Navajos Run Hard

The men's top three finishers.  Prizes included bicycles and Pendleton Blankets!

With the medal after the race.

Just ran a 10 k race about 40 miles from Chinle in a small hamlet called "Steamboat".  One of the toughest 10 k  races I have done due to : 1. The heat was 75o at the start. 2. It was at 7000 feet.   3. Lots of hills and steep inclines. 4. Deep sand at times. It was called the "Run for life" ( but was almost my death) and was organized by a 48 yo Navajo, Joe Curly Jr, on his family's ranch.  There were almost 100 runners and it was a well supported event with lots of water stops that were all staffed by members of Mr. Curly's family.  I have now become friends with members of the Navajo running community and the friendship has given me a window into the Navajo people.  Running as I may have said before is one the big sports for Navajo youth with many going on to run in college out of proportion to the general population.  The tradition goes back to the shepherding days when running was a survival skill as well as a way to communicate with others.  I am thankful I can join in with others and become part of the running fraternity. This event had lots of prizes and I got a nice Pendleton Bag for coming from the longest distance (Portland) as well as a medal for being third in the old farts age category. After the race I was even invited to a barbecue of a sheep's head and other ovine organs. I will have to save the barbecue story for another day as this was an event that not only sticks in my mind but sticks right now in gut.  Where is Pepto Bismol  when I need it??

The Setting Sun

As the sun sets I am reminded how lucky and privileged I am to be here. A hard day of work is over and although on call I can enjoy the warm Arizona sun. Every day is in the low 90s now and will be so through September. However, it does cool off here at night in the high dessert to the low 50s by about 0500. The practice of Pediatrics here include lots of "sports physicals" as the new school year starts on August 1 and no one wants to miss practice in July. The big fall sports here besides football are cross country and volleyball. The runners do very well in statewide competition as most practices you run through lots and lots of sand and wind. I have yet to master the art of "sand running" but the Navajo say to make like a lizard to run in the sand. Somehow I may learn the technique but it will take time.

Hope

Last week I participated in an 8 k race near the hospital that was more like a Sahara Slog or a game of capture the camel. We went over a number of sand dunes in 85 degree heat with water only in the mind. One of the toughest 8 k races I have ever done. I took it very slow and even with that I was a bit dizzy at the end. Thought I saw some camels on the course but I think they were just large dogs. Today we had a softball tournement which bought many local townsfolk. The field is dirt and sand which makes for some tough ground balls. There was also the obligate wind storm today which forced the umpire to delay the game many times until the dust died down. I felt sorry for the outfielders as the wind also made high fly balls a challenge.a The great thing for me was seeing all the people being physically active and having a good time. With all the health problems here due to obesity and diabetes there is also a group who keep active and healthy. I get a skewed view of world working at the hospital and am happy to know the local scene is not all made up of poor health habits. I am hopeful we can turn things around here as well as the rest of the country although it will take work. Next week I go back to the canyon for a Tuesday evening run sponsored by the Park Service. Should be fun.

Rocks

Shiprock

One of the oddities of the area are place names with "rock" in the name. As there are no rivers and few features to the terrain besides the rocks it seems like every other location has been named after a rock.  Near Chinle there is Window Rock, Shiprock, and Roughrock.  There is also Spider Rock, Round Rock, Red Rock, and Eagle Rock.  In Canyon De Chelly there is "Duck Rock" which is a location on the canyon floor that looks like a duck in flight. Most of the "rock" names come from the appearance of the formation to the observer. There is often confusion for the Fed Ex and UPS drivers who show up in Red Rock to find out that the package was going to Round Rock. I also have to be careful as I sometimes send public health nurses out to homes and if I get the rocks mixed up the nurses may drive 50 miles the wrong way.  The one "rock" name that does not cause confusion is Mormon Rock.  How it got named is only a guess as it does not look like Mitt Romney or any other Mormon I have known.

I'm back!

After a four week lapse I am back in Navajo Country.  It is warmer then the end of April and all the children are out of school.  As a result the problems I see are different.  There are a lot of "cowboy" injuries from the use of horses, cattle, and ranch equipment.  Today, I saw two horse rollover injuries where the horse has rolled over some poor child usually after bucking them off. There are also horse bite wounds, horse stomp wounds, and horse kick wounds.  Then there are all the cattle injuries from mad cows, brazen bulls, and crazy calves.  Toss in a few ATV and motorcycle rollovers and you have a paradise for the orthopedist.

I am staying in the motel now which is somewhat of a problem for me as there is no place to cook. I am not about to live off the high cuisine of Burger King, Church's Fried Chicken, and A and W so I must improvise.  I think I will buy lots of salads from the grocery and have cold cereal for breakfast.

With the heat, the cows which roam free in town have to find shade.  There are no trees so the cows like to use the telephone poles for the shade.  They rotate around the pole as the sun moves across the sky to maintain the shade.This produces a great time keeping device as you can use the cows as a sundial.  It is quite reliable as there are never any clouds and the cows are easily spotted around town. In my neighborhood if the cows butt is pointing at the motel it is nine in the morning, at the Laundromat it is noon, at the high school it is three and at the gas station it is six.  I am not ready to get rid of my watch yet as they try to keep the cows out of the hospital grounds but they do provide a great back up.  Well since it is about moon..., I mean noon, I must get back to work and that's no bull.

Italy

This is my first visit to Italy after visiting with my duaghter in Slovenia. We had a great time there in the four days we spent. Lubljana is what most cities aspire to be:clean, scenic, bike and pedestrian friendly, and fun. Italy is another story. We are in Florence now after a day in Venice. Italy is rich in history, art, and food. This is quite a change from Chinle, Arizona which has its own art, history, and food but of a different sort. The art of Michaelangelo vs. the petroglyphs, the history of the Renaissance vs. the Anasazi, and the food of Tuscany vs. the Navajo Taco all provide great contrast. I will keep each culture in mind as I tour what some consider the beginning of modern civilization and the height of its artistic efforts.

Diversion

I am visiting my daughter in Ljubljana , Slovenia. She has been here for the past year as a Fullbright Scholar and has a project dealing with how the country formed a democracy after many years of dictatorship under Tito. Ljubljana is a beautiful small city of 250,000 with a castle overlooking the old mideval part of the city and a small compact downtown . It is also a city where bikes rule. There are bike paths everywhere and most people get around on bikes and leave cars at home as parking is problematic. Many streets downtown are bike and pedestrian only which makes it a great walking city. There is a lovely and very large park just off the center of town called Tivoli which is the Slovenian equivalent of Forrest Park. The park has many trails and is always full of running fools like myself. This is a great diversion from the land of the Navajo and about as different as and environment as Portland is from Mogadishu.w