I feel like I am settling nicely into training here in New Mexico but there is one thing that I can’t do as effectively here: long tempo runs. The real bread and butter of marathon training is the long race simulation tempo runs that are done at race pace.  It is not to bad to do a normal 5-8 mile tempo here, but to get in those 15-20 mile runs at marathon pace at 6,000 feet is  not possible.  I have had great interval sessions but to do those important longer simulations I am heading back to Nike a couple times.  Tomorrow I am making a quick 24-hour trip to do one of those workouts on Friday morning, getting a good massage and ice bath, polishing off a few mental preparations and I will be back here by Friday night.  It may sound complicated but I have worked it out so the timing is perfect and I am hardly gone. I can still get the best of both world–altitude and sea level.