A pretty good training ride today.

My initial goal today was to attempt a slow paced 30 mile ride, since I only have about four weeks left until The Spook Run. I wanted to see how we could do at maintaining our steady pace, and if we've got some of the eating / drinking issues sorted out over the past month. She was pretty much a steady ride today after a half roll back early on over a lichen covered tree that I'm sure we passed at least ten previous rides...but other than that, she pointed her little nose down the trail and kept a nice rhythm between 4.5-6 mph (usually somewhere in the middle. Hear rate around 101 BPM except pullin a hill and at one time down to 56 BMP for a short period). Our first loop was A+A+B (17.5 miles), then a break. She dove into her wet mash well, but wasn't inclined to actually drink from her water bucket. There was quite a bit of water in the wet mash though. She started eating some hay, and forty minutes went by pretty quickly. The next loop was going to be A+A ( 13 miles). The temperature had dipped in the mid-fifties, and the sky was threatening rain. I put on a light jacket and some gloves as I was really cold during the break. We headed back out. Phebes wasn't to thrilled with me, and she was trotting but at only maybe 4 mph, and it was beginning to spit a very cold rain. She eventually got back into her groove and was zipping along nicely again, but the rain kept picking up. I was hot again and had peeled out of my jacket and tied it around my waist. Eventually I was pretty soaked and as we progressed on our lap of trail A decided that if the rain had not stopped by the turn off to repeat trail A, we were going to call it a day. I could just see her soaked, cold, and cramping up. NOT WORTH IT. So 24 miles today. The haul home is short, about fifteen minutes. She literally leapt from the trailer and dove her face into the grass, then dropped the level in the big water tank by about an inch, twirled her head at me a couple of times, rolled in her favorite dirt pile (yeah it stopped raining on the way home, oh-well), then for good measure she rolled in the dirt again until she was filthy and unrecognizable. I guess she figures if she's black I'll think she's somebody else! How we train from this point forward, I'm not sure. Have to mull it over. I don't want any more really long rides before Spook Run, but may try some shorter (10 or 15 mile) back to back training days and work on getting our trot just a tiny bit faster (so we can complete) over the shorter distance. We'll see how that goes, can she can keep herself mentally intact at a steady 6 mph pace? ~E.G.