3 hours can be a long time

I know what some of you are thinking "two posts in two days -what's up?" Rest assured the world is not coming to an end. There really isn't much point to this post, other than I feel like complaining a little out loud.

Sundays are my long ride day and as the Gulf Coast Tri is fast approaching - see the countdown clock to your right - my long rides are 3 - 4 hours long depending on what my coach schedules. Today was supposed to be a 4 hour ride, but the weather gods have been extremely uncooperative. It's been raining off and on since yesterday morning, and today was more on than off. I considered my options and decided against riding in the rain. I'm sure most of you are thinking that decision was a no-brainer, but it really wasn't. There is some value to riding in the rain - what am I going to do if it's raining for Gulf Coast or Ironman - not race? I don't think so - aside from the amount of money the race itself cost, there is the countless hours spent training for the event, and unless the race is canceled, you go no matter what the conditions. That being said - if it rains for either of those events, I might seriously cry. Anyway, it just didn't make sense to do a 4 hour ride in the rain today. Aside from being bad for the bike, the last thing I need at this point is to get sick. Plus I rode in drizzle last week, and I seriously wasn't in the mood. My long run yesterday had been tough, and I was soaked for at least half the run. I had no desire to be wet again.

So what are my other options? Postpone the ride until tomorrow - always a possibility, but it means rearranging my training schedule to accommodate, which is not ideal, plus there is great value in doing your long run and ride on consecutive days; or ride the trainer. The thought of four hours on the trainer made me want to cry, but not as much as riding in the rain. I decided that I would go for three hours on the trainer, but really push it. I knew I was going to need some visual stimulation so I chose The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the Extended Version for my entertainment. Nothing like a four hour movie to keep you entertained. It's two discs, but I've got the portable dvd player set up so that I can change discs without having to get off the bike. I like to be prepared. So with the movie in, my energy bars, clif shots, and water bottles all set; I got going. I started to lose it a bit around 2 hours - mostly because my girl parts were not too happy. That seems to happen more on the trainer than it does on the road. By 2.5 hours I was getting fairly uncomfortable, but decided if I pushed it just a little harder, I could make 56 miles in 3 hours. I swear at that point, the timer on my bike computer started going backward - it was a very long 30 minutes. I hit 56 miles with about 30 seconds to spare. I almost kept riding at a slower pace because the Battle of Helm's Deep had just started in the movie - a really kick-ass scene - but the girl parts were definitely done for the day. The legs felt really good, though, so that's promising. Now if I can just ride 56 miles in 3 hours on the road, that'll be something.