2007/2008 TRAINING

Updates for the 2007/2008 mushing season areunderway check back often for training updates and race results as Mike and his team prepare for the 2008 Iditarod sled dog race.


9 October 2007
--------- TRAINING UPDATE--------

The team is in full training mode and thankfully the temperatures are finally cooperating. Last night the temperature dropped to 18 degrees and the last 4 have all been below freezing. So the dogs now get their food with water so the cans they are fed in don’t freeze solid. It’s a change from summer to racing mode for me. Now I can closely monitor exactly what each dog is eating and drinking. Very important, as we gradually increase the miles that the dogs run I ensure each dog receives more food to maintain a healthy body weight.

I have been really happy with the performance of all the veterans and surprised with how great all my little yearlings are doing. My philosophy with the training program is to progress as planned and if any of the youngsters can’t handle keeping up I will just run them on the shorter runs. Many young dogs get discouraged on long runs and only need to mature a little to reach their full potential. I haven’t seen that in this group as everytime I give the team a breather most of these young guys are slamming their harness and screaming to go. Of course we’ll see if that continues after 5 & 6 hour runs. It’s so amazing for me to see how these Alaskan Huskies are just hardwired to be in the move mode and stopping seems to just drive them insane.

The runs have been a dream as all 9 of my leaders are performing just great. Not losing a step going through the 3 and 4 foot deep puddles that are slowly starting to freeze. It’s really good practice to have them go the way I want around the puddles, as parts of the Iditarod trail are critical that the team follow my direction (i.e.: Post River Glacier). I really feel that the team has improved by leaps and bounds every year and am always thinking of ways to do things a little better. Last year the team did not get to train on snow with the sled until mid December and didn’t learn to work as hard as it is in the mountains of Alaska. So now while training with the 4 wheeler I stop the team twice per run on a hill. Then I have the team pull the wheeler and me up the hill with no help. Its tough but should really strengthens the team and trains them to all work together.

Think Snow, Mike

The race started smoothly enough with the team cruising along at a nice clip which I was happy with since we had not been able to train with the sled due to the lack of snow on the trails around Chugiak. With our 9th starting position we had an opportunity to see a lot of the top teams as they flew by us. It is a little discouraging to have trained as much as possible and realize that the top teams are 3 or 4 miles an hour faster. That being said the team still gave me everything they had and really that is all you can ask for. We missed most of the hazards except for a deep water hole that was avoidable but my leader decided he was ready for a swim, it was 5 degrees so he may have been warm. I was really happy with the team at the check points everybody ate and sacked out with only Munich being tied to the sled by a volunteer after chewing her tug-line, a huge improvement over last year when most the team was yearlings.

The second 50 mile run the trail was in really great shape and the hills are quite a bit smaller. I started around midnight and it was on the cold side I’m guessing around -15f or so. I really didn’t have any problems on the run so I’m not 100% sure why it took over 5 hours. I would have liked to have done that run about 30 minutes faster since the hills were not as big. After the run I had the team fed and bedded down, putting coats on the shorter haired dogs. I then went in to a very packed Eureka lodge to lie down for a few minutes. I got up around 7 just in time to enjoy breakfast with Bonnie and Jim. I had decided to hang it up, the last 50 mile leg involved a lot of up hill climbs and the team was not pulling on the hills as a team, many of the dogs had slack lines because of not training with the sled. Well when I told Mark and Vern of my decision to quit due to the poor trail they went off about do you think the Iditarod would have as nice trails and were are you going to get this kind of training?

Then Zack, Bryan and Karen all basically said the same thing. So I watered the dogs threw booties on and grabbed some fish for the team. About 3 miles down the trail I remembered I didn’t have any water since my cooler had frozen solid at this point. So to beat dehydration I ate snow that I scooped from the side of the trail. Well the team was a little tired and labored with me helping push the sled up the severe inclines that the trail followed through the Talkeetna Mountains. We got stuck in some alders where the trail was less than clear but missed the swimming hole. By the time we got to Sheep Mountain I was a thirsty hungry hombre and the team was too. So like a good musher I got them fed and watered and into the dog truck. Then I had enough time to wash my face and brush my teeth before enjoying the Banquet it was some good spaghetti with all the fixings and some tasty cake. Mmm

I then drove home and slept like a rock before getting up to go to work. Yep gotta pay for the dog food. Mike

TRAINING UPDATE: OCTOBER 23, 2006
Training is right on schedule with the team gradually increasing mileage. The hope is that the weather will cooperate with some freezing temperatures and then some nice snow. The team is still doing double what they were last year although that will tail off since I will be out of town for 5 days which will be a good time for the dogs feet to heal. I think the rest will do my team good before the longer training runs that lead into racing season start.

TRAINING UPDATE: OCT 4, 2006 - Hi Everybody, I was lucky enough to get my application in for the Sheep Mountain 150. I even got the lucky #13 that Lance Mackey wants for the Iditarod. Of course I’m looking at this race as a chance for my team to get miles and learn the race routine.

It’s going to be a little more comfortable running a course that the team has already been on. I’m hoping the team will be up to doing a little quicker race than we did last year. Training has been going steady until this week. The team was running 8 & 10 mile runs although the road we were running on was roughing up some of the dog’s feet. I scouted the route and believe that the road is not particularly rough but with the wet weather I think the dogs feet are too just tender. We need 2 or 3 weeks of dry trails so the dog’s feet will toughen up.

So far all the dogs are looking strong including the 4 yearlings that go crazy when I start to load the truck up. It seems the intensity in the dogs builds up as the temperature goes down.

Remember: Think Snow

FALL TRAINING STARTS - AUG 19 2006
The Supre team and pet dogs are all doing 2 miles and they are very happy to be back in the harness. I thought that they would need the doggy life jackets since the last three weeks have been torrential rains. It turns out the puddles are not quite over their heads. With any luck the temp will go down and this rain will turn to snow. Lets keep our fingers crossed.
                                                             ~Mike~