Quote:
Originally Posted by CC Cowboy
If you are hitting your marks your total concentration should be there and not what is out of that area of focus.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducati999
I try to force myself to keep it at 100% but looking up the track, especially on the long straight, I still find that I have been slowly backing off the throttle. Do I need more reference points to keep my mind working and not thinking about the situation or just focus on forcing my brain to keep the throttle pinned? Is this a lack of confidence or just me not being used to running the bike at full throttle in high gear and arriving at the brake marker at a higher speed than previous? There is no doubt that what you said is 100% true and correct, Im just looking for suggestions/experience in dealing with the problem.
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You need to focus on your reference-points more and move your braking markers back for higher top-speed. Not seeing your target braking-marker is causing you to roll off throttle.
I have some stories that relate and may help you with this. I did 15-years of bicycle racing starting at university. Had some friends and teammates that stayed with me through that entire experience. I was weakest one of bunch with my teammates beating me during training in everything: sprints, hillclimbs, time-trials, etc. However, I always did better in races as I reached highest levels of the sport.
One race in particular highlighted differences in how we performed in same identical race. After 100-miles of slogging through backroads of central CA, we were nearing finish. Couple laps through downtown with a prime or two for spectators. I took one and my teammate took the other and we were setting up for final sprint. We were side-by-side behind other guys who were going to finish #3 & 4 spots, ready for them to lead us out. Pack thins out as pace picks up with 1.5 laps to go, 38... 39... 40... 41..
Couple of linebacker-types try to bump me off wheel ahead, I hold steady. Guy couple spots up starts sprint 1/2 lap out to lead his guy to finish. I latch onto him... 42...43... going 100% screaming bloody murder giving it all I've got! Leadout guy fades and it's just the two of us... I'm barely holding his draft and I know I gotta come around him and accelerate faster to get him at line... I give a last ditch effort for 2-3 sec with all I've got.. 44...45.. then just as I'm about to rear-end him, I come around... spinning madly 130rpms+.. another 2-3 secs... we're neck & neck... Shove bike forward as I slide off rear of seat.. >thunk< as seat punches me in belly!! I got him by inches at line!!! ..... woohoo!!!
I look around for my teammate and he's nowhere to be found. Next lap around I find him being picked up by ambulance crew and road-rash treated. I really don't understand what happened, he was right next to me on last lap. It really took reviewing video footage of last lap to convince me there was crash! One of linebacker-types tried to shove off guy ahead of me to let their teammates in front get gap to take finish. They both got tangled and crashed, taking my teammate out as well. I didn't even see it!! I was too focused on two guys in front who were going to win that I didn't even see crash occurring. I just went around it as part of staying focused and fixated on staying with them. Thinking back, I never ever saw anyone hit the ground in my last 10-yrs of racing. As soon as something iffy started to happen, I would focus on getting around it.
Moral of story is you have only 100% of your focus to take in... what... 1-2% of the environment around you? You want to focus only on next reference point, hit it and focus on next one. One of the coaches call this connecting-the-dots. Focus on getting that next point perfect, then go for next one, ignore everything whizzing by.
In your case, back up your brake-markers another 50m so you can go 100% WOT to them. When you find yourself coasting with plenty of room to turn-in marker, move braking-marker up 1-2m at a time.
Wall? what wall??