Virtual Brush Box

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Awareness of the outside world. Male cupcakes! The Tour de France has always had well-dressed, good-looking women as prize presenters. This year they had well-dressed, good-looking men on the podium as well. My preference would be not to use human beings as decor. While we await those enlightened times, as least we get equal scenery.
~~~
 

Overall
Back on the trail in the pasture. This week’s miles were all at a walk. Surface calm with underlying jumpiness. Taking the time to let everyone get resettled. We got excited and pushed too hard? They object to work interrupting their daily schedule? 100 miles in 100 days is harder than we anticipated?

Why trotting quietly in one’s own bedroom is too hard, I have no idea. I wish it were not the case. If wishes were horses … they’d do a better job that these two yo-yos … wait … overly bitter .. read the subtitle, read the subtitle … moving on …

Some of the excitement may have come from feeding the same type of hay bought from a different source when our usual two feed stores ran out. Yes, they are that sensitive. Sigh.

One consequence of longer rides. Peeing under saddle.

Milestones
 

Kaput Spring. Noted on map.

El Dorado Creek. Noted on map.

Michigan Bluff. Noted on map.

The Tevis Cup: Chicken Hawk. Mile 64

Daily Log
We are doing our rides in 1/3 or 1/2-mile laps around our pasture. Link to standings, Doctor Whooves, Major Milton, All. Daily screenshots from VTevis results page.

Mile 63

Mile 63, side view, Foresthill Elementary School.

Saturday, September 19. Today 2.03 miles. Total 63.8 miles. Time 53:44 min. Pace 26 minpermile/2.3 mph. Old style, 1/3 mile laps. Update. Rodney one warm up lap in hand, not counted here.

Mile 66

Saturday, September 20. Today 3.01 miles. Total 66.8 miles. Time 1 hr 15 min. Pace 25 minpermile/2.4 mph. New style, 1/2 laps. More time on flat ground. [The Overlap] Update. Rodney one warm up lap in hand, not counted here.

Recent Posts
Mine
[The Reset, Virtual Trail Report, Tevis Sippy Cup, Holding at Mile 61, September 2020]
[Virtual Media, Or Lack Thereof]

Others
County Island: The Tevis Trail: Whoa! We’re halfway there!

[Tevis post archives]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 
Awareness of the outside world. RIP RBG. Let’s honor her memory with actions that would make her proud.
~~~
 

I used our break from Virtual Tevis-ing to reestablish Rodney’s stand. [Holding at Mile 61]

I will grant that Rodney needs time to get used to his new feet after shoeing. He has made that clear. However, if he can gallop around the pasture, he can stand in the middle of the ring under tack. No matter how much he waves his footsie at me or walks toward the ring like he’s Cinderella with a glass slipper. [Follow The Rules]

1st day – Fail. Twitch. Fuss. Move. I had the fleeting thought that he might lose it and wouldn’t that be embarrassing to fall off during a stand exercise.

Shod, day off.

2nd day – Better, particularly once the rest of the village showed up to keep him company.

3rd day – Nailed it. Absolutely perfect. Statue. Solo.

4th day – Almost nailed it. Attitude 100%. A slight rotation to the left as he shifted his weight.

Despite standing well on day four, beforehand, he was anxious in the barn during grooming; afterward, he left as soon as he was at liberty. Both indications that there was still tension in his world.

Will excellence in standing translate to serenity in riding? No clue. Hope so. Seemed like a good idea to go back to a baseline.

Watching Sally blow in.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Random Images

 
Awareness of the outside world. BBC: What did Jesus really look like?, by Joan Taylor, December 2015. Short version, the standard image dates from the Byzantine era. In other news, “Togas were circular (folded into a semi-circle to wear) and himatia were rectangular – modern toga parties, using sheets, are generally himation parties.” ibid.
~~~
We have a new toaster oven. It is diligent about indicating when a task is complete. Sometimes my chef forgets to clear the screen.

Imagine having this flashing at you as you enter a dark kitchen in the small of the night.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Thoughts

Random Images

 
Awareness of the outside world. Taylor Community Schools: eLearning Virtual Option for Inclement Weather. Noooooooooooo. Snow days are one of the joys of childhood.
~~~
It was such a good plan. I was going to use Thursday’s post on virtual exercise as a segue into a thoughty discussion of virtual versus real. You know, one of those deep, think-piece essays that uses a single idea as a lens to examine concepts of self-identity and competition and imagination and perceptions of reality. It was going to be brilliant. [Exercise In The Time Of The Virus]

Alas.

My schedule is writing checks my brain can’t cash. Turns out my shtick tends less toward deep thought and more toward amusing cat pics. For example, this is what happens when you wrestle your sister in a box.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Fit To Ride

 
Awareness of the outside world. Sally went from heading right at us to slipping south of us. We ended up with steady rain, gusty winds, and stormy horses.
~~~
Sometimes you need numbers to see that you are making progress.

I don’t usually GPS bike rides. Either we ride a known route, or I measure it via Big Brother from my computer. On this day, we our route was out-and-back, on a road we didn’t know well. The eye in the sky let us know when to turn around.

I am quite taken with the average speed. Last time I measured, I was a solid 10 mph biker. The 11.8 includes starting, ending, and two mid-ride stops to check distance.

Check out the split speeds! Progress!

Ride date, September 6, 2020.

Blog post #3100.

What progress do you have to report?

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Fit To Ride

 
Awareness of the outside world. On Wednesday, still thinking about Sally. When your state is headlining on the national weather channel, it tends to focus your attention.

Blogging note. A second post appeared erroneously yesterday. It belongs over in storage. Apologies to anyone who got an extra email. [Walking ToC].
~~~
A roster of my recent fitness activities. The exercise is the same. The window dressing has changed.

Riding – Virtual Tevis. I may have mentioned this. [Archives]

Biking – Currently, virtual Route 66. Have done the Inca Trail & Alps to Ocean in New Zealand. When we finally reach California, I will sign up for The Great Ocean Road in Australia. Medals and maps from The Conqueror Virtual Challenges. [Biking Virtually, Route 66]

5Ks – Have walked nine so far. Two IRL; seven virtual. Five of the virtual were associated with formerly-scheduled IRL events; two were DIY. [Will Walk and Bike for Bling]

Walking – On days I don’t ride a bike or walk a 5k, I usually walk around the pasture, as much for brain as for body. I have begun logging the miles as a virtual trek down the Mississippi River. I would have signed up if anyone offered a virtual medal. No one does, so I am tracking it myself with the help of river maps. [Walking Virtually, Mississippi River]

What’s the same? The Activities
I rode and biked and walked in the before times.

I ride and bike and walk now.

I will ride and bike and walk in the after times. Lord willing.

What’s the same? The Places
Life in the country. Space to do all these things without seeing other people. No social distance concerns, no gym closures. We bike the same roads as before. I walk and ride in the same pasture. There was loose talk of taking the horses other places to log miles. Nothing has come of that so far.

What’s Different? The Specifics
Biking – a mild incentive to hit the mileage. Mostly a way to keep track and look at pretty pictures once I get home.

Riding – No way would we have done a five-mile trail ride without “Tevis” dangling in front of us.

5K – Wouldn’t be doing these at all. For amusement, I have made an effort to find new places to walk.

Walking – I now do 3 laps instead of the 4 that I used to do. Makes for an even mile. I don’t feel too bad about reducing the distance. Usually there is a second activity earlier in the day. [My Two Horses]

What’s Different? The Unreal Aspect
Of course the big change is the virtual component.

All of the 5Ks were scheduled to be IRL. The Gaelic Gallop also had a virtual option. It has been interesting to see how the different races manage their switch to virtual. Some say ‘Here’s your medal, do as you will.’ Others use tracker apps to record distance and post results.

The Virtual Tevis is new, obviously. I hope they offer some form of virtual participation once the horses are back on the trail. We’ll see.

The various virtual medal programs existed. Some hand you a medal. Some track your progress on a map. Neither one appealled to me back when I had other options. Which leads to …

… the bling!

There are enlightened individuals who compete for the love of the game. I am not one of them. Lemme see the loot. No horse shows. Sad face. Medals. Happy face! Yes, I have chosen walks based on the medal offered.

I’m not going much of anywhere for a while. Following my virtual progress on a map gives me a chance to travel in my imagination.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Training Journal

If you’re riding a horse, you’ve already won.

 

Awareness of the outside world. Sally. Too much rain here. Not enough there. Ugh.
~~~
 

The ride is virtual. The lack of media is real.

I have been dropping the ball on photos of our virtual ride.

New phone, old clip-on. No problem.

Rubber bands to the rescue.

Casing blocks camera lens. No problem.

Push clip out of the way before taking pic.

Return phone to belt loop.

Problem.

Because the set-up is a kludge, I need two hands to put it back on my belt. As soon as I take my hand off the reins, Rodney goes walkabout. Mind you, we are talking about reins that are lying on his neck. Taking my hand off the reins makes no material difference to the guidance of the horse. It’s as if he can tell when my attention is not 100% where it should be, i.e. on him. Even a simple check of our mileage has us wandering back & forth.

So I don’t bother. It’s not like the visuals are exciting. Look! The pasture! Look! Other side of pasture! And again! And again!

Virtual Tevis [Archives]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott