07/17/2016
Post-race recap:
With the summer heat, triathlon season is in full swing, there’s no better time than now to keep track of what worked and what didn’t during your races. Whether you hit your goals or not, these early races offer important insights to help you tweak the rest of your season and get the most out of your training.
It’s important to conduct a post-race analysis to evaluate your race performance, and to determine what worked and what didn’t, where your strengths lie, and what limiters need tweaking.
After a race, I like to analyze a series of indicators, among them I include a quantitative and qualitative analysis of various factors including the pacing and fueling strategy, heart rate, power,
placement in the field, and how the race felt. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it hits the key elements you want to focus on.
Within a day or two of the race, write down your thoughts about the race and specific details about the experience. You want a realistic and honest assessment of how the day went so you can make solid decisions about your future training.
Things to consider:
Pacing
Were you able to hit your pacing targets (based on HR, power or speed)? If not, why not? Did weather, fueling, or sickness play a role? Were your targets realistic based on your training leading into the race?
Fueling
Was your fueling plan appropriate to the rigors of the day, e.g., too many or too little calories, too much or too little hydration?
Did you experience any GI problems?
If there were problems, how severe were they? Was it due to the calorie counts, the timing of the calories, hydration, electrolytes, something else?
The Numbers: Heart Rate, pace & Power
In addition to the qualitative assessment, you can use heart rate and power data (if available) to assess your performance. Were you able to maintain a consistent and appropriate heart rate and power profile throughout the race?
If you found it hard to keep your heart rate elevated toward the end of the race that could be indicative of an error with fueling, likely that you needed more calories. You may have also pushed the first part too hard, leaving you with nothing to finish strong. Or perhaps, this is an approach you need to focus on more in training.
Was it hard to keep your heart rate down? If so, perhaps dehydration or heat was an issue.
Placement in the field
For athletes with competitive goals, it can be helpful to analyze your placement in the field. The most basic analysis includes determining your overall placement, your placement within your gender, and your placement within your age group.
Be honest but don’t be too hard on yourself if thing “just didn’t work out the way you wanted”… Use this analysis as a building block to help you achieve your season goals.
