Peak Training
February 1, 2002
Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs--Jim Gallea
My parents and I sat down early this fall and planned out our
training strategy for the season. The plan was to have the dogs do a lot
of hard pulling during the early fall and then
gradually increase speed during November. In
December, we started running on sleds, and began to do longer
training runs to build the dogs' physical endurance. During January,
that endurance training continued to build, and we did our first race, the Atta
Boy 300 Oregon World Cup.
In
training a sled dog team, just as when humans are training for a marathon or
"Iron Man" triathlon, the training is structured so that it
"peaks" at some point prior to the main event. The idea is that
a person or a dog should not continue to build endurance and intensity in
training right up to the big race. Rather, endurance and intensity should
be increased to the level needed for the race a few weeks prior to the race,
allowing the athletes (four legged or two legged) to train at a less intense
level right before the competition. This reduced level of intensity
leading up to the race should be enough to maintain the high level of physical
endurance achieved during the "peak" of training, but not enough to
build more endurance. The advantage to this style is that the athletes'
bodies have a chance to "recharge" and store up the energy and
nutrients that may have been partially depleted during heavy training.
Additionally, any minor injuries or soreness can be healed during this
time.
For our my Iditarod team, we have continued
to build endurance throughout January, peaking just before the end of the month
when we did 500 miles of training in the ten days between January 19 and
29. In other words, for our peak training, we did essentially half of the mileage
of the entire Iditarod in the same time
required to complete the race.
The final 300 miles of these 500 miles were done as one large
camping trip. The first 100 miles was done as a part of the Seeley
Lake 100 Sled Dog Race held on January 26-27. After my dad and I
finished that race, we took the best 18 dogs from our two teams, let them rest
for about 20 hours, and then hit the trail again for a 200-mile camping trip.
I ran the entire group of 18 dogs in one large team for these
200 miles. An 18 dog team isn't much shorter than a professional
basketball court, and let me tell you, you need a good pair of leaders at the
font of the whole works so you don't take any wrong turns or miss a trail.
The team has an amazing amount of power, and I had to put my full weight on the
brakes just to slow the team down. Stopping was usually accomplished only
by jamming a snowhook into the trail.
To do the 200 miles, I started at Iditarod Champion Doug
Swingley's kennel in Lincoln, Montana, and ran over the mountains back to a
trailhead near Seeley Lake. This was a distance of about 75 miles, and I
did the run with only 2 stops to give my dogs a snack of frozen meat. I
rested for 11 hours at the trailhead, and then hit the trail for a 66-mile run
up the ridges on the east side of the Seeley-Swan
Valley and then down across the valley to the west side (where my house is),
up a few more ridges, around a small mountain, and to my house. The dogs
and I rested for another 11 or 12 hours at the house before doing one last
50-mile loop that took us back to finish at the house.
When
we rested (both at the trailhead and at my house), we camped just like we would
on the Iditarod. In the sled, I carried the food, dog and human snacks, cooker,
coolers, sleeping bag, and other supplies needed for the trip. We
had "food drops" waiting for the
rest stops so I could replenish my supplies. Straw was also provided for
the dogs to sleep on, just as it is during the Iditarod. We simulated the
Iditarod as much as we possibly could, and the results were very exciting.
Heck, we even chased a cow and calf moose down the trail for a quarter
mile!!! (Moose can be very dangerous to teams. Click
here for my own moose attack story.)
The dogs did extremely well on the runs. Their spirits
were high, their energy was good, and they behaved like veteran racers (which
they all are). I am very excited about what I was able to learn about the
dogs. I was able to see which dogs really worked hard, but took care of
themselves and didn't let themselves get too tired. I was able to see
which lead dogs were my best "go to" dogs. I was able to note a
few weak spots in the team that I can work on in the next four weeks. In
short, I learned a lot about what I can expect from my dogs as we progress
through the Iditarod, and that type of information is extremely valuable to me.
From here on out, we will do a few long runs and some camping
trips to maintain the dogs' fitness levels, but we won't try to build muscle or
endurance. The hard part of training is over, and now it's time to prepare
in earnest for the Iditarod. On Sunday, we will cut all of the meat that
will be sent out in the food drops. Things are really taking shape!
--Jim
© 2002
Ultimate Iditarod, Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs, Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team
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