>>> I think a lot of the limitations folks put on themselves
are not necessary. Even my friend Lynelle, who wanted to do the 50 on her first
ride, and wisely listened to me to do a 25 first, can't wait to do a 50
now.
I think it can be very hard to do 50 if you don't know how to make it
easier on yourself. When I look back at some of the early 50's I did when I
really suffered it was all caused not by the distance but by me not knowing to
change stirrup length, what pants to wear, how to arrange buckles, to have a
saddle that put my feet under me, etc. My back used to hurt so bad it was awful.
It wasn't the distance, it was that I was riding in a cheap jumping saddle with
my feet way out in front of me leaning forward not to fall backwards. If you
have a good set up and if you'll ask for advice and take it from people who have
figured things out, there's no need for you to spend forever "getting ready" to
do 50.
When Josie did her first 50 at age 10 she would say something about her
knees hurting and I'd say, "let me change your stirrups" and she'd argue with me
that she was "*fine* keep going". I would ignore her and change them a little
and soon she would admit they didn't hurt any more. You might last 25 miles in
pain (why would you want to though?) but it will get you on longer distances.
You don't get "tougher" and learn to stand 50 miles of pain, you get smarter and
learn how to fix the cause of the pain and move on.
