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What’s that smell? Is it me? April 29, 2008

Posted by kimayars General Cardio, Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 1 comment so far

Man, am I ripe.  I am still in my clothes from this morning. They have been through three workouts. Even the dogs won’t go near me.

Tonight was a GREAT workout with the EZ8′ers at the Mt. Si HS track.  Here’s what we did:

I had two interesting experiences tonight:

#1 - I love to sprint.  Granted, I can only sprint for VERY short distances. But, I love to let it all loose, stretch those legs, and put it all out there. Again, only for VERY short distances.

#2 - I still have hurdle anxiety.  In Jr. High and High School I was on the track team. Becuase our team was small and I am an idiot, I agreed to do the 100m high hurdles and the 300m hurdles. We had a cinder track. I still have cinder in my knees from falling. No matter how hard I tried, at least once per practice I would get wrapped up in a hurdle and make a very dramatic fall (nothing like the crashing of hurdles to draw attention to yourself). Eventually my teammates were desensitized and didn’t notice anymore. I wasn’t even good at them. Lord only knows why I kept at it for 6 years.  The only time I took 1st was when I ran unopposed. You would think I would have been discouraged. Nope. (”Here’s your sign.”)

Headache is nearly gone. It obviously wasn’t a tumor.

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Run the Headache Away April 29, 2008

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

I still had a pretty good headache when I met up with Sherene today (starting to think tumor) but I decided I’d never know for SURE if a run would help if I didn’t try it. I’ve always been an experimenter (hey, this bobby pin fits EXACTLY inside this electrical socket…).

So I set the treadmill for the 5k trainer at level 3 — something that I know will give me a good run but isn’t too taxing. By the end I realized I misjudged the “taxing” part as was exhibited by my gasping for air. But, the headache had decreased by about a factor of 10.  The rest of my body was pretty much numb too.

My plan for the rest of the day is to keep the liquids up.  Hopefully we’re on a downward turn for this nasty little bugger.

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I have triumphed. April 29, 2008

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

 There’s a saying I love: “Age and treachery will triumph over youth and skill.”

Today’s variation on that is: “Age and treachery will kill the elliptical machine.”

I really don’t know what I did to it, but it wasn’t working by the time I was done.

So, 10-ish minutes on the elliptical and then a nice easy walk with Kristi on the treadmill.  I still have the massive headache from yesterday, so I will be focusing on getting some more fluids in me.

I’m also hoping to spend some time today to actually tailor my workouts to be more complementary with my riding.  Maybe I’ll get some time to peruse the Applied Posture Riding book I bought last week.

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A Glimpse Into the Future April 28, 2008

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

Today I had a massive headache and knew that a ride wasn’t going to happen.  When I told my trainer she got a gleam in her eye and said, “Let’s long-line him!”  Sounded good to me!

Long-lining is similar to ground driving. You have a surcingle around the horse’s middle, and veeeeery long reins that attach to the bit in the horses bridle, through the surcingle, and then to you.  You are on the ground, and the horse is in front of you. (How far you ask? About as far as they can kick…)  I inserted a video at the bottom of this post which I have watched a few times to figure out what’s going on.

To my knowledge, Tigger has never been long-lined before, so this was probably a new experience for him.  He never really panicked, but did try and spin a few times.  My trainer is really good at this, so in a short amount of time she had him going quite nicely.  It was so cool to see him from the ground without the interference of a rider.  I saw what I hope was a glimpse into the future with him: Piaffe.  It’s not stellar, but it’s regular in it’s rhythm and it’s there. Maybe someday I’ll experience it under saddle.

SPEAKING of saddles, one of the saddles I checked out from the consigment store worked!  It fits him pretty well except that it tips forward just a hair.  Since he’s pretty hollow right behind the withers still, with more conditioning that should fill in.  Until then I’m going to put a shim under the front to raise the saddle up some. That should do me just fine.  And in case you are wondering, it’s a Neidersuss Olympik with a 43cm seat and a medium tree.  I’ve had one of these saddles before and I love it.

Tigger’s back seems to be just great right now. I didn’t find any hint of soreness when I was grooming him.  I might just be able to get on him on Wednesday!

Here’s the long-lining video:

Staying Rational April 25, 2008

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

I’ve begun the process of trying to find out what’s going on with Tigger’s back. Some days he’s sore, and the soreness seems to correspond directly with him bolting as soon as I get settled in the saddle.  More than likely it’s a saddle fit issue.  I have a Wintec saddle that fit him like a glove when I bought him. Since then he’s packed on some muscle and his topline has changed just enough so the Wintec pinches him just above the shoulders. It barely clears his withers now, so a wider gullet will run the saddle right into him, which will hurt worse.  It’s time to shop for a new saddle.

I had a Neidersuss Olympik saddle with my previous horse. She was much wider than Tigger, and the saddle had a wide tree. It was so big on Tigger that I knew it would never fit him., so I sold it on consignment.  But I loved that saddle. It was the 10th saddle I tried and it was a slam dunk.

It turns out that the same consignment store has a Neidersuss Olympik in a medium tree. Hmmm…  I picked it up this week to try it out, and it fits pretty good.  There is a slight pressure point in the front and back, but it’s definitely not bridging.  There is more room in the shoulders for him than the Wintec.  I’m going to keep it until Monday for my trainer to look at. Hopefully she’ll give it a thumbs up.

I also had a chirpractor out to see him on Thursday. She confirmed what I had hoped: There’s nothing wrong with his alignment. She did a few adjustments on his neck and lower back, but overall she said he was in really good shape.  His back did not appear to be sore that day.  When I ran my fingers along his spine his back did not spasm. A good sign…

My problem is this: I keep blowing this thing WAY out of proportion. I have to keep reminding myself it’s probably just the saddle.  But what if it isn’t? What if he really does have some sort of chronic problem that I’m completely overlooking? Additionally, the best way to test my theories is to try certain things (Pamela gave me some great advice on stretching) and then get on him. But I’m so anxious now about his bolting. I mean, he did throw me once. I really don’t want that to happen again. Luckily I have Sherene who keeps me grounded.

I have a big “thing” this weekend, and then we’ll be back to a more regular riding schedule. I felt like I had to decompress after the show, but now I’m just a bit too busy to squeeze the time in. Next week will be much diffeent. Plus, the weather is going to be so much nicer!

My legs! I can’t feel my legs! April 25, 2008

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

I woke up this morning and my legs were still tired from yesterday.  I decided that it was best to go to the gym with Kristi anyway so I didn’t lock up. We did 10 minutes of the elliptical machine first (well, I just kind of hovered there), and then did 30 minutes of treadmill.  I put in a whopping 2mph.  Woo hoo. A regular speed demon.  Jeff said they call this “active recovery”. Sure. Whatever.

Surprisingly, I’m not sore.  Not even a tad.  Just tired. I’m looking forward to going to bed tonight.

I did notice something pretty cool today: Kristi broke a sweat.  She hates to sweat, so to see her working harder than when we started makes me realize that she really wants to make this work. Good girl.

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Why, why, WHY?!? April 24, 2008

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

Yup, definitely overdid it today.

I did go to EZ8 class tonight, thinking it would probably be an easy trail run. Wrong.  I realized the trouble I was in after we went straight downhill for the first mile. We ran down the Snoqualmie-Preston trail for a bit, then turned around at Lake Alice Road to come back up.  There were some jokes about running up the entire way.  We all snickered, but inside a little voice in my head said, “C’mon. You can do it. Dooooooo it.”

So not only did I run back up the hill the entire way (the Forerunner suggests it was about a 500ft elevation gain) but I did serveral loopbacks to keep this great gal Carol company. Carol is in her 60’s, and when she started EZ8’s in the fall she couldn’t run a complete mile. Now she’s running it in 14 minutes, has lost about 25-30lbs, and she’s just a great person to talk to.

So I actually ran further than I was supposed to, but I did run the entire way. I was the only one. And I can’t feel my legs. Or my butt. Well, pretty much everything  below the waist is numb. I will sleep well tonight.

I put in just under 10 miles today. Yeeesh.

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*yawn* April 24, 2008

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 1 comment so far

I am TIRED.  I guess running twice in one day will do that to you.  And, oh wait, I have another run scheduled for this evening…  Hmm. I may rethink that one.

Sherene had me laughing so hard today I almost had to quit to catch my breath. I’d share the story but it’s a bit “rated R”.

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One Plus Three Miles April 24, 2008

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

I ran with Beth this morning for the first time in a very long time. I’ve missed Beth!  We did the first mile with the puffballs with a 13:40 pace. Stopping to poo really kills your splits.

The next three miles were much better, at 10:22.  It was so nice to have it be light!  The rain held off for most of the time and the bitter cold we’ve had lately seems to have passed (it was 40 degrees this morning instead of 30).

Aaaahhh…

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YEAH BABY! April 22, 2008

Posted by kimayars General Cardio Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 2comments

Tonight I had my EZ8 class, and we did our timed mile:

8:16!!!

I ran it in 8:16! In real life! Outdoors! With no treadmill! Woo-hoo!

Here are my metrics for the night:

I’m still smiling about the timed run.  Tee hee!!

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Frantic April 22, 2008

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

I had what amounted to a frantic little run on the treadmill. I felt the need to sweat a little, but didn’t have a whole lot of time to do it in. I’m figuring 20 minutes is better than nothing. 

They must be doing a special at the gym — it was packed this morning.  Sherene and I couldn’t run next to each other.  Poor thing was in the middle of bustin’ out a 5k when one of the trainers kicked the plug on her treadmill. All stop. Suddenly. She said it was a little confusing at first…  We had a nice stretch together, though.  I purchased an eBook called “Applied Posture Riding” and tried out a few of the stretches, all directed toward riding.  They were nice…

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The hills are getting harder. April 22, 2008

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

Today I walked with Kristi for 40 minutes on the hill program level 7.  It’s starting to get a little hard!  We finished up with 10 minutes on the elliptical.

The bob & weave technique to avoid getting nailed by the arm-mover things is still working! I narrowly escaped a head injury this morning. I must be doing something wrong.  I can’t imagine the CPSC would allow these things in gyms if they were truly this dangerous.

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