"Day 29: Six Weeks, Seriously?"
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
My sinuses are dripping, my head is throbbing intermittently, and my nails are bitten & torn to the quick...
No, I couldn't possibly be stressed.
I was an emotional wreck as I watched last weekend trickle away; filling the hours w/so much "busywork" that I didn't even get in a short training ride. Baraq didn't trot out 100% sound until last Thursday [5 d post-ride; the general rule of thumb is to allow at least that much time over again as a recovery period], so I didn't see the point in pushing it. I surely would have been setting myself up for another grand failure by hauling off near Amarillo in our sudden-onset oppressive summer heat & humidity.
I can always revisit my memories of my last Tevis attempt, one short decade ago, to remind myself that while in some ways it does feel like "deja vu all over again", things COULD be worse!
A.) Wynk & I were pulled after the 1st loop of a 100-mi attempt in April for a forelimb lameness; as I recall it was probably a stone bruise as we had to do an early-morning loop down a looooooooooong stretch of gravel road.
B.) Then we were pulled @ 90 miles for a LR lameness at May's 100-mi event. Completely disheartening, but it told me I had to fall back on "Plan B", which was picking up on lil' Ahab, my backup horse. Fortunately a friend had ridden him to a successful completion on HIS 1st 100-miler at our April event...
He did me proud at HIS one & only test ride pre-Tevis, a 2-d ride in sultry E Texas at the end of June (one month before The Ride): he took 4th place in a 25-mi ride on Sat, then placed 2nd & won Best Condition on Day 2, toting my freight in the 50.
That probably made me overconfident.
My good friend Barbara had volunteered to haul us in her rig & crew for me, since at that time [approx 7 mos post-divorce], I had lost "The Big Rig" [living-quarters trailer] & was down to my lil' ol' 2-horse bumper-pull trailer & a half-ton pickup.
Unfortunately, despite all our precautions, Ahab suffered some sort of mishap while traveling, and walked off the trailer LAME when we got to California...
What a disaster - I cursed & prayed & meditated, consulted a few friends who had also made the trek that year, & decided to lease a mule - pouring out a little more $$$ rather than let the trip be a complete waste...
Jake was a good one, but obviously I had never ridden him before, wasn't sure how hard I could push him. Throughout the day, we fell further & further behind our pace until we were pulled for missing a cutoff time @ Deadwood, 56 mi into The Ride. THEN when that booger recognized that we were on "the home stretch" [his home pasture was near Auburn], it was all I could do to hold him back! But it was already too late, we were disqualified.
I got Mr B's repaired headstall back in the mail yesterday (he had panicked at a Horrible Plastic Bag floating through the parking area, set back on it & tore the side piece & sprung one of the snaps a couple of weeks ago - so hey, there's something else to be proud of - he completed our last ride wearing one of Sahara's old halters - I joked that maybe some of her wonderful [trail] temperament would rub off on him! I will never forget how she led the pack for a while at her 1st LD event, no one could believe she was barely 4 years old), so since I am ceding this evening to ex as a pre-birthday celebration w/Zach, I should put it on him & at least go around the block. And so it goes...
No, I couldn't possibly be stressed.
I was an emotional wreck as I watched last weekend trickle away; filling the hours w/so much "busywork" that I didn't even get in a short training ride. Baraq didn't trot out 100% sound until last Thursday [5 d post-ride; the general rule of thumb is to allow at least that much time over again as a recovery period], so I didn't see the point in pushing it. I surely would have been setting myself up for another grand failure by hauling off near Amarillo in our sudden-onset oppressive summer heat & humidity.
I can always revisit my memories of my last Tevis attempt, one short decade ago, to remind myself that while in some ways it does feel like "deja vu all over again", things COULD be worse!
A.) Wynk & I were pulled after the 1st loop of a 100-mi attempt in April for a forelimb lameness; as I recall it was probably a stone bruise as we had to do an early-morning loop down a looooooooooong stretch of gravel road.
B.) Then we were pulled @ 90 miles for a LR lameness at May's 100-mi event. Completely disheartening, but it told me I had to fall back on "Plan B", which was picking up on lil' Ahab, my backup horse. Fortunately a friend had ridden him to a successful completion on HIS 1st 100-miler at our April event...
He did me proud at HIS one & only test ride pre-Tevis, a 2-d ride in sultry E Texas at the end of June (one month before The Ride): he took 4th place in a 25-mi ride on Sat, then placed 2nd & won Best Condition on Day 2, toting my freight in the 50.
That probably made me overconfident.
My good friend Barbara had volunteered to haul us in her rig & crew for me, since at that time [approx 7 mos post-divorce], I had lost "The Big Rig" [living-quarters trailer] & was down to my lil' ol' 2-horse bumper-pull trailer & a half-ton pickup.
Unfortunately, despite all our precautions, Ahab suffered some sort of mishap while traveling, and walked off the trailer LAME when we got to California...
What a disaster - I cursed & prayed & meditated, consulted a few friends who had also made the trek that year, & decided to lease a mule - pouring out a little more $$$ rather than let the trip be a complete waste...
Jake was a good one, but obviously I had never ridden him before, wasn't sure how hard I could push him. Throughout the day, we fell further & further behind our pace until we were pulled for missing a cutoff time @ Deadwood, 56 mi into The Ride. THEN when that booger recognized that we were on "the home stretch" [his home pasture was near Auburn], it was all I could do to hold him back! But it was already too late, we were disqualified.
I got Mr B's repaired headstall back in the mail yesterday (he had panicked at a Horrible Plastic Bag floating through the parking area, set back on it & tore the side piece & sprung one of the snaps a couple of weeks ago - so hey, there's something else to be proud of - he completed our last ride wearing one of Sahara's old halters - I joked that maybe some of her wonderful [trail] temperament would rub off on him! I will never forget how she led the pack for a while at her 1st LD event, no one could believe she was barely 4 years old), so since I am ceding this evening to ex as a pre-birthday celebration w/Zach, I should put it on him & at least go around the block. And so it goes...
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