Updates all around

And once more I have been terrible about updating...

On the horse front:

Went to another show for one day the weekend after the Halloween show. Had to do it to redeem myself! It was at the same facility, in the same ring but a much MUCH less packed show so the pressure to go fast and crazy was not as high. I also rode a different horse, a totally chill LARGE (he's probably 18.2) ISH who I rode exclusively for about a month earlier this year, and have occasionally carted over to  show for fun. He's so easy and requires pretty much zero prep-I can basically just hop on him, and go cruise around 2'9"-3'3", no problem. Which, is NOT a reflection on how wonderful of a rider I am, this horse is just that point and shoot. So uncomplicated to ride, his thing is you just basically have to be able to get him going. Which I did for my first two classes (got a 3 and 4, was riding relatively conservatively). Then my last class, a 3' one, we ended up with a first but managed to go SO.SLOW. Something was up with him, he was just so dead and behind my leg but still got around clean like a good boy. Trainer thought he might have been colicing at first, but then we decided he was overheating. All the classes ran pretty much back to back, it was in the 70's and he basically had his full winter coat. So all around much better...I remembered all my courses (although they were all speed rounds, so relatively easy to remember!) and I rode well. Next up...THERMAL! Its going to be expensive and I'm not riding my own horse (which I would have loved to do) but I just love it down there. Its so fun, and warm when its the middle of winter up here. Its basically going to be a horse show and a vacation all rolled up into one! Another owner is graciously sharing her horse with me for the two weeks my barn is down there. He's a fun horse, young, but again, relatively uncomplicated. So hopefully it goes well!

Also: new horse is FANTASTIC. I freaking love him. He's just so cool-pretty much a schoolmaster with the exception of a sometimes gnarly left drift (I think its due to the injury, his left side is weaker). Once you get him packaged and going, he just goes. Like a metronome. Such a nice rythym, and super comfortable. Has only spooked once, at something totally random. Otherwise packs out in whatever type of weather, night/morning/afternoon, and deals with general barn mayhem without batting an eye. We're hoping he can get back to doing 3' stuff occassionally, but honestly I don't care if he stays at 2'6". I would love to jump bigger, don't get me wrong but I also get a lot of satisfaction from nailing a 2'6" course. Which, I am not consistently doing yet. So there is a lot of good stuff to still work on at the lower heights with him, that I think (hope) will later transfer to whatever horse I ride next who can hopefully jump a little higher. Because I'm still dreaming that someday I will do 3'6", although the more I ride the more I realize meh...jump height doesn't really matter!

Arwen is also still baking her little bun. Vet checked her, confirmed there is still a baby in there. Did some more research and decided I am going to try and register her baby KWPN. They have two books, A and B, and the B book allows foals from an approved dad with no requirements for the mare. I have also been looking like mad for the next stallion to breed her too, and keep coming back to either Baldev or Mezcalero. I REALLY like both of them, but they are pretty different. Baldev is much more modern looking (like Imothep) and young. Basically unproven in the ring with not a lot of offspring on the ground versus Mezcalero, who is an Olympic jumper and very proven. BUT (and this is a big one) he is a chunk. Like huge, and he apparently does pass that onto his offspring. Arwen is pretty well built herself, so I fear that we would end up with a big, bulky tank.

Oh, and FINALLY did my USEF membership so I can offically transfer Arwen to my name. Also, this means I won't have to pay $60 in association fees every show. Which, for a week long show its not horrible to pay but when I would trailer in for a day? OUCH.


On the fitness front:

Have been REALLY REALLY trying to go 3 times a week. Have succeeded a little more than in the past couple months, but still not as consistently as I would like.

The next couple weeks are winter skills testing and its definitely not going to be as good as it has been in the past for me. The lifting portion, maybe but the rest of it? Not excited. Only because my shoulder and my back are still bothering me, and so I've been doing a lot of modified stuff. Like pull ups? Back on the blue band. However, keeping it easy on my should has definitely been allowing it to recover, which is good. I also think once I get fitter (i.e. lose some weight too!) it will be better. I was just trying to push to do too much, when I hadn't allowed my muscles/body to catch up to my weight gain. I was still thinking in my head I was 15 lbs lighter, but my body was not conditioned for it. Again, my fault for slacking. But, with Thermal now on the horizon I definitely have more motivation to be consistent in the gym! And not only because I will be bringing a swim suit down there. EEK!

Show Update and New Ride!

Well. The show was a learning experience, to say the least. I didn't ride as well as I did the previous weekend, not by a long shot. Honestly, I think that is what has been bothering me most about it. I let the OMG GO FAST! get in the way of having nicer riding rounds and I'm really annoyed with myself in getting waaaaaay to wrapped up in winning.

Don't get me wrong though-winning can be great. When I got my head together and rode the way I should be riding, lo and behold, we would place. But that happened in only 3 out of 8 classes total, when it should have been more!

So some definitely learnings were well, learned this past weekend.

1) to ride the way I was trying to ride (i.e. fast and efficient) I need to practice jumpoffs A LOT more than I have been. And this means more showing. Which honestly, isn't that realistic. So I think I just need to remember to ride as best I can, and let the chips fall where they may.

2) I have some serious flaws in my position. I got tossed loose by Ready more than a couple times. I know part of it is gripping with my knees when I'm nervous (thanks Arwen) instead of sinking down. I also tend to go fetal when trying to go fast, which doesn't help

3) got to get more comfortable with jumping sans irons, and retriving my irons when I do loose them. This also happened more than a couple times. I will say, I did end up jumping the last 4 jumps of the jump off during my last class without irons on the worlds most uncomfortable horse, so while its a fail its also a win? LOL

So I plan to work on at least the last two things over the winter,  which is good because I have felt a little bit aimless and goal-less ever since I stopped working Arwen intensely about 9 months ago. With her I just always strived every day to be a better rider for her and since I haven't had to deal with her antics, I've gotten lazy. All the other horses I've ridden just seem so easy compared to her I have let A LOT fall by the wayside. So while I'm not going to ramp it up like I did before, especially since I'm thinking my next year's focus will be diverted to other things, I do need to get my head back into the game.

On that note, for now I have a new ride! Who should actually really let me focus on a lot of my positional issues while being a comfy, easy horse to ride. Trainer got a freebie from another trainer because the owner just couldn't really afford him anymore. He's a super sweet, 17 yo 17 hand or so former hunter/eq horse who has been on the road to recovery after a suspensory issue. Last night was his first night out at the barn and while he looked at things, there was no spook at all and just let me dink around on him at WTC and over some crossrails. What a good guy! He has a great trot and canter, although he does take a lot to keep him together (is a little long, and is just a bigger horse). So my goal with him is to get him jumping little things again, and work on getting him more fit on the flat. He needs a rider with a strong leg to help keep him engaged, so he's not technically a beginner horse although he definitely has the mind to cart beginners around (lazy and kind)  Trainer said for the meantime I can treat him like he's mine (which makes me laugh a little-means I can pay for his shit! LOL)  and I'll be the one mainly riding him. After that, I imagine he will be just a fun, easy horse to have around the barn for lessons and whatnot. We'll see! I'm kind of excited about him.

Arwen Update and Show Time Take Aways

So a few fun updates:

Arwen is still baking the bun in her oven. Its funny looking at the picture of her in the header because at this point, she looks nothing like that horse! That horse is fit and muscled, nice summer coat, good weight. Right now she is a furry beast with limited muscle and is FAT FAT FAT. She has been out to pasture with a pasture mate and apparently hogging all his food. I guess he's getting really skinny. What can I say...girl is eating for two!

Still haven't gotten on her back since she's been pregnant either. I was waiting for her bare feet to toughen up before sitting on her back, and that kind of morphed into me just being really lazy. I mean there isn't a reason why I really need to ride her at this point, other than for my own pleasure. Also, by the time I'm done at the barn I'm usually really tired (I will sometimes hack a couple horses in addition to my lesson) and ready to go home. So getting on Arwen's back is low on my priority list. I do go out there and check her over though, or give her a treat.

Since I don't have a horse to ride right now, I've been kind of riding whatever comes my way. I really wanted to do a show though before the season is over since DH and I are supposed to try getting preggers at the end of the year, and doing some shows before kids was on my pre-pregnancy bucket list. So since the horse I have been riding is privately owned and the owner wants to go to shows too, I'm back on the back of the first horse I rode at the barn! Its kind of a weird, bittersweet full circle kind of deal. This is the horse that basically took me from crossrails to jumping 2'6" courses, took me to my first show, and made me want to buy Arwen. He's seriously one of the kindest horses I've ever encountered and is equally good at taking care of a beginner as he is zooming around the jumper ring with someone who is more knowledgeable about riding. So while being back on him is a little like coming home since I know him so well, at the beginning I was like "crap, I have made no progress!". However, after taking at least once a week lessons on him for the past month or so I quickly came to realize just how much progress I had made, and how much I owe to Arwen, this horse and the others I've had the opportunity to ride for teaching me at various stages in my riding.

This horse, Ready, taught me so much about confidence and getting around a course.  Arwen taught me so much about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, and how to feel what is going on under you. So now, back on Ready, not only have I become a much more confident rider again after Arwen kind of took that away from me, I have much more feel and understanding of what is required to get a good, winning ride.

This was proven to me at a one day show I took him and another horse to this weekend in preparation for the "bigger" show that is coming up later this week. I went in with my normal goals of a) getting around the course and b) not falling off/dying. I managed to do both! I rode in a total of 5 classes with the two horses. Only did two on Ready since it was more of a warmup for the show later, and then three on William, the other horse. This included my very first class with 1.00m jumps thrown in, and I've probably only jumped William 2-4 times in the last six months. In my lessons we've really been working on "going for it" i.e. making sure I have enough pace to my jumps, balancing well through tight turns, supporting my distances and then...galloping in jump offs! I really haven't practiced that much because there wasn't a real reason to. I have only shown 3 times in the last 4 years, so working on jump off strategy was not high on the priority list.

So when we got out there and trainer was talking to me about how to ride my track and jump off, I really really tried to remember and focus on sticking to my plan. I knew I was on some super trustworthy mounts who, as long as I told them what to do and where to go, would cart my ass around the classes I put them in. I had complete faith and trust in my horses, something that I haven't felt in a long time. Because of that, I was able to go out and really think about my ride instead of worrying that my horse might stop (like I constantly did with Arwen) and ultimately, I ended up with two seconds and one first out of relatively decent sized classes (10-15 people, some were on two cards though). Didn't make the jump off in two because of rails (at the same fence!) but that just told me that there was rider error going on. My horses ran their asses off for me that day, and its hard for me to put into words how much I appreciated that.

Going into next week I can only hope that my show goes as well as it did on Saturday, but if it doesn't thats okay too. I have never been a super competitive person and I realize even more now that I like showing because it not only shows my progress as a rider, but it really shows the partnership that can exist and that I got to experience on Arwen just once at the only show we went to together. 

Pregnant!

The horse, not me. She has her 30 day heartbeat check this weekend though, fingers crossed she has held onto the baby. Will update after!

Skills Testing Week 1

Heavy lift week. Back squat, strict press and DL were on the schedule for me (also had the clean, but I never go on clean days so it was pointless to sign up)

Back squat I improved my number by 20 lbs and I feel like I probably could have even gone 5-10lbs heavier. Hit 225. Happy with this because when I did it 6 months ago, 205 was really really hard. 225 didn't go up super easy, but I also didn't feel like I wasn't going to get up out of the bottom.

Strict press I also improved by almost 20 lbs. Did 105, prior number was 87.5. Pretty happy with this too. This one was definitely harder, the 105 did not go up smoothly but all  that matters is it got up there!

Missed the DL day due to being out of town. Kind of bummed about this because I really want my DL max rep number. Oh well, next time!

Skills Testing Week 2 Day B

Well. That was painful and I can say with 100% certainty I'm glad its over. It was good though, because I haven't done this set of skills testing (or even the full two weeks of skills testing) for almost 2 years. Its pretty sad. In the past something always came up, like I got sick twice and I can't even remember what happened the other times. Even still, I missed the max DL day which made me a little bit sad panda because I've been working a lot on my DL and really wanted to see if I could hit at least 300. Ah well. Next time!

So yesterday's skills test was:

500m row (1:46)

max HSPU (hold for scaled) (45 sec hold)

max TTB or KTE (11 TTB)

max push ups (33)

"Helen" (13:59)
3 rounds
400m run
21 swings (35 lb rx)
12 pull ups

Did my 500m row in 1:46 which I'm happy about. Definitely an improvement. Did a 45 sec hold which sucked because it was my second try. First try the timer broke so we had to do over. I know I held it longer than that the first time too, but oh ewll. Max TTB was kind of a cluster. I did it on the bar which I don't usually do, and I don't think I've attempted them in quite awhile. Looking back now, I'm realizing I made them harder on myself-I kept staring at the bar, instead of up at the ceiling. Hard to explain, but when you do that you're pretty effectively stopping the "swing" that helps you get your toes up. Push ups felt good. Don't really need to say much more on that.

Helen. Oh, Helen. That sucked. I last did Helen a few months ago I think, and was able to complete it in 13:04. So I almost went a whole minute slower. At this point I was just really, really tired. So, what can you do. Next time goal is still sub 13.

Overall, really good to get some numbers on this stuff. I definitely see why some things are my strengths and others are my weaknesses. Strengths are definitely the heavy lifts, and skills that I get to do consistently (like push ups, rowing). Heavy lifts have improved SO MUCH by being able to get under the bar on a consistent basis during normal WOD's. Weaknesses are definitely skills that I either NEVER do (HSPU), or rarely do (double unders) and don't practice (TTB, double unders). Some of that I can control. I could take 10 minutes after WOD's to work on those skills on a regular basis. However, while I do want to improve I'm just not sure I care that much? I mean DU I definitely need to work on because those show up in workouts and it kills me when they do. But I'm just not one of those CF'ers who stays afterwards and drills on skills.

Skills Testing Week 2 Part A

Don't think I posted my results from last week, but I did a 225 back squat and a 105 strict press. I missed deadlift day, which really bummed me out because I haven't had a max one rep number in probably a year and a half. I was hoping to hit at least 300, which I feel like I definitely could have done. Its ok, another test will happen in 6 months so we'll see!

Last night was the first day of the metcon/gymnastic type skills. Was as follows:

800M run (5 min cap)

Max double unders in 2 minutes

Max ring dips in 2 minutes

Max pull ups in 2 minutes

"Christine"- 3 RFT

500m row
12 dead lifts (RX is body weight, I scaled to 135)
21 box jumps

So I was pretty happy with my 800m time, I completed in 3:17 (better than my last 800m for time, which I did in 3:30). Would still like to get around 3:00, but that would mean actually practicing running which is um...an optimistic goal. We'll see.

Double unders-what a fucking waste of time. I haven't been practicing them so its my own fault, and after the run I was super tired which does not equal DU success for me.

Pull ups and ring dips, pretty much hit the same numbers I did last time we tested this which was a year ago. A little disappointing, but eh. I've gained about 20 lbs since then which makes a HUGE difference for those two movements. I'm sure if I shed the weight prior to the next skills test, those numbers will increase

"Christine" I completed in 16:25. I honestly don't even remember my last time-I think it was somewhere in the 17 minute range? And that was with a 95lb DL because my back was JACKED that day.

Anyway, good experience but holy hell I was tired during the whole time. It was overcast and humid so I was sweating like a dog the whole time, and just feeling kind of crummy. On the box jumps during the WOD there was a point in time I couldn't even feel my legs, and was just praying that I was jumping high enough to not miss the box!

Tomorrow is part B of week two, so will report back!

Update!

Wow. Its been a long time since I've posted anything, which is bad because one of the things I really wanted to do this year is to keep better track of my workouts. Quick recap on workouts and ponies:

CrossFit:

Have somewhat lost my CrossFit mojo. Don't get me wrong I still love it. Lately though its just been really hard to get motivated to go. Maybe its because I dunno..I've gained like 10-15 lbs since last year? UGH. I totally fell off the paleo bandwagon and I can feel it. I've been trying to get back on because I just feel SO much better when I'm lighter (and perform better in the gym) but its been really hard for some reason. I feel like my body is really cyclical-I can be comfortable at a certain weight for awhile, and then all of a sudden my body/brain starts freaking out and wants to get heavier again.

Granted I do think some of it is muscle. I've been consistently lifting heavier and making gains in most of my lifting skills, so that could be part of it. Its hard to lift really heavy weights and think about losing some LBs at the same time.

And its actually fitting that the last time I posted was February 26th, where I talked about doing Nancy because guess what today's WOD is? Thats right its Nancy. We'll see if I can beat my time-I have a sinking feeling though that it won't happen. I havent; worked on my running at all, and due to the extra weight that I've put on since February, its not helping my "run faster" cause, lol.

Horses:

I've still been riding quite a bit, a lot of it just hasn't been on Arwen. We kind of came to the conclusion that she is pretty much done with the whole jumping thing. I think she would be perfectly happy just being flatted around and trail ridden for the rest of her life. Which, is ok. I really enjoy doing those things with her because she is so level headed and good about that kind of stuff. I'm not entirely convinced that her aversion to jumping isn't something physical. I'm sure a lot of it just has to do with her personality and my riding, but I also think something is going on with her somewhere that prevents her from jumping somewhat calmly after all this time. We know its not training because she is definitely trained up the wazoo. However, she has always been really hard to get on the bit and can just be so wonky on her left side that I'm thinking its got to be physical. Because when I ride other horses I can get them going on a nice, even consistent contact which has always been a struggle with me and Arwen. So again, I'm sure some of it is my skill as a rider but I also feel like she's resisting for a reason.

So the decision was made to start letting her live outside full time and to try and see if we can make her a momma! She's actually at the vets right now, where we're waiting for her to develop a follicle. The semen from a lovely stallion named Imothep/Werner H arrived last week (frozen) so Arwen just has to tell us when she's ready to go and they'll start injecting it in hopes of getting her into foal for next year. My trainer was originally going to do this breeding on her own, but due to money constraints was unable. So we worked out a deal to split it half way, and if the resulting foal ends up being something I could have as my next horse, I'll buy her out. And conversely, if it doesn't, we'll sell and split the profits. So we'll see what happens! Even thinking about the foal is getting ahead of myself since Arwen isn't pregnant yet But I can't help but daydream!

WOD 2/25/13

"Nancy"

We meet again. Last time I did this WOD was in this post back in September. Finished in 17:04 or thereabouts, as prescribed. Tonight I really REALLY wanted to beat that time, since it had been about six months prior and although I have not exactly been the fitness master lately, you would think I was in slightly better shape, right?

Fortunately, I did beat my time. Not by anything huge, probably by about 20 seconds (came in at 16:45 RX'd). Which isn't horrible, but I would hope there would be slightly more gains. I think part of it is my running is still really slow. I do need to just get out there and run more on my own, especially since sometimes a couple weeks can go by without any significant running in a WOD and then BAM...we get something like Nancy or Kelly. I definitely don't want to be a "runner" by any means, but it would make a big difference in some of my WOD times if I could pick up the pace and carry it throughout the workout. Right now I feel like sometimes I could be walking faster than I'm running and that is a sad feeling.

Major slacking

Wow. Its been over two months since I've posted ANYTHING. I feel like a slacker.

On the CF front, I pretty much missed all of January due to work commitments and February has been kind of slow starting back up. But, its getting  there. I just feel out of shape and slow.

I also did another Whole30 in January. That was interesting with all the travel! But I felt like it was much needed after the bingefest from the holidays. However, since then I have slid off the nutrition bandwagon fairly quickly and need to get back on it. Not sure why I'm in this head space right now because I do want to lose a few more pounds and always feel so much better when I eat well. So this week I am working on cleaning things up.

As for riding...I haven't been riding Arwen much lately. About a month ago I went out to the barn to discover a HUGE edema/seroma on her right flank. It was probably the size of a football! No idea how it got there but she obviously had some kind of muscular trauma. Vet came out and drained it, and put her on antibiotics (still waiting for that vet bill, its gonna be a good one, lol!) So while she had the drain in, I didn't ride her. In the meantime my trainer was putting me on other mounts, including a really huge grey gelding who is a schoolmaster at 3'6". He ended up being so much fun. Complete 180 from Arwen in that he's definitely a very easy going guy, and has absolutely no engine. Instead of having to always whoa down the lines I'm pushing him to gogoGOOOOOO!!! But, honest as the day as long and knows/enjoys his job. No attitude. So we talked about it and decided to keep him around for a little (sales horse) so I could just have some fun and get confidence at higher fences. Its been a blast so far-its been about two weeks and I've gotten to do up to 3'6" on him, mostly 3'-3'3" on a consistent basis. Which is something I would never get to do with Arwen.

However, a junior who was supposed to be "leasing" Arwen while I leased the grey gelding is buying her own horse. So that basically means I won't be able to ride the grey anymore unless I find another situation for Arwen. I'm kind of unsure what steps to take now...Arwen is being a total wench (begininng of spring, just like last year!) but I know she'll work out of it. However, I don't know if I want to suffer through it. So, send her to pasture for a month or so and keep riding something else? Or, ride her but maybe keep things really simple and basic? I just don't know...so this train of thought is to be continued for now...