Comments on My Dirt Road Anthem: Facing My Fears

Moving cows on horseback sounds like a great way t...

2012-01-21T19:30:40.035-07:00

Moving cows on horseback sounds like a great way to spend a day! The news about Sherry Arnold has been on my mind so much lately. My heart goes out to her friends and family.

Hey you...cowgirl! You live in such a gorgeous pl...

2012-01-17T10:16:43.641-07:00

Hey you...cowgirl! You live in such a gorgeous place!

So awesome! Seriously, the pictures you post are b...

2012-01-16T16:09:25.122-07:00

So awesome! Seriously, the pictures you post are beautiful!

Great job facing your fears! I often have the sam...

2012-01-16T11:33:19.510-07:00

Great job facing your fears! I often have the same conversation with myself in same situation. 200 head of 1000lbs cows are intimidating even when going the correct direction. I find the same therapy riding and moving cows as I do running, its pushing yourself past your own self-imposed limits. Just one you have more control over the situation (running) and the other your at the mercy of critters and their attitudes. I have thought about Sherry so many time in the past few days. The innocence of running was lost for alot of us when Sherry lost her life. Cannot let fear win, we now run for ourselves and for Sherry. At least, I do.

Way you face your fears! Next time get a pic of yo...

2012-01-16T06:35:52.092-07:00

Way you face your fears! Next time get a pic of you on the horse :)

Way to get back on the horse! ;-) Did your parents...

2012-01-15T21:24:50.642-07:00

Way to get back on the horse! ;-)
Did your parents ever say that to you growing up? Great post.
I refuse to let fear rule my life.

What an awesome post! I completely agree. I'm ...

2012-01-15T21:21:30.617-07:00

What an awesome post! I completely agree. I'm going to buy some pepper spray for a few members of my family too.

First of all let me say great job in facing your f...

2012-01-15T18:41:40.773-07:00

First of all let me say great job in facing your fear. Second of all let me say that is a beautiful picture of the cows and all that open land. We have horses and yet I haven't ridden in years. I'm determined to change that this summer. :)

Shannon
Http://www.everystepcounts365.wordpress.com

I want to borrow your life for like a week. They c...

2012-01-15T18:20:05.034-07:00

I want to borrow your life for like a week. They call that a dude ranch, right? :)

wonderful post. sherry has been on my mind a lot ...

2012-01-15T17:17:57.476-07:00

wonderful post. sherry has been on my mind a lot over the last few days. i agree with the fact that we cannot let evil keep us from doing what we love. thanks for sharing!

beautiful pictures! and such true words about faci...

2012-01-15T13:28:39.569-07:00

beautiful pictures! and such true words about facing our fears!

Great job facing your fears! I refuse to stay insi...

2012-01-15T12:57:31.791-07:00

Great job facing your fears! I refuse to stay inside as well, and like you I'm trying to take more precautions. I've seen a lot online lately about pepper spray - may need to look into that too!

Good for you that you got on the saddle!!! I so so...

2012-01-15T12:38:29.368-07:00

Good for you that you got on the saddle!!! I so so so so miss horseback riding. Such great exercise too for those thigh muscles (at least for me LOL).

If I lived where you live, I don't think I wou...

2012-01-15T11:03:42.114-07:00

If I lived where you live, I don't think I would have ever taken up running because I'd be in the saddle every second possible. Horses and dogs are my first love (I spent every summer while growing up on my great-uncle's ranch in Michigan). I've been stomped on, thrown off, and pushed around, but I still love them. It's all about not letting small incidents break you, so AWESOME JOB getting back "in the saddle". :) I've always thought that the longer you waited to get back, the harder it will be.

The only time I've ever felt the need to carry pepper spray before was when I was running in the dark or when I knew I'd be running near a cornfield when the corn was tall. Oh, and the handful of times I had to run in the city (yikes! how do people do that every day?!). I think that's going to change. I've already started looking for a smaller canister to wear on my iPod armband.

I LOVE being on a horse. I just feel at home on on...

2012-01-15T10:39:30.668-07:00

I LOVE being on a horse. I just feel at home on one. I love that pic of his little ears with all the cattle in the background! great job Christy :) and pepper spray is a godsend! ....except if you get a friend by accident

Good for you, Christy, for getting out there! Bet...

2012-01-15T09:54:54.810-07:00

Good for you, Christy, for getting out there! Bet your horse was glad to see you too.

It is hard facing our fears... but I recall an old adage about the fear being worse than the actual situation.

It is a good idea to prepare and do things safely, of course. But we cannot let fear rule our lives.

Good post topic!

I just wish you would have told me you were going ...

2012-01-15T09:43:55.047-07:00

I just wish you would have told me you were going and I might have tried harder to come! Surely Gramma needed one more kid, she sounded a bit frazzeled when I talked to her and there were only 4 there. One more might have sent her off the deep end! (particularly Chase) Glad you got back out there, Pat is such a nice horse. I think Gus messed up your head a bit. I remember Lucky doing that to me--only lucky for me I was only 9 at the time. It just takes a good horse and some saddle time to recover. I can't wait until the kids are all big enough to go riding more. Yay for "joy rides"!

I am not going to let my fears get to me. I can&#...

2012-01-15T09:33:33.259-07:00

I am not going to let my fears get to me. I can't or I'd be stuck in the house all of the time. Instead, I'm going to run with the dog, with my phone, no iPod, getting pepper spray & changing my route a lot.

great post and beautiful pictures! The things abo...

2012-01-15T09:33:21.270-07:00

great post and beautiful pictures!

The things about fear is that you can't live in a bubble. What happened to Sherry scares us because it happened while she was doing something we all do every day, but in reality it could have happened while she was walking from a store to her car, or checking her mail, or walking her dog, or going to the bank. And yes, you could have been bucked off the horse and hurt, but runners hurt themselves falling down stairs and tripping over curbs all the time too. I think the best we all can do is be smart, be careful, take precautions, but go out and live our lives.

So glad you had a nice ride. I MISS my horses big time. :)

I'm always nervous getting out for an early mo...

2012-01-15T09:33:08.988-07:00

I'm always nervous getting out for an early morning run in the dark, alone, and I live in what's been ranked the second safest big city in the US. You just never know.

Well done getting back in the saddle :)

I've only run outside once in the last week, i...

2012-01-15T09:21:12.806-07:00

I've only run outside once in the last week, it's really hit me hard that the world isn't necessarily safe as I'd like to think it is. I love running outside when I have a chance and I don't want to give it up. So, I am going to start carrying pepper spray too.

I am glad you were able to get up and face your fe...

2012-01-15T09:19:31.838-07:00

I am glad you were able to get up and face your fear on the horse. I am at a loss for words for Sherry's family and friends - such a terrible thing to have happen.

Wow, I'm glad you got back in the saddle. I a...

2012-01-15T09:18:27.702-07:00

Wow, I'm glad you got back in the saddle. I agree with you on the running thing. So scary about Sherry, but I guess if we thought about every scary thing that happened in the world we would never leave the house. I am going to buy the pepper spray holder you blogged about and wear it for all my hikes and runs.

Christy, I have the same problem as you--- I assum...

2012-01-15T08:54:13.864-07:00

Christy, I have the same problem as you--- I assume that people in the world have good intentions. I try to see the good in people.

But very sadly, this is not an accurate way of looking at the world. Whoever harmed Sherry is part of a large part of society who doesn't do what's right. I can't imagine ever thinking in that sort of mindset.

But good for you for taking smart precautions and getting out there and facing your fears!!

I was just talking about this with my friend yeste...

2012-01-15T08:53:27.171-07:00

I was just talking about this with my friend yesterday during our run. It would be so easy to decided "well, I guess I can't run anymore". I lost my ipod, so I have decided to just run without music from now on and carry pepper spray. I can't say I won't be a little more scared now- but hopefully I will also be more aware of what is going on around me. It is heartbreaking when something terrible happens to innocent people- but we can't let that keep us from living our lives.