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We’re going steady! November 29, 2007

Posted by kimayars Ramblings, Las Vegas Half Marathon Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 4comments

Sherene made me a tape today!  I think that means we’re exclusive…

  :-)

Seriously, she made me an “inspirational” CD for my run/jog/walk/crawl/whimper on Sunday.  The songlist includes:

  1. Titles by Vangelis
  2. I Run Faster Thank You Can by Faris Nourallah
  3. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
  4. Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey
  5. I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock Of Seagulls
  6. Run To You by Bryan Adams
  7. Running by No Doubt
  8. Act I: Run Away! from Monty Python’s Spamalot
  9. Act II: Brave Sir Robin from Montey Python’s Spamalot
  10. Keep Yourself Alive by Queen
  11. It’s Not Over by Daughtry
  12. (Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult
  13. Stayin’ Alive by The Bee Gees
  14. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
  15. Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin
  16. Savin’ Me by Nickelback
  17. Broken by Lifehouse
  18. I Need Some Sleep by Eels
  19. Home by Daughtry

It’s a wonderfully satirical commentary on how the run will probably go.  What’s even more impressive is that Sherene didn’t know that one of the water stations at the LVHM will be staffed by the cast from Spamalot.  I’m just so touched that she took the time to do this, and will REALLY enjoy it during the race.  I hope I don’t scare anyone when I burst out laughing during tracks 8 and 9.  Anyway, it’s already downloaded to my Sansa and ready for action!  I just wish I was!

So tomorrow we’re off to Vegas. Saturday we’re just going to relax and enjoy some of the sights on the Strip.  Sunday is the race, and then we return home later that day.  Expect a race report late Sunday night or Monday evening.  I feel pretty well relaxed.  Our only concern right now is how to get Hammer Gel on the plane.  I think Jeff is going to stop by REI in the morning and pick up a few packs for me to ease our trip through TSA.

My strategy for the race is to survive.  I will try and use my ForeRunner to start with a resonable pace.  My goal is a 10min/mile average.  If I can finish in 2:30:00 then I will be ecstatic.  Hopefully Beth and I will both be having a good day on Sunday and we can enjoy a good run.  But even if it doesn’t pan out that way, I’m excited just to be doing it.  It will be a nice little feather in my cap!

And I have packed the cape.

I’m just still so tickled to have the CD.  It will be so cool to have Sherene with me.  Having a lock of her hair in my pocket that I cut secretly while she was sleeping also helps. It smells puuuuuurty.  (She’s probably officially creeped out now and won’t talk to me for a few days.)

Off, into the wild blue yonder!

Gettin’ Jiggy with Ray November 28, 2007

Posted by kimayars Arena Work (Horse) Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

I had a wonderful lesson today.   My instructor (who organized the clinic on Saturday) was able to help me pick up where we left off.

He started off right away jigging.  Both Cindy (my instructor) and I agreed that he needed something to do to help him re-focus and release the tension that was building up. Henrik had used a turn on the haunches with a counter-bend to get his attention, and after he release to allow him to move forward.  So, we tried it.

It’s magic.

At first when I asked Ray to counter-bend, he got tense and started jigging in place. It’s a little unerving when your horse is prancing in place and tossing his head. But then he softened, and I released.  You could almost hear the wheels turning in his little head.  We moved forward and he started to jig. The process started over.  I asked him to counter-bend and turn.  This time, he softened much faster.

What I liked about this approach was that it showed him the frame I wanted him in without injecting more tension into the mix. What normally took 15 minutes to do, took five.

Our work afterwards was wonderful.  We worked on figure 8’s with an emphasis on changing the bend with precision. We also focused on my body position. Since I had a relaxed, willing, and supple horse it was much easier to do little position tweaks.

 Overall I had a fabulous ride.  I wish they all could be like that!

Going for a stroll… November 28, 2007

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

The lazy side of me is really enjoying tapering.

Tonight for the EZ8 class we walked up the Snoqualmie Parkway and jogged back.

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Yeah man, I’m tapering… November 27, 2007

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

I kid you not, this has been the topic of discussion for the past few days.  I have a few great friends who are really supportive in that “I can’t believe you’re going to run 13 miles” kind of way.  Every week, they check in to see how my long run on Sunday went.  Reports vary from “brutal” to “not-so-bad”.  Regardless, the look in their eyes is one of awe. (I am, after all, a housewife.  Most housewives don’t do this kind of thing.)

Not so this week.  Here’s how the conversation usually goes:

Friend: “So, Kim!  How did the long run go?”
Kim: “Oh, no long run this weekend.”
Friend: “Really? Why? Are you sick? Injured?”
Kim: “Naw. I’m tapering.”
Friend: “What?”
Kim: “Tapering.”
Friend: “What’s that?”
Kim: “It’s where you take it easy the week before your race.”
Friend: “Why?”
(Kim shrugs shoulders.)
Friend: “Isn’t that a type of candle?”
Kim: “Yeah, whatever.”

I’ve said it so much my 4-year-old walks around saying “Mom!  Taper, caper, paper. They all rhyme!”  We’re big into rhyming now.

To be honest, I’m not sure I undertand the idea behind the taper when you’re at my level of running (which is very, very low).  To me the LVHM will be just like any other training run on Sunday.  Except there will be neon.  And Elvis.  Not many training runs can boast they have Elvis.  I doubt there will be elk, though.

I’m very excited to share my experience with my clinic on Saturday.  Spotty DSL has prevented me from posting a novel about that day.  I’ll try and get to that tomorrow after my lesson.  Let’s just say it was a marvelous experience.

I will end with a bizarre experience I had today.  I did my treadmill encounter with Sherene this morning, and “held back” at 3 miles.  I kept the pace up to feel like I did something, but for the most part tried to remember that we’re all about the taper right now.  At the end, I finally loosened up, ready to do more.  But I stopped, staying true to my training goals.  Sherne kept going, taking it all the way to five miles, and maybe beyond.  I had to leave before she was finished.  Could it be that I felt a twinge of jealousy?  Hmmm…  This is indeed a sickness.  *twitch*

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It’s a good thing dogs don’t have thumbs… November 22, 2007

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

Well, our holiday started out with a bit of a scare. It seems that I’m not the only one who overmedicates.

The family and I headed over to my parents’ house for a few days to help my Mom with the big dinner.  Our two dogs Cory (12 yrs) and Cinder (11 yrs) came with us.  As a good doggie mommy, I packed their medication — a daily dose of Rimadyl for their arthritis.  Unfortunately while on the ferry, Cinder got into the bag that contained the Rimadyl and ate them.  All of them.  She normally gets 150 mg of Rimadyl a day. She ate 600 mg in about 30 seconds.

After a quick hunt for an emergency vet in the area, Cinder went in to be “vomit-ed” and get a dose of activated charcoal.  At the vet’s recommendation, she stayed the night to get more doses of activated charcoal and IV fluids to continue to flush the Rimadyl.

Jeff picked her up this morning and she appears to be no worse for wear. She gets a few doeses of Pepcid A/C for the next few days and her next meals will be boiled chicken and white rice to keep things easy on her tummy.  We’ll continue to watch her and when we get back home we’ll do some blood work on her to make sure there was no long-term renal system damage. 

$600 later, Cinder is resting comfortably and happy to be home. At least Cinder doesn’t have thumbs. Think of the damage she could have done then…

Happy Thanksgiving! Mmmm… I’m smelling turkey! 

How NOT to Taper November 21, 2007

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 5comments

How do you spell relief?  I spell it A-D-V-I-L. 

I got up to run with Beth this morning. ”How about five miles?” Beth cheerfully suggests?  “Suuuuure,” I reply. “I’m a little stiff, but I’ll loosen up.”  Wrong.

The morning was gorgeous: clear, cold, and the stars were amazing. It was also great to be back out with Beth.  I could almost say Beth was giddy from finally getting out for a substantial run that didn’t involve a rather large conveyor belt.

At one point I looked at my shadow from a street lamp.  I was a poor shuffling fool.  I just couldn’t lengthen my stride.  I felt a new blister form on my right foot, and I forgot to layer my undergarments and a new raw spot was forming.  This was not going well.

We made it five miles, but at 4.6 miles I turned an ankle, so the last 0.4 was a sort of “power-walk” thing, but I must say my heart wasn’t in it.  I nearly cried just out of frustration.  Everything seemed to be working against me.  Beth was kind enough to stay cheerful and coax me in that last half mile.

At home I continued to feel like crap.  Achy joints, sore muscles, stiff.  It was time to bring out the big guns: ADVIL.  I love Advil.  It’s wonderful.  Four Advil and an eggnog latte  later, I started to feel human as I headed to the barn to ride Ray.  Better living through phramaceuticals, I say.

After arriving at the barn, something happened that completely brightened my day: our instructor showed up, ready to teach a lesson.  Granted, we forgot to schedule the lesson. This meant there were a few moments of frenzied tacking of the horses.  I really enjoy my lessons, so this was a highlight of my day.

See, Advil brings good karma.

My lesson on Ray as fabulous. He started out as freaky “oh-crap-I’m-gonna-die” horse but quickly settled down.  We had some REALLY nice moments where his trot was forward, free, and smooth.  This is in 35 degree weather, which presents a challenge in getting a 1000lb animal warmed up.  Yet Rasyn performed admirably.  I’m starting to get the hang of asking him to check his speed, but not making him feel trapped with the aids.  “Freedom through correctness” is one of my instructor’s favorite sayings.  It works for me too.

So my lessons learned today are:

  1. Don’t run 26 miles in 4 days. This is how not to taper, and frankly my body just can’t handle it without some significant whimpering.
  2. Don’t try and leap over drainage grates in the dark.  You’ll probably miss and your friends will laugh.
  3. Take more Advil. You’ll be happier. Advil = good karma.

My day finished off with the great news that Sherene is coming to the clinic with me on Saturday.  It’s SO much easier to do a horsey road trip with a friend.  Then you have someone to look at in horror as things spiral out of control.  :-)

So, I’m taking the next two days off. I think my body needs it.  Either that or I need to start buying Advil in bulk.  It will be all about turkey and family.  I can’t wait!

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