Sunday, the 9th, is my second Iron distance event, put on by a company called Rev 3. It takes place at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. I'll be heading up there with my wife, daughter and a couple friends, one of which is also attempting the full iron distance event (2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike; 26.2 mile run).
My training all summer has been in some very hot conditions so I'm quite looking forward to an event in bit cooler weather. The forecast, as of today, calls for a high of 73(23 C) so should be just about perfect weather. The course is also much flatter than my first Ironman (course profile here) so that should also make for a shorter day.
I've thought about my goals for the day in two ways. One, a quite achievable goal and two, a bit of a stretch goal. I really don't have much fear of not finishing, as my pal Kevin would say, "the hay is in the barn, you've already put in all the training." So it's really a question of how quickly I can do it.
The swim is in Lake Erie and will be wetsuit legal. Given that, my two goals for the swim are one hour forty minutes and ninety minutes if I have a good day. Regardless of swim time, I want to have no more than a ten minute T-1.
My riding has really come along in the last year. I'm faster, don't feel nearly as spent after long rides, etc. At minimum, I know I can average 16 mph. That means a seven hour bike split. If I get a good rhythm going, I should be able to get a bit above that. Six and a half hours would require an average of 17.23 mph. A stretch I know but maybe possible. I have the same goal for T-2: ten minutes.
Finally, on the run, I'm going to pay much more attention to my heart rate and if it gets out of hand, slow down or even walk a bit if I must. I'm also going to employ my normal walk through the aid stations strategy and try to take it easy for the first half and then pick up the pace if I have it in me for the last half of the marathon. Achievable goal: six hours; stretch goal: five and a half.
Putting that all together....
Achievable goal: 15 hours.
Stretch goal: 13 hours, 50 minutes.
I'm using the same tracker I used last year, but this time the company also has an iPhone app that I used last week to track several friends last week at IMKY. It was great and easy to use. You can find it in the iTunes store, for free, if you search for My Athlete Live.
Have a phenomenal day!
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