most rowers are horrible runners–i’ve seen it myself. it takes coaching to have proper form on the erg, and i’m guessing our fellow ST’er won’t have that. even some coached rowers have horrible erg form. it takes years to get it right for some rowers.
as for cross training, there are plenty of machines that translate well to running. the elliptical, the arctrainer, stairmaster, and cross country ski machine, not to mention deep water running. these things are more beneficial to running.
for strengthening the back, get a big fitness ball and do exersises on that. cheap, easy, and very effective. pilates and yoga are also good, and will def support the running (especially yoga).
cheers,
kc
out of curiosity: on a C2 erg, what are average/ok/good/great times for the 500 m? anyone?
Depends whether you mean a 500m sprint, or pace for a longer workout. I was a varsity (lightweight) rower in university. My best ever 2000m time was 6:28 (1:37/500m). For 500m I guess I could have gone about 1:20 or so. For longer workouts, say an hour or more, I’d work at about 1:55/500m up to 2:05/500m.
For a male non-rower of similar weight (150) I’d guess:
500m: 1:45
2000m: 7:30
1hr +: 2:30/500m
If you are going to use the erg to strengthen your back muscles make sure you get someone (who knows what they are doing) to show you how to use it correctly, or you could end up doing some serious damage to your back. Also, don’t set the drag factor higher than about 120 (should be about 3-4 on the damper setting) for the same reason.
ok, thanks. Can you put a number on how much of a difference the damper makes?
The vent on the side is like shifting gears on a bike. If it’s easier to pull you get less per stroke but each stroke is easier. If it is harder to pull you will get more distance per pull but each pull would be harder. Just stick it in the middle.
ok, thanks. Can you put a number on how much of a difference the damper makes?
Difference the damper makes to what? Pace (sec/500m)? Injury potential?
It shouldn’t change your pace much, but does change how you need to pull. It’s similar to biking in an easy gear high cadence versus hard gear low cadence.
If you set the damper to 10 (and you don’t know what you are doing) you WILL hurt yourself. Even with perfect technique you have to be careful doing this.
I personally always set the drag via the drag factor on the computer rather than by the damper setting, since dust/dirt/atmospheric conditions/etc. will affect the load at a given damper setting.
Here’s a good place to look for information and some erg technique points:
http://www.concept2.com/05/training/training/gettingstarted.asp
http://www.concept2.com/05/rower/rower_alex_anim.html
I used to row for U. of Washington,
and just so you know…most heavyweight men on the national team rarely have the fan setting above 6. In fact, some of the fastest guys in the world row with it on a really light setting.
Ahhh, for women this is a whole different subject. I agree with you on the huge butt thing and mass building for women; we had some world class women on the team that could drink me under the table - who knows why that happens to women and not men! 
Sorry, maybe I should have been clearer on workout settings. Set the C2 fan setting to 1; this will place a greater focus on smooth technique and aerobic capacity. I see too many novices put it up to 10 because they feel it is a better workout. Set it to 1 and just focus on keeping the stroke smooth and quick. Then keep the stroke rate at a level where you can hold your ideal heart rate. I know it sounds ridiculous, but we used to do heart rate sets where we would alternate beat levels with stroke rate and you should rarely need to row anywhere under 1:55 to 1:50/per 500m. Try erging with a heart rate monitor and you’ll probably find that you don’t need to be pulling under say a 1:55. More likely is you will be around 2:00-2:10. It just depends on what your focus is.
In my experience, rowing is about the worst thing you could possibly do for running. As background, I was on a bunch of national track teams as a junior for 400m and 800m. That stopped with knee surjeries, and the doctor who treated me suggested rowing as an alternate sport. The first varsity practice that I could participate in finished with a 3 mile run, which unsurprisingly took me a little less time than the some of the other guys, and the coach commented that it was nice to see I could run a bit, but that it wouldn’t last because “Rowers can’t run”.
I’m pretty sure I sneered (inwardly) when I heard that, and had an (internal) response along the lines of, “Ha. I am a runner. I shall always be able to run.”
Fortunately I didn’t say any of the above out loud, because about 3 months later, after putting in 6 hours a day in boats, the weight room and - of course - the erg, my legs had changed a little. We went for our second group run of the season, and - big surprise - the coach was right, and I couldn’t run to save myself.
I admit that the volume/intensity that I got shoved through for the next 9 years were a little on the extreme side, and don’t necessarily compare all that well to using an erg for x-training, but I still don’t think that it’s a great aid for running. If you look at rowers’ legs they’re reasonably similar to cyclists’ in terms of where the muscle gets built up, but completely different to anyone running more than a 200m.
Bottom line is that ergs are great all-body workouts - and really, if I could only use one toy to get as fit as possible, it would be a rowing machine - but I think they’d hurt your running more than they’d help it.
Dr Fritz Hagerman did a study that showed why running and rowing doesn’t translate well. Of course I can’t find the article…but it was interesting. The muscle development is completely different. some of it has to due with the low turnover in rowing compared to running (and cycling for that matter).
If I remember correctly, rowers tend to develope denser muscles and bone. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt as a cross training effect with other benefits to your normal running.
From my 10 years of rowing, most of the time rowers were slow runners. Of course I rowed heavyweight, so that explains part of it. I knew some lightweights that could still run pretty fast. I also know that whenever I ran I felt like somebody beat the shit out of me. even now that I run regularly I feel like somebody beat me up if I run for more than an hour.
Rowing, when done properly, is an excellent exercise for the glutes. In my “just cycling days”, I once got on a rowing machine, thinking I was fit, and set it to “Olympic Level”. I rowed for about a half hour and when I got off, my glutes were just quivering, because they worked so hard. Goes to show each sport requires different muscle groups.
It’s the lower rate of turnover plus the non-alternating leg push off. There’s also a big technique component that makes rowers who don’t run often slow runners. Another thing that people have touched on is the massive extraneus weight that a lot of (especially american and british) rowers carry. Lightweights are better in this regard, as they are very sinnewy at the top level, and have a height/weight ratio that is more appropriate for running. Rowing in itself does not build massive men and women, look at the elite lightweights, or most rowers not from the US. It is the amount of food consumed, plus the emphasis on weight-training and erg score that makes US collegiate rowers so big, and in many cases, over-adipose.
Having said that, there are a number of elite world class rowers that are pretty fast runners. It all comes down to your running skill and mileage, and your weight, IMO.
I am not a fast runner, but I ran my first two marathons in 3.38 and 3.32 after rowing the LW2x all year until Sept, and running 3-4x per week until October at age 21 and 22. I hadn’t run for 4year before that. My SO, who runs maybe a total of 5times per year, ran an 18min XC 5K 2weeks after Worlds. Is that fast? No, not for a runner. But for someone who runs 5 times total in a year? Of course he would run faster if he actually ran during the year, but I’m not convinced rowing is such running-cryptonite as everyone said above. A little erging will have no negative effect, IMO. Won’t make you faster per se, but the negative effect is debatable.