Weekend Sun and Monday Joy

This weekend was fantastic! The weather was finally wonderful! Temperatures hovered around 70, blue skies, not too windy, and very inspirational.
Saturday I found myself out on a 60+ mile ride feeling great. I was relaxed, yet I was cruisin' right along. I was able to ride one of my favorite courses as well. If you are from around here you will know what I mean when I say that I rode out on Egypt Valley. Love it. Hills, hills, and more hills. Good stuff.
While I was out there, I didn't allow myself to see anything but distance on my computer, because I wanted to go by effort. My goal was to average 20 mph, but I didn't want to push the pace to accomplish it. The only exception was that I did allow myself a look at my avearage mph once I got to 30 miles. That was my "reward" for being halfway. I was pleasantly surprised to read 19.-somehting. Furthermore, I was pleased that I didn't work it on the way back knowing that I was under 20 mph on the way out. Instead, I continued my perceived, relaxed-but-steady effort.
Another key feature in this ride was that I had very little arm discomfort! I made one adjustment around 1.75 miles, but after that, and the occasional shake of the arm, or a repositioning of the hand, set me up just fine. My hope is that it wasn't a fluke and that I have a similar experience on my next ride.
One challenge I did experience however, was that my lower back got increasingly tight toward the end of the ride. My intention at this point is to start gradually moving my aggressive position a little bit at a time toward the position I was fit for on this bike. I'm hoping to find a middle ground betwen the agressive position I want and the relaxed position I was in. I know that sweet spot must exist, now I just want to find it.
When I was within 200 yards of our house, I checked my computer. I wanted to know my average. I would have been satisfied if I had remained at the 19.-something I saw at the halfway point, but I didn't need to settle for that becasue I read 20.55 mph. I gave a little fist pump in the air, released a big smile across my face, and let out a whispered, but intense burst of "Yes!"
This morning started out well with exactly the kind of swim I was looking for. A long swim of 3,000 yards that was on pace for a 1:10:00 swim for 2.4 miles. I wasn't looking for 1:10:00 per se, but something at or faster than 1:14:00 pace. Now, whether or not I would have sustained that pace for the full 2.4 miles is another question for another time, but it felt good nevertheless.