Santa? You can keep the fat oaf. He does one day's work a year and yet gets more mince pies and brandy than you could shake a reindeer at. Terry O'Neill, meanwhile, answers all the queries sent in to [email protected], 365 days a year, and what does he get? Bread and the occasional bit of gruel. Hardly fair. Dominic Salles: Before buying a Rower, I just used to row for thirty minutes, three times a week, matching my previous distance, or bettering each time. I prefer the longer distance row, and started rowing 10,000m rows, not cycling my training and attained a best of 10,000m in 36:36.Last year I bought my own Rower, heart rate monitor and Indoor Rowing Training Guide, and followed the routine for 2,000 metre training, posting 2,000 metre time after my first 12 week cycle of 6:33.Although I improved, I really didn't enjoy interval training at all. So I have some questions.1. Given my times on the longer distance row, would I be better training for the 10,000m row?2. Could I train for 2,000 metres following the Training Guide, but without the interval? For example, could I row for thirty minutes, gradually increasing my heart rate to the target rate?Terry O'Neill: If you like the 10,000 metres, then carry on with that as your main focus but your 2,000 metres time is pretty good. The thing is, when you say you didn't enjoy the intensive intervals, well only a complete masochist would.Intensive intervals are very unpleasant but they are the most effective way to develop lactate tolerance and the lactate shunt system. When you do your 10,000 metres, if you are looking for a Personal Best then you will still need an anaerobic contribution. The only difference is that whereas in a 2,000 metre piece the anaerobic effort is around 20%, in the 10,000 metres it will be around 5%. It will feel just as hard because the total contribution is the same, just spread over a longer period, and therefore there is still a requirement to develop in this area.