Little less then 4 months till florida 70.3, is 4:20 realistic

OK,

You seem pretty balanced in your SBR abilities right now, but not exceptional in anything. I would guess that you have no real competitive background in any of the 3 sports and you have been doing tris for several years before your layoff last year. Am I right that the 22:30 1500 and the 40min 10k were from a wetsuit legal triathlon? That would line up with your other stated pb’s. Also, if you did the 24.4mph at St. Anthony’s, what wave were you in? When I did that race I was in wave 20 and enjoyed a continuous 40km of slingshot drafting. You may get some legal benefits at Disney, but they won’t be that good.

Bottom line is that 4:20 is a tall order. You could go 4:20 at the Esprit, but that’s a different race.

However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t train your ass off. 4:20 at that race in 2010 is much more realistic. Most people overestimate what they can do in the current season and underestimate what they can do in 2-5 years. The danger of setting stretch goals in the short term is the discouragement that can come when you don’t hit your times and the possible drop in motivation.

Keeping in mind that I don’t know you, I suggest you consider setting a run goal for Florida. Breaking 90min on that run sounds like a very challenging but achievable goal for you that requires deep fitness in both the bike and run. You will also have to pace your ride to do it, which makes the likelihood of a positive first Half IM after your layoff much greater. Chasing a stellar time by going hard on the bike is a risky strategy, especially on that course.

My 2c

Thanks for the reply on the course. I want to jump in a running race but since its all of 10 degrees outside right now I don’t have a lot of options. I’m going to do the miami tri in a couple months that will hopefully give me a good idea where I’m sitting

No, it’s not realistic.

The 22:30 was wetsuit legal. The 24.4 however wasn’t at Florida it was a local race. The 2:11 was about 11 months after I started tris so my second season. Last year would have been my 3rd season. And it was too much to train with starting school again. I wanted to make sure I knew how much time I was going to need for class.

Most people overestimate what they can do in the current season and underestimate what they can do in 2-5 years. The danger of setting stretch goals in the short term is the discouragement that can come when you don’t hit your times and the possible drop in motivation.

Well said.