Continuing on Lessons Learned

So yesterday's post had three lessons learned. Shall we review?

Lesson 1: When riding with a group of people, (not during a ride), discuss what happens if the group breaks up. Ideally the 2 people in the group that know where they are going are not the ones to break off from the group....

Lesson 2: Be as polite as possible and as firm as necessary to ride your own ride (sometimes not practical during conditioning rides, but you can try....)

Lesson 3: Don't try anything new on a ride, test it on a conditioning ride.

Continuing on that theme, here's some other "discoveries/lessons".

Lesson 4: Carry plain water on the trail, plan on eating my electrolytes. I experimented with both Gatorade and propel on the trail on Friday and neither one worked. I did managed to drink the propel but I had to make an effort. The Gatorade (watered down) just tasted chemically to me and I only drank ~8 oz. In contrast, I drank two camalbak bladders of plain water and ate at least four nature valley granola bars. The granola bars are a little salty and I found I could balance my need for fluids and my need for electrolytes better if I consumed separately. The granola bars sat very well in my stomach and never felt like my blood sugar dipped. Tamera over at the Night Farm (see blog on right hand side) has been doing a great series on rider fitness and health (eating) and I've found her advice very helpful. I think that the Nature Valley granola bars are one of the "simpler" bars on the market, made with lots of oats (and sugar unfortunately) and while they aren't ideal, they are working well for me on the trail.

Lesson 5: Carry a baggie of grain on the trail to feed right before the checks. Even Farley, who usually eats well, benefited from being fed a couple of handfuls of grain, prior to stopping. Her appetite surged afterwards. Stimulating her appetite prior to getting to a check could save us precious time at the check because she can immediately start eating.

Thought of the Day
I'd think it would be useful if everyone could share one tip about riding, endurance, 100 milers or Tevis. I'm not talking the generic advice of "ride your own ride", or "pace yourself", or "don't try anything new". I'm talking specific advice about the "little" things that make a huge difference. Here's some tips I've been given so far.

1. Wear wool or wool blend socks from Foresthill onward so that your feet dry out after the water crossing.

2. At Franscico's, stop for 10 minutes and let the horse eat.

Here's my tip for everyone: If it is a hot, sunny day and you're trying to decide where to walk and where to trot on the trail because it's all good footing - trot in the sun and walk in the shade. It seems to keep the horse cooler.