April 2016 IRL
| May 3, 2016 | Posted by Melinda under Uncategorized |
Although things are nowhere near where I would like them in terms of miles, number of rides or runs….it’s improving. Steps forward, no matter how little are still….steps forward.
Farley
Got ridden at least twice in the arena, and once on the trail (~3ish miles) by me. She was ridden another 2x a week by an exercise rider for 30 min per session, in the arena.
Do I wish I was riding her more?
Yes.
Is having someone else getting on her a couple of times a week relieving a lot of guilt and doing her and me some good?
Yes
Are we ready for a 50 miler?
Ummmm…No. But I have a lot of faith that we will still get there this year. I have some ideas of how to get more miles on her, and yes, it seems like the adage is true – to create time you need to spend money.
I’ve finally figured out that weekends are a poor time for me to try to ride. Just because weekends were best with my last job and during school, doesn’t mean that weekends are the best choice now. About half my weekends are reserved for contract work which is very lucrative (and is the reason I can continue to work part-time), and the other half are for events like running races, endurance rides, and family stuff. So to continue to bang my head against the wall and try to find time to ride longer distances on the weekends while my husband watches Fig is absolutely futile and idiotic. I have plenty of time to ride and run – it’s just how that time is distributed that is different and that took me a couple of months to figure out.
Here’s what I’m thinking:
- Continue to pay someone else to pop on her for a 30 min ride as needed. BTW, if you are local and interested in riding Farley, drop me an email and we can chat and we can discuss whether it would be a good fit. I have someone currently, however people’s schedules change and it’s good to have options!
- Pay for an additional day of daycare during week that I could use to put in long rides on Farley. At $30/day it really isn’t a lot (especially compared to the cost of an exercise rider for someone else to ride my horse) and it would give me a much-needed horse time on the trails.
- Set one day a week in the evenings during the week with my husband where I can go to the stable and ride for 30 min (or trim feet, or do barn chores). I did have this…and then the house and various out-of-town trainings shot this plan all the hell. Time to reinstate it!
MerryLegs
…is on Amber’s schedule for August. I’m just hanging out and playing with her right now. Nothing groundbreaking, and nothing even formal beyond some grooming, feet trimming, and just enjoying each other’s company. It’s enough for now.
Running
Not many runs this month, but I did something really Really REALLY smart.
At least as smart as hiring an exercise rider for Farley.
I didn’t run for 10 days. Let me explain.
On 4/1 I went for an easy run and admitted that my right IT band really hurt.
On 4/4 I ran again and ignored it.
and then I ran again on 4/6, 4/11, and 4/16.
After each run in my training journal there’s a little note that says: “right IT band bothering me. Improving?”
I am ever the optimist.
On 4/18 I went running yet again and finally admitted to myself that after 2 weeks of consistent running, if running was the answer to making it feel better, it would actually…you know…FEEL BETTER.
My guess is that I irritated it when I got bucked off Farley in mid March.
Then I made one of the most mature decisions I’ve ever made.
I decided I could take 1-2 weeks AND NOT RUN and rehab it NOW, or I could continue to run through it, and take 2 MONTHS off later. Most likely right before I was supposed to run some sort of super fun race.
Look at me being all responsible and shit.
I was really aggressive about rehab – 3x a day icing, stretching, foam rolling, and PT exercises.
10 days later I went for an easy run and miracles of miracles….my IT band didn’t hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I even got in a tempo run before the month ended.
The score:
- 7 easy runs
- 1 Treadmill run
- 1 tempo run
- LOTS of GSM
Looking forward
May has turned into a nightmare for scheduling and I’m already overwhelmed with all the commitments I have. Focusing on daily routine is going to be a life saver.
look at you being all grown-up and shit! I guess SOMEBODY has to be the mature one.. 🙂