It was the "starting the second week...." statement that caught my attention. WIth as many tri's under your belt as you have you've gotta know that some of your symptoms reflect that you've dipped into your reserves and need recovery.

Overtraining "training" test: What's worked for me when I'm not feeling great and can't seem to i.d. what the problem is to start a workout, run for example, if I don't start feeling better in 15-20 mins I pack it in. By hx I know I should be feeling good at that point and if not, it's clear I need more rest.

Second thing that caught my attention was the 30 miles/week. Wow, I don't do much more than that to get ready for an IM. You say your resting lots and running 30 miles/week but its "horrible." From what little you've said I think you need to ask yourself if a respite might be good for soul and body. Maybe a week of being off, and then start back slowly, doing it for fun. If you still feel wacked as you start back maybe another week of rest. January is a better time to get this right then feb-march with the flu! Congrat's on IMFL.

The "normal" bonce back time for full recovery from an Ironman is 4 - 6 weeks. So, you are definately passed this point now if you are still feeling run down. Keep in mind that it is the middle of the off season and that it is OK to not feel at your best.

Every Ironman race that I ever did, was an all-out affair and I was in rough shape for about 2 weeks after. Typically I would do no running other than a very light jog for the first two weeks. Quads were usually so badly hammered, that walking was a challenge for the first week. Sleep, despite severe fatigue was irregular. Althuogh, I atribute some of this to the all-out partying that went on after most of my Ironman races!! Work hard. Play hard. Party Harder.

9 weeks out, if you still feel very run down - I would suggest that you go see a doctor and have some blood work done. Perhaps you are low in Iron or some other biochemical or physiological area.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I think the key is 30 miles/week. I did IM Florida this year too and never did a 30 mile week and went well under 13 hours in the race. I think you're trying to do too much too soon. If you think you're burned out now, just wait until the season starts. If you didn' take the last 6-8 weeks light, then you probably need to start now. Remember, you get stronger when you rest, not when you train.

Man, it's the off- season. Had I done a full race season last year (I didn't, the darn bike shop was too busy) I would have taken 4-7 weeks off. I would have just done some walking, a couple easy rides just for fun and maybe an easy climbing trip or trip to the jungle or desert, but nothing hard. I think you didn't rest enough. Take some time off dude, you earned it!

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

My first ironman was Canada in 1999 and I raced it and then the Worlds in Montreal 13 days later (I crashed and burned on the run there which is usually my strength .... go figure). I then took a few weeks easy and ran with the high school cross-country runners that I coach. Then I did a 10k in mid-October. Around November, I figured it was about time to let up (I'm sort of obsessive-compulsive about not letting up... maybe I need a coach) and spent 2 months training much more lightly and not worrying about how I felt on any runs or sticking to any type of training schedule. I put on a lot of weight over Christmas that year but by February I was ready to train hard again.

My $0.02 on the 30 mile/week thing is that that is light training if that is all you are doing, contrary to what everyone else seems to think, but your legs and body will recover faster if you spread the workouts around to some swimming and biking and drop the run down a bit.

Dittos to everything said about rest. You are running way too much too soon, unless you are one of these young studs that bounce back in no time. I never was even when I was young.

Another possibility is a low grade virus. I get these every few years including one this year after Ironman Lake Placid. Fight these and you are asking for ongoing pain. Get 12 hours of sleep a night, even if is hard work. Sometimes I have to take a Unisom for a few days to get myself to sleep that much. Do this for a few days and maybe you will start to bounce back. It seems to happen all at once. You get on the bike for a few days in a row and you are dragging and call it quits. Then one day you get shocked by a feeling of power in your legs that you had almost forgotten. Take it easy for a few days after that and you will be fine.

thank you, I skipped speed work last night
Keith "Carlos" Kibler