Dash Day 2

I figured something out on Day 2. Having a sled that isn't 100lbs in a sprint race makes a HUGE difference!! I know, shouldn't really be an earth-shattering revelation... but this proverbial whack-in-the-face-with-a-2x4 really opened my eyes.

A buddy, Sean, lent me an early Gatt sled - it's small and VERY flexible. After spending the last few years on my tank, I was a bit nervous to try this little thing. He even put some brand spankin' new plastic on the runners which meant, yes, I'd be going even faster on this wobbly little thing through the windy trails! Sean gave me a few tips just before the race, and his comment of "it's a real heads-up sled" stuck in my head. Meaning, you better pay attention 100% of the time or else... I just hoped my skiing background would help with the balance thing and save my ass.

Can you see how friggin' tiny this thing is?! (photos by Tamara and Stuart!)


Oh! My other *secret* weapon was to try Harris in lead with Ripper. I was pretty sure I could get a lope out of him the whole way. I knew Ripper would. The problem with Harris is that he gets tangled ALL THE TIME!!!! You can see him kind of backing up there, his classic move while in lead. He must think it's even easier to get tangled when doing that....

But, thanks to Tamara keeping them untangled at the start, we got off to a great start. My big thing was "make the hill, make the hill" and the hill went great, even the sharp turn at the bottom. However, on the next corner, one runner FLEW out from under me and I was on my knees, the sled went on it's side, yet the dogs were still zooming along without slowing a bit. Lighter sleds are even easier to be dragged behind! But, I was able to right the sled and hop back up.

Then we hit a nice straight stretch where I could kind of test out the sled a bit and see how wobbly it really was. This just increased my already heightened anxiety level as we approached the wooded trail section. Have I mentioned how windy it is?

The dogs were doing AMAZING throughout. Harris and Ripper kept things going. This was the fastest I've ever seen my dogs go for 5 miles straight. We would hit a slight incline and they didn't even seem to notice it, and certainly didn't slow down. Quite a difference compared to their performance in front of the tank.

One more knee skidding moment around a sharp corner near the end, and that was the extent of my wipeouts. We came into the finish looking great!


One thing I did notice in this speedy run was that Rupert was having a hard time keeping up. Heck, the guy is around 10, so maybe that's part of it. He did a great job though, and kept up even though his tugline wasn't tight 100% of the time. And I can't say enough great things about Ripper. I just realized this was his first race with me... maybe ever! I feel like I've been running him forever. He wasn't used in lead though at all before I got him a year ago. He is SO reliable now, and is always 100% of the time working hard. Harris and him were a great combo. And Jack was great in wheel.

So this is Ripper's reaction when I told him we shaved 48 SECONDS off our time from Day 1. Wahoo!!!! (Day 2 time:10:27)

(good shot of that frozen slobbery face Tamara!)

AND.... ended up moving up one spot to take 5th place!! Wow, our highest ever placing!! Poor Darryl had a hard time accepting the fact that we beat him - he also had a 3 second slower run on Day 2. I didn't rub it in by telling him what the results might have been if we had a lighter sled on day 1! He got 6th though (I think I had him by 30 seconds total). The rivalry is still alive!!

Ray ended up #2, Sean #3. Jon and the rotties couldn't make it on Day 2. So we had a *fun* run later, and I took the remaining dogs (the girls and Kuna) and Ripper again in lead, out on a short run with Team Rottie. He was great again a mere few hours after the race!!

QUEST UPDATE: Gerry (aka Boyle) is kicking ass!! Hmmm... maybe there is something to training on obsessively immaculate groomed trails?!? Mental note: I will no longer make fun of his obsessive trail grooming - instead I will get prod his big German head for training tips!!! GO GERRY! (even though I placed you 8th...)