Originally for Triathlete magazine

It is interesting that athletes will spend so much time closely monitoring their training in preparation for a race, but little time in evaluating their actual race performance. Race data is some of the most useful information you can gather; it lets you know exactly what areas need your attention. These areas may include pacing, pre-event and event nutrition and hydration, tapering, mental skills, race strategy or tactics, and specific performance limiters, such as strength endurance. I have observed athletes walking away from a disappointing race with no real concept of what went wrong and then go back to the same training methods they were using before the race. Perhaps you recall the adage those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it? This applies directly to racing.

First and foremost, do not be afraid of your mistakes. A key component to becoming a successful athlete is the ability to learn from your mistakes and adjust your training and racing accordingly. If you are discouraged, it is probably because you worked very hard and did not obtain the results you desired. Your results may, in fact, have nothing to do with your fitness, training or mental fortitude, but could easily involve an outside factor, such as nutrition or hydration (which are the main causes of performance reduction and DNFs). Knowing what factors produced your race results is a lot like unraveling a mystery. You have to look for all the clues first and then begin to narrow your performance limiters down to the root causes.

The clues are in your race data, but it is hard to analyze race data if you do not have any. The more race data you can obtain, the better, in my opinion. Gathering race data will require some planning on your part and you must be familiar with your monitoring equipment and its proper use. This can be as simple as a stopwatch or as complex as a software system. I personally like the new wrist based training computers as they give you a plethora of data such as power, speed, elevation, cadence, heart rate pace etc., etc..  These devices also allow this data to be further analyzed in various software systems using various algorithms. Any time you can put data in a graphical format, it is easier to analyze. Devices that allow you to upload your race data are a big help. Be careful, however, to not let your equipment distract you. You should be able to operate it with a simple touch of the split button and without a lot of scrolling or examining. Race day is not the day to try out a new piece of equipment.

Now that you have the raw data, it is time to break it down.  We utlize an online race recap form for our athletes to fill out after each race. This simple form takes a few minutes to fill out and gives our coaches a very good picture of what occurred or did not occur during the race. These recaps are great for comparison throughout the season or from season to season. I have my athletes to fill this out immediately after their race when details are still fresh in their minds. This questionnaire works best with a post-race interview. You can design your own race recap using the following questions:

Was this the first time you raced this event? This allows us to compare races from previous seasons. It is important to compare apples to apples.

Course conditions. Again, if we are trying to compare previous performances at the same event, we want to know if the course conditions were different. A disappointing bike split may not be so disappointing if there was a strong headwind. Rain on the run or a choppy versus calm swim can drastically affect race times. We also look at the elevation and terrain.

Was this an improvement or PR? This is the most important question of all.

Race time and splits for each leg. A lot can be deduced from this section. For multi-sport athletes, this will identify which sport needs attention, transition times, and pacing.

Mile splits for run. This gives us a good idea of how the run was paced and whether performance degraded over the duration of the run.

Average speed and cadence on the bike (wattage). Wattage is a very pure number that indicates what kind of performance occurred on the bike.

Heart rate data. Average and maximum heart rates for each split indicate pacing and fatigue levels.

Race Fueling and Hydration. This is probably the most important data when trying to determine what went wrong. This section indicates how well the athlete adhered to the race nutrition plan that was created for him / her.

Pre and post race weight. This indicates whether the athlete drank enough fluid or too much.

Do you feel positively about this race comments section? It is important to get the athlete's perspective on their race and to have them carefully consider their performance. Mental skills are a big part of racing. We are often able to identify mental limiters and then work on them before our next event.

While each piece of information by itself may not give you a very clear picture, when combined together, you should have some good, solid data. For example , a drop in your run pace towards the end of a race with a subsequent increase in heart rate may indicate dehydration (and post-race weight will confirm this). Viewing an uploaded data file with your race recap gives you an even clearer picture. Some products allow you to view and manipulate heart rate, cadence, speed, and elevation data all in a single, graphical format.

By now you may have identified some of the areas you need to improve upon and it is time come up with a plan to address them. If you have a very slow transition, you should incorporate transition repeats and drills into your training. If you ended the race dehydrated, it is time to start tracking post-training weight or sweat rate during training to ensure you're drinking enough. If you are a triathlete or duathlete that over-paced on the bike, hopefully you will learn to settle down a bit and save some energy for the run. Perhaps your swimming was done primarily in a pool and the open water intimidated you? It is now time to incorporate some open water swims or race simulations into your training.

Sometimes it is hard to keep your race results in perspective, especially if you did not set reasonable and attainable goals. Remember that your training will dictate, and to a large extend predict, your performance on race day. Leading up to your goal race you should perform some race-paced workouts or practice events. These will give you a good idea of your performance potential. When evaluating your performance, remember that races may vary from year to year. During a post-race call, one of my athletes indicated she was disappointed because she did not see much improvement in her race time. When I looked at her data, I realized the course was extremely windy on race day which accounted for her results. It took me comparing race times from the previous year for all the participants to convince her that the winds affected everyone. Her time was actually a big improvement when all things were considered.

The last question do you feel positively about the race tells me a great deal. Sometimes you may be very well prepared physically and still have a disappointing race. Mental skills are as important as physical ability. For example , I once consulted with a runner who achieved fourth place in a half marathon, yet was very disappointed in his results because he expected to win the race. Even though his race time was a PR and exceeded his expectations, he was ready to hang it up. His level of expectation was something we had to work through. Moving forward, he had a more realistic idea of what to expect out of his training and racing. You can defeat yourself before the starting gun goes off. The pre-race jitters, emotional over-pacing, and negative self-talk are all examples of mental limiters that need to be addressed and trained just like physical limiters. Completing a race recap questionnaire can help identify these mental limiters, which are often difficult to recognize without hindsight.

All of this information can be overwhelming. If you are having trouble putting it all together, talk with a licensed and experienced coach familiar with your type of event. An outside perspective may really help you focus your training more effectively. Putting your post-race thoughts and results on paper will often help you see things from a different angle and they will then be available for future comparison. Remember that you must first accept and identify your mistakes before you can begin to correct them.