I'm headed to Manchester England in November to race the Paralympic World Championships. It is going to be harder and the competition will be stiffer. I'm going to have to step up my game in order to be competitive. I do have a lot of technique work that will lead to better times at my current fitness levels so that is encouraging.
In the Kilo I need start work, timing it right out of the gate will net me a little time. Issue number 2 is standing through the turn. Next I need to work on getting to the aerobars quickly so I can stand longer. I need work on holding the black line at speed. Getting that stuff right will earn some free speed. On top of that, more strength will help get that race gear rolling, a higher top-end will drop my overall lap times, and more tolerance for lactic acid will stave off the fade.
In the Pursuit I need the same better timed start, stand through the turn, quick transition to aerobars, and line holding. My biggest time gain will come from pacing. I put on a clinic in how not to pace a Pursuit. On the fitness side I need more threshold power and VO2 max power.
Other little things I can do are taping the helmet vents, losing the gloves, getting a long sleeve skinsuit that fits tighter, not using pins, and riding a front disk.
One variable I cannot control is climate. On Pursuit day there was talk that the track was colder and less humid than it had been in the previous three days which could have cost all racing a few seconds.
Add all of it together on top of 4 more months of solid training and I could go to Manchester and post some better times!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Pursuit
I got finished with USADA at 9PM after the Kilo and was in bed by 10:30. But I could not sleep. I was reflecting on the Kilo, the jersey, the probable trip to Worlds, oh, and the Pursuit the next day. Kilo win or not, I was still looking at the Individual Pursuit as my target race of the week. I woke up with sore legs and hoped my warm -up would get them feeling better. The IPs went off around noon so I had about 15 hours to recover.
My warm-up went well and I went to wait my turn. I was more nervous than I had been the day before. I was shaking just a little as I clipped in. I flubbed my start just a bit, I did not pop my hips hard enough and didn't really get the bike rolling until my right leg came around for the downstroke. Once again, I sat down half-way through the turn, then I stood back up on the straight away and got into the aero bars later than I did the night before. I came through lap one and my second half split was 9.5, perfect. Lap 2 was an 18.1 and I freaked out, that was .4 sec too fast and I stopped pedaling so lap 3 was 19.1. That was too slow so I had to pick it up. I caught the guy that started on the opposite side of the track on lap 4 or 5 and took way too long to get around him. My time that lap was 19.7, then I rolled a high 18, a pair of 19.3s, and I quit getting splits with a Kilo to go. I was falling apart in the last few laps and was bouncing sponges while trying to hold a good line. I finally finished with a time of 3:56. It was not what I wanted to ride. I was looking to run about 3:50, but the race was over and I went wait for the rest of the heats to finish. I was looking at the lap splits and started to realize that no one was having a fast ride Edit: Everyone was riding slower than the splits run in practice the previous day pointing to some external factor keeping speeds lower than they should have been. and I might still have a shot at the podium.
I was sitting on the trainer when the USADA chaperon from the previous evening walked towards our pit area. I asked if he was looking for me and he was. The first thing I did was too look at the sheet and see what I had placed. It was second. Fair enough, a first and second at my first track nats was more than I imagined leading up to the race!
My warm-up went well and I went to wait my turn. I was more nervous than I had been the day before. I was shaking just a little as I clipped in. I flubbed my start just a bit, I did not pop my hips hard enough and didn't really get the bike rolling until my right leg came around for the downstroke. Once again, I sat down half-way through the turn, then I stood back up on the straight away and got into the aero bars later than I did the night before. I came through lap one and my second half split was 9.5, perfect. Lap 2 was an 18.1 and I freaked out, that was .4 sec too fast and I stopped pedaling so lap 3 was 19.1. That was too slow so I had to pick it up. I caught the guy that started on the opposite side of the track on lap 4 or 5 and took way too long to get around him. My time that lap was 19.7, then I rolled a high 18, a pair of 19.3s, and I quit getting splits with a Kilo to go. I was falling apart in the last few laps and was bouncing sponges while trying to hold a good line. I finally finished with a time of 3:56. It was not what I wanted to ride. I was looking to run about 3:50, but the race was over and I went wait for the rest of the heats to finish. I was looking at the lap splits and started to realize that no one was having a fast ride Edit: Everyone was riding slower than the splits run in practice the previous day pointing to some external factor keeping speeds lower than they should have been. and I might still have a shot at the podium.
I was sitting on the trainer when the USADA chaperon from the previous evening walked towards our pit area. I asked if he was looking for me and he was. The first thing I did was too look at the sheet and see what I had placed. It was second. Fair enough, a first and second at my first track nats was more than I imagined leading up to the race!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Kilo
I was on the fence about even doing this race. The Kilo is a sprinter's race and I'm more of an enduro rider, but it was on the schedule and I figured I'd just do it as a warm up for the pursuit the next day. My warm up went well, some spin ups and some time at threshold. I had my bike checked (weight, saddle behind BB) and went to wait for my turn. I was to be racing with Sam Kavanagh on the other side of the track and I have to be honest in saying that I just wanted to ride fast enough so he wouldn't catch me.
I was nervous on the line, I've never started out of a gate and this was my first real timed track race. The countdown hit 20 sec and I set my grip. 10 sec, keep breathing. 5 sec, set myself. 1 sec, stand up. Start beep, explode. I timed the start well and got rolling pretty quickly. I sat down at the middle of turns 1-2 and got into the aero bars about center track. I started my second acceleration phase and came flying into lap 2. I hit the turn pretty quickly and had to float a little to keep from rolling up the track. I really started to feel the burn at the end of lap 3 and just tried to hang on to the line. I heard my time announced as a low 1:15, I was happy with that, but I was in some serious pain.
I was starting my cool down when a man came over and asked if I was Aaron Trent. It took me a second to realize that this man was my USADA chaperon and that I was going to be drug tested. That's cool, it meant I did something good! So 20 minutes later I get off the bike and have to sign a sheet saying I was notified of my test. The sheet said "1st men's Kilo"! WHAT! I had won and didn't know it for 20 minutes.
Quick side note: Domestic Paralympic racing awards are based on a factor so all disability classes compete together. To win, you need to have the best percentage of your standard, and for the Kilo I had the best time/standard on the day.
The awards ceremony was surreal. I was standing on the top step of the podium with a gold medal. I thought I would have a good ride, but I wasn't expecting to win at my first National Championship event.
When I got finished with USADA I came pack and the infield was empty except for Craig. He handed me the stars and stripes jersey the podium crew forgot to give me. It's pretty cool.
I was nervous on the line, I've never started out of a gate and this was my first real timed track race. The countdown hit 20 sec and I set my grip. 10 sec, keep breathing. 5 sec, set myself. 1 sec, stand up. Start beep, explode. I timed the start well and got rolling pretty quickly. I sat down at the middle of turns 1-2 and got into the aero bars about center track. I started my second acceleration phase and came flying into lap 2. I hit the turn pretty quickly and had to float a little to keep from rolling up the track. I really started to feel the burn at the end of lap 3 and just tried to hang on to the line. I heard my time announced as a low 1:15, I was happy with that, but I was in some serious pain.
I was starting my cool down when a man came over and asked if I was Aaron Trent. It took me a second to realize that this man was my USADA chaperon and that I was going to be drug tested. That's cool, it meant I did something good! So 20 minutes later I get off the bike and have to sign a sheet saying I was notified of my test. The sheet said "1st men's Kilo"! WHAT! I had won and didn't know it for 20 minutes.
Quick side note: Domestic Paralympic racing awards are based on a factor so all disability classes compete together. To win, you need to have the best percentage of your standard, and for the Kilo I had the best time/standard on the day.
The awards ceremony was surreal. I was standing on the top step of the podium with a gold medal. I thought I would have a good ride, but I wasn't expecting to win at my first National Championship event.
When I got finished with USADA I came pack and the infield was empty except for Craig. He handed me the stars and stripes jersey the podium crew forgot to give me. It's pretty cool.
Nationals Recap: Pre-race
I got to LA on Tuesday with a bundle of nerves. I was fit and feeling fast but the timed track races are very different than a road TT in the early stages of a track racer's career. There is a lot of technique involved in getting around a Velodrome as quickly as possible and there is the standing start in race gear from a gate.
Craig Griffin, who is the National Paralympic team coach, set me out on a flying effort to gague the splits I should look at riding for my pursuit. My splits were decent, but my line was terrible. I stopped in for a chat and he told me to do a few efforts while looking through the turn so I could stay on the black line.
Wednesday was similar; still working on pacing and holding a good line, but this time in full race gear which was a HED trispoke front, Zipp 900 Disk, and aero helmet.
The girls had the 500m TT and Kilo TT (for the tandem) on Thursday morning so I went to watch and cheer them on. There was nothing left to do but race.
Craig Griffin, who is the National Paralympic team coach, set me out on a flying effort to gague the splits I should look at riding for my pursuit. My splits were decent, but my line was terrible. I stopped in for a chat and he told me to do a few efforts while looking through the turn so I could stay on the black line.
Wednesday was similar; still working on pacing and holding a good line, but this time in full race gear which was a HED trispoke front, Zipp 900 Disk, and aero helmet.
The girls had the 500m TT and Kilo TT (for the tandem) on Thursday morning so I went to watch and cheer them on. There was nothing left to do but race.
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