Look kids! Big Ben. Parliment.

My lady parts hate me, but I have officially been on my longest bike ride yet! Up until today my 56 mile ride as part of the 1/2 Ironman was the longest distance I had covered. Today I sat on that damn seat for 4 hours and 30 minutes for a total of 68 miles. Go me!

The course for Ironman Arizona consists of 3 loops to total 112 miles. Besides having to ride 112 miles, the second hardest part will be getting myself mentally ready for 3 loops. Can you imagine riding 37 miles and some change only to know that when you get back to the starting line you will have to do it all again, and then a third time? My husband has never been a fan of repeating himself. If he leaves something at home and remembers it at the end of our street he refuses to turn around to get it. If I ask him a question that he has already answered he will just look at me and walk away. (Then I chase after him and poke him in the shoulder until I wear him down.) I think some of his aversion to repetition has rubbed off on me, so now I have to train my brain to love repetition.

Since the start of my training plan I have been riding loops. The loops started out fairly short but have progressively increased in distance. The good thing about riding in loops is that eventually you learn the road. Today, the bump at Mile 10 was my enemy. My first time over the bump I didn't even realize it was there, and my lady parts yelled, "Owwww! Holy Hell! What was that?" On the second loop I was futzing with my water bottle and wasn't really paying attention when, thud, and my lady parts said, "Hey moron - still hurts the second time. For the love of God, stand up!" On the third loop I was able to prepare myself in advance of the bump in the road. I stood up and my lady parts applauded.

Riding in loops also tends to make me feel like I am in the movie European Vacation with Chevy Chase. You see the same thing again, and again, and again. I noticed that it took a family about 3 hours to remove a tree stump from their front yard. Between the miles of 15 and 16 it smells like a combination of dirty diaper and skunk - the stench lingers and never seems to go away until you ride out of it. I also noticed that as the day progressed the number of squirrel carcasses multiplied. The dead squirrels that were on the road during Loop 1 became more squished each time I rode past them.

But anyway, my loops are finished (for today). If anyone is interested in keeping me company on one or some of the loops let me know. I love training partners!