Day one of my big weekend is in the books, and it was a hot one.  You can get an impression of how much I sweated today, by taking a close look at my triathlon suit in the photo.  That white stuff on my leg is salt.

My ride today was scheduled to be very long, so there was no way that I was going to be able to avoid riding in the heat of the day.  I got started a little later than I wanted, but I don’t think it made that much of a difference. 

My ride did end up going over a hundred miles, and I was very tired by the end.  Part of the reason for being tired, is the fact that I did about half of the miles at ‘race pace’.  I was working hard, not just riding around. 

Knowing it was going to be a hot day, I did make sure that I focused on my nutrition while riding.  It was important to get in my planned nutrition, so that I kept my electrolytes in balance and had enough calories to complete the ride. One issue I did have, was that I didn’t have enough fluids.  I drank seven bottles of water, but that was still not enough.  I finished the last bottle with 45  minutes still left to ride.  I was definitely dehydrated by the time I got home.

I also had a short, 20 minute run off the bike to do.  Most of the route was in shade, which helped, but the run was challenging as my legs were tired.  I also think I felt tired because of the dehydration.

This evening I have been eating and rehydrating quite aggressively.  I have to recover quickly for my long run tomorrow… it’s a doozy and I will write about it tomorrow.