by intensekarin » Thu Mar 26, 2009 1:45 pm
Thanks everyone. We had a dream ride. Absolutely perfect, and just so much fun. Yes, even the river in a blizzard was kind of fun because we were able to do it. Kind of scary too, but the dogs were such rockstars and never faltered.
Everyone says they had fun after it's over, but I was there and most people certainly had some down times and some times they wished to quit. I really, truly had a blast the entire time. I seem to function well on no sleep, and watching the dogs get fired up always makes me happy. My worst moment was crossing the sound. The dogs were motoring along, but moving pretty slowly. All I could think was that we would get to Nome after the banquet and no one would be there - I was really upset to think I would miss the party! That doesn't count as much of a 'bad moment'!
If you look at the run times, it was pretty obvious I wasn't going to keep up with Chad or Harry. My dogs tend to be slower on the trail, but recover really well. Being that it was my rookie year, I didn't want to screw things up by cutting rest even though my 'freight train' clearly could have handled it. So I am really happy with our run. As many have pointed out, I did this on my own with dogs I raised and trained, working full time and on a shoestring budget, so it means a heck of a lot to finish with a healthy, strong team.
If you saw the video of our finish, with the dogs running down Front Street, you'll know what I mean when I say it is ok to come in as 3rd rookie. (But geez, I should have looked at the printouts - I'm pretty sure I could have caught Harry!!!)