The 2012 Can Am 30 & A Houseful Of Hot Huskies
August 1st is here and for a mid distance musher that means the Can Am International Sled Dog Race registration forms are ready to download! The Can Am is a prestigious grouping of 3 races which take place in Fort Kent Maine on the first Saturday in March. There is a 30 mile race, a 60 miler and a 250 miler which is a qualifier for the Iditarod in Alaska. Registrations are limited to 30 mushers in each race. Last year I managed to run and finish the Can Am 30 as the oldest Rookie of 2011. It was the highlight of my mushing “career”. This year again, I hope to take part in the Can Am 30 so I need to send in my registration and hope that on Aug. 22nd, my name will be picked in a lottery and I will be one of the 30 mushers taking part in the Can Am 30 in March of 2012.
Needless to say, training for a 30 mile race starts early and as a musher living in a southern climate, I have a lot of challenges. One of them is dealing with summer with little opportunity to work with the dogs. When you live on the eastern shore of Md. where temperatures are regularly in the 80’s and 90’s and the humidity equally high, there isn’t much you can do with a sled dog team in the summer. Once mushing season ends in March, I switch their dog food to one lower in protein and fat since they won’t need the energy and they won’t need to build up muscle mass. That also helps keep them calmer in the house since they don’t feel the need to burn off all that energy. Every morning my husband and I walk all 5 dogs around the golf course. During that time I work on obedience with the 3 I walk with. It keeps them thinking and helps reinforce voice commands. By the time we finish our 45 minute walk the dogs are panting from the heat and they are happy to come home and position themselves over an air conditioning vent and shed for the rest of the day. That’s about the extent of their activity during the worst of the summer months.
Some mushers have their dogs swim in the summer to keep them toned and cool but my Siberians don’t like the water. However I’m hoping to change that this summer. Since it is so hot in Md. during August I’m taking a trip to Maine. The trip will serve 2 purposes–Visit family and cool off. Along with my 90 year old mother, I will drive up with 3/4 of the Powers Pack: Chinook, Kodiak and Fenway and my hope is to go on lots of hikes with the boys to start conditioning them for the fall. I also hope to try to acclimate them to water by taking them to a quarry and a lake and work on getting them in for a swim.
While in Maine, I’ll also be picking up a new sled in the hopes that I’ll be among those 30 mushers running the Can Am 30 next season.
I have used the summer to plan/plot all kinds of fun activities when we start training in the fall. Even though I consider myself a recreational musher I still enter events because it gives me the opportunity to see if my training has paid off. The dogs and I both love the excitement and the feeling of accomplishment once our goals are met. So Maine will be our first “training trip” this year and in the fall we have one planned for Minnesota! A first for this Pack!
It should be a very adventurous season! If you want to follow our journey, click on the “Connect with Linda” icon on the right and you will be notified when I post to this Blog.
The Powers Pack and I look forward to having you along for the ride!
Happy Trails!
Happy trails, Lin! I will be looking for Kevin’s bulletins and photos; they are wonderful! We are all living vicariously through you….
Hey Linda,
I see you got the CAN-AM Bug. = -) Were you planning on staying with us during that time or did you have other options? Anyway, have a safe and enjoyable trip up in Maine and take care of your ‘Mum” and yourself. Hope to hear from you soon.
Gino
P.S. Going up northern Quebec this week-end to pick up a couple of good dogs. Top racers from Marie-Eve Drouin. I’ve had my eyes on this “Merlin” fellow for a couple of years and he became available. Did I mention that I sent the cheque that same day she offered him to me… Oh the plot thickens… = -)
Gino, we are absolutely hoping to stay with you. There is no better place to prepare for the Can Am then in your little corner of paradise at Baisley Lodges.
Wow! Linda, you are one admirable woman!! You set such a great example of the importance and joy of setting a goal and reaching it ~ Best of luck to you this year as you start to prepare for the Can Am International Sled Dog Race . You will be a winner no matter what happens! Blessings, Les
Thanks Leslie! I have found that setting a goal and working toward it has given me a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It has taken on a new meaning now that I’m older. =)
Hello Linda! I like your comments about ageing and enjoyed to read about your plan to take part in Can Am 30. I am now in keeping goals in mind situation, becouse my fourth daughter was born in may and she is my most precious and time consuming thing in life. I still want to take part in mushing races in the far future and it is nice to think that you are racing actively at your age. It makes me feel that I don`t need to rush. I can enjoy my daughter and even gradually get in shape. I set very modest goals and work towards them. Good luck to that lottery! Leena
Thanks for your comment Leena and congratulations on your new arrival! I too have 4 children and when I was raising them, all I could do was dream about mushing since there was little time for much else! But they grew up in the blink of an eye and I one day found myself with time on my hands. If I could finally start mushing after I retired you can get back to it easily when the time is right. In the meantime enjoy your girls. They are your legacy and the mark you will leave on this world. Setting modest goals is a wonderful way to keep life interesting and reaching them helps you feel good about yourself.
Best of luck! You are building a wonderful patchwork quilt of your life. And you don’t want to rush that.
Thanks for the good wishes. I drew Bib #9 in the 2012 Can Am! It’s time for me to get to work! Happy Trails. Linda