I love dressage. 
Dressage is a style of English riding, done on the flat - ie. no jumping. It involves riding the horse through different "figures" and exercises. The aim is to have the horse obedient to the rider with the lightest aids possible. Aids are the directions the rider gives to the horse, with leg, seat, weight, hands, etc. Here are some sites that explain dressage: http://www.usdf.org/AboutUs/SpectatorsGuideToDressage.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DressageI wasn't too fond of the horse I was riding, Jasca. Very much a typical school horse in some ways. A little lazy, and a little too inclined to follow the other horses and want to be with his friends. What I didn't like was the fact that twice when I gave him the aids to canter, he gave a little buck. The first time was okay, just a little playful buck. The second time he bucked a little more, and my helmet impacted his crest/neck when his head came up. I stayed on, and got him cantering after, but I had a headache afterwards. Other than that, the lesson went well.
Today was an easy run, 6 miles total at less than 70% of Heart Rate Reserve. Walked a half mile to warm up, ran 5 miles continuously, walked up the long, steep hill out of the Isar River valley (hills can put strain on the calf, and after my calf injury last month, I don't want to risk injuring it again), ran a one mile cool down, and walked an additional half mile to cool down.
The run was okay. I'm still really slow, much slower than I was 6 weeks ago. I'm sure the speed will come back in time, though. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, with just a light breeze. Warm too, with a temperature of 18°C. So I was running in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Most of the Germans I saw out running, though, were wearing long-sleeved tops and tights!
I would have been over-heating if I had been dressed like that.Tags:
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