So that didn’t go as I’d hoped! Multiple factors contributed to my downfall today but the biggest one was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Got dropped within the first 15 minutes of the first race of the year! Oh well. I was really bummed as I was time-trialing while I watched the pack ride away from me, thinking that it was all my leg’s fault.

Well fortunately I rode with my PowerTap and was able to analyze my power data when I got home. One TrainingPeaks WKO+ chart I like to look at is my Mean Maximal Power (MMP) for a ride versus my all-time best. How close the solid yellow line comes to the dotted line is how close I came to breaking a personal best for that duration.

In this case, the graphs come awfully close together in the 1.5–2 minute range. Looking at the details, I was only 4% off of my best 1min 43second effort…ever! And that PR was achieved mid-season in 2005, one of my best years.

So no reason to be bummed, at least not about my power. Of course, that meant that the real mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That is: On the left side and towards the back of the pack when we turned onto Pleasant Valley.

I at least made a workout of it and did a hard 30-minute LT effort chasing in hopes that maybe there’d be a lull at the front and I’d catch. But once I got back to Cole, with the pack out of sight, I decided to cut my losses and call it a day. The first race of the year, first DNF of the year. But at least from this point, it can only get better, right!?