Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

This may be difficult to tell and do it justice but I will give it a shot. I thought completing my first 100 was the thrill of my life. It was. This ride is up there right along side that thrill!!!

As Alicia has already mentioned in her story, it rained and rained on Friday night. Tommy told us all about being careful on the wet grass and mud. I am sure every single one of us thought of the girl who was killed when her horse went down and fell on her a couple of years ago when we rode out the next morning in the slop and the sludge. Yes, the grass was wet but under the grass it was clay and muck. Yuck!!! Rhyme intended!

I started out in what I thought was the middle of the pack. The start was on the steeplechase track and we all started the loop around. We didn't get far before someone was off their horse. We slowed down and milled around a bit while things were brought under control and then started off again at a slow trot. The first loop was 15 miles (actually 13 as 2 of it was on the track....when we came in we had to pass the finish line then go around one more time). It was mostly fields, in and out and around. A little bit of trail on the outside of the steeplechase course, down a road past the soccer fields...I just followed markers and tried not to think too hard about it!! :) Malik was full of fire and desire (and I do NOT mean this in a stallion sense). He wanted to GO. He saw horses ahead of him and it didn't matter what the gender, they should be caught up to if not passed by. He does tend to snort and blow and sound quite a bit like a freight train coming down the track...in our early days, that scared me because I thought he was breathing too hard. I soon learned he ENJOYS this "rhythm" and it pumps him up. He feels good when he's doing that and it probably does help him breathe better.

The mud and clay were horrible and I was VERY afraid of slipping. He wanted to pass the horses in front of us but I held him back. I did not want to risk an accident or injury to either of us. When we reached the flooded stream which definitely was a good 4 feet deep at this point, he forged through without a second glance...concentrating on that marker on the other side was probably a good strategy for me!! :) The other horses were out of sight at this point and it was the only proof I had that this truly WAS the trail. As we finally came back onto the steeplechase track and passed by the finish on our way to do the required second lap, we passed Max and Jenny who were just getting ready to leave on the 25 miler! Oh, boy!!! The horses both saw each other, too. We completed this first loop in 1:35 but took 22 minutes to come down. Definitely NOT part of my plans! Seeing Max did not help the situation, I am sure. Our new crew was still a little overwhelmed and the routine was somewhat different....Barb had graciously offered to share her "crew" area which was a nice little pop up canopy (gotta get me one of those babies!) and which she set up with EVERYTHING. We didn't need a thing except our food and our own e-lytes, etc. It was awesome. The vetting area/routine was also different. We would get Malik down to almost 64, walk him up to the PR person and POOF, up it went again. :) It did come down and his CRI was good (53/52) so it was only adrenaline and excitement and new people. After he pulsed down, young Dr. Matt Reynolds vetted him through with all As except a B on gut sounds.