Ironman Swim 2.4 Miles (time)

Triathlon Forum
1

I apologize if this has been covered, but I cannot sort throught the hundreds of pages to find it.

For those of you who have done a full IM; what is your time?

I’m doing my first full Ironman in Arizona this November and need to know where I should be at to complete this at a reasonable time. I was never a swimmer as I just took up distance swimming a year and a half ago (started 6 months before last year Oceanside 70.3)

How much time is given to complete this swim anyways? I’m looking to finish this in an 1hr 30 minutes, but my friend whos doing it with me might take longer.

Super slow, I know… =-(

Since I’m here on time; how much time do you have to complete the bike and run portions as well?

2

2:20 is the cut off.
Sub 1 hour is a stellar swim,
1-1:15 is average good
1:15-1:30 is average OK

3

http://ironmanarizona.com/

They have past results on there for you to check out if you want to compare your expected times.

4

I don’t think you are going to get a ton of responses. Some advice to help you get your questions answered on ST.

  1. Do your homework (your answers are easily answered in a google search)
  2. Use the ST search function (gray box up top)
  3. Be specific on your questions - I can’t figure out what you are asking.
5

going to be competing in my first ironman in tempe as well this year! i’m definitely a slower swimmer but i’m pretty sure you won’t have to worry that much since you’ll have a wetsuit to help you out.

6

I apologize if this has been covered, but I cannot sort throught the hundreds of pages to find it.

For those of you who have done a full IM; what is your time?

I’m doing my first full Ironman in Arizona this November and need to know where I should be at to complete this at a reasonable time. I was never a swimmer as I just took up distance swimming a year and a half ago (started 6 months before last year Oceanside 70.3)

How much time is given to complete this swim anyways? I’m looking to finish this in an 1hr 30 minutes, but my friend whos doing it with me might take longer.

Super slow, I know… =-(

Since I’m here on time; how much time do you have to complete the bike and run portions as well?

Look at the enhanced results at this link to learn the swim times have been for past races. http://www.slowtwitch.com/enhancedresults/

7

I don’t really know what you are asking…“where should I be at?” With a 1:30 swim, near the back or you will get run over.

8

Thank you so much Sully!

9

I think your numbers are slow. Usually the top swimmer is somewhere in the ballpark of 46 mins.

so by that in comparison to about a 4:20 bike, your numbers yield the following:

4:20 best
sub 5:25 amazing
sub 6:30 average good
sub 7:45 average OK

Most have just come to the acceptance of slower swimming is ok because it is such a small portion.

It should be something more like the following, but the swim is just too short to make a difference and require more effort:

46 best
sub 52 - amazing
sub 60 - average good
sub 1:10 - eh
above 1:30 - you are aware this is a 3 sport event?

10

I think it depends. Competitor or Finisher?
1:30 for a 13-17 hour Ironman is pretty good.

11

I think it depends. Competitor or Finisher?
1:30 for a 13-17 hour Ironman is pretty good.

That is like saying a 7hr bike time and a 6hr run are pretty good as well…They aren’t!

12

I was a non swimmer prior to Placid a few years ago. I finished in 1:18. Have you done any swim TT’s yet in the pool? As a reference my 30 min TT was 1600m or so. Open water will be significantly different than in the pool. Make sure you swim some in open water or there will be no fun in whoville when the water boils.

Get comfortable and minimize the anxiety by swimming within yourself and out of the pack if you can. Mentally you will be better off if you have open water. If you are comfortable in a pack then find soem feet to follow. You may not believe you can draft in the water but you can and it works. Plus you will be more comfortable and spend less time sighting ( assuming the person you are drafting knows where they are going ).

2:20 is loads of time, don’t even worry about it. 10.5 hrs to be off the bike and 17 total.

Good Luck, most importantly enjoy the day!!

Jim

13

IMAZ 2010
Average Times for each discipline
Swim: 1:21
Bike: 6:26
Run: 5:01
I guess by definition average does not = good. But if he swims a 1:30 it puts him in a good place to have a strong finish.

14

What are some of your in pool swim times? 100yrd or 500yrd or 1000yrd?

15

Thanks Jim,

Yes, I have swam open water before. My weekly swim scheduel is Wednesday is pool / Sunday is open water. Its only 2 days a week, but I just don’t have the time (grad school, work full time, newborn baby…etc.)

I’ve done the Ironman 70.3 Oceanside and finished that swim in 53 minutes…which was wayyy too long…I think I messed up because I took the turns too wide.

Currently, I swim at Aquatic Park (open water) in San Francisco. My pace right now for the 2.4 mile swim is around 1hr to 1hr 15 min. Its crazy how much I’ve increased in speed since last year.

Just two years ago, I wasn’t even able to swim more than a lap in the pool…Now, I’m just swimming miles…Yesterday, I swam 3 miles in under 2 hours at Aquatic Park (open water)

16

Nice improvement!
But, if you expect to swim 2.4 miles in an hour, your 3 mile time should be around 1:15. At 2 hours for 3 miles, you can expect your 2.4 to be around 1:36 (simple math)

17

First (and only) IM swim: 1:15 (with sleeveless wetsuit, 2 loop course, mass start)…

…you should have no trouble. My stroke has been referred to as “controlled drowning” by true fishes; more tugboat than speedboat, but it works for me…clearly not tired when I get out of the water, and my time reflects that.

Best wishes on your race.

18

Yup, youre right! lol, its a lot slower when i go for three miles because i slow down considerably so i do not get tired too early…but yes, your right.

19

I swam a blistering pace 1 hr 26 minutes for IMAZ last year.
Don’t worry abou starting position, you will only get run over for the first few minutes. Then all of the fast guys/girls will be long gone.
Besides - if you don’t get hit/kicked/dunked a little bit, you won’t have any cool stories to share with your fatty friends that don’t swim/bike/run.

I swam the Vineman Full this year in 1 hr 20 minutes. I swam a little less for Vineman because of a shoulder issue.
For AZ I swam 4k in a set a few times. For AZ I swam at least 3x per week.
For Vineman, my max in a workout was 3,000 yards. I swam twice a week, if I was lucky.

20

I think it depends. Competitor or Finisher?
1:30 for a 13-17 hour Ironman is pretty good.

That is like saying a 7hr bike time and a 6hr run are pretty good as well…They aren’t!

Hey, not all of us competitiors are in our 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. When you are 65+, these times don’t look so bad.