XC Race Analysis (Hanson Hills 50) Open Cat.

this is race analysis of hanson hills 50 which was a 50 mile mountain bike race in grayling michigan it started off as a neutral mass start all categories all ages were started at the same time and it was a neutral rollout for about two and a half miles of pavement the first mile and a half was neutral and once we made a turn back to the main uh road uh leading to the trail system they cut us loose and the race began jumping ahead about four minutes and the neutral lead out is about to end we're gonna make a left at this next street and uh the race instructions were that the race began as soon as we made this left so as we make this left of course uh the race starts out hard and fast and i'm looking to just uh move behind the main this group and get into a long pace line back to the second track so eventually this group gets organized and we become a pace line back to the trail system the pavement section is over as we make our way on to some dirt roads and grass sections weaving our way through the buildings and on to eventually what becomes the single track [Applause] we make our way up to the finish line and the beginning loop is now over and we begin what now becomes lap one of two pace has been strong the group is still together and we have still about a mile or so before we get to the single track this group continues to press hard and i'm doing all i can to stay on the back of the front pack which at this point is every bit of 10 to 15 riders and they're keeping a constant strong pace and finally after 11 minutes we come up on the single track and this is where i expect the pace will slow down a bit the beginning pace has been quite hard especially considering this is a three and a half to four hour race pulling up the stats to this point it's been 325 average 343 normalized power and i'm starting to think that this is not sustainable and if i keep this up i'm not going to make it to the end awkward section there sucks in my wheel and i go off trail and this is the first separation from the front pack so i put an effort still trying to hold with this front pack and right about here is when i realized i'm not going to be able to hold on to them i haven't quite given up on the group yet but i'm certainly getting to that point that i'm just going to let that front group go now i fully just let that group go and settle into what i believe to be a more sustainable pace because i certainly cannot keep the pace of that front group jumping ahead about five minutes and the beginning part of this race has been mostly flat and as i come upon this left turn we approach our first hill realizing i put out a pretty decent effort this beginning 15 17 minutes i put a decent effort up this hill but still realize that i have every bit of three and a half hours probably remaining in this race [Applause] jumping ahead a little bit and i've been keeping a steady effort up this hill but apparently it's too slow of a pace for the guys behind me and he passes me and presses on there's a bit of a battle behind me for um the next move and this guy gets by me and soon after the gentleman behind me in blue will pass me as well jumping ahead five minutes that much has changed i picked up a group of three behind me and if we look at the stats up to this point it's still been pretty hard considering this is a three and a half to four hour race average power 291 normalized at 313. so as we crest this hill we take a break from the single track and move on to some back fire roads that end up being grassy sandy to track and the group behind me is uh looking to push the pace a bit and they make a move to pass me here i decide this is my new group and i'm going to try to stick with them as long as possible i'm able to maintain this pace for some time and hoping they don't try to push it too hard and at least have a group to ride with over the next few minutes or so we began to play this cat and mouse game as i seem to be faster on the descents and when it starts pointing upwards uh these guys tend to be faster than me uphill jumping ahead 10 minutes i've been still with the same group not much has changed i'm just trying to recover but this pace has been pretty steady and probably faster than i want to go here's another of these points where i just tend to be faster on the downhills wasn't looking to make a move or push or anything but as i passed them on the descents they passed me on the uphill and i'm not sure if they thought it was an attack but after we crest this hill they make it quite a bit more difficult or at least felt more difficult to me jumping ahead a little bit and 40 minutes into this race this becomes the second point where i just crack again and realize the pace at this point has just been too strong and i have to let that three-person group that i've been following around for a bit to just go because i just can't maintain that pace taking a look at the stats again still been pretty strong 303 normalized and 279 average power for the first 40 some minutes another guy gets by me here and i don't even think about trying to get on his wheel at this point i'm thinking that man i have at least three hours left in this race and i better find a way to get to the finish line luckily there is a nice long descent here and i'm taking every opportunity to recover and try to put myself back together but at the bottom of this hill there's a bit of a surprise and i have some more work cut out for them oh nice so here we get dumped onto some logging trails that have deep sand ruts and i know i have probably another 20 minutes of these difficult fire roads ahead of me before we get back onto single track so uh so finally we finish up the fire roads and logging roads and we're back on a single track that is about the halfway mark of the first lap so i'm looking to make my way back to the finish line and start the second and last lap jumping ahead to about the hour mark of this race and coming up on some newly cut clear forest and we have my way through here taking a look at the stats for the first hour 290 normalized power and 263 average jumping ahead 30 minutes and we're at the hour and 30 minute mark of this race and for the last half an hour i've seen to settle in to a sustainable pace that i think i can carry to the finish line and i just continue on and not much changes [Applause] jumping ahead 15 minutes i'm nearing the end of the first lap there's just just final climb near the end before a long descent to the finish line it's a relatively short climb only about a minute in 15 seconds but it feels brutal at the end of the lap average gradient of this climb is eight percent and maxing out at 19 percent and finally we crest this hill and the first lap is within sight start to do a mental evaluation thinking about that first lap i definitely went out too strong and held on for too long and that really smoked me and i knew at some point i needed to back off if i was being able to finish these two laps in a reasonable amount of time so really happy to be nearing the end of the first lap settle into a steady pace and i'm looking to carry this strong to the finish so here we are finishing up lap one and mentally still feeling pretty good um the lungs are still pretty good but there is a definite tiredness and heaviness in the legs that is really limiting me from pushing it i think those strong efforts in the beginning are costing me taking in a caffeine gel here hoping it'll be the miracle to get me through this next hour and a half to two hour lap too right here excuse me thank you jumping ahead almost 30 minutes and we're back on the back section of the two track fire roads and coming across a person that appears to be suffering worse than i am this gentleman actually passed me at the 40-minute mark as i lost the three-person group and here we are an hour and a half later and um passing him back spoke to him after the race and he said he tried to hold on to my wheel and eventually the pace was not sustainable and he probably went off a little too hard as well and is suffering it on the back end of this lap too here we are once again finishing up the back side of this course and the fire roads coming back on the single track at this point i know that the race is 75 over and i have about an hour remaining in the race so this is a happy sight to see dropping back on a single track and making my way down the home stretch taking a look again at the stats up to this point normalized power 261 average power 236 and the second half of this race the second lap has certainly slowed down from the first but it's certainly a more sustainable pace [Applause] jumping ahead about 20 minutes and i've been writing most of this second part of the course by myself until this gentleman here comes up and passes me and i take this opportunity to follow this guy's wheel hopefully to the finish line jumping ahead another 20 minutes and still with this guy following his wheel he's pushing a pretty decent pace and once again i find myself catching him on the descents and him pulling away from me on the uphills i learned at some point he's actually a single speed and that's why he keeps uh moving away from me on the uphills [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] jumping ahead another 15 minutes and finishing up lap two all that's left in this lap is this final difficult one 115 climb at eight percent and maxes out at nineteen 19 after this climb it's just a long descent to the finish line to wrap up this race still with this single speed guy but he has a little bit more energy left in me and he starts cranking up this hill [Applause] okay reaching the top of this hill and i give a few looks uh back periodically while climbing this hill to make sure no one's going to pass me it's been a pretty brutal three and a half hours and i'm just looking to finish as strong as possible as i weave my way around the finish of this course past the parking lot into the finish line i start to take stock on the effort today and where things went wrong and right and what i could have done better i'm not sure of my placing at this point i know a lot of guys got off the front and i wasn't able to hold on to that that front group but in retrospect i realized that some of these guys are probably not in my category for this race there was no experience categories only age based on 10-year blocks so beginners were racing with sport expert and elite coming up on the finish line here and finally we're over after three hours and 38 39 minutes i end up finishing fifth place in my category taking one final look at the stats for this race 252 normalized 226 average for the three hours and almost 39 minutes

Channel: MI-XC

Views: 286

Keywords: mi, xc, mixc, mi-xc, hanson, hills, 50, Hanson Hills 50, hanson hills, 2021, wim, wheels in motion, grayling, trail, trails, pov, single, track, singletrack, rec, recreation, mountain, bike, mtb, scott, spark, rc, 900, xcm, cross country marathon

Id: aSlD2htX1Hs

Length: 28min 17sec (1697 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 04 2021