I claimed this moniker for myself Way Back When I set up my first Hotmail account in the early 2000’s… It wasn’t any stroke of genius on my part - one of my colleagues had dubbed herself Endurodiva (& believe you me, she is a diva!) whereas I decided I was an endurance rider and a veterinarian, both identities seemed equally important.
These past months of health struggles has had me doubting whether I needed to give up one or both: my physical stamina is shot, my mental fog endangers at the very least my business & livelihood if not so much my professional judgment (I still feel competent in my professional skills thanks to my amazing support staff).
If you had told me this holiday weekend that I would ride all four consecutive days, I’d have thought that’s a pipe dream but I actually did it! Fair weather trail riders were dropping out left and right with the threat of rainy weather but we three amigos (myself, Susie and JR) trekked out to San Angelo after years of missed opportunities. I will have to research the history of San Angelo State Park - I know it was threatened with closure for a while and now it has “ghost camps”: abandoned sections which the wilderness is overtaking. Susie wanted a trail preview Friday evening so she & I did a quick survey - the new equestrian sites are widely dispersed, and it was probably half a mile down the camp road to the trail head. We rode about 2.5 mi in a little over half an hour.
Saturday was our Grand Tour: we made a 22-mi circuit of the park, making our way down to the S gatehouse where are we took a lunch break before looping back around to our N-end campsites. JR had brought a slab of picanha steak which he expertly grilled for us for our Saturday night dinner.
Then Sunday morning Susie & I went out again and found the dinosaur tracks - not as numerous or distinctive as our Glen Rose theropod tracks but worth seeing nonetheless. (A little over 5 mi in about an hour & a half). We achieved Susie’s stated 30-mi quota!
We returned home Sunday night & I was amazed to get another riding offer from Karen: two opportunities to ride with my BFF in two weeks, how amazing! So I hauled out to Trace Trails in Athens (private ranch) and had another pleasant leisurely ride - I had lots of food left over from my campout so we had a late lunch (Sam also brought food - he had planned to come to San Angelo but then his wife got sick)
Karen was telling me about the inter-island Hawaiian cruise she & her husband are going to do in Sept - I was shocked to see Peran actually considering it when I mentioned it to him last night! However when I sent him all the facts and figures, he declared that this would not be a good time. I should’ve known better than to get my hopes up.
Glad you got to enjoy a weekend of rides, and keep both halves of your "handle" for now. I sometimes question "OneKidsMom" since OneKid is nearing 40. But like you, I adopted this nickname many years ago, when OneKid was in 6th grade. But once a name sticks... stick with it. You will always be Endurovet because it was valid when the name was selected!
ReplyDeleteHope your week ahead is a good one!
I always wondered about your name and now I know.
ReplyDeleteI wish you could kick this Long Haulers to the curb and thrive again. Thank goodness for your staff!
So glad you were able to do so much riding. I would love to have seen the dinosaur tracks. The meal sounded good. So happy you have friends like Suzie, JR, Sam, and Karen. Loved the pictures!