Another One?
As for doing another one... I'm really on the fence. I did have fun and it was a great time, however I'm 100% positive that grinding out another 16 hour IM won't be as enjoyable. But, I can't imagine training hard enough to shave a reasonable amount of time off that - say an hour.
The bike is tough - stopping 5 minutes every hour basically knocks down your average speed by 8.3%, changing a 16 mph ride average to 14.7 mph clock average. Or for me, changing a 14.9 mph ride average to 13.4 mph clock average. I'm not hung up on speed, but it is important to make the bike cutoff, and I cut it close. So I'd only even think about another one if I could take an hour off my bike time, which means averaging 14.9 mph clock average, or 16.3 mph ride average taking breaks into account. This represents a nearly 10% boost in bike power - not unheard of, but that would take some work on my part.
Basically, I was worried about the bike. After a while it became clear that I would be able to make the cutoff... barring a mechanical problem. Something like a flat tire might have put a serious dent into my timing.
I think with more work I could also shave 30 minutes off the run. And, perhaps 15 minutes off the swim. So I think my upside potential would be 1:45 faster, or a roughly 14:30 finish. But again, this would take some training and physical ability I'm not sure I have.
The half-iron distance is looking better and better as a "long" course challenge. I finished the first loop of the bike feeling good. Unfortunately, I forgot to look at my time. Maybe I can figure it out from looking at my HRM elevation data. Also, the first run loop felt pretty good - I think it was about a 2:45 half marathon, which would drop a little by cutting out 56 miles of biking. ;)
I think my best plan as for a future Ironman is to sign up for another if and when I can get my half-ironman time down to the 6 to 7 hour range. This would break down into a swim/bike/run of 0:45/3:30/2:30 and eventually becoming a 0:45/3:00/2:00. I think that is reasonable as a goal.
The only thing I know is I'm looking forward to slacking for many weeks. After that, I might indulge in speedwork, to see if I can get faster at sprint and olympic distances. This will be a welcome change from the long training ride and runs that IM requires.
The bike is tough - stopping 5 minutes every hour basically knocks down your average speed by 8.3%, changing a 16 mph ride average to 14.7 mph clock average. Or for me, changing a 14.9 mph ride average to 13.4 mph clock average. I'm not hung up on speed, but it is important to make the bike cutoff, and I cut it close. So I'd only even think about another one if I could take an hour off my bike time, which means averaging 14.9 mph clock average, or 16.3 mph ride average taking breaks into account. This represents a nearly 10% boost in bike power - not unheard of, but that would take some work on my part.
Basically, I was worried about the bike. After a while it became clear that I would be able to make the cutoff... barring a mechanical problem. Something like a flat tire might have put a serious dent into my timing.
I think with more work I could also shave 30 minutes off the run. And, perhaps 15 minutes off the swim. So I think my upside potential would be 1:45 faster, or a roughly 14:30 finish. But again, this would take some training and physical ability I'm not sure I have.
The half-iron distance is looking better and better as a "long" course challenge. I finished the first loop of the bike feeling good. Unfortunately, I forgot to look at my time. Maybe I can figure it out from looking at my HRM elevation data. Also, the first run loop felt pretty good - I think it was about a 2:45 half marathon, which would drop a little by cutting out 56 miles of biking. ;)
I think my best plan as for a future Ironman is to sign up for another if and when I can get my half-ironman time down to the 6 to 7 hour range. This would break down into a swim/bike/run of 0:45/3:30/2:30 and eventually becoming a 0:45/3:00/2:00. I think that is reasonable as a goal.
The only thing I know is I'm looking forward to slacking for many weeks. After that, I might indulge in speedwork, to see if I can get faster at sprint and olympic distances. This will be a welcome change from the long training ride and runs that IM requires.
posted by klbarrus at
12:30 PM
1 Comments:
Hm... but I don't remember crossing a timing mat at the midpoint of either the bike or the run. They had us cross mats at both run turnarounds, presumably to catch people who cut the course.
And of course, I can't find the info on ironmanlive.com. I think that site could use a major overhaul as far as navigation. ;)
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klbarrus, at 1:05 AM
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