Monday, February 16, 2009

Back on the Runners - 15 Feb 09

Mary and I were able to load up the pups and head down to thetrails. It was around 37 degrees when we arrived at 2PM and keptgetting warmer. Mary hasn't been on the runners in about 2 years, so we decided we would each take a small team 6 miles and then shewould take the third team of five out by herself.

Mary's first team consisted of Bogey and Zia in lead, Gabby in Swing and Alli and Tolby in wheel. After 3 miles she wanted to give Gabby some lead time, so she made the swap.

I had Bear and Mae in lead, Amizette and Cyphers at swing and Hawkeyeand Apollo in wheel. We caught Mary after 2 miles and stayed behind her for another 2 miles. We made several stops to let the dogs divein the snow and cool down. Bear was ready to do some passing andtook the team on the right side of Mary and on past. Not a bad run.

The last team consisted of Luna and Lasar in lead, Velma in swing and Timber and Thursby in wheel. They came in very strong. She said they flew even when she tried to stop and let them cool down, they just wanted to keep running.

The dogs had lost a great deal of conditioning, but were happy to getout and stretch their legs.

As for my shoulder, it is doing a little better. I didn't do a great deal of lifting, so there was little stress on it.

Training Report - 29 Jan 09

Wed night we received a couple of inches of snow. I was off onThursday, so we decided to get the team out for a short run. My shoulder was feeling pretty good with some minor pain. Mary's help was appreciated and without her, this run would not have happened.

We ran 2 teams of 8 with the 4 wheeler for a 9 mile run. This permitted me to get the 3, which recovered from previous injuries,back in the team.

We were the first ones at the trails so there wasn't an opportunityfor the snow to get packed down on the ice.

Everyone was excited to get back in harness and they performedadmirably. I kept them at a trot so they wouldn't risk a shoulderinjury by sliding on the snow that hadn't stuck to the ice.

I chose the 4 wheeler, since the 2 inches of snow wouldn't createenough base on top of the ice to hold a hook. This would give memore control over the dogs if I had to stop and not jeapordizehurting my shoulder anymore.

We did lose some conditioning, but not as much as I thought. Once weget back on sleds, I will be in a better position to assess theirconditioning and re-evaluate the rest of the race year.