Ultimate Iditarod Update

Heavy snows fell early last week, covering the entire Seeley-Swan Valley in the Montana Rocky Mountains. Although the snow melted considerably in the lower elevations of the valley, much still remains in the higher country. Not enough snow is available for sled running, but more is sure to come.

The dogs have been in training for several weeks now. In that time, we have kept the speed of the runs very slow and maintained a high level of intensity by maximizing the resistance against which the dogs pull. The length of the runs has increased from three and a half miles to thirteen, and the dogs are able to do the thirteen mile runs as easily and effortlessly as they did the three and four milers, even though the resistance of the four-wheeler, engine, and transmission (and sometimes even brakes!) has not decreased. The team looks awesome, their desire to run faster and farther is evident, and they feel rock solid when I play with them as I walk through the dog yard. We are ready to begin the next phase of training.

The next step in training is to gradually increase the speed the dogs are running. Their muscles and joints are solid and strong, and the time has come to increase their flexibility and "reach," or length of stride. This year, we are doing this by moving the four-wheeler into higher gears (less resistance) whenever we go downhill or run on a flat stretch of trail. On the uphills, we still keep the four-wheeler in third gear, but don't often put it into second gear or shut the engine off to maximize the resistance as we did earlier this month. This change in training style over the past few runs has been obvious to the dogs. Because they are so accustomed to pulling hard, the dogs are sensitive to a decrease in the resistance behind them, and this has translated into an increase in speed.

We have to be careful not to let the dogs go too fast too soon. In terms of actual numbers, we averaged about six miles per hour on our slow, hard pulling runs. The dogs wouldn't go above about nine miles an hour on any kind of a downhill, and sometimes went as slow as one mile an hour when they were pulling the four-wheeler up hill with maximum resistance. As we have now decreased the resistance on the hills and flats, we have gradually allowed the dogs to go faster--first up to eleven or twelve miles an hour; then to thirteen; and now even fourteen or fifteen. After weeks at six miles an hour, fifteen miles an hour downhill and around corners feels like a roller coaster!!!

"Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes." That's the old saying that definitely has some truth to it. The right front tire of the four-wheeler is spinning at about ten miles an hour as the dogs cruise along this flat stretch of trail about four miles from home.

The idea is not to turn the dogs into a team of sprinters. The idea of allowing the dogs to go at these speeds is to allow the dogs to build up flexibility, agility, and quickness. These traits are all very important for being able to negotiate rugged or challenging trails like we often encounter in the Iditarod, especially when crossing the Alaska Mountain Range and parts of the Interior. Additionally, we want the dogs to have a fairly wide range of "gears" that they can use when running. This allows the dogs to utilize their speed when we want them to, but also makes it easier for the dogs to run at a ten mile an hour racing pace. Imagine a four-speed car that can go a maximum of about 80 miles per hour and a five-speed car that can go 120. The five speed car will be much more efficient at 70 miles per hour because it has an extra gear that allows the engine to turn at a slower rate but still travel the same speed. This analogy is essentially the same idea that we have with the dogs.

This is my first attempt at a self portrait while I'm driving the four-wheeler. I took it to show how muddy the trails at the lower elevations are. The dogs don't mind at all, and once you get over the grit between your teeth, it's really kinda fun!!! --Jim

We will continue training in this manner, again gradually increasing the mileage that the dogs run, until around Thanksgiving, at which time we will hopefully be training on sleds as my Alaskan colleagues have already started doing. We have had a fair amount of snowfall, even at the kennel. However, much of the snow in the lower elevations of our valley has melted. But the snow remains in the high country, and we know that winter is very near.

One quick humorous tale from the past few days is in regard to Ophir (named after the Iditarod checkpoint), a four-year-old male in my team. A few nights ago when we were all away from home, Ophir got loose in the dog yard. He apparently started to wander around the yard a bit and soon decided to explore a bit more of our property. By the time my mom arrived home and he returned from his trip, he was bringing with him the wonderful back-woods smell of nothing less than skunk. He smells a bit better now, but the odor is still very obvious whenever you pet him. I guess the other dogs don't mind too much, so we won't hold it against him either.