workout

This weekend I went to Lake Altevatn together whit Ivar, an other Finnmarksløpet contestant, for a work out for the dogs. So, what did we do? The plan was to run tree series of five hours whit five hours of rest between each session. What we want whit this is to make the dogs used to work for a long time on limited rest, in a way crating a situation they will meet in races.
The run took us over Altevatn and Leinavatn before we took the first five hours rest. At nine in the evening we took of again, and crossed the border to Sweden. The weather was almost to good; clear sky and a bright moon, we hardly had to use our head lamps at all. Being out there on a night like this is just plain pleasure. You don't care about the cold, you just enjoy. And feel a little sorry for all those who never experience a night like this. There is a Norwegian song that says " you should not sleep away the mid-summer night, it is to bright for that". I would say that you should not sleep away the mid-winter night. Nights like this I can live on for a long time.
After crossing Lake Vosko we continued into the Swedish forests before returning to Leinavatn for some rest. Although it was three o´clock before i was in the sleeping bag I was not tired at all. I think I slept for two hours under the stars whit the dogs curled up around me before it was time to get up to feed and care for my four legged friends. Then at seven o´clock Sunday morning we were ready for the last leg, starting under under the bright moon before meeting the day standing on the sled.