146k ride today. that’s the biggest workout of the entire build. took 6h04 recorded, 6:37 elapsed.

The ride had 1600 of climbing. that’s 50 more than IM. So, to port that to the ironman course, I have 34 more kilometers to go with no elevation gain. I do about 30-35 on the flats. So it’s an hour more.

I reckon I’ll do the ironman bike leg is somewhere between 7:15 and 7:45.

the 7:45 estimate is based on the 30 min off the bike that I had today which included a long coffee stop and 3 bathroom breaks. To be completely honest, 7:45 is scary.

If you finish the swim at 2:20h which is the cutoff time, it leaves you 7h:55 for the bike. that’s not much of a transition time. I reckon I need at least 10 min in T1. It’s cutting it really close.

Pessimistic plan:

2h: swim

15min transition ( 5min run to T1 (700m) + 10 min in T1 (find bike and change)

7h:30 bike leg

20 min stops (bathroom, mechanical)

this is 10h and 5 min. 10 minutes to cutoff.

Best case plan:

Swim (1:40) - 2m:40/100

Transition 15 -

Bike: 7:15

Stops 15

total: 9:25. which is 50 minutes under the cutoff.

—

I called this note on reality because I started it trying to come to terms with negative thoughts of not being able to finish. After 3 minutes of writing, I’m already feeling good. The numbers are strong AF.

A little bit after: I’m feeling terrified now.

A little bit after that, I’m just worried. I haven’t felt like this since that day I did that massive climb. I think today had a similar effect on me. The climbing was just endless so it demoralized me.

I came here to clear my mind not from the results of this cycling session. It was intense and i wish i had time to process it. I think it will leave scars. But the thing that’s on my mind is how will I feel getting out from the water. Will I be puking, dizzy and disoriented? Will I have a hard time in transition? Will I have power on the bike? Will I be able to take on food?

As I wrote that last paragraph, I felt nauseous. The sweet nutrition that I took on towards the second part of the bike leg are coming back to me as i think of what it would feel like to exit that water having swam 4k in a wetsuit.

Couple of weeks ago when I hit my knee, the thought of not participating was very difficult. I just felt demoralized by that. But today is different.

If I get out of the water in time, and then fail on the bike, somehow, I’m more at peace with that. The idea of my friends flying in to see me compete only DNS is terrible. But to start but fail at T1 is worse. Failing to reach T2 is more dignified. You swim 4k and bike 180 only to miss the cutoff by 10 or 20 minutes… that’s a good effort.

At this moment in time, the emotional roller coster is behind me. I think I will do the bike leg in 7h15. I will not get off the bike. If it comes to it, I will piss myself and not do any stopping on the bike course.

Can I swim 4k in 2h? Yes. I can do the bike course in 7h15? Yes.

So I have 1h to play with. I think I’m good. I’m on thin ice, but my mind is at ease.

To be able to sit down like this and process reality while experiencing violent emotional swings is very impressive. If I’ve learned nothing from this Ironman challenge except this, I think it’s a huge success.