Rowing Pace Chart
One split, every distance, mapped against the training zones. Screenshot it, print it, pin it to the boathouse board. Updates the instant you change the input.
What is a rowing pace chart?
A rowing pace chart takes your 500m split and projects it forward to predicted finishing times at every standard rowing distance, wrapped in training-zone bands. Feed in your 2k anchor and the chart draws out your expected 5k, 6k, 10k, half marathon and marathon splits. The UT2-through-AN shading lets a coach read target zones at a glance without any extra arithmetic. Useful for Royal Canadian Henley 2k race planning, CSSRA 6k target-setting, OUA head race pacing, and building winter UT2 programmes when the St Lawrence or Rideau is frozen solid.
Anchor split (your 2k pace)
Predicted split across distances
Take it with you
Screenshot or print the chart and stick it on the boathouse whiteboard. The chart is inline SVG so it scales perfectly at any size. Need this for every rower in the squad? That's exactly what the Row HQ coach dashboard does.
How to read the pace chart
The line shows your predicted split at each distance
Pace bleeds off as distance grows. The curve is steepest between 500m and 2k, where the anaerobic contribution fades and the aerobic engine takes over. Beyond 2k the line flattens because the limiting factor shifts from peak anaerobic output to sustainable aerobic capacity. A 6:30 2k typically produces a 5k around 17:00 and a 6k around 20:30 - numbers Canadian coaches use to cross-check January 6k results against Royal Canadian Henley 2k readiness.
The coloured bands are the training zones
All zones are anchored to your personal 2k pace, not a generic chart. UT2 is the widest, lightest band at the top - steady aerobic territory. UT1 sits below that. AT is just above the 2k line. TR is the race pace band itself. AN falls below 2k pace. A distance prediction crossing into a particular band tells you which energy system is dominant at that target split. Seeing a 5k prediction in the UT1 zone is fine; seeing it in AT is ambitious but plausible; seeing it brushing the TR band means you are anchoring to a 2k that is too fast or the piece genuinely requires near-maximal effort.
Why the Riegel curve matters
Most rowers have one or two reliable test results per season, usually a 2k or 6k. The Riegel formula T2 = T1 * (D2 / D1)^1.06 derives estimates at every other distance from that single anchor. The 1.06 exponent comes from regression across thousands of endurance-sport results. Lighter athletes fade a touch more at long distances than heavier ones; masters rowers often hold up better at 10k and beyond because the aerobic base erodes more slowly than peak wattage. Both adjustments are small - a few seconds - but keep them in mind when using the chart to set head race targets rather than sprint distances.
How coaches use this chart in practice
Three main applications. First, building target splits for long-distance winter pieces - a 5k prediction landing at 1:42 marks the AT ceiling for that session. Second, validating race readiness - the projected 2k from a January 6k says whether the crew has the engine to challenge a Royal Canadian Henley time standard in July, or whether they are behind and need to adjust the program. Third, diagnosing equipment issues - if actual splits are running 5+ seconds off the chart at multiple distances, the problem is drag factor setting, monitor calibration or technique, not fitness.
One chart per rower? Sure. Twenty-five charts every Monday? That's Row HQ.
Generating one pace chart is fine. Generating one for every rower each week, tied to their most recent test result, is a database job. Row HQ produces zone-banded splits per athlete automatically and stores the history so you can watch whether the chart is trending the right direction across the whole season. See it in coach tools, inside training session tracking, or in how a partner club uses it.