Ironman Fitness

What has continually amazed me is how my fitness level has grown by leaps an bounds in the past 2 months.  Its amazing the distances I can ride or run, how little recovery I need between the long workouts, and how I'm barely even sore after doing these insane workouts.

A year ago, I was training for the LoneStar 70.3 and the Boise 70.3.  Back then (oh so long ago!) my longest weekend workouts was something like a 14 mile run on Saturday and a 4 hour ride on Sunday.  Or maybe a 50 mile ride and a 3 mile run.  I remember being absolutely destroyed by these workouts and super sore.

Now, these workouts are my mid-distance type workouts, which are generally followed by something even longer the next day.  Or sometimes by a easy recovery run 3 hours later on the same day. 

For example, the past couple of weekends I've been doing:

• Saturday: brick, with 4 hrs bike and 70 min trail running / Sunday: 6 hrs bike
• Saturday: swim/bike brick with 4000 yard swim, 4 hrs bike, plus a 30 min recovery run later in the day / Sunday: 15 mile run

After each workout, normally, I should be passing out in exhaustion.  Instead, I'm up and watching tv and usually have plenty of energy to go out to dinner.  Each Sunday morning I wake up expecting to be too sore to walk, much less run or ride.  Then each Monday morning, I expect to wake up and not be able to move.  And each morning, I wake up, shocked to discovery that I'm not even the tiniest bit sore.  Granted, I do an ice bath after each long workout now, but still....  I am not complaining though.  The only noticable side-effect from my huge workouts is insatiable hunger.  Its very cool but also very bizarre.

I'm really just blown away by my fitness level right now.  I'm still not too sure about being able to complete 140.6 miles strong.  I'm 100% confident that I can do 70.3 miles in 2 weeks without a problem (knock on wood).  I feel good and that's a great thing being 8 weeks out from the most physically demanding day of my life. :)