Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Flu bugs and ear infections

Sounds like fun, right?! NOT!! First, Devlyn and Conor came down with a bug...but lucky them, it only lasted a day or so. Then, Manny got sick, hacking and coughing, feeling just overall cruddy. He was thinking that he had strep, but turned out to be Influenza. Then....yep, you guessed it...he passed it right on to me. Talk about feeling just horrible! I did try to go to work on Friday; but, alas no one was feeling "the Love" for me. In fact, they sent me off to the doc's office...where I was informed that I have Influenza A (or maybe B). I was given Tamiflu, ordered to stay home Friday and Monday...rest, drinking loads of liquids. Been there, done that....now the crud is in my chest and it hurts to breathe. Reminiscent of this time last year, when I was down for a few weeks with pneumonia after the Quest. Bleh! I have been back to work, and have a doc appointment on Friday morning; so, I'm hoping to hold out til they either tell me I'm on the mend or issue antibiotics (if they are needed).

The dogs went on several runs a week ago; but haven't run since we've been sick. Not a bad thing...temps went from ridiculous cold to steaming hot with temps in the 40s (it even got up to 50F one day!). Snow was falling off of roofs, dripping and melting everywhere. Manny was actually a little worried about the trails getting ripped up. At least the dogs got out on some 20s and 30s to keep them limber and in shape. He's planning on a run tomorrow and we'll see what happens over the weekend. I'm hoping that I'm feeling a bit better, as I'd love to get the dogs out on a long run. Been a little bit since I got out with the team. I just hate being sick! Cause when I get sick, it really takes me down. So, stick around for some upcoming adventures. Manny is set to run the Two Rivers 200 on March 7th. Should end up being a GREAT race, with twelve mushers already signed up and a few others in the wings who'll sign up at the Pre-race draw. For more info, check out the TRDMA website.

Were you a Rogue today?

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Racing Yearlings

Man, it's been awhile! Sorry for the long delay...not too much happening around here, as we were caught in a deep freeze for a few weeks. On top of that, our dogs had a nasty virus, so we gave them time off to let them recoup. Manny started running the dogs again last week, taking them on some 20s and 30 milers to get them back up into training. Unfortunately, we went from one extreme to the other...going from deep cold to HOT...above 30 degree temps around here. The dogs are still running, but they are kinda slow when it's hot out. To top things off, Feather and Zen are both coming into heat....yay (NOT!). Luckily we only have 3 girls racing...and half of the team is fixed. But, the girls tend to be a bit "off" while in heat. Not cool...they do still run, but not as solid as they usually are.

Anyway, today Jodi and I decided to go over to the ADMA track and run in the 6 dog class. She did it to get her yearlings out, as did I. I knew we'd be slow, as my youngsters haven't run much due to concentrating on the main race team....and when they were running, they hadn't done more than 6 miles. That's ok...the race trail for the 6 dog class was only 7.7 miles...so I knew they could do it...but we'd be slow. I took Munchkin & Sunshine in lead, Zeus & Peiper in swing, and Polar & Odin in wheel. Actually, they weren't doing too bad...but I had to stop several times to pull a dog over to his side of the line...or unhook a leg from a neckline, etc. A sprint musher tried to pass us several times, but each time I'd stop, his leaders would balk and wouldn't pass. Finally, after Jennifer Probert went by us like a rocket (seriously, she was FLYIN'!), I stopped and hooked down. Then, I grabbed the leader necklines for the team behind and pulled them up past my team. We weren't racing, so I didn't much care...and knew that the other team was faster than mine. We did pretty well til we rounded the 7.7 mile turn...at which point Sunshine tried to go through the orange fence...then Peiper got tangled over his neckline. I hooked down, got that all straightened out and took off again. That's when I saw that Munchkin had a leg over her neckline. Sheesh!! While I wasn't racing...I can't snuff out that competitive streak in me, as I wanted to try to avoid being last. Oh well. I hooked down again and untangled Munchkin. We started loping for a few yards...but by this time, Sunshine had slowed way down and no matter how much I coaxed, he dropped into a trot and wouldn't speed up. Sigh. That's when Peiper started backing off his tug now and then. I tried to pedal, but that freaked Peiper and Polar out....so much so that by the time we were near the finish line, both Peiper and Polar stopped pulling...as did Sunshine because the 8 doggers were heading out and freaked them a bit. All in all, the race did what I set out for it to do....Got the yearlings out on a sled, giving them some experience around other teams. Cool! All of the tangles, stops and slow-downs ended up earning us last place...just 19 seconds off of Bill's time (AK Raider). That's cool...Bill earned it! :o) But, we did it in 48 minutes...so at least we were under an hour! Ha ha ha ha!

Back to work tomorrow for Parent/Teacher conferences. Manny will be taking the team out on another training run. We're playing it by ear on how far the dogs go...if they look good and run smooth, then they'll go on a longer run. If they're not looking into it, they'll go shorter. That works. Mariska was out at the track today taking pics...as soon as she sends them, I'll post some up. Until then...keep your eye on those Quest Teams...they are on their way to Whitehorse!

-Were you a Rogue today?