Wizard 2017 Half Ironman Challenge

I'm making it official. My challenge for 2017 will be to complete a half Ironman triathlon on September 30, 2017. It is called the 20th Annual Las Vegas Triathlon and is held in the Lake Mead recreation area.

For those who don't know, a half Ironman includes:

1. 13.1 mile run
2. 56 mile bike ride
3. 1.2 mile swim

As of this writing, I could easily do the bike ride and the swim. Doing both one after the other would be pushing it. However, my running has taken a back seat to bicycling and unicycling the last few years. At best I could run 5 miles right now at a respectable pace. So, I need to build up my running game while not sacrificing the other two.

So, there you have it. I've thrown down the gauntlet so now I can't let you guys down. The question for the poll is do you think I can do it? I'm open to making small friendly wagers at even money to motivate me.

I'm assuming that you have those out of order and the swim is first?

Quote: Wizard

I'm making it official. My challenge for 2017 will be to complete a half Ironman triathlon on September 30, 2017. It is called the 20th Annual Las Vegas Triathlon and is held in the Lake Mead recreation area.

For those who don't know, a half Ironman includes:

1. 13.1 mile run
2. 56 mile bike ride
3. 1.2 mile swim

As of this writing, I could easily do the bike ride and the swim. Doing both one after the other would be pushing it. However, my running has taken a back seat to bicycling and unicycling the last few years. At best I could run 5 miles right now at a respectable pace. So, I need to build up my running game while not sacrificing the other two.

So, there you have it. I've thrown down the gauntlet so now I can't let you guys down. The question for the poll is do you think I can do it? I'm open to making small friendly wagers at even money to motivate me.

Swim last???????
That's crazy
The order should be swim 1st, then bike or run

People get exhausted and quit in the middle of a bike or run
No quitting in the middle of a swim

Quote: terapined

Quote: Wizard

I'm making it official. My challenge for 2017 will be to complete a half Ironman triathlon on September 30, 2017. It is called the 20th Annual Las Vegas Triathlon and is held in the Lake Mead recreation area.

For those who don't know, a half Ironman includes:

1. 13.1 mile run
2. 56 mile bike ride
3. 1.2 mile swim

As of this writing, I could easily do the bike ride and the swim. Doing both one after the other would be pushing it. However, my running has taken a back seat to bicycling and unicycling the last few years. At best I could run 5 miles right now at a respectable pace. So, I need to build up my running game while not sacrificing the other two.

So, there you have it. I've thrown down the gauntlet so now I can't let you guys down. The question for the poll is do you think I can do it? I'm open to making small friendly wagers at even money to motivate me.

Swim last???????
That's crazy
The order should be swim 1st, then bike or run

People get exhausted and quit in the middle of a bike or run
No quitting in the middle of a swim

Swim Last? That would be AWESOME.

I have faith in you Wizard! The water level in the lake should be better in the fall too, although I'd enjoy watching the competitors have to swim through a school of giant carp on their way out of the water.

Here's the course info: http://www.bbsctri.com/lv-tri-courses -> shows the order of events.

Quote: Wizard

The question for the poll is do you think I can do it?

My option wasn't listed, so now I gotta type instead of vote =p

In case I haven't made it apparent, I hold your athleticism in high regard. As the resident jock, I find no difficulty in intuitively understanding sport and excelling in it. Case in point, I just played goal last week, a position I was "so familiar" with I was using Google Images just to get basic stance and poise down =p Posted a shutout until 6:26 in the third and snapped our 7 game winless skid with a 6-1 victory. That all said, I cannot and could not do what you do. With literal thousands of accomplishments and recognitions under my belt, that stamina thing is simply beyond my reach. Always has been.

But my high regard aside, I'm on the no for this. I seem to remember your last ride, and the worry you had to finish. I can't remember if it was just 50mi or 100mi, but a tri (or even a half tri) is worse than either. Plus I remember nothing about any recent runnings, and if you have been pedaling lately, it's been without report.

Swimming's gotta be tough for you, too. I saw you posted your weight recently, which was in the 160's. Like me, you probably have a body fat % <10, so I assume like me you sink like a rock. I'd wager you could pedal 100mi before you could swim 2.

Put me down for "He never touches the water", assuming it comes last. I DO think you'll make it that far. I just think you'll be too blown out to risk it at that point.

Good luck either way =)

Thanks for the comments so far. Sorry for the misunderstanding about my order of events. That was just arbitrary. I think with triathlons the swim is ALWAYS first. This is for safety reasons, as there is a great risk of drowning if you do the swim tired from the run and/or swim. I've seen the run and bike portions go in both orders but usually bike first, as is the case here.

Face, thanks for the kind words. If I may toot my own horn, yes, I'm good at endurance challenges. However, my weakness is I'm a klutz. Anything involving a ball I am lousy at. The only way I can win a game like tennis or basketball is to play for a long time on a hot Vegas day and try to wear down my opponent. I'd like to get back into tennis but I don't know anybody my level. I play golf off and on. I'd love to be able to hold my own in that game but no matter how much I try I simply stink. Sometimes I swing at the ball and don't even touch it. Most of the time it goes flying off 30 degrees from the intended direction. The more I practice the more angry I get at myself and actually play worse. So, I try to focus on what I am good at.

I can already do the bike and swim portions easily. Maybe not back to back. You may recall I did a 100-mile bike ride in September, I think, and did that easily. When I do just an ordinary swim at the gym I go a kilometer. This is 1.9 kilometers, which would be no problem. The reason I only swim one kilometer is it is so dang boring going back and forth in a lap pool. My goal is to emphasize running while still maintaining my current level in swimming and biking. I figure I'll need to train about three hours a day the few months leading up to this. I already exercise about two hours a day, so I just need to increase it by 50% and I should be okay.

Quote: Wizard

I already exercise about two hours a day, so I just need to increase it by 50% and I should be okay.

Given your accomplishments in the past few years, I would say that it would be foolhardy to bet against you finishing. Now coming within 30 minutes of your half marathon time (Whatever that was) when you last ran a full marathon time would be very difficult after swimming and biking.

Quote: Pacomartin

Given your accomplishments in the past few years, I would say that it would be foolhardy to bet against you finishing. Now coming within 30 minutes of your half marathon time (Whatever that was) when you last ran a full marathon time would be very difficult after swimming and biking.

I also think you will finish, but what do you predict your split times will be for each segment? I may be interested in the Over/Under.

Also, what time is the event? Winds in the afternoon can be quite strong. Is there a "bus of shame" that picks up stragglers who are not on track to finish before a deadline?

Quote: Ayecarumba

I also think you will finish, but what do you predict your split times will be for each segment? I may be interested in the Over/Under.

This is unofficial but here it goes:

Biking: 5 hours
Running: 2.5 hours
Swimming: 1.5 hours
Total: 9 hours

Quote:

Also, what time is the event? Winds in the afternoon can be quite strong. Is there a "bus of shame" that picks up stragglers who are not on track to finish before a deadline?

The first wave starts at 6:30 AM. I now see the course closes at 3:00 PM. So, I would have at most 9.5 hours to officially complete it. It may be a little less because they start people on cohorts and I would prefer to be in one of the latter ones, so faster swimmers aren't crashing into me, which they do. Even if I am not done by 3PM I'll still keep going and unofficially finish if I have to.