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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.

Workout:

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.

Workout:

I have triumphed. April 29, 2008

Posted by kimayars Run, Walk 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.

Workout:

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!