Analysis of Rowdy Dawg Race

-Pace from the start was low key. Was able to just settle in to a rhthym early. Less is more. The first part seemed to go by faster than I thought.

-Drinking from water bottle went ok, but still takes too much time, and I look down a the cage when putting bottle back. Need to practice more

-1bottle power bar drink /hr worked ok. Stomach bugging at the end, but didn't feel like I was bonking. Need to try out power gel+water in race.

-Sportlegs takes time to intake. Slows me down. But they work so well. Timing seemed perfect and affect seem seamless w/o any glaring gaps like at Douthat. At hr2 could really feel them kick in for the last part of the race. had some muscle cramp twinges but no major lockups. But I rode consitent throughout w/o major impulses at tech sections that tend to lock up the legs.

-Full suspension works best when pushing slightly bigger gear, especially on the smooth climbs. Riding conservatively on the climbs led to going to the bailout gear. This isn't optimum for the FS. Gearing higher and lowering cadence works better for smoother climbs (Horse Trail, fire road). this is opposide of the hardtail. I can spin a higher cadence/lower gear and maintain good forward progression while at the same time saving the legs with the hardtail.

However the FS trumps hardtail through rocks/roots while pedaling. Again though must push a gear that provides good tension in the system. Double edged sword of trying to save legs in order to complete race strong but at the same time not wallowing and going backwards on the easy climbs. FS shines on short steep grunts because gear is already high due to steepness. Need to practice riding smoother stuff in higher gear with FS.

-Skills and overall speed threshold are biggest limiter.

-Need to try glasses again. Eyes bugging me towards the end. Have always fogged up in the past.