a new chapter begins...part one

there was a day just about a year ago that mike and i headed out for an easy run at buffalo park. we didn't make it far...less than two miles into our run we both had to walk. we were both down on our luck, unmotivated, out of shape and searching. it was pretty disappointing making the slow walk back that day, pathetic really. we were far from seeing the light at that moment but we did offer each other a glimpse of hope that one day in the future we'd look back and remember that very place and that very time and be amazed at how far we'd come.

---------
transrockies crew
transrockies was like nothing i'd experienced before. the organization was exceptional...think of the logistics of running a 6-day, 113-mile event visiting numerous mountain towns in the heart of the rocky mountains, feeding over 300 athletes and volunteers, assembly and disassembly of over 150 tents each day, the permits, the checkpoint and feed stations at the top of mountains, etc, etc. there were never any lines or waiting, meals began on schedule and stages went off on time every day. the transrockies organizers pulled it off flawlessly all the while remaining so welcoming and hospitable...simply amazing and highly recommended.

training and prep
there's not a whole lot i'd change in our training and prep for this race. i found a good balance between getting the work done and not allowing it to dominate my life at the same time. the nine runs across the colorado river at the bottom of the grand canyon proved invaluable in preparing my legs for the many thousands of feet of steep descents during the race, and the psychological impact of those runs were some of the most powerful i've experienced as a runner...both the high's and low's provided new glimpses into the depths of my physical and mental strengths and weaknesses.

i think we hit four 2-day efforts and one 3-day effort to prepare ourselves for the day to day rigors of the race, and i'd probably keep it just about there in the future. they're an absolute necessity to be competitive at TR but at the same time they're awfully tough on the body and the risk of injury skyrockets every time they're attempted.

i ran four tempo workouts in the mid to low 5-minute range in the two months leading up to the race and that seemed sufficient to feel very relaxed running in the 6-minute range over some of the flatter sections of the race.

if there's one thing i may change if we were to run TR next year it would be to begin focused training another four weeks earlier. the first six weeks of training this year were pretty intense and somewhat rushed that i often felt i was running and living close to the edge and just a small nudge could have pushed me over. a more gradual buildup would be smarter, safer and much more productive in the long run.

the race
unbelievable really...awesome mountains, beautiful meadows, incredible vistas, thin air and a good amount of blood mix in with the sweat. to say the course was challenging wouldn't nearly do it justice, from insanely steep grinds, 10+ mile climbs, steep technical 5+ mile descents, 12600' air, river crossings that instantly turned the feet into frozen blocks, it had it all.

my back had seized up the tuesday before the race began and i didn't run a step the four days leading up to the start. mike and i briefly entertained the thought of not even heading to colorado but came to our senses shortly after. it was a little nerve wracking the night before in buena vista not knowing if we'd get more than a few steps past the starting line. thus was the routine for the next 6 days, there wasn't a single morning we didn't wonder if my body would allow me to do what it was supposed to. it was a confusing range of symptoms revolving from intense pain in the hip to my hip flexor locking up to my back seizing up and finally going into spasms on the final stage. each morning mike would hang back a bit and watch in horror as i hobbled through the first few miles until i loosened up a bit and slowly began to settle into a more acceptable running stride. it was disappointing to have been held back so much from injury as opposed to fatigue and soreness from blasting a solid run.

mike and i were both in monster shape heading into this race but i could never find my proper stride and ended up holding mike up just about every day. he ran with the pack all 113 miles and carried the fluids for the majority. not once did he complain, ask me to pick it up or show frustration with the pace. he knew i was doing everything in my power to keep moving the legs as quickly as possible under the circumstances and offered only encouragement and positive words throughout the six stages. incredible patience, really amazing and another show of what a quality person mike is.

there were a number of other teams from flag at the race and their excitement and encouragement was awesome. it was such a positive atmosphere each evening at the dinner and awards amongst everyone there, it kept me smiling and feeling good about the next day. everyone ran tough and it was fun to share stories of the days trials and tribulations each evening. our friends and family back home were excited to keep up with the results each day and their words of encouragement were so valuable as well! i'm proud to call flagstaff home and it was a privilege to represent flag at TR.

thinking outside the box
mike and i broke just about every training "rule" we knew of training for transrockies and it was almost liberating to throw those rules out the window and start from scratch. we didn't place any limits on ourselves. from dropping into the canyon to the long runs day after day, i knocked down so many self imposed walls that existed before this experience. i discovered new levels of what i'm physically and mentally capable of and now find myself wondering what the next level might be like.

i won't forget transrockies...i was inspired by each and every runner out there. it was a tough week but i felt a certain amount of comfort and peace knowing i was surrounded by amazing people who were loving the challenge and experiencing the same highs and lows as i. i feel pretty fortunate to have had the opportunity to share the experience and run amongst so many other amazing people.

-------------
mike, you remember that day at buffalo? we did it brother! till our next adventure...

rob

stage six...words will never do justice

the picture below says enough. mike broke his finger in a fall with 8 miles to go, i had back spasms at 9 miles then began experiencing pain i didn't know was possible the last half mile in my left hip. x-rays came up negative for major break/fracture. i got myself some drugs and cool walking cane so i should be set for tonight.

don't know what to think right now...if the race ended yesterday i'd have only positive thoughts but today was an experience i hope to never have again. disappointed that injury slowed me down so much this week and we couldn't show our real fitness.

mike smith is an incredible human being...thank-you mike.

thank-you to our flagstaff family and everyone else that gave us words of encouragement and kept us in their thoughts!

more to come...

rob

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17499

http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/

stage 5 was killer. physically and mentally one of the most difficult 3 hours of running of my life. don't know how i'm going to do this again tomorrow.

results should be posted soon:

http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/

rob

day 4 is behind us and I don't know how but we squeezed out another stage win.

Rob and I talked ahead of time, knowing we would be gunned for today, especially on the downhill, where we were beaten Tuesday. The problem was, there wasn't a whole lot of room we could put on anybody on the steep climb. We found ourselves in third place with another team on our heels and the teams ahead of us with a serious gap and pulling away.

Rob is so damn tough. I know his body is wrecked. He has a serious injury, and has been doing this day after day. I don't even think about me hurting because I know he is going through so much worse, still he just gets the job done, every time.

After fighting the climb up, Rob and I made a good run over the mile + ridge, which was stunning for the split second I considered the surroundings. We closed some of the gap, then entered the steep snaking downhill, and I wondered if we had a chance of catching anyone.

Somehow we held the gap- not losing anything- not gaining. Several river crossings stung us with cold, we regrouped and then emptied the tank. The last two miles on flat road, we quickly caught the two teams ahead, and just went for it.

Both of us confess we have no idea how we did it. Definitely a hard fought and rewarding win.

Two days to go! Please body hold up.

Mike

transrockies stage 4

http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=268

tough stage, tough effort today. it was a battle out there. had to fight our way back into contention on the lower stages of the descent then put a strong move in over the final 2 mile stretch. not what we were planning but our stubbornness and drive were too strong to let the other teams get the better of us today. the 2nd and 3rd place teams today were awesome...it was like a track race out there, strangely fun despite the pain both mike and i were in.

mike was awesome today as usual...another great team effort. not a whole lot of words during the run, we both know each of us are hurting, we just thrive off the challenge and feed off each others energy.

nap time, another very big 24-miler tomorrow.

rob

beginning to hurt in places i've never hurt before...

short blog today...no cell reception or wireless in camp hail so i'm writing this on the road back to buena vista to pick the car up.

stage three is complete. we knew this could be a big day for us and we took advantage of the opportunity to put some distance between us and our competition. we pulled in front just over 3 miles into the run and ran the remaining 21 miles on our own. it was all about teamwork today..we had a great check point/hydration strategy that probably gained us 2 minutes over the 24 miles. mike was a stud...he worked his ass off today to make that strategy work, the guy is a beast. sounded like a beast today as well. he would let out a massive growl random times throughout the stage...had a little worried exactly what was going on in his head at those times but made we smile each time i heard the beast.

no doubt we are hurting units right now...i knew it was going to hurt but i wasn't sure exactly when it was going to hit. the thought of running again tomorrow morning makes my mind spin right now. it seems like an impossible task at this moment, but so did some of our second runs during our back to backs in training and somehow we managed to get it done.

see you back tomorrow

rob

------------------

i am hurting
thank you all for the support

MIKE

a tough grunt up a very steep slope

transrockies is an amazing experience...135 teams of athletes running and living together for 7 days in the colorado mountains. the picture above is of 170 tents which move each day to meet the athletes at the end of the next day's stage. the organization is incredible. check out the link below for a quick article about the crew that's gets it all done day after day:
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=252

the stage two profile above says a lot...over 2 miles of over 25% grade with 3100' of ascending in just over 4 miles. and that wasn't the worst part. 3500' of technical descent is my worst nightmare.

it was a good day though, our plan was to take today's stage as easy as possible. the climb to the pass was just that...we stuck behind the nike team, walked when they walked and ran when they ran. what we weren't expecting was having two teams descend the other side like they were floating. i was already well out of my comfort zone, running faster than i'd ever run down a trail in my life and these guys passed us like were standing still. they put close to two minutes on us on the descent and we managed to make up over half of that in the final 2 miles of flat running to the finish but just ran out of trail before we could catch the lead teams.

the body is holding up so far, tomorrow is a big day with 24 miles over rolling terrain. it's the kind of stage we can do some serious damage on and were looking forward to a strong showing tomorrow.

thanks again to everyone for their support! please keep it coming...it's a long week and it means a ton to hear those kind words of encouragement!

rob

today's results below:
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=251

youtube video taken before today's start:
http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/?p=250

stage one complete

to say i've been a touch apprehensive the past few days about starting this race would be an understatement. i've been nursing an injury the past few weeks which exploded on me this past wednesday. i didn't run a step the four days leading up to today and at times doubted if i'd even toe the starting line. i'm a pretty positive but the thought of abandoning this race after the past four months of training, the hundred's of miles, the suffering in the canyon, the biggies in the mountains...it may not have been pretty.

i was able to get into about 80% of my normal stride off the starting line and throughout the stage. it was a rolling 21 in the foothills of the mountains, lots of sand and deep loose gravel. we kept the climbs and steep descents at a comfortable pace and picked up the effort on the flatter sections just a bit. the stage didn't begin until 10 am so the heat and sun played a factor over the last few miles. i snapped at mike when he asked me to check the garmin...sorry partner. but we both ran strong, were recovering well and hungry for more action tomorrow.

we have a strong contingent of fellow runner's and support crew from flagstaff and it's been great to see familiar faces around to share in the adventure, run well and enjoy the experience!

rob

the link below is for the transrockies youtube video from today:

http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/

---------------

we talked a lot on the drive out about the possibility of Rob not finishing this race, I was preparing myself for anything. He could barely warm up, we decided on a day by day strategy, I held my breath.
Finally, after a summer of waiting for it, the TransRockies run started.
The hundreds of people thinned out to a small pack of a few teams and Rob and I sat in the back, I looked at his face and knew his hip was bad. As the pack thinned out, down to just three teams around 5 miles, he looked better, we took the lead somewhere soon after and all I could think of was that my partner was one tough bastard.
The course was a rollercoaster up and down curving all around type thing, the heat was bad, I pounded fluids at the aid stations and hoped for the best under tat kind of sun. My legs felt powerful, my effort did not feel strained.
It wasn't that I felt amazing, it was that finally after some time away I was letting loose this side of me that had no place to come out. The adrenaline and fire just knew we were home, racing, chasing, competing, like I remember so well.
Glad to be here.
Let's hope the best for Rob's hip, and that we can hold off our competition. Right now we have a few minutes on second place but still such a long way to go.
Day One is down, time to recover and look ahead to tomorrow.

MIKE

transrockies has arrived, less than 12 hours to the start. thank you to all of you who have supported and encouraged us...your positive energy has helped us more than you know.

mike...you've kept me sane, encouraged and pushed me over the many hundreds of miles we've run together the past 4 months. our conversations and silence on the trails won't be forgotten.

we hope to keep up daily with posts and and video so please check back in if you'd like to follow the race.

rob

the race will also be posting daily video of the race on their youtube channel below:

youtube.com/TransRockiesRun

the race website is:

http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/

the night before we start

Good evening from Buena Vista, Colorado, it is the eve prior to the start of the TransRockies race. We have just returned from the technical meeting and welcome- the energy is there, tons of teams, details, anticipation, gear, runners from all over the world, and a lot of excitement.

We drove back out to the cabin not saying much, both of us I know are pleased to be where we are, right on the edge of the cliff: tomorrow we leap.

Whatever happens, it's been an amazing summer of running for me, one that could not be forgotten ever.

Thank you to all of you who have sent your words of support, you'll be with us every step of the way, promise.

Our Flagstaff family: you guys are our roots, in a way we run for you, because we believe its the best place on earth. Thank you for making it what it is to us, and certainly could not be without you: home.

Vince: thanks for the runs, the gear, the encouragement. You always had our backs.

Rob Hall and Chris Budwig: Good Luck brothers.

Leea: I couldn't do it without you.

Zach and Don: thank you for your support.

Run SMART clients: you all inspire me!

Rob: you're a good teammate and you've pushed me all summer. I won't let you down out there.

Goodnight!

Mike Smith

i'm back and it couldn't have happened at a better time. three weeks of achy bones, tough runs and poor recovery had me worried and a little miserable at times no doubt. i hit 95 miles last week with two solid efforts and have come out of it feeling strong and relatively healthy. also hit three yoga sessions last week...i really enjoy yoga and think it's been a huge benefit for body and mind the past few months. sometimes my mind rolls out of control and yoga is one of the few times i can stay focused and relaxed enough to just let the mind go free. it's also much more difficult than i imagined it would be and i appreciate the challenge to improve and progress each time i'm in that room.

transrockies is quickly approaching. the hay is in the barn. i feel calm, relaxed, and soon i'll feel rested.

rob

one last visit...

i needed today. big time. so unpredictable. good, hard, solid run...but an even bigger success for me psychologically. mind and body. so powerful by themselves, an almost unstoppable force when the two work in harmony.

still feeling a touch lazy. here's a couple clips though, one particularly more entertaining than the other...

rob

been neglecting the blog lately...promise an thorough update tomorrow. good couple days, waterline treated us very well yesterday, beautiful day, been hitting yoga and strength work, working through pain in lower back that's been building the past two weeks.

rob

onward

What it's like running in Flagstaff, Arizona in the summertime:

You're up early, and it's the coolest part of the day, your shirt will be off soon but at first you actually need it, that mountain air like cold rock. Amble on down to the coffee shop and chat with faces you know well, get that drink going, and everyone is starting something up, laptops open, cars running in the parking lot, other athletes dressed silly but they fit right in because, you are in Flagstaff.
You might meet at your friend's house or a trailhead or you might drive- you never have to but you might choose to drive up higher if it's that type of day but wherever it is the location is not stale it is and lush and you almost feel anxious in entering it, this trail this canyon, this road, this forest, you might cover so much ground to move in and out of storms, ecosystems, you might circle this world up here.
Time seems not to matter, a 2 hour run takes 4 hours because you make jokes and take jokes, and end up talking in the car, and there is the stretching, and the little rituals, setting up for a circus, ropes, there may be dogs and both the humans and the dogs all must relieve themselves, ducking in and out of trees, music, all the damn shoes so many shoes, the attire, the map the route, more jokes.
You are off and it is slow at first because everyone wants it that way, see it is very early and you will be doing this for some while. There may be others, other runners pass with exchanges of waves, nods, and sounds that aren't words. And the mountain bikers, and then more dogs, maybe a hiker, tents with sleeping people. And some days there is no one, and you have it absolutely to yourself in it's splendor asking "how can this exist every day and all these people not know it?" See you might notice the beauty right away or it might be one of those days where you completely miss it until something like halfway through, look up and you are in a meadow, or that panorama view when the peaks are all long and shadowy, maybe the colors, but you'll get it each time, most times you will keep it to yourself because what would you say, you think, all these men know it too, that is why they live here! What words might you possibly say which they have not already said.
If you run hard it will get real quiet and now the jokes stop and the breathing, the breathing! Did you know air could be like this? That you would give anything for more, just a little more, the most efficient lungs known to man- even them-craving for more, kill for more, this held-underneath-the-water feeling that precedes dizziness and darkness, you operate here, your desk, your chair, you work in this.
But our legs are strong, see? Our legs are strong and even without the air no one here is scared, we just move on on, in this pink and orange dust, lips cracked, skin salty, through those colors, pine forests, aspen groves, so many colors but the sky stays blue, the sky our ocean.
It is still early but you may have already been to the top of the state, or to the bottom, you may have been down to the river, or maybe the tank or to the emergency cabin, you may have been where so few will ever get to and you do it each day. After day. The map shows scribbly loops like string, you trace it over and consider the outcome.
There is talk of tomorrow, immediately upon finishing talk of tomorrow? You accept. Miss this for nothing. What if this is taken from you? If the world burns you think a good way to go out running here, in August, with these people, on this trail. Tomorrow comes. You have to ask what it costs but you will pay so willingly, we will all pay so willingly.

We are under 2 weeks to go until Rob and I head into battle. I had 118 miles last week with some good hard efforts in there. It's coming along. I find myself wishing it was here sooner, the competitive side of me just wanting to be in it, hunting, chasing, being hunted, being chased, all of it.

I know I am growing older with my running because nothing surprises me. Last week we went to the Canyon at 4am and stood on the edge both of us fighting fear of what was to come. There weren't many words spoken but it was serious stuff and we both felt it. Inside it was the drop we know so well, lightly surprising hikers and whoosh gone again, off canyon walls falling to the river and the great push up, the teeth gritting grind. Fingers on chalkboard slowly, slowly up. At the top, I tried to be pleased but all I could think of was the absurdity of what the human can force himself to do. I wish I didn't know, it is a very hard thing to have to know.

I am feeling stronger. Most importantly I am looking for a fight, I can feel it on my runs. Towards the end hair up on my neck and hands balled up like fists. I think of this old Nike ad that reads: ""Mothers, there's a mad man running in the streets, and he's humming a tune, and he's snarling at dogs, and he still has four more miles to go."

(Keep in mind, I try to never be mean to dogs. And it should say "trails" instead of "streets". But otherwise it's about right)

Rob and I head up good old Waterline Road tomorrow, this run has been our staple this summer, it will be good to get back there. Usually no one there and might be one of the best places on earth.

More soon.

Mike

i came to my senses the other day and realized i wasn't going to make it to the starting line with my sanity if i didn't regroup. this is my third day away from running and i'm feeling remarkably better physically and mentally. hopefully that'll translate to the trails tomorrow when i get back at it.

plan on hitting two more solid longer runs and possibly either a moderate tempo or a third long run before the race. indeed i'll visit the canyon again...we have a broken relationship that's needs to be mended. i was disappointed in how the canyon went in general last time but more importantly it wreaked mild havoc on my quads and i need one more grunt across the colorado for my quads to be in a better place come transrockies.

mike is looking strong and sharp...i knew he would. i have to thank him for helping me keep my shit together in the canyon last week.

onward!

rob

finished a back-to-back yesterday with the canyon, up and down kaibab. hit a rolling 20 the day before, pretty tired and apprehensive standing on the south rim about to drop in. if i felt broken before this back-to-back, i've officially broken into many pieces now. the canyon had it's way with me on this one...made it over the colorado in a little under an hour but 10 minutes slower back up compared to a month ago. had to walk the steepest sections. disappointing.

yoga and hip work this evening, no run. feel markedly better than 12 hours ago.

rob

ground control to major tom...

take your protein pills and put your helmet on...
wow, the body is suffering wildly. the feet hurt, the hips are locked and my stride has lost it's way. i'll need more than protein pills and a crash helmet to get through this one.

commencing countdown, engines on...
19 days to race day. what to do? want to keep the fitness and confidence going into the race but don't want to be blown out standing on the starting line with 113 miles to go.

and I'm floating in a most peculiar way
and the stars look very different today...
what a difference a few weeks can make. i was feeling relatively strong and enjoying most of the miles i'd been running, but now it just hurts and frankly isn't a whole lot of fun. i've been procrastinating writing a post here because i don't have a whole lot of positive news to report on the running end of things, but the idea behind this blog was for people to follow the journey as mike and i try and find our way in a whole new world of training and racing that is transrockies. it isn't always pretty and we'd be sugar coating the story if all we wrote about was how fantastic we felt and excited we were each morning to get out and ravage our body and mind. the good, the bad, the ugly, as promised.

your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
can you hear me, major tom?
hmm...depends who you ask i suppose. talk to five friends and i'll get five different opinions of a game plan for the next three weeks. i started hitting some lighter strength work on the hips and hamstrings last week and that's already resolved the tightness and cramping that had been lingering around since our 3-day effort a month ago. i don't think i'm going to resolve my hip issues before the race but hopefully i can buy some time and get through the next few weeks without finding myself nursing a more serious injury.

planet earth is blue
and there's nothing I can do
you gotta roll with the punches. i'm still excited about transrockies and the story wouldn't be nearly as interesting or memorable if everything were easy.


though i'm past one hundred thousand miles
i'm feeling very still
and i think my spaceship knows which way to go

rob

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