Smashed Barriers

When Coach Gerardo told me at the beginning of my training that I wouldn't recognize myself at the end of the year, he wasn't kidding. My first real dose of that came today in the form of a surprisingly fast swimming time-trial.

I broke the two-minute mark in my 1,000-yard TT, averaging 1:58 100s (final time was 19:42).  And it felt great!

I could have swam longer, harder.  Honestly, I never thought I'd break two-minutes.  If there was a podium and a trophy right now, I'd stand up proudly and give a speech.  They really would need a hook and the exit music to yank me off stage.

But the morning didn't end there.  My buddy Dustin joined me for a 45-minute intervals run immediately after the swim at the dazzling lake behind the Calabasas Tennis & Swim center.  The company was welcome and made the time fly that much more.  It's so much better to have a friend to train with -- even if he's slightly annoyed at me for how much this damn sport costs!  (Sorry, dude.  I know!)

Maybe Dustin's presence gave me a boost.  Maybe I finally recovered from the weekend prior.  All I know is that yesterday, I felt sluggish and afraid that I was entering the over-training red-zone.  Today, I was a completely different athlete -- better, stronger, faster.  It's like I smashed through a fitness barrier, real and imagined.

As I sit here typing, I'm not sore in the least.  My spirits are buoyed and I can't wait for my two-hour bike ride tomorrow. I'm actually taking a half-day off work to fit it in.  Another sign that I'm truly becoming an Ironmadman!  Using vacation time to cram in a long ride.

Gerardo was definitely right...I don't recognize myself after three months of training.  I'm an addict!

271 days and counting.