jump to navigation

Ray, you rascal… August 25, 2007

Posted by kimayars Arena Work (Horse) Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

I rode Ray today, and it was veeeeery interesting. I decided to start out lunging him (think horse on a 10m leash doing circles around you).  Ideally you start out at a walk, then move to trot, and if things are going well you work in canter. Well, we went straight to what I call “canter plus”.  As soon as I asked him to move off — BOOM! The fireworks began…

It took 30 minutes before he was listening to me and I had tempo control in all three gaits in both directions.  And when I was finished, the arena looked like a mine field. Every time he dug in to buck and bolt, he would leave a 4-inch deep divit that was about 6 inches in circumference.  There were a looooooot of divits he left.

We had to take a little break while I did some repair work, and he stood quietly being a perfect gentleman while I pretended that I just played a very bad game of golf.

After the arena was somewhat level, he stood perfectly still while I got on. I went to pick up my right stirrup and ZOOM we were off to the races again.  I took a different tactic this time: Instead of letting him “walk it out”, I held him in one spot.  He was antsy and fighting it, but I held him back, petting his neck and telling him it was okay.  Finally, he stopped trotting in place, then he dropped his head, and then he sighed.

It wasn’t a perfect ride after that, but I was able to work with him a lot more than Tuesday.  He definitely has some issues I haven’t figured out how to work with.  To clarify, he’s never tried to buck with me on his back (thank goodness).  The key is to get him to relax. Once we do that he’s amazing. It just takes a while to get there. Overall I was quite pleased with the ride.

As for the diet today, it started out great. I knew Jeff and I were going to dinner, so I planned my meals carefully.  For dinner I had shrimp fajitas, which was delicious and fit nicely within the plan.  Then we had icecream.  I am an icecream whore.  I LOVE icecream and will do anything for it.  I ended up topping off my evening with a hot fudge sundae. But I enjoyed every last bit of it!

Workout:

Denny Creek Slide August 24, 2007

Posted by kimayars Hike, Walk Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

Today the girls and I went on a hike to an area called Denny Creek, particularly the Denny Creek Slab. This is a huge slab of rock that, when covered with the right amount of algae, forms a pretty cool natural waterslide.

denny_02.jpg

Normally, I am a very prepared person when it comes to hikes of any length. I always carry the 10 Essentials for Hiking and even have a special backpack for it.  Additionally I carry a whistle, bug juice, sunblock, etc…  I am a one woman army.  But I misunderstood exactly what this hike was.  I thought it was something like 100 yards from the parking area.  Wrong.

We started out and there was very little signage to tell us how far the slab was.  We passed one family and casually asked how much farther it was.  They replied, “Oh, it took us about 50 minutes.”  Wait, did he say 50 or 15?  We decided it must have been 15. Wrong.

I’m wearing a skort with sandals, and my girls are in their swimsuits and bathrobes.  My 4-year-old was at least in Tevas, but my 6-year-old was in flip-flops.  I had slung over my shoulder a beach bag with towels, an insulated pack with snacks, and my purse which has essentials such as, oh, a deck of cards and a zillion receipts.  Not my trusty backpack that would have carried everything.  I didn’t have the 10 Essentials, I had a gazillion non-essentials. I even had sidewalk chalk.  I have no idea what I was thinking.

Couple this with the fact that I am still walking very stiffly, and that anything with elevation is painful.  There was a set of steps that I thought I was never going to make it up. Somehow, through the will of two excited children, I found the strength.

denny_05.jpg denny_04.jpg  

It did take us about 55 minutes to get there, uphill all the way. But the kids really did appreciate the calm, and except for I-90 hovering directly overhead a portion of the trail, I think the girls really enjoyed the peace.

Denny_01 denny_03.jpg

We spent an hour at the slab with only a few minor scrapes (hey, the rocks are slippery). And then we marched home singing:

“Continents, continents, do you know your continents?  North, South, East, and West, all around the world.  Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and Europe too. Europe too. Europe too.”

I learned that you must say “Eurpoe too.” exactly three times to get the full impact of the song.  After another 5o minutes of this, I think I got it down.  I actually started humming “It’s A Small World” just to erase the tune from my head.

denny_06.jpg  

I was so pleased with today even though I wasn’t really ready for it.  My sore muscles feel so much better, my girls had a GREAT time, and we took advantage of the natural wonders just minutes from our house.  (This place is only 15 miles from our front step.)

I don’t have a calorie count for today, but I feel I did pretty good.  My back-of-the-envelope calculations have me around 1300 for the day. More importantly I noticed that I didn’t really think about food that much today.  My cravings for sweets have definitely subsided.  I can’t wait to take my metrics on Sunday.  Well, maybe I can…

Workout:

I… Can’t… Move… August 23, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 4comments

So, I did my little workout video yesterday. Admittedly, there was a fatal flaw in this: I used the weights for the “advanced” workout.  When Jeff came home yesterday, he saw the weights out and said, “So, you did The Firm?”

“Yup.”

“Did you do BodySculpt of CardioSculpt?”

“BodySculpt.”

“With Jen?”

“Yup.”

“You’re going to be crippled tomorrow.”

He was right.

My run this morning was great.  Beth and I chat a lot, so our pace was slow, but I like to run more for time than speed or distance.  I felt good. ”Hah!” I thought, “I’m going to break up the lactic acid from yesterday and be fine.”  By 11am I was wondering how on earth I was going to get up out of the chair I was sitting in.

I haven’t been this sore in a really long time. This is “take one step at a time” sore.  This is “oh my goodness I can’t stand up straight” sore. This is “please don’t make me get up to get you juice” sore. This is “cleaning up a little pee because I can’t let the dog out” sore.  I hurt.

I was going to ride Ray today, but as it was I was having a hard enough time getting to the commode. (Hmmm…  Is that can next to me empty?…)

I’m supposed to go to the gym tomorrow for weights.  It might be short workout.  I hope enough people have iPods so that they won’t hear me moan in agony.

Calorie count was okay, but we went over to a friend’s house and I had a slice of lemon meringue pie.  It was delicious, but as a result I’m a little over: 1665

This is where I get to say, “Time to make an authorized You-Turn!” from the You on a Diet book.  Basically, don’t give up, and keep the end result in mind.  This is a great opportunity not to let one little mistake keep me from my end goal.

The laptop is warming my quads. Aaaaaaahhhh…

Cycling: Not Just For Men August 23, 2007

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 3comments

In the spirit of Karl’s recent animal vs. Tour de France vids, I thought I’d post my favorite:

This is actually NOT the Tour de France, but Criterium International in 1997.

Morning run with Beth August 23, 2007

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

I am REALLY sore from yesterday’s workout with “The Firm”.  But, that didn’t deter me!  Had a great run with Beth this morning.  I’m not sure how much longer the 5:30am run will go on.  It was a wee bit dark this morning.

Workout: