Bangs Lake post-race analysis

I was shooting for average 95% of my FTP on the bike at Bangs Lake, but after checking my PowerTap file I saw I only averaged 90%. For such a short distance (20k) I should have been able to push it a lot harder. My runs went well; I started out at a moderate pace and then picked it up (negative split) for both runs.

I also dug a bit more into my race times to see how I compared with the field. I think some of the folks in the front pack on the first run went out way too hard and faded as the race went on. So I’m OK with my 13th place on the first run since I took that one pretty easy. On the second run I came in 7th place, so I’m pretty pleased with that leg, especially considering I matched my 5K PR time. But on the bike leg I came in 13th and I felt like I was pushing it pretty hard, even though my power file only indicated 90% max effort. I know I’m capable of pushing it harder than that but I still back off during a race for fear of popping and not being able to recover. I don’t know if it’s mental or physiological, but I definitely have to work on that aspect of my game.

Also, here’s a transition time kicker… I came in 16 seconds behind my friend Hayes who I would have really liked to have beaten. (He’s actually a faster runner and much stronger biker than I am, but I think he’s been plagued by some knee issues recently). I put 25 seconds into him on the first run, then he took back 2:07 on the bike (ouch!), but then I was able to gain 1:49 on the second run. So overall I should have finished 7 seconds ahead of Hayes, right? Well, when you factor in our transition times I spent 23 more seconds in transition than him (T1: 15+ seconds, T2: 8+ seconds), which swung the advantage around to 16 seconds in his favor. So close and yet so far!