Second Chance League

Well, the lists are made and now we're working on taking care of sled repairs/reinforcements. I just picked up the new dog coats that we ordered (Thanks, Sarka!) and have been going through booties and gear. I'll be working on my drop bags through the rest of the week, trying to see what else I need. This week will also have us out on the trails with the dogs to do one last camping trip and see who will be going on the race and who will stay home. A nasty virus had been working it's way through the kennel for the past several weeks, but it finally looks like all of the dogs are over it now. Better to get it before the race than during, eh? The cold snap was actually a blessing in disguise as it allowed the dogs to rest and get over the crud.

More to follow later...Thanks for checking in! :o)
-Tammi

Been a while since I last posted, so I thought I should get on the ball. These days find us very busy preparing for the 2006 Yukon Quest 300, which will be starting later in the day, several hours after the main Quest start. The cold temps of late really put a kabosh on training, so I'll be out with the dogs over this next week, seeing how they do and deciding who will be on my race team for the 300. Wow, less than 2 weeks! Where'd the time go??

Jenny is a candidate for the team, though I'm not sure whether she'll go with us yet, or not. Her shyness has been getting in her way when she finds that we are around other dog teams and mushers. She ends up slacking off her tug for a while, until she calms down and gets her mind back on task. This poor girl really loves to run...in fact, she has a bit of a "trench" going in her circle that she's created if I take a team out without her. It has actually helped to leave her at home a few times, as it gets her excited to run. But, with less miles than the main race dogs, this does put her at a disadvantage for making the team. Working full time and then the cold really put a dent in the number of teams we could get out each day.

Still, Jenny is in the running. I may just take her with plans to drop her early on. If I take her, and she's completely freaked from the start, I would drop her at North Pole, just 32 miles in. If she settles and does ok, she may just make the run to Angel Creek. Who knows? It's hard to say what will happen, but I'd love to see this great girl go with us. I'll keep you all posted on what happens and if Jenny makes the team or not. If you'd like to read more about our training, you can check out our kennel blog at http://runningswiftkennel.blogspot.com and read about general happenings around the kennel.

Take advantage of SCL's sled dog rides! SCL will be conducting sled dog rides directly following the start of this year's Yukon Quest. So, come on down to the Chena River on Feb. 11th to watch the start of the Quest at 11am and then have some fun driving a small team of your own!!

Well, it's been pretty cold, and with the trails being so dismal, we've given the dogs time off. Jenny hasn't been out for over 2 weeks now, which means she'll need some shorter runs to work back up again. This is actually a good thing, because it will allow me to evaluate how quick she is able to recondition. I've had some dogs who have no trouble jumping back into the groove after time off for an injury or whatever. On the other hand, I've had dogs who can't go for more than a couple of days before they lose their conditioning and have to be worked back up again. So, it will be interesting to see how Jenny does. If she does well, I may take her as part of my Quest 300 team. We'll have to see how she goes. We'll be racing at ADMA races tomorrow. I doubt I'll run Jenny, but I am thinking of taking her along just for the exposure. She has gotten better about eating her food now, as long as it's me out in the kennel. If my husband is the one feeding, she won't touch her food or water until he's out of the dog yard.

Viking is still hanging out with the Bear dogs. We have no spots available in the dog yard, as we are fostering Swift, a dog from Loving Companions, and we are trying Skuuga out. She comes from Kougaruk Kennels, where she's been running sprints. However, we're trying her out for mid-distance to see how she'll fair, as Kelley thinks that maybe she didn't like the sprint speeds. So far, both dogs are doing great for us. Swift is definitely a distance dog, as he enjoys trotting and tries to avoid loping if he can trot fast enough. Skuuga has to learn to trot, but we're working on it. She's just about ready to go on longer runs to see how she'll do.

For more info on our kennel, check out our website www.geocities.com/runningswiftkennel/ and visit our Sled dog pages.