Hello All!
It has been a little while since my last post - you can tell we are deep into training when I start to neglect the blog, website, and fundraising campaign for World Championships. First, I just want to give a sincere thank you to Kim Striebel for the most recent donation I received for my Go Fund Me page (I am raising money to help cover the cost of going to the World Championships in Bristol, Quebec Canada this October). I was truly humbled by her generosity, I don't know how to say thank you enough. I am almost at my target fundraising amount, and if you want to help get to that target check out the page at https://www.gofundme.com/kandusleddogs . So what can I tell you about our training - well the weather got cooler. This meant some excellent early morning runs. It did heat up again however, so it has been a challenge running the dogs and keeping them cool. Eli decided to take the whole three dog team into a disgusting pond to cool off and drink. Yuck. Yuck. A few runs later, she did it again. Yuck. Hoping none of them get ill from that, but so far so good. I am going to have to make sure that this doesn't happen again. On the bright side, neither time was I dragged into the pond. I have to be grateful for that if nothing else. I can say that with the first race of the season approaching so fast (this coming weekend, Jump River Run in Keenan, WI), I just do not feel like we have had enough time to train (even with all the time we have put in). I cannot believe racing is starting so soon - and it will be a roller coaster ride with a race almost each weekend until the beginning of December). I am just hoping the work myself and the dogs have put in will be enough so that we can be our best. We will continue to train each week during racing, but our schedule changes a bit, so that there is more rest for the dogs towards the end of the week (so they are fresh for heat of the race on Saturday and Sunday). I think I say this often, but I will try to keep the blog a bit more up to date and include some stuff that is a bit more interesting than this. Hope everyone is enjoying the fall colors - they won't last long. I have gotten a bit choked up at times preparing for the Wold Championships in Bristol, Quebec. I have always felt like the "usual" races, even when they seem big or important, have never been nearly as overwhelming. I always have felt like I could figure out all the things I had to do to - and then just do them. Getting ready for the Dryland Wold Championships has felt nothing like that. From the very start, joining the IFSS (International Federation of Sled Dog Sports), to applying for selecting as part of Team USA, to waiting to see if I was selected, then being selected, arranging time off of work, understanding the rules and what is required, to ordering a uniform, filling out paperwork and becoming friends with the printer/fax/scan machine to make my documents into PDF's and not Rich Text documents (and feeling strangely technology inadequate), to following the many emails, to training myself, training the dogs, trying to keep us all safe and healthy, and then just keeping up with all the normal life challenges that arise everyday - it has been a whirlwind that has had its both its highs and lows. I have defiantly had my low moments. Some of those come from the fear of missing one of the many rules or requirements for the World Championships that are well above and beyond the normal dog sledding race rules. Some of the nervousness comes from the anticipated scale of the race. There will be people from around the world, and my main goal every race is not to mess anyone else up, then to do our best, and also kick some butt. I think sometimes I have put too much pressure on myself to get the training "perfect" so we can perform and contribute to our team to the best of our ability. Of course, a large part of my mental struggle with competing in this race has been the financial challenge. I try and live a responsible life, provide for myself and my dogs, plan well, and afford the things I wish to do all on my own. Getting selected for Team USA in August and getting ready to race in October did not leave me the time I needed to save the amount of money I will need. I also don't think I had any idea of what the requirements would be, the amount of time it would take to learn about the race rules, fill out forms, and the amount of money that would be needed to pay for uniforms/IFSS membership/entrance fees/travel/lodging/etc. when I applied for the opportunity back in June. Today I am in a better place. I am greatly honored by being chosen for Team USA and have no regrets over any of the challenges it has posed. I have learned a few things. One, I can read through all the rules, information sheets, Q&A's, emails, watch required videos, read through any and all anti-doping literature ever published by WADA and IFSS (including all the information on how to not get disqualified b/c your dog may lick your hand had the remnants of an Oreo cookie on it). I am less afraid of all the "unknowns" and am thankful to all the people who took the time to arrange, contribute, and distribute all the information as it was to all of our benefits to have it and understand it. I have discovered not to take myself to seriously. I want to do a kick ass job at the Championships - but when it comes to training schedules/goals/progress it is just going to be my very best effort and that is that. If i don't get to where I think we should be as each day progresses, it is okay. I will adjust as we go along. If mean what I say (that I want to do my best at the race), then all I can do in training is my best as well. I also have learned the amount of people who truly care and believe in me. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has encouraged me. Your donations of motivation, kind words, and positive energy have been so incredibly valuable to me. You have helped carry me through the darker times of doubt, fear, and discouragement. Thank you. I also want to say thank you to everyone who has made monetary donations to my GoFundMe campaign. I have always felt so uncomfortable asking for money because it is not the way i would usually do things. I just want to say how much I appreciate you all recognizing what a big and unique opportunity this is and what a great adventure this will be. To all of you who have supported me in the many ways, know that you have made me think about the person I am and the person I want to be. I also want to give a BIG thank you to Brianna Janssen Saldivar and John Lendved. You both picked up that towel that I threw in, and when I couldn't figure out how to make all of this work, you said don't give up. You guys are the best and know that without you I could not have done this without you. Thank you! Going through this experience/adventure has defiantly changed how I look at things. I see all the people who believe in me and care about me, and it has been overwhelming in itself. Know that the kindness and positivity you have shown me will not just be "absorbed" - it will be reflected out to the world as I go through life. You have made me aware of what it means to support your friends and family. It has changed the way I view the world, who I want to be in it, and has been truly inspirational. So once more, thank you! Know that when I go to race in the Wold Championships this October, I will be thinking of all of you! Sincerely, Jess Still hard at work training. I put together a short video consisting of a few clips from Eli's runs. Enjoy! If you haven't seen our GoFundMe campaign page - please check it out! I am raising money to go and compete as part of Team USA at the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports Dryland Dog Sledding World Championships. It is much like the "summer dog sledding olympics"! https://www.gofundme.com/kandusleddogs
And so it begins - I relish the fall training. The days grow shorter, the weather colder, and me and the dogs more in shape. Yes, there were a few weeks of killer heat - yuck. No air conditioning at our house makes me and the dogs feel like death and training ceased, but we are back! Eli is training in full swing, Etan slowly getting into tip top shape, and Susi sitting out at the moment with a splinter in her foot (healing up). I am still trying to raise the funds to get us to the big race (World Championships in Bristol, Quebec at the end of October) - so if you got a few extra dollars, kind heart, and want to be a kick ass help my team, check out our go fund me page: https://www.gofundme.com/kandusleddogs . We are not just focused on the "big race". We will race as many of the dryland races we can get to this year (I love dryland racing!!). Our planned racing schedule this fall:
1. Jump River Run, Kennan, WI - Oct. 17-18 2. Dirty Dog, Pearson, WI – Oct. 24-25 3. Bristol, Canada (IFSS World Cup) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 1 4. Dryland Race Fife Lake MI - November 7 & 8, 2015 5. Willow Springs, Wausau, WI Nov. 14-15 6. Farmpark, Kirtland, Ohio – Nov. 21-22 (not so sure I will make it to this one but we'll see) Oh my gosh, it was both an exciting and busy week. I found out I was selected for team USA to compete in the International Federation of Sled Dog Sports (IFSS) World Championships in Bristol, Quebec this fall, I got the ol' website/blog updated, setup my gofundme webpage to help me raise money for travel/lodging/uniform for the Championships races, I got all the well wishes and encouragement I could ever ask for from friends and family. You guys are all the best! You don't know how much your encouragement and kind words mean to me.Thank You! I also did the "usual" things - paid the internet and water bills, arranging to get the electric/gas bill paid, had a vet appointment for Susi, bought groceries, worked, worked worked, laundry, ran the dogs, and trained myself. The week has flown by - too fast. This weekend I hope to finalize my training program for both myself and the dogs to help prepare us for the dryland race season to come. I also hope to complete the other less so interesting tasks like clean my room, housework, maybe even clean up my tools in the basement. I gotta make a list of all the other things bouncing around in my head - or I will not get them all done. Oh - and so far so good with keeping up with posting on my blog. Small victories :) If you are able to donate even a little to my fundraising efforts for racing as part of team USA in Bristol, Quebec this fall, please click on the link below. Any and all help is appreciated and will really help us! http://www.gofundme.com/kandusleddogs A big THANK YOU for donations to my World Championship fundraising efforts to: Diane Dzikowski Kim and Dan Striebel You all are simply the best! - Jess, Etan, Susi, and Eli I have been selected for Team USA to compete in the International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS) World Championships in Bristol Quebec this fall!! We will be competing in the 1 dog bikejoring class. What an incredible honor this is. I am both overwhelmed and excited by this opportunity. I know I will have to train harder than ever so that we can be the best we can be. My chosen partner for the event at this time is Eli. She is truly an amazing sled dog and friend. More to come will be posted on our adventure. Please check out my gofundme page to help me raise money for the race!
http://www.gofundme.com/kandusleddogs So what a winter it was! Traveling all over, racing, enjoying life, snow, and the dogs. Couldn't have asked for anything better. I pretty much abandoned this website since my last post. The racing season finished up with an all time favorite dryland race in April - Troutfest! What a blast. It is a challenging, twisty, turny trail not for the faint of heart. I had a lot of fun with my cousin Emily who joined me on that adventure. She was a great help with the dogs. That race capped the racing season by earning us enough points to be awarded an ISDRA (International Sled Dog Racing Association) Gold Medal for 2 dog bikejoring! I couldn't believe it! Also at Troutfest, I visited with many friends including "the Canadians" (as I like to call them) one last time before saying goodbye until fall dryland starts. Well - here we are on the eve of dryland season. The dryland racing season kicks off in October, and it is fast approaching. My focus once again returns to mushing. It has been a great summer with gardening, fishing, and hanging out with the dogs (surviving the usual hot humid Wisconsin summer). I hope to keep up a little better with the blog this year - hopefully :)
Oh - and I am happy to announce a new member of Kandu Sled Dogs - Susi! Susi is Eli's sister (out of Nature's Kennel in the U.P.). What a great dog. She is so sweet loving - and darn fast. Looking forward to seeing all she can do this season! (below: Susi says, "Hanging out by the lake is pretty great!" I've been away racing - and not blogging :) So here is a short video from a three day race I did (Three Bear Winterfest race) up in Land O' Lakes, WI.Well it if pretty obvious I am behind in my blogging duties. The racing season kicked off with the Dirty Dog on October 25&26, and since then I have raced most weekends and spent whatever other time I had catching up on normal life things I neglected when racing. I have returned and will start to squeeze in time to blog on the races and training so far this season. It will be a story that continues post to post. Hope your enjoy!! The Dirty Dog race is the first race I intended to run for this fall "dryland season." For any of you who have not seen a dryland sled dog race (“dryland” means racing without snow) - it is a sight you must take in! Humans hop on mountain bikes, scooters and 3 wheeled rigs - pulled by 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 dogs. There is even an event called "cani-cross" where a human wears a belt, attaches a harnessed dog to it, and both run down the trail together. The race trails are through forests, corn fields, sand, mud, and hard packed dirt. What a great way to start off the season as there is no snow required. I decided to race both the 1 and 2 dog bikejor classes this year. I would race Etan and Eli (my personal dogs) in the 2 dog class and Beckett (my roommate’s dogs) in one dog bike. Etan and Eli are a little faster, and Beckett needs a little experience on her own (so running the 1 dog event seemed like a good fit). For those of you unfamiliar with "bikejoring" - a human rides a mountain bike with one or two dogs attached via line with a bungie. The dogs wear harnesses, and are running and pulling as the human peddles as fast as they can to help out. Typically the off road course for the events are 1.5 to 3 miles run two days in a row. The whole course flies by in a few minutes time. I have raced a few dryalnd races in the past couple years. They have always been immense fun. This year I decided to make a go at being a bit more competitive. Why no see how well we could do. No more daydreaming, talking the talk, or just showing up. Instead I was going to plan, train, and set goals. The whole idea felt good - but I was a little uneasy about our prospects. There are typically two classes for any dogsled event. "Pro-Class" usually with money payout and possibly trophies, and "Sportsman" with certificates or maybe trophies. Beyond the money or trophies or certificates - is the competition. The sportsman class allows people to race against a group of people at their own level. It allows you to enter the world of dog sled racing, work towards being competitive, put your skills to the test, and just have so much fun competing. All but one race I’ve done have been in sportsman’s class - but I had an inkling to enter into Pro class. I was nervous. This idea was more or a whisper in my mind, and I was afraid to say it out loud. I was a competent bikjorer, and my dogs experienced racers. We’ve spend much time running for run and for races. There were no requirements other than competency to race in the Pro class. No one judges you for finishing at the back of the Pro class pack nor for choosing to race in the sportsman’s class. So why then enter in with the “Pro’s” and why be nervous about it? Because of the thought in the back of my mind - can I do it? Can I not only run with the pro bikejorers - but really compete? Where my dogs fast enough? Would we edge our way forwards to tumble backwards? I didn’t know. With the Dirty Dog being the first race, I figured it could be our test to see whether we would enter Pro Class or Sportsman class for the rest of the dryland season. I did not know where we would fall on the spectrum of competitors. The only thing I knew is that we needed to put in the time to give it a real go and see what we could do. So I sketching out a plan for how I could place a little higher on the list of finishers. |
AuthorJess Olsen: Urban Musher, Dog Sled Racer, 2015 ISDRA 2 Dog Bikejor Gold Medalist, and part of Team USA for the IFSS Dryland Wold Champioships 2015 in Bristol, Quebec, Canada World Championship Bound!
|