Does 2:20 mean anything?
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ShaunCrawford posted 2 years ago.
I havent heard it as any sort of standard but the logic makes sense.
Do the swim in around 21-23
Do the bike in around 1:10 - 1:15
Do the run in around 40-42
Few min for T1 and T2 and your right around 2:20
Give or take a strength in one area and a weakness in another and 2:20 puts you at some solid paces. 1:30ish per 100M swim pace, 20ish mph on the bike, and 6:30ish min mile pace on the run. Sounds good to me
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Triguy98 posted 2 years ago.
Top 7 in my age group at Disney were under 2:30.
Life is short. Play hard and get dirty doing it.
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iainbanks1 posted 2 years ago.
In my first Olympic Tri at Columbia , MD I was aiming at about the 2:20 range and got in at 2:19, that placed me fifth in age group (so in the medals :) ). It's all relative to your age, fitness and aims really.......2:20 may be good for some but also may be bad for some!
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catwood posted 2 years ago.
Oooh I wish i could do a 2:20...
My swim and bike splits are comfortably in the ranges shawn brought up but my run's about 10 min slow. Hence my best is a 2:31...
For women a sub 2:20 time would often get on the overall podium...
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RV posted 2 years ago.
My last Oly was a 2:26:08.- 5'th in my AG - I was slow on the swim - close on the run, but nailed the bike with a 1:04. So certainly reachable. Heading out again tonight to do some more drills in the pool.
RV
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bluebirdbiker posted 2 years ago.
My PR Oly this last July was a 2:23:07hrs. Won first in my age Cat. The race was used an assessment of IM training. Gonna do the one in March here and see where I am after this base period.
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David posted 2 years ago.
I'm surprised that such or such time is a "standard"...
when I went 2'45, it was my standard. I'm now down to 2'19 (quite happy about it), so it's my new standard.
But I don't think there is such a thing as a standard.
Only psychological steps - like under a minute for 100 m freestyle, or 6 m for the high poll. I guess 2'20 is a good step, but nothing more. 2'10 and then 2'00... see where I'm getting at.
Enjoy it - that's my standard ! ;)
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1143 days
BrianMc posted 2 years ago.
Yeah, I think for men 2:20 is a good acheivable goal for many. I wouldn't say it was a benchmark, although it is my goal for next season.
My last Oly was 2:26, and that was with a nasty nasty wind on the bike. I'd really like to put one in around 2:16-2:17 early next season.
Brian
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ht001 posted 2 years ago.
Seems to me there would be different benchmarks for any distance depending on variations in bike and run courses. But that could just be me.
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knauert89 posted 2 years ago.
I have to agree with ht001, different courses and different conditions make 2:20 a somewhat arbitrary number. Anyone who's raced a couple of years can attest to the same Olympic distance course being +/- 10 or more minutes from year-to-year and IM courses can vary a lot more - look at IM Kona in 2004 and 2005:
2005 2004
Top male pro 8:14:17 8:33:29
Top female pro 9:09:30 9:50:04 (Badmann's time, not Kraft's)
100th place 9:20:00 10:01:35
top 10% 9:33:54 10:14:07
250th place 9:45:27 10:30:44
500th place 10:15:25 11:01:24
50% 10:51:01 11:44:15
Did they set the course that dramatically differently? No, it was the conditions. And I raced two Olympic distance races within a month, the 2nd was 6+ minutes slower than the first, yet I was higher in my age group (both place and % of age group). I think that % placement within your age group or USAT ranking is a much better gauge.
On the other hand, how important is it really? I know people a lot slower and faster than me, but do they enjoy the sport any more or less than I do? Do they work any less hard to reach the finish line? I doubt they enjoy it less and I'm guessing they work as hard... Yes, there's satisfaction in a PR, but there's also a lot of satisfaction in the training, being with friends and just making it to the starting line - and even more in just finishing. I've done a lot of races from sprint to IM, and the ones I've enjoyed most were the ones where I raced with friends. My #1 & 2 goals out of the gate are always to just finish and enjoy myself - PR and high placement in my age group matter, but not nearly as much as 1 & 2...
I was reading a tri book and it said that 2:20 was some kind of standard for ability in an olympic tri. Has anyone else heard of this or is it just that it is a Brittish tri book.
Also a great fiction book to read about triathlons is called Ironman by Chris Crutcher. It was great , it is about a high school kid but i recommend it to everyone.
Todd