Run for the Horses 50

 Last Saturday was my favorite SE ride: Run for the Horses at Biltmore. While the May Biltmore ride gets a lot press due to being co sanctioned with FEI, this September event tends to be really off the radar. This is a shame because it has a much more laid back and friendly atmosphere, all the proceeds go to a local horse rescue and my favorite part: they have an ultra marathon along side it.

Dusty headed off after work on Friday to crash at ride camp. He had just finished a grueling mountain 50k/32 mile race 9 days prior and was a little nervous about his recovery in between races. Our friend, Theresa, was there to ride her annual 50 on her meatball of a gelding, Jedi and he attempted to find her rig in the dark. He never did and ended up crashing by the registration tent.

The next morning, I called him when Wyatt woke up at 7 am to wish him luck. He had started at 6:30 am and was feeling really good a half an hour into the run. The course was slightly different from the previous year and he had a 30 minute head start on the horses.

I spent the morning with my little man and then packed up to head to Biltmore after his nap.  I figured Dusty would finish somewhere between 4 and 5 pm and wanted to be at the finish.  It is a 1 1/2 hour drive, so I wanted to leave by 2 pm at the latest and was happy when he woke up from his nap at 1 pm.

At some point in the morning Dusty texted me to let me know he had completed the first 20 miles in good form and was feeling pretty good. He had been passed by the front runners of the 50 mile horse ride around 5 miles in, but had yet to see Theresa. Another friend of ours, Sheree, was manning the first aid station and he had stopped to say hello.

I decided to bring Bones with us on the trip. She isn't doing too well with her bone cancer and is no longer allowed to go on walks, but ride camp is a lot of sitting and waiting which sh loves and could handle.

My Bones. I love her so much. 

The drive up was uneventful until I pulled through the Biltmore estate gates. I had been to Biltmore 3 previous times (1 hunter pace and two AERC events) and had never seen the actual house. Well, as I pulled through the gait I made a left turn instead of going straight and end dup on a part of the property I had never seen before. I wound around the gorgeous grounds and then right before my eyes there it was: the house! I was too excited, and the traffic was too congested, to take a picture, but it is super impressive. Anyone who comes to a ride here has to take the time to drive over to the house.

I did manage to snag a couple pictures of the greenhouse which is about the size of my house.

The greenhouse and some of the gardens

The green house was just as amazing as the actual estate house

As it turned out, this way was about 15 minutes quicker to the horse area then the round about way the signs take you. I don't think I would want to take a horse trailer this way though due to super narrow, tight roads and a lot of both road and foot traffic.

Once at camp, I found Dusty's car quickly and called to see how far out he was. His Garmin had died, but he figured her was about 13 miles out given the aid stations he had passed. He was pretty tired, hot and his right knee was hurting, but he was enjoying himself and having a good race. I told him to remember he does this for fun and that we would be waiting at the finish.

Wyatt, Bones and I wandered over to the crew area where the finish for the runners was and settled in to play int he dirt.

I asked him to smile for the camera and this was the face he made. I think he thought he was smiling.  

Doing what he does best: getting dirty and playing with a dump truck

The registration area was a gigantic white tent and was loaded with swag. There is a human massage therapist there for hire, the farrier and a big display for the Hope for Horses rescue that puts on the ride. The award table was laden with awards for every possible scenario and the swag was awesome. Makes me really wish I could actually ride this event!

I found the maps for the loops too and grabbed some pictures, only I thought my big head was blocking it and stopped after the first two. I'll have to get the third loop next year.

Loop 1

Loop 2

Sheree eventually found us and Bones and I settled in to chat while Wyatt played in a nearby water bucket. Last summer we both conditioned together a lot, but then her horse came down with a nasty case of Lymes and she is only now getting her back under saddle. It was great to chat with her and catch up. Gem and Riiah pace well together and now that she is back under saddle, I am looking forward to conditioning with her again.

Crew area

The day was bright and clear and the sun was heating up. I watched as some of the 50k runners finished and then some of the 50 milers as well. There is a 74 year old woman who does the 50 miler here every year to support the horses and it was really great to watch her finish.

Eventually Dusty called to say that he leap frogged with Theresa a bit and was pushing hard to cross the finish before her. It would be hard though because the 50 mile horses have the finish line about a  mile from camp to avoid racing into camp. They then have 30 minutes to walk to camp, pulse down and vet in. It is the one thing about the ride that I do not like. He had to come all the way into crewing and he figured she would cross hers before he did his.

At 10 hours 28 minutes (3 minutes faster than last year) I saw this:

I was very proud of him for notably completing this 50 mile run faster than last year, but after having completed a really hard 50k only 9 days prior. He was hot and tired, but doing well. Wyatt ran over to the cooler and grabbed a gatorade to give him. It was really touching.

Unfortunately, it was getting late and we couldn't stay for the awards. I shouted a congrats to Theresa and we packed up to head home. A big congrats to the hubby for his completion!

Where There Is A Will

There is a way. Or so they say.

I had gotten a new pair of running shoes since mine had been delegated to double duty as riding shoes and are 4 years old. Technically you are supposed to change running shoes every 500 miles or 2 years whichever comes first. Its not the tread that goes bad, it is the midsole (the part squished between the insole, part foot touches, and outsole, part ground touches) that dries out on you.  Prior to the last 5 years, you needed new shoes every year regardless of milage because the midsoles were junk and prone to dry rot. Recent technology improvements bumped that up.

Brooks Glycerins have been my go to running shoe for years and years and I have always loved them. I need a neutral shoe with loads of cushion to help give my lower legs shock absorption. I have high arched, rigid feet and this type of foot just can't absorb the shock it needs to, so it vibrates up the calfs. You can actually see it in people if you know what to look for. I always try to get the previous years model for the price break and did the same this time. I laced them up with anticipation of the cloud like cushion I've known for years. And then my feet hit the pavement and I was immensely disappointed. They had changed. Enough to be very noticeable and actually by 1.5 miles I had medial knee pain and sub 1st MPJ pain, neither of which I ever had before. As I ran I could feel how the shoe was effecting my foot motion.

Needless to say they got sent back, but this put me on the prowl for a new shoe. Fortunately, I have the vast knowledge of my hubby and his running pals to dig into and all suggested I try the Asics Nimbus. I did and they felt like a true neutral running shoe with cushion to help with shock absorption and I was very happy.  Asics seem to run really small though. My feet measure a 5.5 and I always wear a 6 unless in running shoes. Always go up a half size in running shoes. Pretty much always. So my Brooks are 6.5 but the Asics were jamming my big toe just standing there so I jumped to a 7. Now I look like I have clown feet. But they are pretty, shiny, pink and blue clown feet, so I'll take them :)

With shoes that finally work I wanted to hit the pavement, but it has been raining all crappy week. I don't mind running at night in the dark and I don't really mind running in a light rain (as long as it is 40 and above out), but I do mind running in the dark and rain of safety reasons. As luck would have it, my parents were looking to ditch their old treadmill.  They just moved here from the Arctic North and have been enjoying the ability to run outside during the day all year round. They don't like the fact that I run at night and so when they decided they didn't want it anymore, they offered it up to me. The thing is close to 20 years old, but works (or so I thought) just fine. This is great addition because a) I am weird and don't mind running on the mill and b) now I can run inside while Dusty gets to run outside so we can both get runs in. Before this it was one of us runs while the other stays inside with Wyatt as he sleeps. This frees up a bunch of running time.

I plugged it in and was all ready to go when the console refused to light up. The belt worked just fine and you could change the speed, but nothing registered on the console. No time, distance or speed. My dad came over to see if he could fix it, but nothing worked so I was left with either not running due to it being super rainy out or running on the thing anyway. I chose to run anyway.

I turned my phone to Pandora, found a stop watch function and let it rip. I picked a pace typical for me based on my foot falls and breathing and went for 30 minutes. I just listened to the music while I ran in the garage with nothing but as of yet unpacked boxes to look at and focused on tuning the world out. Its why I actually like the treadmill. I can tune out the world much easier than running outside with scenery to look at.

I loved the new Asics and think I found my new shoe. Unless they change these as well.

Since we now have more freedom, I sent Dusty out for his own run. He is just getting back from an injury and is taking things slower/shorter than normal. Typically he goes out and runs 10-15 miles multiple times a week at a pace I can't even keep for 2 miles. He went around 4 miles tonight at a moderate pace. Before he left I strapped the Bia to his wrist while he had his Garmin on the other wrist. Here are his screen shots:

First up the new Bia. It stinks. Sorry, Bia but it does. Apparently, it just really doesn't like tracking you on the road and instead would prefer to show that you went right through people's houses. I apologize to all our neighbors for Dusty's rudeness as he went crashing through your living rooms. On the plus side, the lines are smooth finally and not so jumpy. The Bia read 3.81 miles.

Bia

 Here is his Garmin read out from the exact same run (had it on his right wrist). See, he did stay on the road. He also runs with a Garmin Forerunner 410 and got it the same time I got mine. This read 4.00 miles. I think I trust the Garmin a lot more.

Garmin Forerunner 410

With these two read outs in conjunction with mine from before, I'm sending the unit back for a refund. I just don't trust it at all and don't like the fact that they are saying that this is a good reading. If they had responded that this was crappy and that they were working to improve it, I would hang in there. I am al for supporting a new company as long as it seems like they are being realistic.

It is a shame too because the darn watch is so easy to use. I love the interface, the fit, the extremely fast GPS connection and uploading data. I just can't use a watch that I don't trust at all. Hopefully they fix this in the future and I can try again later, but for the high price point I don't see enough benefits to tie up that money in it.

I'm Running Again

And it feels great!!

Well...not great, but really nice to be out running again. If you remember, I had done 4 half marathons prior to W being born and then once he was here I had limited free time and chose to ditch running and keep riding. Well, life has settled down a little and while time isn't something I have in excess there are always ways to make things work. Doing the RnT really made me realize how much I miss running and the way it makes my body feel.

Two weeks ago I took Gemmie out for a jog along the barn trails. They are really nice and mostly double wide so I am not so concerned about her stepping on me. I think the BO thought I had finally lost it fully when I went jogging passed their house in running clothes with an untacked up Gemmiw trotting along beside me on her rope.

We did the two miles of trails and I was nice to get to see Gem trotting along nicely beside and sometimes in front of me. It is a great way to condition both of us and it lets me work her from the ground. I have two main rules she is never allowed to break when jogging:

1) Never, ever step on me. Gem knows perfectly well where her feet are at all times. When she steps on me it is either her begin nasty or she is s mentally zoned out that she stops paying attention. Neither are allowed and so when we jog along, if she starts to spook or be brain dead, she gets an elbow in the ribs to remind her that I am there and to pay attention. It works really well to get her to remember to focus on me and not the world at large. I have toyed with the idea of bringing a crop along with my on runs, but I don't own one so I never do and my elbow works just fine. In line with this is that she also is not allowed to crowd my space. She can run beside me but is not allowed to push me off the trail.

2) No pulling on the rope. She can run beside me (preferred), behind me ( annoying but allowed) or slight in front of me (better than behind me) but is never allowed to pull on the rope. That means that I choose the pace and she gets to go along with it. If she lags behind and decides to try to walk while I shuffle along the trail and the rope becomes taut she gets kicked right up. If she plows ahead and starts pulling me along, she gets circles and made to go back the way we came and then turned around again.

I love jogging with her. I did decide that running on the trails was pretty hard work and that I should probably build up a little on the road first so that we can move down the trail at a decent pace for her. So I started running in the evenings around my neighborhood which is 1 mile, so I do it twice. The big problem with this is that running time means no riding time. I can't do both in the evening and every evening isn't mine. The hubs needs some evenings to run as well and we also need to cook, clean, etc...

So...my new plan which will go into effect this week is to run in the morning before work. I don't typically get up until 6:30 which gives me just enough time to shower, dress, and help get W around for the day. When we move closer to work here I will have even more time in the morning, but for now we need to leave the house by 7 am to get W to daycare and us both to work on time. If I get up at 5:45 (when the hubs does) or even 6, I should have plenty of time to get a quick 2 miles in and still get everything done I need to. It also has the bonus of being nice and cool out in the morning versus hot and sticky in the evening.

Thursday will be my first attempt at this so we will see if I drag my butt out of bed or not.

 

Life is Crazy

Q: Why was the hubby spending his entire evening reading through a 34 page guide to vetting horses last night?

A: Because life is amazing :)

__________________________________________________________________________

I hemmed and hawed about reaching out to the horse community around here. For months I delayed doing it. Life is crazy busy as it is and I feared I would be that person who always says no when she is invited to something. Everyone has that friend. The one who complains about never getting invited to stuff and missing out yet every time you invite them they say no. I didn't want to be that person. But reality struck that I had no friends and was bored riding alone and so I put on my big girl panties and put a plea out to the internet and found some friends. I am sure glad I did.

Wednesday morning started like any other morning. I don't start work until 11:30 (I work later to offer evening appointments for after school or after work) and we enjoy a family breakfast at Cracker Barrel every Wednesday morning. The hubs has worked the last two weekends and I was happy that he finally had one off this weekend.

Back into the minivan I looked at my phone and noticed a message from T. From there on out the day got very interesting.

Apparently there is a ride and tie event going on at the local trails Fri and Sat. I knew of this event, but the hubby originally was working this weekend and I had put it out of my mind. Unfortunately, the ride vet had something come up and couldn't be present on Saturday. Calling around to all local horse vets resulted in nothing and they were on the verge of cancelling the event. I'm not sure how T got involved (she probably knows the vet and she is registered for the 15 mile event Saturday) but she remembered that the hubby was a vet and asked if he would be at all interested in doing it.

Now a normal person would say no. He hasn't worked on horses in 10 years. And while he has completed a ride and tie event he knows absolutely nothing about the rules. And the idea of spending you first weekend off in forever at a trail head in the sun watching other people compete for 10 hours isn't all that high on most people's list of fun things to do.

But I've never claimed the hubby was normal and instead of saying no he agreed to talk to the ride vet and figure out some stuff. She called him and he agreed to do it with the understanding that he does not have a horse truck full of medication and such and could not provide treatment. She agreed.

Not wanting to come across as completely ignorant he feigned knowledge of the event and then promptly went online to find a manual. He found one 34 pages long and that is how he ended up spending his Wednesday evening cramming for a practical exam this Saturday.

It will be hysterical as he has to determine the pulse rate, if a horse is fit to continue and even pick the best conditioned horse.

Not to be out done my own brain started turning.

I immediately texted S and asked if she would be up for the ride and tie on Gemmie (remember her mare is out until the farrier comes to visit).

You know you have found an awesome friend when you text them on a Wednesday night asking if they want to do the ride and tie when neither of you have run in forever, she has never participated before and she has never ridden your horse before and her answer is "the most important question is what colors do we wear?"

Ha!!!

At first she opted for the 4 mile beginner event. Neither of us are runners and so that would be the smartest plan. Or smartest outside of just not doing it at all. But by the end of the conversation she said she wanted to do the 8 mile! Awesome!!!

So that's the plan. We have entered the 8 mile ride and tie for Saturday. I have only done 1 other one and we were the only participants so we just made it up as we went. This is an official event hosted by the Ride and Tie Association, so I'm sure we will have to figure out the rules a bit.

I will supply the horse. I need to go buy a tie rope, but I know how I want to set it up so I can do that Friday. Fortunately, we have the same size head so we will share my helmet and not have to run with it. She has saddle packs and we will hook that onto my saddle for water for us. Beyond that we will make it up as we go along and hopefully by the end of 8 miles we will figure out what works.

I can't wait!!!!

Summer and Fall 2012

"To live greatly we must develop the capacity to fave trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility"

-Unknown

I ride because it is my stress relief. It is the only time that my brain shuts off and all the annoying thoughts about my day, my to do list, the next day, my future plans, money concerns, etc... all go away. From the moment I see Gem out in her pasture all I think about is riding. As I brush her out my brain is blissfully quiet and I think of nothing at all. I always start on one side up by her head and work my way to her butt. I then go to her head and say "can I have my Gemmie hug?" and wrap my arms around her neck and give her a huge hug followed by a kiss on the nose. I then brush her other side, pick out all 4 feet and go get her tack. In the beginning she was super tense and had her ears back (a sure sign of an unhappy horse) with the hug. Now she lowers her head over my shoulder and hugs me back :) I let out a big sigh and all my stress is gone. Once I am up in the saddle the whole world melts away except for the view between her ears. It is amazing.

With my endurance spurs metaphorically hanging up on the wall, I needed a new focus for Gem and a new outlet for "competition" for me. I put that in quotes because with endurance and running I was pretty solidly middle pack, but still the feeling of accomplishing something was what I was after. I turned to running and worked hard all summer. I completed 3 additional half marathons. I really enjoyed it and even now I look back on those and feel the pride of crossing the finish line 13.1 miles away from the start. I no longer run, but hope to again someday.

For Gem, I wanted to continue trail riding with the hubs and Pete because we loved it. My biggest hurdle with her was/is riding in new places alone. She gets so worked up and her primary response is speed. If she goes fast enough she won't have to look at scary things. She spooks like crazy too. Not being the bravest sort myself, I needed to find a way to get her out and remain safe. So, I began to take her out jogging with me. I swear all the ladies at the barn thought I had completely gone off the deep end finally. I would show up in running clothes, attach a lead rope to Gem and head to the fields and trails across the street. 40 minutes later I would return sweaty and out of breath. I actually really enjoyed it. She was horrible at first. She would get tense, look at everything and almost run me over. I was constantly elbowing her to move out of my space. The first few times we barely made it 10 feet jogging before she would either plow ahead of me or try running me over. I would make her stop immediately, back up and stand. Once she calmed down we would go forward again. We did the every 10 feet the first time, maybe every 50 feet the next and slowly worked up to only doing it on rare occasions.

Ninja Gem

The hubs and I had some amazing trail rides that summer. We found two new parks within 3 hours and frequented them about twice a month. And finally, that summer was the debut of my first true solo trail ride on Gem.

 

Posted with Blogsy