I’ve been playing in Utah & it’s WONDERFUL!

Last week I put my MIT biology degree to use and went into the desert to study mice. Sadly, these little dopey-eared, big-eyed, pocket-sized mice act as a reservoir for the Hanta Virus. I’d take them home to cuddle, but there was a very real risk of death by Hanta. Damn.

Anyways…

It was the desert and GORGEOUS! All juniper trees & sage bushes. Apparently mice are nocturnal (news to me), so we’d wake up before dawn to collect traps and go out before sunset to set them. It was all very outdoorsy & complete with loads of fresh sage-scented air. Remember the movie Wanted & how they lure rats to eat explosive-infused peanut butter? Same thing, minus the explosive. Here’s a photo of me on a nightly jaunt into the desert, bait in hand & trap ready to be set:

We had a bit of down time during the day, and I had these delusions of running. I’ve been exercising in Boston, and I definitely need to continue training. A nice run through the countryside sounded perfect. Small detail: that countryside was at 5000 ft elevation, and I’m used to Boston’s rich oxygen-filled air. Let’s just say my first run last week was really pathetic. I was a shuffling, huffing mess, struggling up the moderate incline of the road. Cars were giving me a nice wide berth in case I keeled over and would fall into oncoming traffic. Plus, my friend warned me about the resident rattle snake population, so every stick & groove in the road gave my heart yet another unwanted jump.

For some ungodly reason, I tried again a couple days later. We were walking around to the various sites for trapping the mice, and I felt myself getting acclimated and my legs getting stronger from walking through the loose dirt. “Running Take 2″ was a smashing success, and I stayed out a full 45 minutes. So long, in fact, that Gita apparently asked if they should send out a search party. I think she saw my first day’s running and imagined me a collapsed lump on the side of the road with rattle snakes curled up with my remains. But no! I was running along, just a bit faster and with a little less gasping. Not by much, but by enough that I came back grinning that I had improved in the time that we were there.