Iditarod Musher Eric Rogers - R North Bound Dogs

IDITAROD 37
March 7th, 2009

::: Part of the Team, Part of the History, Part of the Greatness ::::

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A ROOKIES JOURNEY
September 1, 2005

As one frog on the lily pad said to the other frog “Time sure is fun when you’re having flies.” It’s been amazing just how much fun I’m having (the flies are optional).

The dogs are starting to settle into the routine, although every time I load them you would think they had never ran before. Even Bass, who is 8, is jumping and screaming. There is a definite energy in the air. The key for me this year is not to lose track of my goals. This is a learning year in preparation for the 2008 race, but the team is looking better than ever before at this time and the urge to race them, rather than train them, is strong. We will see how well I manage that as the season progresses.

Date of end of week	Cumulative number of runs	Cumulative number of miles	Runs per Week	Miles per Week	% increase from previous week
8/20/2005	2	4	2	4
8/27/2005	5	10	3	6	50%
9/3/2005	9	21	4	11	83%
9/10/2005	13	37	4	16	45%
9/17/2005	17	57	4	20	25%
9/24/2005	21	83	4	26	30%
10/1/2005	25	119	4	36	38%
10/8/2005	29	163	4	44	22%
10/15/2005	33	223	4	60	36%
10/22/2005	37	299	4	76	27%
10/29/2005	41	372	4	73	-4%
11/5/2005	45	464	4	92	26%
11/12/2005	49	564	4	100	9%
11/19/2005	53	684	4	120	20%
11/26/2005	57	824	4	140	17%
12/3/2005	61	1000	4	176	26%
12/10/2005	65	1200	4	200	14%

The team taking a brake
during a fall training run.
Platinum and Keiko are in lead.

The philosophy here is to start slow with 2 runs the first week at 2 miles each. Then go to 3 runs at 2 miles, and finally 4 runs per week which we will hold. I like to give the dogs a two day break every week, so currently I am training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. While the percentage increase in the early weeks looks large, the actual number of miles is not. Some people like to start at 3 or 4 mile runs, but I prefer to start with 2 if I can. The weeks with small increases like 10/29 and 11/12 are designed to be easy weeks to keep the dogs happy. After all if life just keeps getting harder all the time it isn’t much fun. After we hit 200 miles per week we will hold at about this level. On any given run if the dogs are doing well we will lengthen it, if they are feeling poorly we will shorten it. They will have an easy week after each race and we will adjust the schedule depending on conditions. It will be fun to monitor this and see how close we come.

Dijon with a muddy face after a run

A nice thing about this season, now that I’m not holding down a full time job in addition to running dogs, is that I have time to train, not just condition the dogs. For example it is really nice if your leaders will hold the line out while you hookup dogs, but this takes time. So in the past my leaders kind of held out the line with help from a snow hook planted in the ground and tied into the line where their tug lines connect to the gangline. Never connect to your leaders necklines. If the snub line breaks and the team takes off you are likely to break your leaders necks. Teaching this isn’t hard, it just takes time. Every time your leaders move you have to go put them back – they will learn, but to train a dog you have to be consistent. This means every time.

Another thing I like is for the dogs to stay to the right of the trail when you stop. The natural behavior is for some of the dogs to sniff the right side of the trail and some the left and your team looks like a snake slithering across the trail and blocking the entire trail. It is courteous to train them to stay to the right so if someone catches you they can easily pass.

Keep ‘em Northbound
Eric

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Have you ever wanted to be part of the Iditarod adventure but didn't
know how? Help support Eric Rogers Iditarod team by joining the
2006-2007 season Rogers Rangers. Just $30 buys you a bootie worn by the
team, a 2005-2006 Rookie season musher card, and a signed certificate of
membership. All funds go to support Eric's 2007 Iditarod. For your
convenience we now take credit cards through PayPal. All donations
gratefully accepted.

Thank you for your support.

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