My wife always remembers a famous saying for athletes of my caliber racing in events like this. We are “Racing Towards Mediocrity.” There is no way we are going to win. We are simply trying to do something previously we have never done before. Thus, this entry is all about calculating if I can simply not get pulled off the course for being too slow.
70.3 Ironman Austin has cut off times. For the swim, you are given 1 hour and 10 minutes to swim 1.2 miles and leave the transition area on your bicycle. I could use a little more speed for the swim, but I consistently swim under one hour in my pool. Given the fact that I will not have to turn around every 25 yards, logic says I should be able to do this. In the coming weeks, I will drive down to Mission Bay and test that logic.
The bike cut off time rules are as follows:
So, let’s say that it takes the entire 1 hour and 10 minutes to do the swim. That will leave me a maximum of 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete the bike section of 56 miles.
Over the past few weeks, I have been riding 50 mile plus routes. Today, I plotted out a 57 mile course from Oceanside Harbor, out and back on the San Luis Rey River Trail, and then up to San Clemente and back through Camp Pendleton and the San Onofre Bluffs Campground.
This day, I had a late start and it was going to be one of the hottest days of the year. A good test since Austin has the opportunity to be hot and humid. Something this Michigan turned Californian boy isn’t used to anymore.
The metrics say it all. My moving time was 3 hours and 39 minutes. This would give me a 40 minute cushion for any surprises or potty breaks.
Even with a little snack break that I took, I still made it in 4 hours. Nothing record breaking, but very much within the zone to achieve the goal on October 29th in Texas.
Now, the big unknown is the run. Still, with our fourth adjustment on the orthotics there has been virtually no running and I am eight weeks out. This week will have to have some time in the shoes to see where we are.
@oldguywhotris 