How to use
- Choose what you know: a split per 500 m, a finish time over a distance, or watts.
- Type the value. Splits and times are written as minutes and seconds, with tenths if you like (1:52.5).
- Set the distance, for example 2000 m for a standard test or 5000 m for a longer piece.
- Read the split, watts, time for the distance, speed and the meters you would cover in 30 minutes at that pace.
How it works
The monitor formula is watts = 2.80 ÷ (split ÷ 500)³, with the split in seconds per 500 m. Turned around, split = 500 × (2.80 ÷ watts)^(1/3). A finish time becomes a split by time ÷ distance × 500, and the time for a distance is distance ÷ 500 × split. Speed is 500 ÷ split in m/s.
Example
A 2:00 split is 120 seconds per 500 m:
- watts = 2.80 ÷ (120 ÷ 500)³ = 2.80 ÷ 0.013824 = 202.5 W;
- 2000 m = 4 × 2:00 = 8:00.0;
- speed 500 ÷ 120 = 4.167 m/s, so 30 minutes is 1800 × 4.167 = 7,500 m.
The other way, 7:30 for 2000 m is 450 ÷ 4 = 112.5 s, a 1:52.5 split, and 2.80 ÷ 0.225³ = 245.8 W.
Tips
- Pacing a test evenly is usually faster than going out hard: pick the target split here and hold it.
- Compare watts rather than splits when you talk about gains: 10 W more at 150 W is a bigger step than at 300 W.
- On the water, boat type, crew, wind and stream change everything, so these numbers apply to rowing machines.