Little Hiccup in the Fitness Challenge...

Look, Ma! I'm On The Bit!

So my attempt to drill for oil using my cranium as has put a big old monkey wrench in my fitness plans.  Previous to my prayer to the dirt gods I had embarked on a plan to get my ammy a$$ in shape.  A couple trainers I respect told me my riding would improve more quickly if my fitness/strength level improved.  I reasoned that since I spent what felt like a minor fortune on lessons, clinic, DVDs, and books devoted to improving my riding, it only made sense to take their advice.  Time to get thighs that could crack walnuts, or at least motivate a lazy mare, and a core capable of holding my position better over fences.

Things were going well at first.  On average, I ride 5 days a week when I am not traveling.  I began riding my mare without spurs, spent 5 minutes warming up trotting in two point, and incorporated lots of work without stirrups. In addition I added interval/hill work on the  treadmill or eliptical 5 days a week, and weights or Pilates 2-3 times a week.

That lasted all of 10 days, until I face planted at a horse show after jumping ahead of my mare (Literally.  A word to the wise -- do NOT do this!)  My little unintentional dismount resulted in a concussion, a sprained neck, and potentially some instability in the ligaments of the ondontoid process, which I'm told can be A VERY BAD THING if I fall off/get rear ended/do something else stupid involving trying to insert my melon into an unyielding surface. 

So, no rigorous exercise for the time being.  Not good, considering when I'm bored/sad/happy/confused or just breathing I eat.  A lot.  And I don't exactly go whole hog on the veggies, either?  I'm more of an Oreos/Pillsbury vanilla icing/Ice Cream/Cheese and Butter kind of gal.  Which ain't great if you're not moving much, you know what I mean?

So no running.  I've been traveling a lot for work, so I haven't  been riding much. When I have ridden, it's been more like really light hacking, which Sug is totally on board with.

So what's a creaky, achy, semi-breakable broad to do?  Lots of treadmill intervals on an incline, only at the walk.  I've also done what little light Yoga and Pilates I can without straining my neck.  I've gone back to doing a little light belly dancing.  Although I've pretty much lost what little improvement I'd made, one good thing is that the hill work has made my legs stronger.  Or at least they felt that way when I rode tonight. Just stronger and more secure, if that makes sense.

So I guess I'll keep up with the kinder, gentler fitness regime until I'm cleared for more intense stuff.  Backsliding is frustrating, but the fact that my legs felt a bit more secure tonight gives me some hope for eventual success.  Fingers crossed!

WAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Or, Get Over It Already, For Heaven's Sake...

Hi. My name is Amy and I am a Chicken.

Today I had my first lesson since I attemtped to emulate a lawn dart at my last show.  My travel schedule for work as been crazy, so it's really only the fourth time I've ridden since I damn near found oil two weeks ago.  Certainly the first time I've jumped.

Well, as you probably picked up from the title, things did not go well.  Number one, due to the severe neck sprain I gave myself (the Doctor's terminolgy, not mine) anything more than light exercise has been VERBOTEN for the past two weeks..  Think "gentle stroll on treadmill." So, my fitness level, never great to start with, is close to non-existant.  (Can somebody PLEASE tell me why it takes a 40 year old woman MONTHS to gain any kind of muscle and a nanosecond to lose it???  PLEASE?  That my friends, is one of life's nasty little ironies.  The others involve childbirth, but that's another discussion and you'd need to buy me a drink before I get started on that one.)

Plus, I'm still sore, so some things, such as turning my head to look for the fence, were uncomfortable. Thus,  I didn't execute them well and we had missed distances, awkward jumps, and some "Oh Sweet Baby Jesus!" moments.  So why was I attempting to lesson under these circumstances?  Well, if you haven't realized I'm not exactly the brightest bulb in the string by now, you haven't been paying close attention to this blog.  I suggest you go back and read a few more posts.  You'll get what I mean soon enough.

Basically, I rode to each fence in a state of high alert, fearing the worst and rendering myself darn near incompetent.  My trainer said I was exaggerating ( this would not be unusual, I am known to amplify things a bit) and not riding badly at all, but you know how you it is when you feel like you're only moments away from a trainwreck.  At this point I was about one sniffle away from starting to bawl.  Not just tears, but a full-on, snot pouring from the nose, howling like a crazy person meltdown.  Luckily my mare turned to me and gave me one of her LOOKS.

What is going on?? Are you leaking up there?

No, Sug. (sniff)  I'm fine. (sniff)

You don't look or sound fine, and you're clenching. Stop that, please.  Do that breathing thing, would you?

Sorry, Sug. (Sounds of deep breathing ensue.)

So how do you take one ad incident and stop from making it into the 800 pound gorilla in the arena??  For some reason the Friends episode where Phoebe, Rachel and Monica do a cleansing ritual to rid themselves of bad boyfriend karma.  I thought briefly about a cleansing ritual, but I saved up a gazillion Dover's gift certificates to get that hunt coat, darnit, and knowing my luck I'd set the house on fire anyway. 

I asked my trainer to lower the fences and to let me work on easier groups of combinations of fences, rather than entire courses, which she did, and things still weren't going great.  I couldn't keep a consistent rythym, partly because my mare was feeling herself  and dragging me to the fences, and partly because I was picking at her till we went from a gallop to darn near going backwards.  You can imagine what kind of jumps these resulted in.  Let's just say I was inadvertently dropping some words that would have gotten my mouth washed out and my behind blessed with a wooden spoon about 30 years ago.  Thankfully my kids weren't in the arena.  Her Highness Princess Sugar Britches was not impressed either.

Hellooooo! Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland!

Gesundheit, Sug.

Sigh.  Translation: Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands. Such language is inappropriate in front of an equine of my eminence.

You know, you may not want to take that tone with me today, Miss Thing.  Ain't no Royal Netherlanders standing in line to pay your massage bills.  Just saying...

So I told my trainer I thought it would be a good idea to go back to basics.  More longe lessons.  More gymnastics, more work on my form and the security of my position and leg, until I feel secure again.  I have the chance to show again this week, and quite frankly, I'm hesitant about doing it.

I like feeling fully prepped.  Knowing I CAN do something (usually by the skin of my teeth and feeling I've just received a miracle) and feeling like I can do something succesfully is a big difference.  I feel that when I ride with confidence, I can ride well.  When I don't ride with confidence, things get dicey and I'm worried one day I really will hurt myself and my horse.  To be fair, my trainer does prep me well, working on exercises that she knows will prepare us for the courses we'll face.

George Morris famously said that he "faught chicken" all the time. Sometimes that makes me think, "Wow, even George has moments. How liberating!" Other days I think, "What a load of crapola. If he were chicken why was he jumping 5 foot fences so well for so long? If George really wants to see chicken, he should come see me approaching a 3' oxer. You can see the "Oh sh#$! Oh sh#$!" cartoon thought bubbles over my head!"


So what's the deal?  Am I just a big whiny ninny who needs to pull on her Big Girl Pants, pull down her skirt, and suck it up?  Or, do I pat myself on the back for getting back on and giving it a go, and then realizing I'm still hurting and the more prudent decision is to retrench and go back to basics until confidence is restored?
 
Or, do I hire a Native American Shaman to burn sage and do a healing dance for me?

The Lawn Dart Speaks...

T-Shirt, Anyone??

I fell off the other day.  Spectacularly.  At a show.  With lots of witnesses. I have the road rash and aches and pains to prove it.  I also have a lovely video, courtesy of my husband, which shows my breech clad behind going up...uP...UP aaaaannnnnd OVER the fence and sees me faceplant heavily on the other side.
The day after the fall I had to go on a business trip.  Many of my clients noticed my stiffness and the scrapes on my face and asked what had happened.  I told them, and even showed a few the video, which by this point seemed kind of funny to me.

Clearly the video is more impressive than I'd thought, as quite a few gasped with horror and then asked me if I ever thought I'd ride again.

HUH?  Not ride again?  The thought never crossed my mind.  I mean, I do get it -- the fall could easily have been catastrophic.  Thankfully, it wasn't.  However, I'd wager I've had more potentially dangerous "close calls" on the highway.  Seriously, has anyone been on the road in Jersey lately??

When I said that I planned to get back on as soon as possible, some asked if I was really comfortable risking myself when I had a family and kids to consider.  While I concede my well meaning acquaintances have a point, I know for a fact that some of them have habits and/or passions that can have adverse affects on one's health.  Mountain climbing and mountain biking come to mind.  Skydiving, too.  Heck, drinking, smoking and eating lots of rich food (prevalent trade show behavior) has been said to shorten one's life span.  Granted, I get the short term versus long term differences between impaling one's self headfirst into the dirt as opposed to overindulging, but let's face it, either one poses risks.

So I've been thinking:  Would I ever stop riding?  Probably not.  Anyone who knows me and cares about me knows I'm much happier (and thus much easier to live with!) when I'm riding, and no one close to me has asked me to give it up.  Of course, I don't want to put my family in a situation tat would upset them, either.

Certainly countless other riders, most of whom better riders than I, have had horrific falls and suffered grave injuries, only to rebound and ride successfully again.  I know what I did wrong, and will take all possible steps to eradicate the habit. Can we agree that riding possesses inherent risk, but when all precautions are taken, is not drastically more risky than driving, flying, or many other sports activities?

What WOULD make me hang up my helmet?  Age and decrepitude, I hope, although recent stories in the Chronicle of the Horse and Dressage Today give me hope that I'll be riding into my advanced old age. 

What, if anything, would make you stop riding?