It's getting hot out there!

After having mild weather over the weekend, things have really started to heat up!  I was able to get a run in yesterday (Thank you to Sarah for staying with the kids while I ran) and I started out on my 6 mile loop just before noon.  I was feeling pretty good although it was quite a change in temperature from my last run.  I almost always run with my hand held water bottle for runs 6 miles or less and that's usually enough water.  But with the heat, I found myself having to ration it on the second have so I didn't run out too early.  Other than that, it was a great run and I finished in 53 min, 44 seconds.  Not bad considering the heat!
This afternoon I dropped the kids off at Sarah's so I could do the group ride (thank you again!!!).  Makayla has always been ok with other people watching her but not Conner...  He went through a phase where he cried the whole time I was gone.  Then he would be ok if I snuck out until he realized I was gone.  Then he progressed to just being a little upset when he realized I left.  Today I told him I was going to ride and he just said "bye mom" and it was not big deal.  I'm both so proud of the little boy he is growing into and a little sad that he is growing up so fast! 
Ok, back to the training...  It was the first REALLY hot day today, fitting as it is the first day of summer, and the temp was about 95 when I arrived at the ride.  I had prepared for the heat and drank a lot of water all afternoon.  So other than needing to find a restroom, I was set and ready to ride.  It was a smaller group today, only 13, and we were all pretty similar speed.  We started off a little easier than usual which was good for me, I like to have a little time to warm up.  We cruised along and at some points, I was up with the front group or even in the front!  Our second stop is at the beginning of a pretty good climb so I really worked it up the hill and pushed it on the rollers that were next.  There were three guys that pulled ahead going up the hill and I was really trying to catch them, but couldn't quite do it.  I felt awesome as I powered along and at one point, a rider behind me said I was pulling the pace line and could drop off whenever I needed to.  Instead of taking that as an invitation, I took it as a challenge to keep pulling the line (fortunately I knew we would be stopping again in just a few miles :)  I really worked it and led to the next stop, holding speeds around 24mph.  It was awesome.  A quick stop to regroup and we flew home the last 6 miles.  Before this year I never would have said I had fun on a ride, but tonight was a lot of fun.  As we came down the last road, one of the guys suggested we coast in nice and easy.  I looked at my average speed and it was 18.2, so I said - no way, this is my fastest average yet and I'm going to keep it!  And with that, I led a few riders the last bit into the parking lot and finished with the 18.2 average speed. 
I didn't really know what to expect for how I would feel with today's heat but I felt great.  I think I hydrated well during the day and also had plenty of water and electrolytes with me for the ride (I drank two water bottles and a third with electrolytes).  And it helped that it cooled down into the upper 80's by the time we were done.
I got back to Sarah's and picked up my red-faced, sweaty-head kids.  They were having a blast playing outside with their friends!  Love it!