Winter Park Hill Climb

Today was the first Winter Park race.  It is 5.2 miles and starts at about 9,000 ft. and goes to a little over 11,000 ft.  My game plan was to start off and not blow up.  The first mile or so is pretty steep, so I thought I would spin a high cadence.  For most of the first three miles I was not to far off the lead group.  About that time they started to pull away and I could not keep the same pace.  My heart rate for the race once I got in a groove was 177 and up, which is quite high.  This is the first time I've done this race, and I thought based on last years times I could beat 45 minutes.  Unfortunately when the clock stopped, I had a time of 48:26.   This was only good for 14/30 in my age category.  I  was completely gassed at the finish, and am pretty happy with my effort, but I am not happy with my results.  I don't think riding at elevation was a limiting factor, I just think I did not have it today.