SATURDAY -- JANUARY 23

Thanks for the email Jeff and the prompt that I haven't written in my blog for a week...

Well, I have been having lap top problems and decided that I would make every effort to get an entry in this morning and get you all caught up !

For the past week I have been enduring the colder temperatures and fighting cold feet and in general just a bone chilling cold. I have been running two teams a day, 30 miles each (or close to it) and that makes for very long days.

Ted jokes that what I destroy...he has to fix and I have to admit that I have been hard on things...but i also think that a lot of it is that many of the equipment that I am using in just at that point where things need updating. I did however, hit a tree with the drag on my first time out with it earlier in the winter. At that time it was set up with a break away line so that it wouldn't break the chain harness....well, the second time when I took it out after our new snow, as I was coming out one of the trails, it got stuck on a little stump and without having a weaker break away line on it, it snapped the chains. So...that was another thing for Ted to fix. Let's see...two sleds, and one drag, and a ladle...I am sure that there are a few that I am forgetting.

This past week when we got our latest new snow, I took the snowmachine out dragging the trail. I would have much rather been on the sled with dogs, but I instead spent 4 hours out there. I met another woman on a snowmachine and she was free running a group of puppies. I stopped and talked with her and asked her about a trail. She told me that it was called "Lost Lady"...(comforting to me...lol) She went back to pick up a couple of puppies that she was missing and I dropped my drag and went exploring. I ended up on a trail that actually had a toilet seat hanging up in a tree....interesting. That trail ended up on the powerline that I have been on and it answered my question as to where the trail off it went to. I was excited, as I had a new trail. I continued back out to the same trail and then found her trail with the many footsteps of about 10 puppies that were following her. I was now on "Lost Lady". That trail also crossed the same powerline and again...I experienced excitement because I had been curious as to where those trails led to. Lost Lady was about an 8 mile loop and I soon saw the snowmachine ahead of me and all of the puppies. We stopped and chatted for about a half hour and then I went and picked up my drag and decided to drag that trail so that when I went home and hooked up my team I would be able to follow the trail that was freshly dragged.

That evening I ran Lost Lady with my headlamp. I was SOOO happy when I noticed landmarks to tell me that I was indeed on the right trail. Success ! I made it home safely.

On the way back, I was already figuring out connecting runs in my head. I figured that if I ran Lost Lady backwards I would be easily set up to run Windy Lake Trail afterwards to get in an even longer run. I now have quite a few trails to loop around on.

My new thing is to run all of my trails in reverse. It is different for both me and the dogs, however, sometimes there are merging trails that are an issue when you are running it in reverse. It is so beautiful out at night and with just a headlamp. The dogs seem to really enjoy running in the evening. The other day Willow pooped out on me and she got a ride home in the sledbag. She is a smaller dog and she is still working up the miles. She laid curled up on my bag and seemed to enjoy the ride. When we got home she was running around and ate heartily. I did however, give her the next day off.

There have been many nights that I am getting in around 9 and then it is midnight before I get my chores done and have dinner and get some sleep. So...that is why my blog has been suffering. I will say that I am asleep within seconds and am not waking up nearly as early.

The Don Bowers Memorial Race is fast approaching. I have decided that I will be running the 300 part of it. My big concern is staying warm on the trail. I was told that Cabelas makes a great one piece suit and that it is on sale right now. Well, when I got in yesterday from my first run...Ted had one of the suits with a Wolverine ruff on it laying on the couch. He bought it from Mike Bishop, and for $200.00. I wore the suit on my second run and with two less layers and I stayed warm. So that was really nice.

Today will be a quick day to Anchorage and my mission will be for footwear.