Post Nav-E Sink or Swim - Ironman Thoughts

The day was gorgeous, the water was perfect, and the company was grand (thanks P___ and A___!). I could not have asked for better conditions than these for last Sunday's 2.4 mile Nav-E Sink or Swim. Granted one woman tried to drown me at the beginning of the race and another tried to drown me at the end (which, I must add, is bad form: at the beginning it is acceptable because of the crowded start conditions; at the end there's no reason to swim so close to someone else that you're whacking and yanking at their limbs). Still, I prevailed, and actually managed to enjoy the swim a good deal.
In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I seriously contemplated whether, when I emerged from the water, I theoretically had enough energy to get on a bicycle. After all, I was swimming amongst a whole slew of triathletes--as was made apparent by the literal sea of wetsuits, which "pure" swimmers would not wear--and I had just completed the full swim portion of an Ironman. Was 112 miles on a bicycle after that swim so out of the question?
In a word, yes.
Certainly, I wasn't exhausted. In fact, if it were just a marathon I would have to run, I would consider it within the very close realm of possibility. However, riding merely 40 miles on bicycle exhausts me. The thought of 112--with or without a swim beforehand--seems almost unachievable. Except, of course, for the fact that plenty of other people can ride that distance . . . and then run a marathon afterward, no less.
So I am not completely ruling out the possibility of someday competing in an Ironman race. First however, I'll finish the Pittsburgh Olympic Triathlon this summer, and then we'll see what's what.
Results for this race:

Race Length	Finishing Time	1.2 mile splits	Average Pace	Overall Place	Age Group Place (F25-29)
2.4 miles	1:01:09	31:11.2 / 29:57.8	24:58/mile	52/262	5/7