Quick thoughts and pics after my long day of training

OK, I don't swim that crookedly.

I had a monster day today -- about 1600 yards across the lake and back, 50 miles on the bike, and a 6-mile brick. Of course, it couldn't have gone smoothly.

I don't swim THAT jaggedly, and I know I didn't backtrack, so ignore that part of the screen shot above. But, you will notice that I started and ended in different places. Why, you ask? Because to swim back across the lake I had to sight DIRECTLY into the sun.

There's a big tree to sight at first, but as it fades into the treeline as you get closer to shore, you need something smaller to sight on the beach. I usually put a white towel in a bush. But the sun was making it really difficult. Eventually I just gave up, swam to the nearest beach, and walked over. Ha!

I headed back to shore to change and sunscreen up. When I took my bike out of the hatch, this had happened:

Your aerobars aren't supposed to do that.

Well, crap. I had tried to adjust my aerobars last night so I would actually try using them and not freak out. Apparently there is a male/female lineup in the shim between the aerobars and the crossbar. Which, also apparently, I did not line up correctly. I keep a multitool in a little flat kit, but I couldn't figure it out. And I was losing time.

I had a serious discussion with myself: Do I want to pack it up and head home? If I ride like this, am I putting myself or other riders in danger? My brakes worked fine, and I am scared to ride in aero anyway, so I decided to give it a shot, geared to the middle of my big ring.

And it went OK! I completed my 50 miles essentially riding a fixie. I had to mash up the hills and I spun out on the downhills, but other than that it was fine. I never felt out of control or in danger -- I would have stopped if that were the case. And while my mph average was slow, it wasn't ridiculously so.

After my Garmin beeped for 50 miles I threw my bike in the car and changed my cleats and helmet for running shoes and a visor. It was hot. I could feel the heat radiating from the pavement back up at me. And about I mile in I realized I had forgotten to re-spray my back with sunscreen. Crap! I tried to stick to the shade as much as I could. I plodded on, drinking Gatorade every mile without stopping. I assessed myself a few times -- am I feeling OK? Am I still sweating? Am I hydrated enough? -- and eventually hit my 6 miles at a sub-9:00 pace. Not bad, considering this:

A bit warm.

FEELS LIKE 99. But at least the humidity and dew point were bearable!

I walked back to my car, ditched my shoes and hat, and kept walking... right into the lake. Oh man, it felt so cool and refreshing! I sat in the shallow water for a minute and dunked my head in. A young kid gave me a weird look and paddled over to investigate. "I just went for a run and am really hot," I said. He didn't look like he was buying it. I headed back to my car to head home before the authorities were called on the weird lady.

It was a long yet rewarding day. I'm looking forward to sitting on my butt and resting my legs for the rest of the night.