Yes, John Balzar, you can say 'dog tired'

The holidays have come and gone. Our Charlie Brown tree is still up and we're still eating homemade goodies. We had a great Christmas with friends and neighbours, did a few tours and got some good training runs in. New Year's Eve was quiet. We decided, after much deliberation, to stay in. I drank five Miller Lite's and 'fell asleep' by 11:30. Oh well.
It's still warm here but we're still training. The warm (like, above freezing warm) temps make running a little harder for the dogs, but the risk of injury is less. In fact, we've had no injuries to speak of so far this season. Sister's back end keeps cramping up, but we weren't going to race with her anyway, so now she's on puppy patrol. She runs on the tour teams also, and loves it. I'll do some longer runs this weekend and will camp with the yearlings for the first time. Should be interesting. Young dogs need to learn how to rest when it's time to rest, but they catch on quickly. Lahey has been a superstar in lead. Bubbles, Lahey's sister, is a hard worker but balks at snowmachines, glare ice and open water, so a leader she is not. Not yet, anyway. We run her in swing (behind lead) though and when we know the trail will be straight and easy with no obstacles, we put her up front for a short time. Anyway, our first race is the T-100 on the 23rd. The T-100 is a shorter version of the Tustumena 200. I want to race with the yearlings this year and figure a 100-miler is a nice way to ease them into it.
We're getting internet at our cabin next week (no power or water, but high speed, baby!!) so updates will be more abundant.
Stay tuned.
Peace