I'm a natural sprinter. Pretty much from the day I started racing on skates way back in 1996, I was always much better at short intense efforts than I was at long sustained efforts. For some reason, my fitness just naturally gains in that area first. On the other hand, it takes me months of focused training to improve my time trialing abilities.
It's really apparent in my riding lately. I'm working mostly on rebuilding my foundation, doing tempo efforts and a few threshold efforts, and trying to build back up to longer rides. I can still barely make it through a 2-hour ride. Nothing there says "sprints."
When I go riding at lunch, though, the numbers tell another story. Even with my threshold down 50 watts and carrying an extra 15 pounds of weight that isn't useful on the bike, I've broken 3 personal records in the last month and have come pretty close to a 4th, all in that anaerobic/sprint range.
The numbers:
| Time | This month | Previous best |
| 10 seconds | 991 watts | 1048 watts |
| 20 seconds | 896 watts | 855 watts |
| 30 seconds | 796 watts | 783 watts |
| 60 seconds | 645 watts | 600 watts |
These are not small gains, either. Both the 20- and 60-second records are by more than 40 watts. That's a huge gain!
Of course, when I return to racing it will probably be to time trials. I enjoy the events and, to be honest, they are a whole lot safer than pack races, even if it means my natural gifts are not being fully used.
