Ironman Race Target - Should There be One?!

With one week to go until my second Ironman I can't help but think of a race target. Unlike shorter distance triathlons, there seems to be more emphasis on certain finishing times. Some people want sub 12; others want the perceived `top standard` sub-10 hour!! Of course all these ra targets are purely personal and the best option for a target is to finish! But me being me I cannot help but have an aim. I would really really really really love to go under 10 hours. This is not an easy task for anyone. So yesterday I assessed my season so far and also completed a pacing training session as 3 x 10 miles with first rep IM effort (holding back as much as possible), second rep just ride hard, third rep repeat the IM 10 mile. I rode 28:50, 25:10, 28:10. Then run 5 miles focussing on IM pace and again holding back. I averaged 7:55 per mile pace. So from this I have come up with the following targets: Swim. 1:08 T1. 3:00 Bike. 5:18 T2. 3:00 Run. 3:25 That gives a total of 9:57. . . . . Gulp. Let's see what happens.