My competitive trail ride is over. I think it went well but my brain is too muddled from a lack of good sleep to analyze successfully yet. Here’s a snapshot of what I know I learned.
1. I could market the CTR diet. With the right mix of stress, lack of sleep, and forgetting to eat you too could drop 5 pounds between Friday and Sunday. Results not guaranteed to last once back to normal life though.
2. If you feel the need to run through a one mile section of trail “just to be sure it is ok” while the horses are on course you will push your tired body much faster if you imagine every sound in the woods to be the lead horses coming around the bend behind you and about to run you down.
3. At the end of the weekend when a competitor asks you to sign a form you will leave a letter out of your name. When you try to add it back in you will put it in the wrong place.
4. You have had to much to drink if you are female and are still swinging your shirt enthusiastically over your head in the police car’s headlights. I learned that by driving past the incident – not by being personally involved.
5. Do not try a test out of a magazine when you come home. Although attempting to stand on one foot with your eyes closed will be most amusing when you are wobbly even on two feet. I scored 4 seconds last night. This morning after a night of sleep and a glass of orange juice I lost count at 41 seconds. For the record, my mother did 4 seconds last night too and my husband did a very acrobatic hopping and twisting 7 seconds.
