Just Another Day at the Beach

I'm writing from the sandy shores of Perdido Key, Fl which sits between Mobile, AL and Pensacola, Fl. My wife and I come down here a good bit given that we have a free place to stay (in-laws) and a short drive from the house (4 hrs). The sun is actually cooking it down here. My white skin is paying the price. I've had two good workouts so far with one more to go.
Yesterday, I did a easy 8 mile run trying to keep my HR around 145. I did something I don't normally do while I'm here, and that's sleep in. This pushed my run back to around 11 o'clock. I kept my shirt on all of 4 minutes before ditching it. So since I just mentioned that I was monitoring my HR, one could only deduce that I have a really cool bra strap tan line across my chest and back. Yeah, I'm cool.
Today, it was supposed to be a race simulation for Powerman. I was going to run 4, Bike 34, and run 4. One thing you should know about the beach; there's always a strong wind blowing and it always blows west. I didn't know how big of a factor it was going to play until the turn around point of my first run. I knew right then and there that the bike was going to be hell. I can keep a 6:40 pace during these runs pretty easily. I was doing just that until the 2 mile turn around. The wind stood me up and it was like I was running in quick sand. I struggled to keep a 7:15 pace on the way back. Not cool. So, T1 comes and goes, and I'm now on the bike. It's a nice flat road with a good 4 foot bike lane 17.5 miles plus down beach road. I did a race down this same road last year and averaged 23 mph over the course on the way down. I made it to the end of the 17.5 mile road this time and had averaged 26 mph and was barely sweating. I had been watching my RPE and cadence and was still pumping 26 mph. I'm not that good. I'm not that fast. I knew it was about to get ugly. I made the turn and oh my God! The wind! No matter how aero I got, I couldn't move the bike. It truly felt like I was going backwards.
I was truly struggling. It felt like a 17.5 mile hill. I tried to treat it that way getting out of the saddle every so often to push and stretch the legs. I tried getting into a Levi Leipheimer type aero position. Nothing worked. I ended up averaging 16 mph on the way back. What a difference. I was toast. Too toast to run.
My legs are still screaming and it's oh 8:15 at night. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. I'm doing 4 five mile time trials followed by a 5 mile pace run. I've enjoyed my time here, but I'm looking forward to giving my legs a rest. Much deserved.
Tailwinds....