At the starting line
DDMC office manager David Holding gets ready for the journey to Athens for the Paralympic Games and reveals how he prepares for the big races.
It's not long now, before the Paralympic Games in Athens, and as the actual race days draw closer there are many thoughts going through an athlete's mind.
You want to keep training and be careful not to slack off, but you think more about fine-tuning your training.
For my particular sport, wheelchair sprints, I'm concentrating on the technique of pushing, making sure I get the most out of each push.
I've been concentrating on moving my arms as fast as possible when I have built up speed up to try to get extra
pushes in before the end of the sprint.
Also, fine-tuning the start is important in a 100m race.
My training is geared to doing fewer actual sprints now compared with early in the year, but they are more intense
because I am trying to do them as fast as possible. It will also be good to do some fine-tuning in pre-camp acclimatisation
in Cyprus before moving on to Athens.
I've also been thinking about the journey to the Paralympics because my racing wheelchair is vulnerable to damage and I just hope it gets there safely. I actually bubble-wrap the chair for extra protection and so that it looks fragile to the airport luggage staff, so they don't throw it around.
I've tried boxing the chair in the past, but this resulted in a very heavy box that I couldn't get to the airport by car!
I'm also wondering what to expect when I arrive at the Paralympic village which houses all the athletes. We have
been told there will be 6,000 paralympic athletes staying in the village, waiting for their race days.
I find it is best to try to make yourself feel at home as soon as possible. Once I have been sorted with accommodation, I
like to find out how to travel to a training track. Finding out you are able to do your normal training as planned is a
good way of settling in.
Meanwhile, it's best to familiarise yourself with the Olympic village, such as where to get your meals, and how to spend your spare time, when you are not training or sleeping.
It is also nice to be with fellow teammates and team staff and coaches that you know have been training for the same event for the past four years.
I'll be going going with fellow wheelchair athletes, including David Wier, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Karen Lewis- Archer, Deborah Brennan, Jenny Ridley and Rachel Potter, who all have excellent chances of winning medals in Athens. Some of these athletes have recently broken world records. In July Tanni broke the world record in the 200m in Atlanta, and Jenny Ridley broke various world records in Birmingham in May.
When it comes to the race day, when you get to the warm-up track about two hours before you race, then you know this is the one that matters, the one you have been waiting for.
You try to block everything else out of your mind and try to focus on just the race itself. When it comes to the start line, this is when the pressure is on, as you know you have to do the business, and concentrate on your own performance.
Good luck David, from everyone at
DDMC!
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