This day did not go as planned, but it didn't go badly either

BIKE: 100 miles in 6:03
RUN: 6.3 miles in 1hr.

So I had big plans for today, and they all fell through because I didn't plan ahead. I was going to do the 2.4 mile OWS in Hudson. But I waited until Friday to register, by which time registration was closed! DAMN IT!! I had this on my calendar since June! It was going to be my Confidence Building Swim to ready me for IMWI. I was so mad about this that I didn't fall asleep until 11:30pm. I felt awful too for all the people I left under the impression that I would be there. I had a ride planned and everything, SO STUPID!

But what really burns me is the possibility of a subconscious evil here, a deep down part of me that was afraid to do this swim, and delayed with a purpose. I honestly can say that I didn't know registration was going to close at noon on Friday. But why didn't I sign up last week? Or in June? Another excuse "in all honesty" is that my sis might have been here Saturday, and if that was the case I was going to skip the race. Whatever. I could rationalize it to myself over and over here, but never change the fact that I missed what was a huge opportunity for myself.

So late last night I scrambled for a group ride. Found one, with 6-7 riders, out in the O'F/StP area of MO. Hills, curves, sun, shade, what an awesome ride!! Even though we doubled up on some areas it was just as fun the second time. I love the feeling of flying through a shaded curve. The acceleration of an attack. The heart-pounding pace of a paceline on a straight, flat stretch. The crest of a hill you just topped. The breathlessness of the hill climb itself. I love it all!

I tested two new tools today: the Xlab water cage on the rear of the bike--no problems, easy reach and no launching; also the new powerbar on course drink! BOTH orders arrived last night. I came home to the 2 cannisters of lemonlime powder and thought "boy I should cancel the other order now". Ding Dong. UPS with my other order! So I took a gamble and tested lemonlime on the bike today, with a few cytomax servings as a backup. It doens't taste too strong, but it doesn't taste strong enough either. Once I ran out of Powerbar drink and switched to cytomax, I found I drank more. Maybe I need to mix it more concentrated.

No problems at all on this ride. It's remarkable for that!

The brick run had a bit of a delay, I wanted some shade. No need to get sick in the heat now, so I drove to the Katy (which BTW is NOT all that shaded!) for 1hr run. Here I tested the premixed Mango Powerbar drink. Warm, but very tart. Only problem was that it made me thirstier, it left my tongue feeling dry. Amazingly, I drank the entire bottle (175 calories, abt 20oz) in the run taking a mouthful every 5-10 mins and didn't get sick at all! So things are looking good for the on-course drink. One more test tomorrow on the long run. If all goes well, the remainder of my training days will be spent getting familiar with this drink mix. I'll probably hate it by the time IMWI gets here.