I would have been in tears if I'd had to do 3 hours in the circuit after soloing...
Almost all of my 10 hours solo was x-country, 8 of them done in one go at the end of my training... Loved it!
Funny how different things are done in different places; seems training in Sweden is nothing like doing it in the UK...
I do enjoy pattern work now tho'; getting better at it is fun, learning to do it in the first place was a tad not so IMHO...