Monday, October 23, 2017

Doing It Different

Possibly you remember last month, when I ran my first ever half marathon with, uh, "limited" training and had some takeaways

Don't worry! This is not going to be a fitness blog, because that seems like a super boring thing to write. 

That said. Since said race, I actually have been training (better late than never, amiright), so it was less of a terrible idea when Nadia was like "let's do a 10k!" 
i love medals. also stella needs to up her selfie game.
I hope most of you are familiar with blogger Nadia--she's a badass distance-running, animal-welfare-working, TED-talking, all-around-awesome person with her own super cool baby horse that is basically Zoe's super-talented little sister. 

Anyways. 

I love how connected all this is--last time I ran, I talked about emotional awareness for myself as a rider and how my (lack of) training affected me. And see, this time, I trained. It was not enough, but it was more than before. 
def wore blerch shirt
When I knew what to expect and I knew that I was ready to take it on, the whole race was so much smoother. 

And I know that sounds like a super dumb thing to say, because like... obviously? 

It's the same philosophy I used with Zoe--go slow. Do tiny increments. Set her up for success. Never, ever surprise her. Just simple, methodical horsemanship.
one toodle at a time
 The difference the preparation makes is monumental.

I can't overstate that.

Anyways.

Because a 10k is such a friendly distance (SO SHORT) and because I (omg) actually trained, I finished and only felt about a quarter like death so I was like OMG LETS GO PLAY WITH ZOE WHAT A GOOD IDEA.

And Nadia is like "but I have no riding clothes"
And I am like "soooooo?"
post race stretches!
Because one of the absolutely coolest things about Zoe is I can literally show up and put a bridle on her and we're off on a toodle.
and that's how we did a whole weekend in like half of one day
Because she knows I'll never ask more than she can give. 

And she knows that because I set her up to succeed every single day. 

d'awww

I have bigger goals for myself than just finishing a given run and I have bigger goals for Zoe than just "getting around" a show.

Our path to get there is slow.

Methodical.

And so, so deliberate.

24 comments:

  1. So... What I'm reading is ZB solves all problems. I like it!

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  2. Slow and steady wins the race, whether it's a half marathon or a horse show -- and there are more ways to win than just coming in first... Which obviously you already know 😉 congrats on the successful 10k!

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  3. Congrats on the 10k. It makes such an incredible difference when horses are started corretly. I love what you are doing with Zoe.

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  4. I find the slow and steady much easier to apply to my horse than to myself. Love that you can just have fun with ZB while working towards goals

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    1. Yeah it's definitely a little harder to be calm and have perspective with myself. Apparently. ;-)

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  5. This is the best blog post EVER lol. Your method with Zoebird is clearly working. She's a solid citizen for sure! So glad we got to spend a fun day together!!

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  6. My person has the same outlook. Why rush it? I'm only 3 and we have All the time in the world!

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  7. Sometimes I feel like maybe I should have moved Charlie up earlier in the season since he was completely capable and we ended up missing a full third of my planned year anyway. But then again maybe taking it so slow has helped him become the uncomplicated professional that he is now. Ultimately I tend to believe that we never really regret taking our time and being thoughtful and systematic about the process, even if it sometimes means it takes longer than even we initially planned to get where we want to go.

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    1. Yeah. It's impossible to know what "would" have happened if we were given different variables, because obviously, we weren't. All I can do is my very best at the time.

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  8. That is also Carl Hesters path so...sounds good to me.

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    1. There are definitely worse role models. ;-) Jealous you got to see him in person!

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  9. Good for you and taking your time with all the things. I think it's easy to overlook all the small wins when you're hellbent focused on an agenda. Every blog you post brings a huge smile on my face for you!

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  10. I mean I get it... But ugh training is the worst. For running that is. For horsing it's the absolute best!

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    1. I'm told it gets better eventually. I sure hope so.

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