Today I learned about the pace I need to maintain in order to become an Ironman. These paces, if maintained successfully, will get me to the finish well before the 17 hour, midnight cutoff.
Swimming: I need to cover 100 meters in 2 minutes. If I can keep this pace for the full 2.4 miles, I’ll get out of the water in about 1 hour and 20/25 minutes. With 10 minutes set aside for transition, Maximus and I will set off on our 112 mile quest at around 8:35am.
Cycling: I need to average a pace of 16 miles per hour during this phase of the race. I believe this is possible because I can currently maintain 15.2 miles per hour in Manhattan. Averaging 16 miles per hour, I should be transitioning to the run in 7 hours. Giving myself 15 minutes to transition (and deal with the mental toll that this will take), I will start my marathon at 3:50pm.
Running: the lactic acid in my legs will make them feel like bricks. However, the run will be my strength. I have absolutely no idea whether I’ll get my legs to fire after 114.4 miles of racing, so I will hope to hold a 10-11 minute mile. My ultimate goal is to hold a 5 hour marathon pace. Anything faster will be an absolute dream. A 5 hour pace puts me at the finish line of Ironman Texas at 8:50pm.
That is the plan. Now I have 10 months to get myself ready. I better crack the whip and get to work.
