Busy time in the summer for me. I am in between the Run SMART Project Retreat here in Flagstaff and the Blue Ridge Running Camp in Virginia. Both commitments that make training tricky in some ways but good distractions and both afford great learning opportunities for me.
I am in front of the computer after 20 hot solo miles this morning, one of those runs that seemed to just go by fast stuck in my mind with the clock ticking by as I rolled through the woods.
We are under a month out from TransRockies and i am excited for both of us- just want it to be here so we can put to the test all this work. once i am back from Virginia I will plan on one last big push before we start- hopefully another leap in fitness.
Summertime in Flagstaff is unbelievable. Crazy afternoon thunderstorms, snakes, lush wilderness, nightime skies sprayed with stars. I would not want to be anywhere else.
Times like these I feel powerful. Everything I cherish I feel I appreciate, nothing or no one taken for granted. The things I resist against or that bring me distress I feel like I can crush, break, destroy. This is the best of me, powerful, peaceful, hopeful, aware.
My favorite quote right now:

Of course all life is a process of breaking down, but the blows that do the dramatic side of the work - the big sudden blows that come, or seem to come, from outside - the ones you remember and blame things on and, in moments of weakness, tell your friends about, don't show their effect all at once. There is another sort of blow that comes from within - that you don't feel until it's too late to do anything about it, until you realize with finality that in some regard you will never be as good a man again. The first sort of breakage seems to happen quick - the second kind happens almost without your knowing it but is realized suddenly indeed. Before I go on with this short history, let me make a general observation - the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise. "

F Scott Fitzgerald






Thats all.


Mike Smith

my mind is my own worst enemy

i was sitting on the front steps this morning about to head out for an easy run when one of our current housemates rolled into the drive. abderrahime bouramdane (or abdu as he prefers to be called) was second at boston in 2008 and is simply in a class far ahead of myself when it comes to putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as possible. i thought i detected a slight sly in his smile when he told me he'd be joining me for the run.

taking time off when it's getting close to crunch time is tough. i had a solid week of training last week before catching a flight to calgary for a quick visit with family and a 1525 mile motorcycle ride back to flag. the ride was great...montana, idaho, nevada, utah, arizona. i practiced a good deal of reckless abandonment during the ride and loved every moment of it. i took saturday off and planned on catching a run sunday evening in cedar city utah where i was spending the second night but i was cooked after spending 24 of the previous 36 hours planted on the seat of october sky. whether a rest was deserved or not the doubts began to enter my head. i made it back to flag late monday morning, hit a very solid nap that afternoon before heading out for an evening run. i was stiff, sore, and hurting from the ride. i should have felt shitty and i did. but it didn't matter, the irrational thoughts began...why was i feeling so poor? am i really as fit as i thought i was? will i be ready for this race? am i really cut out for this? it's irrational, illogical and frankly, disturbing thinking.

i was pleasantly surprised when abdu and i set out at an appropriate pace over the first quarter mile of the run this morning. i'd been planning on working a hard 20 on waterline tomorrow and wanted to keep todays miles at an easy 7-minute pace. i don't know who started (really i don't) but we worked the first hill a mile into the run as if it were a hill repeat and the pace and effort never ceased the remainder of the run. we were running 5:34 pace 6 miles in when abdu began to pull away. even if he was 2nd at boston and has a marathon PR of 2:08, i still don't like being broken. i began doubting myself as a runner as he pulled away, no longer able to hear his breathing or footsteps, growing smaller and smaller in the distance. i could have and probably should have shut it off at that point and jogged it in. a hard tempo wasn't even on the drawing boards for the day, i wasn't being smart and knew this type of spontaneous and impulsive running is a major flaw in my training that i'd being doing so well lately to improve. but i'd gotten myself into it and i was going to finish it regardless of the consequences. i maintained the pace the remainder of the run finishing the 10 miles at 5:54 pace with the last 6 miles at 5:34 pace. abdu finished a little less than two minutes ahead of me which means we ran the last 4 miles somewhere around 5:10 pace. crazy. he said it was a hard run but i wonder if that was simply consolation! it was a hard effort and the fastest 10 miles i'd run in over 16 months. i doubted myself during yesterday's run and i doubted myself during today's...my mind is my own worst enemy.

i ran 10 in the evening and not surprisingly managed to keep it at 7 minute pace.

two months ago i thought it would take a small miracle for mike and i to reach the starting line at transrockies healthy, but we're 33 days away and i think our chances are good. i need to be smart the next month. i'm fit, i just need to believe it...

rob

hwy 93 northeast nevada. two days off, training resumes tomorrow

rob

embrace the high's, learn from the low's

i made it about 3 minutes into my evening run tuesday when the sky opened and the rain began to fall. usually i'd have smiled and embraced the rare event but instead i ducked into an empty bus shelter across the street. i was lacking motivation and began searching for that special trail, remembering the greater goal, anticipating the reward of an evening with friends, the anger i'd feel if i bagged a run for no other reason than simply not wanting to run, anything that would get me out of that sad bus shelter and back where i belonged. the rain ceased a few minutes later and i walked slowly back to my car.

sometimes i wonder why i'm doing this to myself. i wonder because i don't know the answer to that question. i wonder because sometimes when i wake up very early in the morning, body aching from the 24 miles the day before, and another 20 miles in the mountains about to begin, that i'd rather just sleep in. i wonder because sometimes i think it's strange to be putting so much blood, sweat and tears into something as silly as a two man 113-mile stage race in the colorado mountains.

you're probably thinking i've gone off the deep end, made a dive for the bunker, given myself to the demons who come calling every now and then, inviting me to visit their cruel world. thankfully none of this has happened and i've returned to the blogosphere for your reading pleasure.

the past week's been tough, no doubt. i finished our three day effort last wednesday feeling appropriately achy and tired, but far from broken. it was a fantastic three days of running...over a third of the 61 miles were on trials i'd never set foot on. we passed through beautiful meadows at 9000 feet that i've been staring at from town for the past 3 years wondering what it would be like to visit them. we ran through a steep 2-mile long grove of aspen at 10,000 feet, the forest floor blanketed with lush fern and the rocks in the creek bed we ran along covered in lichen. it was out of place, it didn't make sense, it shouldn't have been there, yet there we were, hearts pumping, together yet alone. we ran 21 miles the third day without seeing another soul, just good conversation for most and comfortable silence the rest. mike and i worked, together, towards a greater goal. yes, it was an enlightening three days for me.

what i wasn't expecting was my motivation being sucked from me like a greedy boy hogging the water fountain after recess. i was dragging. big time. getting out the door and taking those first few steps took what felt like herculean efforts. physically i wasn't bad off, but mentally it was the most difficult 100-mile week of my running career. you may ask why i ran 100 miles when i was feeling so low...wouldn't a couple days off do the body and mind more good than slogging through so many difficult miles? i've learned i'm the only one that really understands the answer to that question.

sometimes i wonder why i'm doing this to myself...but i don't ask out of frustration. maybe some questions are best left unanswered. i get out of bed early in the morning for unforgettable runs in the mountains, to make myself hurt at buffalo park, for the camaraderie of an easy run with friends. i'm running this silly 113-mile race because i want to explore the boundaries, maybe even break through a few. when the journey is so rewarding, maybe i don't need to truly understand why i'm doing this to myself.

---------

it was a short walk that seemed to last forever the other day. i sat in the car, listened to a few heartbreakers, thinking little of anything really. i swung by the coffee shop, grabbed a coffee to go and made my way to the running shop where i sunk into my favorite green sofa chair. an hour of easy conversation with a friend turned out to be the perfect therapy...i headed out for a beautiful, peaceful, satisfying 10 miles.

on a side note, i missed my connection last night and ended up running in phoenix this morning before catching my flight...another not so subtle reminder of how fortunate i am to have found life in flag.

thanks for checking in,

rob

apparently I'm the only one who posts here anymore. Rob, hello? Is this what TransRockies is going to be like? Rob?
I will fill you in. the train continues to press on. We both had very solid mileage last week, including a "back to back to back" and our fastest threshold runs so far too.
My fitness continues to improve, although I might be the only one that can tell. I feel very thankful for this race, because of what it is doing to my summer. Day after day, before say, 9am, I have been somewhere absolutely beautiful, made myself sweat, my heart race, my legs tired. I am lucky for this.
My teammate Rob looks very strong at this point. I've decided he is the perfect partner for a two man, 6 day race and here's why:
-Quality human. I've observed this for along time, Rob is just a top notch person outside of running. can you imagine spending this much time with someone you couldn't stand? Like this is hard enough but what if my partner was an absolute a-hole? Ouch. It happens. Thankfully, Rob is someone who I would want to hang out with even if he didn't run. He puts up with my constant wisecracking. He is smart and can speak about any topic. Wants to do good things for others, able to see outside himself. We have a good time, and as they say, it is the process.
-Detail oriented. Maps. Plans. Mileage. GPS. Elevation profiles. Equipment. Do I have to do anything here? The dude even shows up to runs with water bottles already prepared for me, what the heck?
- Tough SOB ! The man can take a beating. You should see him on these runs! A machine. Essential for TransRockies.
- Fast. More fit than me. Pushes me. All summer I have been looking up ahead at Rob, trying to catch him. It helps having someone to chase down. at this point I haven't been able to help with the load, but I will be up there soon. I will thank Rob for getting me there.
- Daring/fearless/crazy/stupid, whatever you want to call it, simply this: he signed up. to run. a six day race at 12,000 feet. Thats all.

Thanks for all the runs Rob. Now write a blog entry.


-

home

So just wrapped up 61 miles over the last three days as we push ahead deeper into this training. The unique nature of a 6 day stage race leads to our attempts at these back to back (to back) hard efforts. Bill Bowerman would not approve of TransRockies training, as the "hard day, easy day" approach is traded in for the "hard day, hard day" one.
My last three days have been spectacular for a few reasons. I wish I could say first it was because my fitness is so great that I am in such strong shape that anyone owning a pair of running shoes should fear me, but that is not the case. Fitness is improving, I am sure of that, but gains are small, inches when I want miles. "The secret is that there is no secret." Ha. Very true. No shortcuts, just lots of running.
Spectacular because I've endured this. It feels so good to come home to these places I know very well, the rooms inside of you that you simply don't need to access when you're walking down the sidewalk as a Normal Joe. These places where you're short on breath, your head is spinning from discomfort, the mind says no, and each step onward simply says yes. An agreement with yourself. Busting down some trail, climbing, turning, eyes wide. The finish, the end, leaning against the car in staggering relief and fatigue, no one in the world knowing what you just did. I spent much of my young life in this way, and returning feels like home.
Our run yesterday was unforgettable. After three years of consistently covering many miles in Flagstaff, I had thought I had seen it all. Yesterday blew me away. That was the highest I have ever run, just about 12,000 feet. Looking down, there was my town and it looked the same as it does when I fly over it in a plane, a miniature city, pieces you want to move with your fingers like toys. There were even clouds below us. Next, and I will try to do this without getting all mushy and cheesy, but that was the most beautiful run I've ever been on. The first five miles through meadows with thick green ferns as high as my shoulders, grassy fields with wildflowers, white aspens lining the way. From the top of the climb, the mountains in full summer explosion, the sky clear. And finally, the experience, grinding away, up, up, at 11,000 feet with the numbing fatigue, the mind working slower, thinking in bursts, incomplete thoughts, single words, the slapping wind, a silent black and white movie with my gasps and my spacewalk stride, Neil Armstrong leaving dusty footprints behind.
Spectacular indeed!
Yes I am glad I am here. Home being places I have never been before.
Recovery now, and back to work.

Mike

a few quick thoughs before a very long nap...

• just a touch under 21 miles on a1 road this morning. tired but comfortable through 16 miles. hamstrings close to cramping and form fell apart last 5 miles. need to work harder at better hydration on these multi-day efforts.
  
• by far our best multi-day effort to date. tough three days but think i've come out on the other side a little beat up but overall very healthy and motivated.
  
• mike is getting stronger and stronger each week. he's a monster and he'll be ready to wreak havoc august 23rd. that guy is so damn busy i don't know how he does it all.
  
• hit my highest week at just under 130 miles the past 7 days. that'll probably be the highest i'll hit...the risk of injury skyrockets for me when i get into those kind of miles.
  
• feel like mike and i are doing everything right but also feel there are so many unknowns about this race. there will be surprises.

rob

kachina, weatherford, humphrey's

on a whim at the coffee shop before the run we decided to explore some unchartered territory in the mountains. i'd guess that i've run somewhere between 5 to 6 thousand miles in flag since i arrived a couple years ago and there's little doubt that the 19 miles we ran today were the most spectacular of them all.

i've been drawing inspiration from a number of friends, events and places that surround me lately and one of those places that i looked forward to during the run today was our tuesday evening visit to the wine loft for a couple glasses of wine with good friends and some good music.

rob

rumors of a 3-day effort...

21 miles on our old friend waterline with a drop into lockett meadow. lockett meadow to waterline was two miles of bliss following a glacial valley of towering aspen and steep climbing. awesome.

felt like an old man the last few miles, had a great 90 minutes of yoga yesterday but my lower back was paying the price this morning. after a load of food, two hour nap and visit to the coffee shop, feeling much better and ready to roll again.

rob

i hate the grand canyon.

"You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one." Henry D. Thoreau

as tough as the canyon was the other day both mike and i have come out of it strong and healthy. very little to no muscle soreness and relatively little fatigue. we were able to run a tempo effort two days later at buffalo park with both of us running significantly quicker than our previous tempo effort a week earlier.

today will be easy miles in preparation for a back-to-back the next two days, most likely 24 miles on waterline tomorrow and 20 miles on tough single track in the mountains tuesday. i'm not an ultra-runner and i've never trained for a race like this before and those numbers are still hard to wrap my head around...

rob

inspiration...

a part of me wishes i were a musician so i didn't have to go out and run to the bottom of the grand canyon at an ungodly hour of the day.





rob

kaibab run in the canyon

lazy morning, swung by mike's place, headed out for drug of choice, americano at late for the train, eventually made our way to schultz trail head for easy 10 on the singletrack. life is good.

-----
easy 7 in the evening.

rob