ASK THE MUSHER Vol 2: Rick Holt

Here we'll stuff all those things we want to keep for later reading. Like the "Ask the musher"-series.

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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Moose » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:11 am

Hi Rick--and Tiff!

Just got word last night that my tee shirts have been shipped! Yipee! We'll wear them proudly and send pics to add to your board once they arrive. :D

Okay. Now you and the team made it to Nome, so we'll assume you all were physically prepared for the long haul. So let's talk about mentally. What were some of the mental challenges, and how does one prepare mentally for a trip of this magnitude?

Also, I just wanted to comment on the awesomeness of having your grandmother in your sled at the ceremonial start. Can you share some of her comments or impressions?

Thanks you two. ;)
Wag more, bark less.
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby sc-race-fan » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:50 am

First, thanks for participating in this forum topic. The some of the folks here follow mushing year round, and your answers are very mush appreciated in understanding the details of mushing. Now for the question: In almost every major expedition of any kind there are a few little things that make big differences and these "experience gems" learned, would help others who will follow. What one "gem" did you learn from this trip?
Proud PaPa of the triplet litter; Aidan (B), Bailey (G), and Cameron (B). Cameron is on top in picture; Bailey, of course, is the bowhead!!
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Di* » Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:55 am

Hi Rick! :)
It was very interesting to hear what you think about while racing!

Guess Moose kinda addressed this already but I was wondering about your ups and downs, when were you at your lowest? Did you ever feel like quiting? If so what did you do to talk yourself out of it?

Also what do you think of the GPS trackers and what was it like having the film crew around you?

Thanks so much!
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby eluciq_kennel » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:49 am

Since there are quite a few questions about things learned I thought I would combine that with high and low points then wrap up with the super dog question and address the GPS.

The Iditarod, for me at least, was mentally and emotionally exhausting. Physically I held my own, dealt with sleep issues and was able to ride and handle the sled and push, run, pedal, pole when needed to help the team get to the end. I even felt that as tired as I was I was able to handle my own check point routine without loosing track of what I was doing or wasting too much time. (Obviously it could get much much better but what we did fit my plan and experience level.)

The mental and emotional challenges were inflicted upon me by no one other than myself. I was the one who created the additional challenges. The long hours on the sled does leave you with considerable time to think about all sorts of things, some I mentioned earlier, but I also spend time thinking about how to do things better. I am a continuous improvement freak and I also teach others how to use various quality tools to be more efficient, create better plans and courses of action and to collect data on the practices they are currently deploying. SO.... with a hyper critical eye turned towards myself I can and did over analyze, berate myself for not knowing more and for not being more skilled in various areas (dog health, my own sleep, feeding practices, motivation). At my very lowest I had come to the conclusion that I am a dog musher (I can stand in the back and do what needs done) but I am not a dog trainer, and because I am not a good dog trainer, my dogs will question me and what I am asking them to do, my dogs will not know what to do in certain situations (b/c I did not know they we need to know those things, and they will not be able to perform at their optimum level).

It was interesting to me that I was so harsh on myself (I even knew to watch out for this). In general, for the vast majority of folks I meet I believe that they do the very best they can with the knowledge and skills that they have....everyone I meet: the guy in the car next to me, the parent with their child in the grocery store, the student in my classroom, my own children and the dogs I work with, all do the best they can given their situation, knowledge and skills. I don't always agree with their choices but I believe in their minds they are trying to do their best and given their stress level, current physical condition, skill and knowledge level. Given a different set of circumstances and additional skills they may very likely come to a very different solution. I did not place my self in that group and I think many of us tend to do this.

My two lowest points were going into and out of Cripple where I was having difficulty with dog health and motivation, and then coming into Unalakleet where I could not see how I was going to go any further with the leaders I had left in the team. There was one solution to both problems...wait and trust the dogs to do what they have been trained, let the team come to the solution, let those most involved with the struggle resolve the situation. In both cases I started out at a crawl and let it continue until the dogs picked up the pace, and in the end we accomplished both tasks with a beautiful run. I learned that I had to trust the team to take the skills and knowledge they had to do what needed to be done. Trusting others when you are having difficulty trusting your self is an exceptionally difficult task and a very hard lesson to learn.

The other revelation occurred when headed into Unalakleet. I have many wonderful friends in Unalakleet and one of those friends did an amazing and unexpected thing...they placed signs along the trail with our kennel symbol and a reminder to "play harder" I cried when I saw them and realized that not only was I not having fun and enjoying the challenge of what I was trying to accomplish, but I had forgotten about the 100's of folks who told us that they would support us. Not just those folks down the trail in Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim and White Mountain but my wife, my kids, my father, grandmother, old High School and College friends, co-worker, neighbors, friends or friends and not all offered financial support (sure that helps) but that they ALL believed in us, our family, our dream, that they would watch for us, cheer us on, and be there to lend a hand, a smile, a kind thought or word when we needed, drop an email, cheer when they saw us leave a checkpoint online, that they too were now part of the Iditarod and that whether we finished or not did not matter in the least bit to them...in their eyes we had accomplished our dreams, we were their in the race...that was overwhelming. I collapsed on the back of the sled and cried that I had ever thought about not finishing (and at that time I was thinking scratch) It was then that I decided that I would for sure stand under the arch.

Likely more than anyone really wanted to read :)

GPS did not bother me at all to have in the sled and family and friends seemed to love being able to follow. I have no secret spots on the trail and don't think the GPS will give me or anyone the chance to beat someone else...although, I support the idea and think it would be a difficult task to keep off the internet during the race... even then not really sure that would impact the race just add another element.

Super dogs...we had several and what made them super was that they all have different strengths and skills that were valuable at very specific times in the race, just like all of us. What they had in common were work ethic and appetite.

Thanks for reading :)
work hard. play harder.
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Di* » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:06 am

eluciq_kennel wrote:Likely more than anyone really wanted to read :)


8-) NO WAY RICK! :D
This stuff is golden, it isn't often that I get to hear such an insightful, thorough, well thought out and honest read! Thanks very much! :D :D
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Heidi » Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:19 pm

Thanks, Rick, for that heartwarming and real post. What resonated with me the most is what you said about not being too hard on yourself and how all of us are trying to do our best given our skill and knowledge levels, mindset, etc and while others may not think we've made the best choices we all do the best we can with what we have at any given time. Words to remember. :)

I'll ask you what I asked Karen:

What was your favorite checkpoint and why?

If you could choose 5 "extra" (anything from the mundane to the ridiculous) things you would like a checkpoint to have, what would they be?
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby Breeze » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:50 pm

"Likely more than anyone really wanted to read :)'

Not at all, Rick, NOT AT ALL!!!!!

We sit here at our computers for hours and hours of every day during race season wondering ABOUT ALL the who, what, where, when, why and how, ( all in plural) and yet it ISN'T all about "just the facts, Jack".

It IS about the insight, the grit, the AH-HA moments, the OH S-IT moments and personal experiences.

You have given a lot of Yourself to us already, so I'll ask a Dog Care question rather than a Mindset question. You may, of course elaborate :D

Does your team respond to a certain Dog Snack over others? Is there some ONE foodie treat you carry with you in the sled basket between food drops that your team knows means

" Snack time! TAKE 5, we aren't bedding down for this, don't get too comfy"?

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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby tanglefoot » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:57 pm

rick what a heart felt and honest reply...fantastic, a real insight. they say you go out and come back from the trail a different person in some way.
i can relate to what you were saying and see alot of that in me hahaha!

more than we wanted to read? No Way! that was exactly what i wanted to read, the truth behind running the race and the emotional struggles away from the usual doggy stuff we read about..thank you rick! :)
Believe in your dog team and your dog team will believe in you. – Frank Turner
TANGLEFOOT SLED DOG RACING TEAM
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby fladogfan » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:13 pm

Awww Rick, you made my eyes leak. Thanks for such an open answer to us. A lot of us will never even be able to see a race, much less the Iditarod, in person, but we all have dreams of doing just that. Some of us dream of running the Iditarod (tangles 8-) ) and then there are those of us dreaming of handling for him :lol: :roll: :lol: I thank you and your wife for being part of our family at BSSD.

I loved the interaction between you and the young lady (sorry I forgot her name :oops: ) doing your interview at Unalakleet.
The look you gave her was priceless. And the "are you sure you want to ask that" :lol: :lol:
Were you surprised by the question? What went thru your head when she asked it? I think you were at a very tired point in the race.

Your t-shirts are great--they don't shrink when washed !! And the dark green is same color as my grooming van.
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Re: Ask The Musher, vol 2....RICK HOLT

Postby tanglefoot » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:38 am

cant wait to get mine...its in th epost somewhere haha
Believe in your dog team and your dog team will believe in you. – Frank Turner
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