Running in Red Dirt

Layers of natural red dirt, unnatural skin tone, and baby seal skin compression

Gross story but true: Due to a miscalculation on laundry needs, I had to re-use one of my socks for yesterday's run. How I went 'odd' on my sock count remains a mystery. What on Earth would you use one sock for?? Oh yeah...

Can you tell which sock has already been used?

These past two weeks have been a nice getaway for me and the family. We have spent time running, hiking, eating, sleeping, watching and speculating on the Casey Anthony trial, sending our hound in for surgery, and, of course, channeling the vortex. As for running, I've stuck mainly to the trails. They are so much fun to run, and the roads here are filled with angry old people driving around in their 5,000 pound Buicks.

As you may know, Sedona is high desert and covered with red dirt. You can't really tell from the photo, but all my running gear is now reddish brown. Cool. I ran last night with Norman on the famously technical "Teacup/Soldiers Pass Trail", which winds through coffee pot canyon for about 3 miles. I extended the distance by running on a jeep trail and surprised a group of German sightseers (some interesting spelling history on that term). There was a mom and dad and a 10'ish year old in the back of one of those pink jeeps taking photos of a prickly pear cactus like they had captured shooter #2 in the Kennedy assassination (you don't really believe in that single-shooter bullshit do you?). We ran up behind them and they started shouting "Hasselhoff Hasselhoff!!! mein gott ach du leiben mein kampf hes gott un giganta weinershnitzel!!!" or something like that. They were all amazed that we were running through the desert.

These trails and roads go up and down pretty steeply and require muscles that don't get used ever, so I've been sore. Also, Sedona is about 4,000 feet higher than Phoenix, so there is the whole 'lack of oxygen' thing going on. Trail running is different. Paces just seem to go out the window, and the usual hypnotic road mileage is instead one photo-inspiring (but not enough to actually bring a camera-inspiring) John Wayne movie scene after another. We go back to Phoenix on Monday and the heat, but really it's only 118 or so right now, so not too bad.