In other news, they changed the jumper show on me! It now starts at 8:15am, and they added a Gambler's Choice class to each division. I'm not totally sure that I want to do it, in all honesty. I'm not so great at making up courses on the spot. But maybe! We'll be doing the 3'3"-3'6" this time. Excellent!
And about title of this post... well, it has to do with the whole running/exercising thing. I am so driven to get my riding in, so utterly devoted to my horse and her health and her fitness. But me? Remember the running and the interval training and the situps and pushups challenges? Yeah... haven't been running since early last week. Granted, last week before the clinic I literally DIDN'T have time to go running, because I started work at 4am, when it was dark out, and finished at around 9pm, when it was dark out. I want to give myself Saturday and Sunday off, so I didn't go running then either. And I WAS going to go running today, but I opted for a nap instead. I DID start my situps and pushups today though. Finally. My muscles are VERY tired from all that! But obviously, as you can tell, I can be a bit lazy about it. When I was in NZ, I was running about 5-10km a day and spending at least 2-3 hours in the gym on top of that... working out was what I LIVED for. On the weekends, I tramped through national parks and over mountains and volcanoes for god knows however many kms. The Tongariro Crossing in particular was 18.5kms of scrambling over volcanic rock, which took a solid 8 hours to do. It was easily one of the most amazing things I've ever done.
But whatever happened to that mentality? First off, I think the biggest thing is that I work ALL DAY, and HARD. Riding, mucking, leading, and in general being on my feet ALL day is hard work, and it's very tiring. I don't really get breaks and I don't sit down, other than when I'm in the saddle. And I'm not unfit. I ride a lot, and I am constantly moving and lifting heavy things. I was sort of surprised today when Lynnie came by to get some hay, and dropped one out of the bed of her truck, which was already piled high with hay. She asked me for help, and I picked the bale up with one hand and easily tossed it into place on top of the huge mound of haybales already in the bed of her truck like it weighed nothing. So it's not like I'm not fit and not strong. And I'm not in dire need of losing weight. I'm not overweight by any means - hell, I won't even give myself plump - but I can see a difference in my body, even if it means I'm more normal shaped instead of trim like I was last May. (As a sidenote, I would boycott clothes ALL THE TIME if I a) didn't get cold and b) thought people might look at me weird. I hate wearing clothes!)
I don't really know how to make myself more motivated to really work out hard, except to look at myself in the mirror and berate myself. But that's not really fun either. Any suggestions?
I also just added a new poll to the blog: Which should I do in June, Groton House II or the Heidi White clinic? Vote away!
Gogo says, it's way easier to jump way long and not have to show any bascule. Hunters Run 2008, on our way to our second win of the season.
Proving her heart of gold and guts of steel at the 2009 American Eventing Championships
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8 comments:
I honestly don't know how you do it.
If I don't consistently get a solid 8 hours of sleep, I'm miserable. After a long day working with horses, like the rally yesterday, I need more like 9 hours. I got five at rally and 7 last night, and I was sleepwalking through today.
So..I guess I don't have any advice, but I'm impressed that you even have the energy to think about running :-)
My job is a lot like yours in some aspects. I usually work 5-6 days a week, at night, unpacking freight at Home Depot. (Yeah, really.) My department is grass seed, grills, 50lb bags of dirt and mulch... and I get home at 1:30 in the morning. Eek.
I used to run 2-3 miles a day, but it got sidetracked over the winter. I want to get back in shape like you for the upcoming show season. Wooo!
Last summer while working and riding/showing, I was running so it's possible! ;) I think the only difference is, instead of jumping out and running 2 miles, you need to make it painfully easy. I start with running 5 minutes. I don't care how far, just five minutes. It takes a lot longer to get in shape this way, but the difference is when you're tired from work and riding and you have to run, your body doesn't think, 'But I'm TIRED. I am NOT running two miles.' But it's real easy to run 5 minutes. ;) And then you start building on that self-satisfaction.
Once you start increasing the time, you get that energy rush (which I'm sure you're familiar with since you've ran/worked out a'fore!), and then tada, you're doing all your previous work AND running, and you'll feel like you have more energy.
Maybe we should make a joint blog and force each other to work out for the first couple of weeks. lol! :)
I honestly wonder how I do it sometimes too.... last night I only got 4 hours of sleep. I usually only get between 3-5 hours a night, and have for the past four or so months. It's exhausting and I just don't sleep well, or never get to bed on time. It's unhealthy too. I imagine this is why I sometimes just don't have the energy to do the things I want to. Not to mention I barely, if ever, get my full daily protein requirements.
barely = rarely
Wow, you can tell I'm tired. I didn't finish that thought before I posted.
DIJ, I think we totally should push the hell out of each other. I think we might actually do it then! I LOVE running once I get going. It's amazing! I just have to get started, like you said.
I love it too! I ran track for almost... 6 years? I miss it!
Since I get more sleep then you maybe I'll make a dinky little blog/thing. :P
So for those of us on the other side of the world, can you explain what the two choices are for in June? Never heard of either of them!
And I'm with the others - I don't know how you do all you do now! So don't be too hard on yourself. But do remember that sleep is very important for your body and your mental health.
Here's some info on Heidi White: http://equestrian.teamusa.org/athlete/athlete/513. She was slated to be on our 2008 Olympic eventing team but had to pull out because of veterinary reasons with Northern Spy. She was replaced by Karen O'Conner and Mandiba. From what I hear, she's an amazing amazing clinician.
Groton House is a seriously prestegious East Coast event: http://www.grotonhousefarm.com/html/2008_ghf_ii.html. Up until this year, they ran two Groton House shows, Groton House I and Groton House II the following weekend. Groton House I was historically the easier of the two, and Groton House II was the challenging one that brought in professionals (and their top notch clients) from all over to compete - they run Novice through Advanced. This year, they've had to cancel Groton House I, and subsequently Groton House II has just become Groton House. Very sad.
Here's a video of the Novice-Training course (a special step-up division they offer), just to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oldXqlhRX5c
Everyone says Heidi White is amazing to clinic with, and everyone says Groton House is probably the sweetest event ever. So I dunno!
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