In And Out Of Mode

After viewing the Time.com photos of the Asia Monsoons in Bombay and Bangladesh I promise never to complain about the weather again. How'd you like to train horses in this? The whole Indian Ocean fell on these folks!

I bring this up because we did have a "weather event" that helped to interrupt our planned breezing Wednesday night, but mostly, let's say for the record, it has been a questionable two days in the RR household where it comes to horse training.

I'm going to rant on a bit for anyone that wants to follow this. As to the commentor on artficial surfaces, I'm watching it as everyone else, and seem to have a preference for dirt, but, jury out, as I'm considering poly for Eureka :).

Now, when I last posted all was right with the world, and we were planning some serious breezing post 7/30 layoff period on Wednesday night 8/7.

Never happened. Now, RR is well aware that the intricacies of this minor disaster would only be of interest to me, but, since this is a tough business how I became diverted and "out of " horse mode on Wednesday afternoon 8/7 I'd like to just one time put out for future reference.

Background: horse racing provides a wonderful hobby, or profession satisfying all sorts of interests from athletics--where else can you be in pro sports this cheap--to animals, breeding, auctions, handicapping,etc. Those who actually race horses themselves understand the difficulties. It's 24/7, 365 days year after year. It's fun, but success requires a concentrated doggedness that never lets up. To this we're sworn when we're IN MODE, but, follow along how easily I was diverted.

Things were going very well Wednesday to about 3 pm. as we were considering the evening breezes. My alter ego, the rider, Mr. Nob, was down to 158, dieting, doing his running and lifting, looking good for Wed. Night.

Then 3 pm rolled around and Nob included a handful of Kashi Autumn Whole Wheat Cereal biscuits (quite good)with his vitamins of the hour. This was Mistake #1 for in the next hour, all discipline out the window (where did it go?), Nob had downed more than half a box of this cereal, over 1000 calories, forgot to take Carb Blocker to mask the effect, and now we're looking at 162 lbs. for the breeze. Bad!

Then, Mistake #2: 5 pm rolls around, and after a hard day, one game of one minute computer chess for RR before spinning on to the farm. Won the game. Another, then another, obviously playing idiots,9 game streak. It happens. 5:30 p.m. the thought enters RR head--in the morning Nob will be back to 158 lbs if we run 6 miles tonight. Do the breezes in the morning, said the little man.

This was entertained to around 5:55 pm., chess althewhile, when it was decided to check Accuweather for temperature. What's this? A huge storm breweing over St. Joe. I look out the downtown KCMO office window to see dark clouds and lightening over the farm, but, there's no radar showing any KCMO rain. It's all farther north.

That and a prediction of 8 pm. KCMO rain storm was enough to tip the scale--breeze in the morning.

Horrible decision. It never rained at the farm Wed. night. But, Thurs. morn at 12:30 a.m. completely unpredicted, 3/4 inch came down and washed us out for Thurs. morn. BS. Could have been avoided by an IN MODE RR at 2:55 pm. Wed. Aft. Never happened. The good news, I'm back in mode. I'll catch up on "minor improvisations" with the horses next post.