Saturday, March 12, 2005
Global warming
We are now on Day 6 of the Iditarod, and my favorite dog team is still running, minus 2 dogs of the original 16. They definitely are not going to win, nor were they expected to, but they sure look good at the starting gate and on the trail. I am still hoping that they will beat their time from last year, and perhaps the best time ever for an all-Siberian huskies team.
This year's race is hampered by abnormally warm weather in Alaska -- there are places even in the Interior that reach into the 30s during the daytime, warmer than New York last week! It's tough for these dogs not only because of the sweaters they have on all year, but also because these temps are turning snow and ice into slush that is hard to run on.
I keep thinking of one of my dogs, the Siberian that hated water so much that he tiptoed through water whenever it rained; that's what you get when you take northern dogs and put them in the middle of California. How quickly they adapt! And then there is the black lab that liked water so much that he dug holes, waited until they filled up with rainwater and jumped in, sitting there with his eyes closed and meditating Zen-like, as if he were in a jacuzzi. One day I came home, looked out in the backyard and saw just a dog head sticking out on top of the lawn, and freaked out thinking someone broke in the house and decapitated him. My first Godfather horse head experience. Damn dogs, but I sure miss them.
It's a tough life
Martin Buser is in second place. The former champion lost a finger in a saw accident a few days before the race, but decided to run anyway, even with one hand balled up in bandages. That is tougher than it sounds, because Iditarod runners need a strong grip on the sled to right it up after it tips over, which happens often. They also need dexterity to massage their dogs or put ointment on the dog paws (maybe not this year since it's so warm), and sometimes ski alongside their dogs to urge them on.
When he was asked why he wasn't skipping the race, he just shrugged and said that he trained and lived all year for one race, and that racing is his profession and his source of income. The top prize this year is $72K; finishers below the top 20 take home less than $10K, which probably is just enough to cover their expenses.
There is good news
My Japanese friend's son passed his entrance examination to Todai. This was his second try. I received a picture of him pointing at the accept list, and he was beaming. What a proud moment. He also trained for a whole year for this exam to get into the acknowledged most prestigious Japanese university, and he made it. No broken hand, no slushy trail, but amazing just the same.
- posted by Woofwoof @ 9:48 AM
