On My Obsession with Measurable Results

So something to know about me is that I love me some data (insert nerd humor). I'm all about a measurable result.

Well I found something that combines my love of data with Pancake's fitness program. Huzzah! There's a free site/app called Endomondo that you can use to track workouts. It uses the GPS on your phone to measure distance, altitude, speed, etc. And it lists Riding as an athletic pursuit. (Yay!)

My at-home riding program normally goes something like this: Oooh, oooh, I have a chance to ride! Yippee! Come here, pony. Walk over to the flat(ish) spot. Let's go trot. Bend, please. Yes, even to the right. Change direction, bend, change direction, bend. Ok, you trotted a lot. Now let's canter. Ok, take a breather. Now let's canter the other way. Ok, take a breather. Now let's work on refining that trot self-carriage a little more. GET. OFF. MY. RIGHT. LEG. Walk. Trot. Walk. Trot. Halt. Trot. Halt. Trot. Take a breather. Now let's trot up the hill. Now let's canter one loop up the hill. Take a breather. Trot up the other hill. Canter one loop. And now I'm hot and tired and you're really puffing so let's walk a loop. Now let's walk to the end of the driveway so you see some new and different stuff. (Oooh, look, chickens!) And we're done. Good pony.

So I thought I'd try that Endomondo thingy and see what that typical workout really consists of.

Umm, this is way fun. (And it's easy to see I was a dressage rider for a loooong time. If you scroll over the graph at the bottom, the little dot will show where we were on the map (that's the aforementioned flatish spot). So you can see all our nice little circles and loops and figure 8's.)

Because I'm a masochist (or, trying to build up my leg and improve my own fitness) I decided not to wear spurs for this ride. As a result, I had to work really, really hard and she was way behind my leg. It'll be interesting to try this again with spurs and see if it influences the average speed. (I know it'll influence my stamina if I don't have to beg for every stride!)

Fun. I like it!