Getting Fitter, Being Provocative

Now that Wendy and I have Maverick, a very athletic, alpha horse, I have made the decision to get back to my wedding weight, 135lbs.  It should make it easier for me to keep up with him! It’s a pretty big goal since I haven’t seen that weight on the scales in about 10 years, but I am not going to be in a hurry, I need to do it in a way that makes it possible for me to maintain. So no crazy diets, no artificially adjusting my metabolism, just more exercise and less food. I have already dropped about 5 pounds this month, so I figure if I can lose another 2-3 per month, I will be there by June.

I’m lucky because although my left knee has not allowed me to jog for the last several years, when I tried again over the last month, it hasn’t bothered me at all. Maybe it’s all the rest it’s gotten, maybe it’s the Juice Plus that has helped it to heal finally, but whatever it is, I am grateful. There’s nothing like hitting the road to get weight off.

Randy and I went to visit my Mom this weekend, and since she lives on a golf course, I got up early and headed out the back door for a jog around holes 3-7 on Saturday morning. It was about 46 degrees and the winds were blowing at about 25 miles per hour. I was happy for it though, since you burn more calories in the cold, and no golfers were braving the weather that morning.

As I started out, I was thinking about a DVD I watched last week with Linda Parelli showing how you can be provocative with your horse while riding. So I thought, “How can I make this more provocative for me?” Jogging is useful, but I don’t find it much fun.

I decided to take advantage of the layout of the course, jogging up and down the natural drainage areas, making circles around the trees, going over all the bridges and up and down the swales along the fairways and greens. A few of the swales were quite steep; some walking was necessary! I learned a long time ago from Covert Bailey that you don’t burn fat if you are breathing too hard to talk, so that is my yardstick when I exercise. It’s far easier than taking my pulse all the time.

I had a gas figuring out where I would go next! Anyone watching me might have thought I was a bit whacked, wandering all over the course with a big grin on my face, but it was fun! It made me think how easily bored a horse would become just walking a trail for miles on end. It would be like me never getting off the cart path.

When I did my circles around the trees, I tried to pick ones with uneven terrain around them, focusing on the tree, making my circles really perfect. It was more challenging than I thought it would be, making a perfect circle, not looking at the ground, focusing on the tree, and then alternating making small circles and bigger circles. But it also made my exercise session a lot more entertaining.

It really helped me to realize how challenging it must be for my horses to do all the things I ask of them. And how being particular about my riding will make their jobs a lot easier, otherwise how do they know what I want?

Never-ending self improvement…