Conditioning Plan Check In (Weeks 5 and 4)

I am posting this a bit early as the week isn't over yet. We had hoped to make it through 2016 without losing anyone close to us since we said so many goodbyes in 2014 and 2015. Alas, that was not to be. Dusty's step dad passed away this week. My heart goes out to his mom as she has lost her best friend, fishing buddy, camping partner and travel companion. I can't even imagine.

Week 5: Weeknight: hill sets. No, but I have a good excuse! Gem got her shoes on Monday and then it poured the rest of the week. I finally got out between storms on Friday and just as I got into the barn my phone rang with an emergency and I had to go back to work.

Weekend: 10-12 miles, fast pace (hunter pace scheduled). Finished the pace and it was roughly 8 miles with a ton of hills. We kept up a race pace and Gem didn't even look like she worked at all.

Run Wed and Friday. No again. Wednesday I was still battling hip issues from my stupidity the weekend before and I used Friday to try to sneak a ride in that didn't happen.

Double check all gear for any signs of wear or weakness. Go over portable corral for missing parts and functioning charger. Order anything that requires replacing. Have dental work on Gem. Spring vaccines and new coggins.  All gear is good to go and nothing needs replacing. The corral wasn't put together because it was a glorious weekend and I spent it hiking and riding instead, so this will still need to be done soon. Gem isn't really due for spring stuff until June, so I have decided to just wait until after the ride. She will need new coggins before hand, but Dusty can do that and just forgot to this weekend because Wyatt was sick. He will pull it for me on week 4.

Week 4: Weeknight: arena work. I decided to do hill work and actually remembered my Garmin. The hill isn't insanely impressive, but it is steep and we worked it at 13 mph each time. She knows what I expect of her on these days. We get to the bottom of the hill and she turns around and charges back up. I only did 3 hill sets because it was already 6:30 pm before I tacked up and she was getting pretty sweaty. With temperatures dropping to the mid 30s overnight, I didn't want her wet at all when she went back out.

Weekend: 10-12 miles, fast pace (hunter pace scheduled).  We left SC on Friday to be with Dusty's family and won't be back until Tuesday night, so Gem gets the weekend off to rest and recover.

Run Wed and Friday.  I ran on Wednesday and then went out of town.