We had to switch gears and start training for a 4 mile sprint race, Merrill was coming up fast. Needless to say the dogs were in disbelief at how short their runs were in the next two weeks. Then at four in the morning we packed up the dogs and started the drive to Merrill. The drive was uneventful (last year we were driving on ice roads and I'd say at least 7 cars were in the ditch). We got there with time to spare and waited for the drivers meeting to start. I was running in the four dog class B. When it was finally my turn to go out I was dreading and expecting to have to help the dogs up the long hill at the start. They went right up the long hill and before I knew it we were at the top. That the was the story of my run, the dogs showing me just how much power they have on the snow this year. We ended up in 23rd place (would have been closer to 18th but the dogs took me down the road at one of the road crossings which cost us valuable minutes). I had hoped to make up the time Sunday, but in the end the race was cancelled due to icy conditions. Everyone was complaining that their dogs feet would get cut up on the ice and ruin their race season. Well lets just say that I hadn't stayed in a hotel to not run dogs the next day. I trusted my team, we had trained in worse conditions. That's not actually the whole story, most of the people have the high, strong race dogs, and they would have been out of control on an icy trail, so for most of them it was a call of safety. My dogs listen to me and I can slow them down if I need to. So I asked the race Marshal and he said that me and another person could run our dogs if we wanted to. So we went out, and her team was much slower than mine, but that was okay/ This gave me a chance to pace against another team so that I would not take the trail to fast. And guess what, even with stopping about six time and riding the break the whole way, we still finished just over 20 minutes; about the same time as the day before. So I am left to wonder what my dogs would have done if I had let them run. For now, lets.... 1) pray for snow, 2) keep training the dogs, and 3) get Lauren healthy so that she and I can run in Wausau next weekend.
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AuthorA young women attempting to navigate the world. She is guided by her love and passion for dogs. Archives
April 2020
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