Have You Ever…. ridden 100 miles on your bike trainer?  Have you?  OMG….Well- I think it’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever done to date! 

Someone (Coach Andrea) decided I should ride 100 miles on my bike this particular Tuesday as it was on my training program.  Unfortunately- the guy upstairs didn’t get the memo and the heavens opened up and rained ALL day non-stop! 

I had been following the weather forecast for a few days and was anticipating the rain, while secretly hoping that 100% chance of rain might turn into 10%.  Definitely NOT the case though.  Luckily I had prepared for this, by heading to the nearest video store and renting 4 movies……..yeap- 4 movies!  I wanted to make sure I didn’t run out of mind-numbing entertainment. 

Next I set up my bike in the bedroom I was staying in at my parents.  There’s a small TV in there with a DVD player and a great view of the forest (bonus).  I put a few fans in the room- lowered the TV, lined up the bike and voila- I had the second part of my preparation done.

The 100 Mile Bedroom Setup

My last step was to get all my nutrition ready.  I wanted to make sure I didn’t have a reason to meander into the kitchen- ya know, check to see if the dishes needed to be done or something. My goal was to stay on that bike the whole 100 miles except for bathroom breaks and I could only take one no more than every hour…….

Ok.    Movies-check;  Bike-check; Nutrition and Hydration- Check…it’s 9 am and I’m ready to roll (so to speak), and off I went…

First up was The Soloist.  If you have not seen that movie I can not recommend it enough.  My profession is a Mental Health Therapist and found the film did an amazing job truly depicting what it is like for people with severe and persistent mental illness.  I loved the movie and it was completely entertaining and got me through the first two hours of my ride effortlessly.

Next up was the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  This one was pretty good, but it didn’t grab me like The Soloist.  That movie is bloody long!  I think it was close to 3 hours. I mean that was good in one way but even on the bike I was kinda like- Dude, when is this going to end?  Pretty cool idea- getting younger as you get older.  Actually as I’m writing this, sometimes I feel younger now than I did in my twenties.  I know I’m fitter now! 

Alright.  Here I was 5 hours into my ride with a sore bumm and two movies left to watch.  Next I tried some other movie that I don’t remember the name of and ditched it quickly.  I was down to my last movie which was one of the Jennifer Aniston movies.  It was ok….cute…..and at least kept my mind pleasantly numb for the last 1.5 hours!

What can I say about riding 100 miles on your trainer?????  It kinda sucks- but the cool part was I looked at this as mental training for Ironman Cozumel (IMCZ).  If  I could endure 6.5 hours on my bloody trainer I could endure 112 miles riding on the Island of Cozumel!  If I could keep it together mentally sitting in the same spot, watching movies, I could certainly withstand whatever IMCZ might throw my way. 

I think this training day was more of a mental training day than a physical training day.  It was my mind over matter that got me through this day……

Oh- and did I mention???  The following day (yeap it was still raining) I got to ride 50 miles on that trainer and then run 12 miles on the treadmill.  What a brick that was 

The moral is- just do it- even if it means indoors, because there is more to train than just our bodies…..

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