Time

Amanda asked: "Hey Chelsea! I know you won't know until you do it, but how long do you estimate that the whole Ironman event will take you to complete?"

A: You have to finish in 17 hours or you're not considered a finisher. There are cut-off times for the swim, bike, and run.

Coeur d’Alene Cut-offs:

Swim: 2 hours 20 minutes
Bike: 1st lap: 4 hours 10 minutes from swim cut-off. Final cut-off: 8 hours 10 minutes from swim cut-off
Run: 6 hours 30 minutes-from bike cut-off

The race starts at 7 am and you must be done by Midnight or you DID NOT finish*.

That being said, I would like to finish in the 12-14 hour range. If I did it in 12 hours I would be absolutely ecstatic!!! (last year that would have put me in the top 15 in my division W25-29)

The woman who won my division last year did it in:

10:20:29

The woman who finished last in my division last year did it in:

16:46:05

And 6 didn't finish...

The pro woman did it in:

09:31:07

I think it's safe to say that I just want to a) get there and b) finish

* My most favorite time was Sister Madonna Buder at the Ironman Championship in Hawaii. She's a nun who is 76 and has competed in 13 Ironmans and completed this year's in 16:59:03, 57 seconds before cut-off. She's a bad-ass.