Time
Flies as Fast as the Dogs
January 9, 2003
By
Tyrell Seavey, Seavey’s Iditarod
Racing Team
Stardate 2000 and
something...
Wow!
Time really flies when you are having fun.
Needless to say time has been zipping by so fast recently that I’m
afraid people who I once communicated with on a regular basis must now think
I’ve taken up a hermit lifestyle somewhere off in the remote reaches of
northern Alaska.
I’m still here, really.
|
Training has been
very intense recently.
Luckily the Snow-Gods smiled upon us, and we now have about the best sled
dog training conditions in the state right here at home.
It helps tremendously to be able to go out the back door, hook up a team,
and go 40 miles over familiar trails.
I still need to finish one mid-distance race in order to qualify for the
Iditarod, so I am training a group of left-over dogs from my dad’s team to run
in the Copper Basin 300 on the 11th of January .
I am also training my young dogs at the same time, so I’ve been one
busy musher.
Because of rough
training conditions early in the year, the young dogs I am working with for the
Iditarod aren’t ready to race a qualifier as intense as the Copper Basin, and
that is the reason to race extra adult dogs as they are better conditioned and a
little more ‘trail hardened’.
The race plan, as it stands now, is to run a conservative schedule early
in the 300-mile event, and as the race progresses I will be able to tell how the
dogs are handling the race.
If the team really comes together I will start to push them towards the
end of the race in order to toughen them for the Iditarod.
If they don’t seem ready I will hold back.
I am so impressed
with the young dogs I am training I really can’t come up with appropriate
words to describe them.
Strength, Power, Grace, Speed -- these mere words don’t even start to
capture the feeling...
what I can say though, is that every run I go out on with these amazing
animals I feel privileged that they trust me, and love me, enough to include me
in their pack. I
work very closely with each dog.
One on one work always seems to produce the best results, but then when
you put them all together and watch the magic as they silently communicate and
travel in harmony it really is a moving experience.
(excuse the pun)
Sometimes I feel like I’m a fortunate bystander that somehow landed on
the back of the sled and is just along for the ride.
Other times, especially when the leaders and I are working together to
maneuver through particularly rough sections of trail, it seems like we are
grooving together, as one well-oiled machine.
There
I go again, rambling on, and getting all sentimental.
Oh well, I guess that bond between dog and man is what really draws us
mushers deeper into this crazy sport.
Right now my time is pretty well consumed with preparations for the
Copper Basin 300.
We have entered so many teams into mid-distance races over the years we
have a fairly straightforward procedure when it comes to preparing the sleds,
equipment and musher.
Every race offers it’s own set of challenges though, and just mentally
focusing on all of the necessary details can be quite a stressful deal.
I try to stay as relaxed as possible, but I have to admit I think I’ve
accelerated my dad’s graying a bit recently.
Jim will be taking
care of the rest of the kennel while I am off racing, so he might be a little
pressed for time, but he’ll do his best to keep you updated on my progress in
the Copper Basin 300.
You can also get race updates at www.cb300.com.
Wish me luck,
© 2003
Ultimate Iditarod, Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs, Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team
Reproduction or distribution in any way or by any means prohibited without
permission.
Ultimate Iditarod http://www.ultimateiditarod.com
email: dogboy@ultimateiditarod.com