afterthoughts

Lessons Learned, Old Pueblo edition

/ Ashley Wingert / 3 Comments

Presenting the ever-popular “what worked/what didn’t” post-game evaluation for Old Pueblo.

  • Wearing a Camelbak = much better personal hydration levels.
    • Wearing a Camelbak = more-sore shoulder area. I have enough that that department that no matter how good/expensive of a sports bra I’m wearing, the strap pressure will eventually catch up to me. The extra weight of the Camelbak does not help.
    • But better hydration means the rest of me isn’t as sore. Trade-off?
  • Stirrup leather pressure caught up to me on day two with the combination of lots of downhills + forward, pulling horse + bracing against horse and hills + smushed-flat sheepskin covers = bruised shins.
    • I don’t train much at all for the downhill-at-speed factor. If I’m bracing against a horse who is leaning against the bit and pulling me out of position, it goes that much worse. (I ran into this problem with Mimi. Already naturally built downhill, she didn’t self-rate very well and I had to hold her together, which translated to bracing myself in the saddle in an attempt to not get pulled out of position.)
      • I’m not quite sure what the solution to this is, whether I just need to try to ride horses with a natural self-carriage who balance themselves downhill (Yeah, I don’t ask for much…), or evaluate my own riding and saddle fit. I know my saddle is too big for me now, so doesn’t put me in as ideal of a position…which brings me to my next point…
  • I have such excellent luck with this saddle fitting multiple horses. But it’s a little too big for me now. (Good problem to have.) So I end up fighting for an ideal position sometimes.
    • Steps have been taken to make the saddle fit a little smaller, including replacing my full sheepskin cover with a Supracor seat cushion. Preliminary tests are feeling pretty good…the upcoming Prescott Chaparral ride will be the ultimate acid test. 
  • Food: I did pretty okay, food-wise, especially Saturday, with multiple loops back into camp and plenty of chances for me to stuff my face.
    • Pop-Tarts: Good. Especially with breakfast.
    • Forgetting the peanut butter and under-cooking the hard-boiled eggs: Not so good.
    • Pastrami sandwich: Bad. I finally found something that my stomach said, “Eh, maybe not the best idea” to at a vet check. Don’t know if it was the pastrami, the mustard, or the pickles, but I left the VC on Sunday’s ride with my stomach at maybe 95% as opposed to its typical, “Mmm, that was delicious” feeling I usually get after leaving a vet check. (And I joke about the horses riding from VC to VC to eat?)
    • Homemade pasta salad with a bit of everything: Very good. Elbow macaroni with pepperoni, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, black olives, spicy pickles, artichoke hearts, all in an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Yum. 
    • Tart Cherry Juice: Delicious and refreshing at the end of the ride. I’ve got the “Rebuild” that has whey protein.
    • Saturday ride offerings from the grill: Good. Very good. That hamburger with green chilies and cheese really hit the spot between loops 3 and 4, and the grilled bratwurst for dinner was delicious.
    • Never underestimate the tastiness of ramen noodles.
  • This was the first time I actually felt more relaxed and made less of a Big Production out of having everything Just So. I think being around very experienced endurance riders who can look at a 50 the way I can look at training rides is probably going to be a good influence and example for me.
    • Riding very endurance-capable horses probably has something to do with this. It’s definitely more relaxing to ride a horse you know is made for the sport and has an easier time doing it. (Well, I guess it was Rocco’s first ride, so we didn’t really know how he’d do…but he took everything so well, it was pretty easy to relax and not stress too much.)
    • However, I am so glad I started endurance on Mimi. Getting her through rides and managing her was the best learning experience I could ask for. 
  • Two 50s back-to-back: I’ve felt worse after a one-day 50. Multi-days are fun, and I like the multiple-rides-for-one-drive-expense concept. I feel fortunate to live in the land of multi-days..
  • New Terrains made a huge difference in foot comfort. I finally retired my 10-year-old Terrains for a new pair…oh, that’s what the footbed support system is supposed to feel like.
  • I need to get off and walk more. Especially downhills. This might be part of why I get crunchy on too many downhills…because I insist on riding them. But I don’t go down fast enough on my own two feet to satisfy an impatient horse who travels faster than me. And I was also unsure about the availability of conveniently-placed re-mounting objects.
    • That said…I basically flat-mounted 15.2hh. Too bad it took me until 40 miles into day two to realize I don’t actually suck at mounting as much as I thought, and that Mimi really is the only horse I will actually roll that saddle on. 
One of my shorter “lessons learned” after a ride, I suppose…but overall, it was a smooth-sailing ride. With good prep — and the same bit of luck — the Prescott Chaparral ride in two weeks will go just as well!

Lessons Learned: Fire Mtn Edition

/ Ashley Wingert / Leave a comment

When I really sit down and think about it, two years seems like a long time to be out of the ride saddle. In a way, it’s not — I’ve not been totally removed from the environment, between volunteering for rides and working my job — but enough time to get somewhat out of practice.

Growing up in the saddle served me well — I have a lifetime of muscle memory for the saddle, which is probably what got me through the fact I wasn’t exactly in tip-top ride shape. And while my riding muscles might not be super-tuned, I’m in the best overall shape I’ve ever been. The weight drop I’ve done over the past year and half made an enormous difference, and I felt like I had good stamina to keep trucking down the trail. There were a few moments of burning muscles and the sight of an endless stretch of trail in front of me that made me want to cave to my inner desire to just stop and rest…but I didn’t. This was one of my most successful times in pushing past the discomfort and continuing on without being a hindrance to either my horse or my riding partner.

So, with that in mind, I offer up my bullet points of what worked, what didn’t, and some random lessons and observations along the way.

  • Food: If nothing else, this ride just reconfirmed my belief that in reality, rides are just a really good excuse for me to eat. I did well the day before…although I could have done better with hydrating.
    • Ride day breakfast: My one and only “sticky” spot when it come to eating. I just flat out don’t like to eat early in the morning, even here at home. That said, I managed quite well. Staying in a warm camper, where I’m shivering around every other bite, was probably a help. I managed: a hard-boiled egg, a banana, yogurt, and coffee.
    • Ride day lunch: The only thing that kept me from hoovering more at lunch was the fact it was only a half hour hold. That said, I still managed: a salami-cheese-spicy mustard sandwich, tapioca pudding, Kerns nectar, coconut water, a few chips.
    • During the ride: Food fail. I could have done a lot better, since there is apparently a direct correlations between the faster I go, the less I eat. Obviously, multitasking is not a strength, at least when it comes to trotting along, digging through saddle packs to find out what I have to munch. The fact that it was a 30, and that I had a good breakfast and lunch, probably helped. I managed: apple-banana sauce, one pack of energy blocks, a chewy granola bar, Succeed Amino sports drink, water.
  • Meds: I only took two Aleve halfway through the first loop. True confessions: While I’d like to chalk all of that up to just feeling that good…fact is, I lost the little pack I use as the “mini medicine cabinet.” I can only conclude that when I stuffed it back into my pack after digging it out the first time, it either didn’t go where I thought it went, or somehow bounced out along the way. Of course, I didn’t discover this until I went hunting for it on the second loop. My saving grace was the fact I had my electrolytes in a separate little baggie, so they were still in my pack. Taking those regularly seemed to help a great deal as well. I took two Aleve before bed that night, and then that was it for pain meds for the rest of the weekend. Lots of getting up, moving around, up and down steps in and out of the camper kept me from getting too tight.
  • Stirrup buckles: Well, those were a no-go. The sorest part of me was the thigh area right where the stirrup buckle hits. On my saddle, the stirrup bars aren’t recessed, which means the bars of the saddle don’t curve inward and create pressure points on the horse. The problem is, it creates pressure points for the rider. I switched back to the Wintec Webbers once I got home and covered them in fleece covers…I think that’ll work. The fleece makes them a little more stable.
  • Stirrups: I’m still not a happy camper in the stirrup department. I went back to my old EZ-Ride stirrups for this ride…although I popped the cages off of them. They worked…although I still don’t love them…and they make a really annoying squeaking sound if the side of my Terrains rubs against them when trotting or cantering. I wasn’t comfortable using the Flex-Rides, especially riding in my Terrains, since they’re narrow enough to catch my foot if I bounce or let my foot slip too far forward. They’re super-light, but what I’ve learned bout super-light stirrups: they don’t weigh themselves down enough. And I hadn’t ridden enough in the composite irons I’d been testing to be comfortable doing a ride in them. And I suspect I’ll have the same problem with them being too light. Verdict: Stick with what I know mostly works, for now.
  • Southern California high desert is different than my desert. It’s much, much drier. To the point where I actually experienced the dried and cracked knuckles effect. (Ouch.) Aquaphor Healing Ointment is a good thing and has since been added to my supply list.
  • I have to resign myself to the fact that the minimalist approach and I are never going to get along. Specifically, I’m referring to saddle packs. “Pack mule” is probably the best descriptor. This ride, I had front pommel packs with water bottle holders, plus a rear boot bag. I should have used the second rear boot bag as well. I ended up with too much stuff crammed in my packs, so I had a hard time knowing what I had in terms of food, and had to dig too hard to find stuff. And for a 50, I’ll either need to add rear packs for more water, or carry a Camelbak.
  • The buddy system is still the best way to get through a ride, preferably a buddy you really enjoy spending time with, and can giggle like a couple of hysterical loons through the boring or tough parts.
  • I got a hands-on lesson in outside-the-box Renegade fit and function. Kody wears his pastern straps even longer than recommended: a good 3-4 fingers under the strap. The standard 2 fingers makes the strap too tight for his long pasterns. A case in point of “YMMV” (Your Mileage May Vary) when it comes to boots, and another tool added to my recommendations arsenal.
  • I didn’t end up using my newer Ariats yet. Again, I haven’t put in the kind of conditioning miles with them to know whether they’re work for sure or not, and they’re snug-fitting enough (at least at this point) for me to suspect they’ll be better summer boots and probably too snug with thicker winter socks. So, the old standby Terrains got pressed into service yet again.
I think that about covers it…for now…at least until the next ride.

Afterthoughts: Man Against Horse 2009

/ Ashley Wingert / 3 Comments

So, I’ve only been cogitating on this for a month, post-ride. before finally deciding there wasn’t much to add to it, and that I should just post it already.

A Combination of What Didn’t Work/ What I’d Do Different/What Worked:

– The worst part of the ride was the fact I had an agonizing pressure point on my right shin from the stirrup leather. I don’t know if it was caused from all the downhill trotting, or it I have too much padding (ski sock, tights, half chaps), or if my stirrup leathers are too short. My stirrups have been making a slow, downward migration in the two and a half years since I’ve had this saddle, and it might be time for another change. I had to stop trotting a few times and walk for a few moments, just to let the pain ease before continuing.  (A Month Later: I dropped my stirrups about half an inch, and it’s really comfortable.  The true test will be the next 50, of course, but they feel better already, and I feel like it’s easier to relax with them a touch longer.)

I also had some pressure on the inside of my thighs from the top buckles, but just about any stirrup leathers I try will do that – one of the compromises I have to make in riding Mimi in an English saddle. In order for stirrup bars not to put pressure on her flat back, they can’t be recessed at all, hence the buckles will out pressure on my legs instead. I’ve tried the Wintec Webbers, but they’re so thin, they feel flimsy, like I don’t have as much leg support.
– Still working on the saddle packs arrangement. I like the larger front packs, with very little on the back end of the saddle. However, I still think I’m going to make a separate little bag, long and narrow, to carry electrolyte syringes in that will tuck behind my leg or something.  (A Month Later: Am contemplating seeing if I can get a custom Snugpax front pommel bags, with the larger camera bag added to the top of the same style packs as I already have, which are the packs, with the water bottle holders.  Haven’t gotten anywhere with designing and making an e’lyte-holding bag.)

– This is one of the first times she’s come up with a slightly sore back at the end of the ride, and I don’t know if it’s just because it’s such a difficult ride, or what. I know at VC2, I had to adjust my pad where it had slipped back under the saddle too far, and instead of properly loosening everything, lifting the saddle and pad, and sliding everything back into place, I just loosened the girth, yanked the front edges of the pad forward, and re-girthed her. It’s possible this rubbed against the grain of the hair and could have set up a sore spot, I suppose. I’d really like to get another pad, one that’s shaped to the saddle and has either front ties or billet straps.  (A Month Later: I’m also starting to poke around the treeless saddle department, so all new purchases are temporarily on hold until I decide what I want to do and what I can afford.)

– I maybe could have done better in the food department. I ate decently, and felt really good all day, so maybe I didn’t do as bad as I thought. I just didn’t think I ate very much out on trail. Looking back, maybe it was pretty good. Food count (that I can remember):

Friday dinner: chicken/cheese ravioli w/ marinara sauce, Caesar salad
Breakfast: hard-boiled egg, slice of peanut butter toast, orange juice, coffee
Between camp and VC1: two slices dried fruit leather
VC1: peanut butter sandwich
Between VC1 and VC2: half a Luna bar, grapes
VC2: chicken lunchmeat slices, half a banana, half a PB sandwich
Between VC2 and camp: energy gel
Dinner: (YUM!) ribs, brisket, coleslaw, beans, peach cobbler, white wine
– What helped is that I drank well – I drained my 44 oz. Camelbak twice during the ride, and a bottle and half of the Succeed Amino sports drink throughout the ride. I took one OverDrive, three Motrin, and several electrolytes.
– This was definitely Mimi’s and my best ride yet. We didn’t have a single moment of disagreement or argument the entire ride, and neither one of us hit a mental wall. We both did a great job of staying chipper and perky the entire ride, and during the long section of road around the mountain, we maintained our cheer through song. (All: “She sings?” Yes, I do. Badly.)

– My rump rug irritated the hell out of me during the ride, because it kept blowing off Mimi’s butt and would dangle uselessly at her flank as we’d trot along, and I had to nearly dislocate ribs several time trying to turn around, straighten it out, hold it in place, and keep trotting.  (A Month Later: New rump rug made last night, my own custom design.  We’ll see how it works…it was too hot today to try it without melting the pony.  80* is not rump rug-appropriate weather.)

Ride Afterthoughts

/ Ashley Wingert / 4 Comments

VotS4 was our second 50 mile completion, and I think I definitely learned a lot.

What Didn’t Work/What I’d Do Different
This was our first true warm weather ride for that distance. I’ve done other warmer rides, but they’ve been shorter distances, where you can get away with a lot more. I think I need to be more aggressive in e’lyting protocol. They each only got the one dose at lunch, and with that heat, I should have given them smaller doses more frequently. I think that might have contributed to Mimi’s cramping — basically, almost a minor tie-up due to dehydration and an e’lyte imbalance.

I’m not used to only one vet stop for that distance. I like that it makes the ride seem shorter, and breaks it up less. But you definitely have to make the time along the trail to stop and let your horse graze, if there’s any food, or carry something for them. I packed carrots along on the second loop, and then stopped and munched on those a couple times.

I need to carry more food for myself when there’s only one check. I survived out there on energy gels, a couple energy bars, water, a sports drink, people e’lytes, Motrin, and Overdrive. It’s definitely not enough, as I have been starving all day today. Fortunately, I drank pretty well.

Something is giving me quasi-shin splints, and I don’t know if it’s my tights or my half chaps. This is the second 50 miler in a row that has happened, and it’s the same tights/chaps combination. This is my second pair of these chaps, and I don’t remember having this problem at my first 50 with the chaps of the same design.

I miss my padded riding tights and need to get another pair of them. I had two pairs of Saddle Bums before I wore them out, and I still have a pair of Carousels that are still in one piece, but not very pretty anymore, and not really nice enough to take to rides anymore. (Hey, if you can’t ride fast, you have to ride pretty…)

My Vasque trail running shoes are better than my Columbias. The Columbias made my feet go numb after trotting for a while, particularly downhill. The Vasques absorb concussion better, I think, and they have slightly better arch support.

Rope reins in the morning, when she’s more likely to pull? She didn’t pull very long at this ride, but it was enough that I did get a couple blisters from the beta reins. Or maybe it’s just a function of pulling pony, and everything will give blisters to a degree. See, this is why I need to get to more rides, so I can experiment with this sort of thing.

More experimentation with the saddle pad. There must be a way to balance it without tipping it back too much. Maybe cutting back more of the extra foam insert, and shaving it down thinner?

Things That Worked
I ate really well at lunch. Fresh ‘n Easy makes good applewood smoked turkey already sliced, and Sunflower Market makes a good cold spaghetti salad. Mint-flavored waters are very refreshing.

Clean socks and a fresh shirt at lunch make you feel almost-clean. Although I would have liked to keep my Day-Glo mango-colored shirt on for the whole day versus just the morning …it’s a very distinct color.

Wearing my Camelbak in the afternoon was a very good idea. I would have been so dehydrated without it, because two water bottles on the front of my saddle would not have been enough. It was really warm for a few hours in the afternoon, and I drained all 70 oz. of the pack, plus one additional water bottle and half of a vitamin water.

I loosened Mimi’s crupper a notch from where I had it adjusted, and I didn’t have problems with the buckle rubbing, or with the back of my pad starting to scrub her loins. The saddle slid forward a bit going downhill, but it moved back as soon as the trail leveled out or when uphill.

Beamer is really growing up. I’m really proud of how well he and Dad are doing together. He handle the start of the ride beautifully, and only offered one tiny crowhop within the first three miles. He also lead most of the way for the first loop, and he stayed a lot perkier and cheerful throughout the whole ride. He never really hit a mopey, “must stop and eat or I will commence sulking” moment. We let them graze a couple times throughout the second loop, as well as giving them the carrots I was carrying in my saddle., and I think that really helped. And he really liked his hackamore on the second loop.

I felt really good during and after the ride. I felt really good about the fact I was able to manage myself on a limited regimen of Motrin, just due to some careful attention to a vitamin balance, and healthier eating. In the past, I’ve relied on sugar and Motrin to get me through, and this time, I only took a few Motrin for the entire ride, and very limited junk food – a handful of kettle-cooked potato chips, and half of a mango gel I split with Dad (sort of an upscale, lower sugar Jell-O from Fresh ‘n Easy). I’ve got some sore calves today, but I think that’s more a function of posting a trot for 45 of 50 miles, and I don’t feel any more sore than after the Wickenburg 25 in January.

Overall, the Renegades did fantastic. I had a minor problem with Mimi interfering with her front boots trotting in the deep sand wash, but that was due to a sizing error on my part, and Kirt Lander was able to fix everything for me during the lunch break, and I never touched the boots for the entire second half. Look for a separate post to follow on my very positive experience with using Renegades and working with Kirt and Gina Lander.