Jim's February Training Journal

February 2, 1999
The weather has been quite cold for several days, and I guess it's supposed to stay that way for a bit longer.  It's not my favorite type of winter weather, but it is good to get experience in weather like this.  I have been able to test my cold weather gear, and I now have quite a bit of confidence in its ability to keep me warm.

Caleb and I went out on a camping trip yesterday.  We left yesterday evening, ran for a few hours, stopped and camped for a while and ran back this morning.  We arrived home at about four this morning.  The dogs are doing quite well, but they are starting to get tired of training on the same trails day after day.  At some point in the next few days, I think we're going to go somewhere else to train for a while.

The groundhog didn't see his shadow, but he would have if he lived in Alaska, where there will be six more weeks of winter.

February 4, 1999
Danny, Tyrell, Dallas, and Dan Sr. arrived home from their Minnesota trip late Tuesday evening.  We spent yesterday getting things unpacked from their trip and catching up on stories.

Today, Caleb, Danny, Tyrell, Mitch, and I each took teams out on the Moose River for a fast, fun training run.  The weather is still pretty cold, so we wait until the "heat of the day" when it is only fifteen or twenty below before we run.

Tomorrow, I will take all of my dogs to Soldotna, where they will receive ECG's (heart monitoring) and blood tests.  These tests and ECG's are part of the physical exam that the dogs must go through before they are allowed to run in the Iditarod.  Each dog was also implanted with a microchip in its neck so that they can be identified before, during, and after the race.

February 7, 1999
Yesterday, Caleb, Danny, and I took out all of my dogs plus all nine of Caleb's dogs on a camping trip run.  We were planning on doing three runs with rest stops out on the trail between each.  However, the weather, which was starting to warm up, turned cold again, and we cut the trip to only two runs.

While we were on our way home, we ran into problems with a moose.  It charged Caleb and knocked him over then chased him and tried to kick him.  It also charged and hit Danny.  They are both fine, but we had to shoot the moose to prevent it from hurting any of the dogs or from going after us any more.  It gave us a good scare.  But the important thing is that we and the dogs are all fine.

Alaska is still a wild place.

February 11, 1999
We have been busy working on food drops.  They are due in Anchorage on the seventeenth, so it's getting to be "crunch time."  There is a lot of planning that has to take place before we can start filling bags with food and supplies.  We basically have to decide on our race schedule because that dictates what and how much we send to every checkpoint.

Today, we went out on our first run since our moose encounter.  We did a run on some mostly flat trail and also ran on the nearby Moose River.  We didn't see any moose, however.

February 13, 1999
I had a wonderful training run yesterday.  It was a bit warmer, the sun was bright, and the dogs were extremely fast!  Danny tried Nellie in lead about a week ago and worked with her up there.  I've continued to work with her over the past two days and she is really looking good.  That means that I have at least five yearlings with leading experience.

The weather was quite a bit warmer today, which was nice for doing a lot of outside work on our food drops.  I am sending out along the trail 372 pounds of both salmon and horse meat, about 175 pounds of beef fat, about 125 pounds of lamb, over a hundred pounds of trail snacks, and somewhere around 500 pounds of dry dog food.  Plus, I am shipping out lots of food and snacks for me, booties for the dogs, spare socks and gloves and things for me, and lots of batteries and hand warmers.  It's a huge undertaking!

February 15, 1999
The cold snap has officially ended!  The temperatures are eighty degrees warmer than they were only a few days ago.  Highs were in the forties today.  We had to send all of our food drop bags to Seward where they can be kept in a large freezer.  I'm basically finished putting dog food and things in the bags, and now I'm done getting all of my food and personal gear together.  For the most part, all that's left is to put my food and personal stuff in the bags and send them to Anchorage.

We have also been doing some training over the past few days.  We have split the teams into Tyrell's and Danny's Junior Iditarod teams.  They are running dogs from both Mitch's and my teams.  When we train, they run their Junior teams, and Mitch, Caleb, and I take the rest of the dogs.  The Junior teams are looking really good.

February 18, 1999
Food drops are done!  We finished putting our personal gear in the bags yesterday.  It is a great relief to have them done.

Today, Mitch took our food drop bags to Anchorage.  The bags are weighed, and mushers have to pay twenty-nine cents per pound to ship them out across Alaska.  I shipped out 2,336 pounds of food and supplies.  Luckily for me, Mitch paid for the shipping.

Now, my attention turns to all of the small preparations still needing to be done before the start.  My dad is coming up Saturday, and his help will be greatly appreciated.

Also, the Junior Iditarod is just over a week away.  Danny and Tyrell will both run it.  It will be a fun race to watch!

February 22, 1999
I picked up my dad from the airport Saturday evening.  I'm glad he's here.  It is very nice to have someone to help me with the last-minute preparations for the race.  It's also nice to have that helper be someone who has done the Iditarod before.  My dad says that I get to be the boss for the next two weeks, but for those two weeks only!

Heidi Cox and her mother, Carla, are coming tomorrow.  Heidi is going to be the first girl from Montana to run in the Junior Iditarod.  They will train here for a few days before heading back to Wasilla for the start of the race on Saturday.  After the Junior, they will also be helping me get ready for the Iditarod.

March 1, 1999
I'm too busy right now to set up my March home page, so I'm just adding on to February's for right now.  Danny, Tyrell, and Heidi all did really well in the Junior Iditarod.  My dad and I had a great time following the race on snowmobiles.

Tomorrow, my dogs receive their final vet checkup before the start of the race.  Things are really coming into place.  The race is only a few days away, and I'm both nervous and excited.

March 23, 1999

What a busy past three weeks!!!

The Iditarod is now complete!  I had a wonderful time in the race.  There were a lot of challenges, but many, many good times, great memories, and lots of wonderful people along the trail and in checkpoints.  I will write up a more detailed description of the race in a few days, but I'm currently working on getting myself back up to 100 percent.  For now, however, I must thank all of the sponsors, friends, family, and dogs that have made this past year's journey a resounding success for me.

I finished on Sunday morning in 43rd place with a time of 13 days, 14 hours, 14 minutes, and 40 seconds.

Thanks again everyone!!!

More later,

Jim