planBE

Earlier this week, I thought I might be doomed. After my very uncomfortable 3 hour walking torture ride, where I squirmed and repositioned every five of the last 90 minutes, I frantically started google searching for solutions for blisters, chafing, muscle cramps, etc. Lots of solutions and ideas, personal fitness being one of them … but there is a limit to how much can be overcome in the remaining 4 weeks. I have found an improvement in my recovery time, and more energy on the days I start with strength training. But, what about this chafing in the area of unmentionables??? I tackled round 2 of the excruciating 3 hour torture trail yesterday on a cold (3c) sunny blustering day, with gusts cracking the tree tops to the ground. Q wasn’t too pleased, nor was I. A few bolts and skirmishes in the first hour and then he started to settle down, no longer spooking at the shadows. I did a few things differently, stopping to pee midway and getting off twice to stretch my legs, and incorporating

All I can say is ouch! In addition to increased saddle mileage, ground mounting, and buying outback stuff … Ive also been getting my gear and bags organized (hello multi purpose soap, body wipes, and extra sun shirts), made a return to strength training and cardio every 2 days, added low impact activity to my days, increased my foamrolling and stretching to every day, and cut the sugar/alcohol/processed food.  I am my own personal project for the remaining 5 weeks. The result is that Im having mostly long restorative sleep, sans medication, and I can feel my recovery time improving every week. Yesterday I decided that with 5 riding days completed, I could give myself and my horse a break. I opted for a walk in the woods with my husband, accompanied by Q the charming horse on a leash. It was amusing, as Q hunted the ground for bits to eat, and tried to mug us for the bananas hiding in our pockets. And it was a short walk, on relatively flat ground, along the now dry (but thick with sand

The funniest thing has happened these last few weeks. I have been reluctant to canter. At first it was the footing (ice), then it was Qs bounciness (spring sillies), then it was the footing (mud), then it was my goal to focus on long distance walking to build my endurance for long rides without taxing my horse. I finally cracked the barrier this week, but not without some serious eye rolling from Q. As we regained our broader trail network (cross country ski trails revert to all purpose trails on April 15th), Q would bounce to attention every time we would start a section we almost always canter.  I would hold him back and he would toss his head at me. Its like he was saying “omg, woman, stop worrying, Ill take care of you”.  Staying in context, I was loping long stretches on the buckle 5 weeks ago. What happened? I commiserated with a fellow boarder yesterday (similar age, similar riding pace/style) and she said we have gotten wiser. Our horses are very energetic these days and our br

This story shows how I was obviously oblivious and Q was paying attention but not threatened. His maturity on trail continues to exceed expectations! Q was excited and energetic. It was our second ride after weeks of confinement (due to icy footing) but our first time trotting. Footing was dry in certain sections and we were both happy to move out.  I tried to convince Q to give me his « traveller trot », an easy smooth ground covering stride that I can sit for long stretches. Some think he is gaited as I could sip champagne (or cava) when he moves at this pace.  He tried but his body was tense and in one section he lifted his head up and telescoped to the back right. I thought he might have seen riders behind me but nope. Added some leg to get his attention back, and while he never broke his metronome pace, he was still clearly bothered by something to our right. And then I saw it. I laughed and stopped to get a better look. I said hello but no response. Of course it was a birder in f

Ahhh yesterday was such bliss. It is my third trail ride in 4 days, each one varying between 80-110 minutes. Good practice for my upcoming riding marathon in 7 weeks. My hip pain has flared today but it was worth it for the 80 minutes of sunshine and good footing yesterday as we were able to tackle some of our more frozen landscapes. Some of the trails in the deciduous forest were pretty dry, as were many of the wider and sun exposed trails. It was a glorious 15C and blue skies, so we were out and about in sweaters only. The more frozen trails had mushy ice which was just perfect for this barefoot team. Still lots of puddles which Q likes to suck on. Hoping for another day like this on Friday, where we might venture out into sector 1 for the first time in a month. If we can make it past the icy winter ravine, we can access the likely very dry, sandy and sun exposed trails for our first glorious trots and canters of the season. Im looking forward to mix up my riding plans with some long

Q has improved tenfold his ability to calmly proceed on icy patches, instead of the panicked scramble that was his signature. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic this day, given the continued rain, cold temperatures and even snow of late. But I really felt the need to get in the saddle and try. We did a different circuit, almost cutting it short to a 30 minute loop, and got chased by some loose dogs with poor recall. But I was feeling confident, temperatures were rising and even the hardest slickest ice was doable. Most of the ice was soft, but if you listened to the hoof falls you could tell when things were getting dangerous. One thing for sure, it was definitely wet, as the ice created mini pockets of melt off that Q wanted to stop and slurp at every one. Some sections were devoid of winter and it gave me a sneak peek, and hope, of wonderful things to come. Tomorrow is my last teaching day for a while, so Im looking forward to more consistent riding and building up my endurance for 4-5

It was a tough two weeks of road walking and hand grazing. Everyone in the barn and club were depressed at the terrible trail conditions. Those of us that were barefoot (ie no winter shoes with studs) were regretting our choices. And then, we got the news. One brave soul in our club ventured out and reported a successful path to the power lines. With all the sun exposure under the power lines, it was sandy like a beach. But most of us needed to confront the icy trails in the forest first. With two back to back sunshine days and warm nights, we booked a time, tacked up, and ventured out. And it was glorious. It feels so good when you get back out there. Now that the trails are back on the horizon, its time to start planning for my pack trip. Aside from the worries about what to bring (ie will my toothpaste attract raccoons or bears?) and building up my ride time so that Im comfortable with 8 hours in the saddle per day, Im both excited and nervous. I bought a new oilskin spring jacket t