Antalya (sounds almost like Italy)

I've been in Antalya (Turkey) for the past couple of days. I've been out for a few runs.

Today's run was along the beach (and stones) of the Mediterranean. I was wearing my old marathon Ascis instead of attempting to run barefoot. I ran up the beach for 2.75 miles then back. It was a 63 minutes run with 90+ F temps. I carried a bottle of water so that I wouldn't die. (see camels in photo not needing a bottle of water)

Running in sand and some stones is much different than running on pavement. After an hour I had only covered 5.5 miles. I'm sure my muscles are going to hurt from this run. It's impossible to have normal form when running in sand. I found some spots that were solid footing, but other areas were darn soft.

Turkey borders Iraq and Syria to the south. Some of the scenery reminds me of photos I've seen of Iraq. I read an article in Runner's World about an ad hoc marathon in Iraq. I can't imagine running for multiple hours in the sand and heat.

I'm in Antalya which is gorgeous. With my Treo phone cam, I wasn't able to capture the big mountains off in the distance and the sea. It's spectacular! Besides the Turks, there are Russians and Germans here. I've not met another American.

I leave here at 3 am. My next run will be at HOME!