One Mile Runner Blog

Feet Are The Foundation

2012-05-13T20:35:09Z

Our feet are amazing structures. They are the foundation to our running. With so many moving parts, our feet are made up of some 26 small bones (25% of the bones in our body are in our feet). Also, our feet contain more than 100 muscles.

The foundation for runners begins with our socks (which often get overlooked). The last three years I have been wearing a graduated compression sock that goes over my calf. This year we are going to try something different on The Isles Mile Challenge - a low cut sock. I have chosen the Feetures Elite Light Cushion to race in throughout my tour. This Feetures sock makes for a fabulous foundation as it consists of iWick fibers to take away moisture and promote dryness. The Elite Light Cushion has arch support, an anatomical right and left design for a better fit, and no toe seam.

I said in my last blog that I was just fitted for my new racing orthotic. It supports my feet in the areas needed, but made up of unique materials that are light enough for high performance.

Then I just chose the third element for my foundation - the race shoe. With all my races on the road this year, I have chosen the New Balance 1400. This racing flat from New Balance has welded seams (no sewing)to reduce weight and prevent irritation. The REVlite midsole and the mesh upper are great materials for speed.

The fourth piece of footwear I travel to races with is the post-race sandal. I chose the SOLE Sport Flip as they conform to my feet and are joy to put on after a tough race. It allows my feet to dry out while still giving me the orthopedic support I am seeking in my footwear. If you have not tried a SOLE orthopedic sandal yet, you are missing out on how good a sandal can be for your feet.

I hope you can find the right foundational equipment for your feet. Begin with the sock, then the footbed, the shoe, and a post-race sandal. You should be comfortable, secure, dry, and fast. Let the races begin!

"Like" Us on Facebook

2012-05-02T00:38:20Z

I have been behind the scenes at www.OneMileRunner.com focusing on the many aspects of our event operations since David’s first tour in 2008. Working for www.OneMileRunner.com has been one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Its been an honor to witness first-hand all of the races that you have seen and read about on our blog. We are preparing to launch our next venture, Body Protection training, later this year. To begin sharing the developments and news of our first product release, we have joined Facebook. Facebook will be the platform that we use to connect internationally with clients, partners, friends, followers and fellow athletes. I personally want to thank all of you who have been on this journey with David and I since 2008. I believe the future holds even more exciting and unpredictable experiences that will be documented not only on our blogs, but also at www.facebook.com/bodyprotection. Please visit us on Facebook, and “Like” our page. We are already planning ways to socially interact with you; and our partners have shown interest in sponsoring Facebook contests where you can win some of the products that David uses to stay on the cutting edge of fitness. Most of all, I look forward to putting faces with all of you who have supported us for so long.

Cheers,
Sekyen

Orthotics - new and improved

2012-04-22T16:45:05Z

On Friday, I traveled up to Tarpon Springs where the 2008 tour "20/20/20<5@45" began. The starting line for the first race was just outside the Faklis Department Store and we raced down to the sponge docks. It brought back a lot of fond memories as I had not been there in a while. I was there to meet our www.OneMileRunner.com Biomechanical Consultant, Vasile Faklis. The reason for my visit was to get fitted for my new orthotics. I have come to see the artist, Vasile Faklis, make my orthotics and customize my orthotics to fit me and my activities. I have a racing orthotic that is light and flexible, a training orthotic that is a bit more supportive, and a tennis orthotic that fits my movements for that sport. Indeed, there is a science behind orthotics, but it is also an art. That is why it is important to spend quality time with the orthotist who is actually making the orthotic. Seeing Vasile is always worth the trip.

Last year in the 2011 event, "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes," I used one of Vasile's new products, the customizable off-the-shelf orthotic, the Faklis Fit V1. It was my first time using an off-the-shelf product. What makes the V1 unique is that you can customize it to each person's needs. Thus, Vasile takes the dimensions of my custom orthotics and adds it to the V1. For the upcoming "Isles Mile Challenge" I will be using the V1 and in the fall I will change to the Faklis Fury which will be the elite version that incorporates far infrared ions. The new off-the-shelf orthotic will be launched at the NATA Conference (National Athletic Trainers Association) in St Louis on June 26th. You will be able to order these this summer at one of my new sponsors for 2012 HAPAD, Inc. at www.hapad.com.

Great biomechanics foundationally begin with a sock, an insole, and a shoe. So when I see Vasile for my biomechanical fitting each year, we choose what Feetures sock, what Faklis orthotic, and what New Balance shoe I am going to train and race in. Then I hit the pavement knowing I have a great foundation for high performance and injury prevention.

Cellulitis hampers first month of training

2012-04-15T15:41:13Z

March was an interesting month as it began with a case of cellulitis of my right ankle and foot. Cellulitis is a skin infection that creates redness, swelling, warmth, and pain. Bacteria enters the body through a small cut or scrape of the skin. Even though I am highly susceptible to skin and blood infections, I have never had cellulitis before, so this was all new to me.

After seeing my doctor and having an ultrasound to be certain that it was not a blood clot, I was sent home to have 10-day regime of antibiotics. I thought I was going to feel no pain after the 10-day cycle of antibiotics, but the tissue damage still remained. The doctor said it could take 4-6 weeks for the underlying tissue to heal completely. Even now, I still cannot tie my shoe as tightly as before. As you can imagine, little changes in my foot plant and push off can alter the way my body runs. I have continued my coaching and training throughout the treatment, but had to back off a bit recently when I experienced some swelling in my right knee due to the changes in my landing. The body is an incredible mechanism as even the slightest alteration can lead to major consequences. The body adapts to compensate for the change and can lead to other problems.

This is our fifth event in the last five years, so we are no strangers to the twists and turns that can take place during a training period or racing schedule. It is all part of The Isles Mile Challenge preparation and learning. It made for an unusual first month of training, but we will keep you updated every week as we get ready for our first race in Greece on July 1st.

Thai Massage

2012-03-04T21:02:55Z

Training has begun for our www.OneMileRunner.com 2012 tour - The Isles Mile Challenge. Speed training began last week to test out my form in a series of sprints - 20 x 100 yards in 14-15 seconds followed by a new recovery modality entitled Thai Massage. At Wellness Concepts, www.wellnessconcepts.com, our new Massage Consultant, Leah Macy, puts me through some of the various yoga-like positions of the ancient therapy (over 2500 years old).

Leah spoke to me about different ways we could continue to work on my flexibility and to increase my range of motion. So we are going to add in another recovery session every other week with Thai Massage. We will shoot another video later in June to see any improvement over the few months ahead.

Perhaps after viewing this short video below, you might consider to add Thai Massage to your recovery program.

Paes Accelerating At Any Age

2012-02-10T03:33:06Z

Our tag line at www.OneMileRunner.com to "accelerate at any age" was fun to see in action at the end of January by one of my former students and Indian legends, Leander Paes, as he won the Australian Open Men's Doubles crown over the Bryan brothers to complete a career Grand Slam (US Open, Wimbledon, French Open, and Australian).

I began working with Leander when he was 12 years old in 1986 in Chennai, India when I was coaching the Indian Junior National Tennis Team (1986-91). Now at 38 (turning 39 this June), he has completed one of his dreams in tennis. Please check out the Hindustan article on the achievement:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/Tennis/Keeping-Paes-with-the-legend/Article1-806880.aspx

Leander is indeed an example of a great talent, true sportsman, and endearing gentleman. A wonderful role model for aspiring athletes to follow. I stopped working with Leander in 1996 and even though we do not see each other as often as we should, when we get together - it was like we saw each other yesterday.

I feel like I also "grew up" in India during my coaching years. With our recent 2010 and 2011 tours taking us to race the mile in the streets of India, it has been very special to reunite with old friends/colleagues and to work with new young athletes.

How can you accelerate toward your own physical, mental, or spiritual aspirations? Remember it is not too late to begin your quest as the process to reach your goals later in life is even sweeter.

The Isles Mile Challenge - 2012 www.OneMileRunner.com Tour

2012-01-10T02:05:47Z

We just returned from our winter meetings in Phoenix. Our new DVD called Body Protection will be ready for release in April. We have added two new Consultants in 2012, Dr. Greg Kotlarczyk will be our Chiropractic Consultant and Leah Macy will be our Massage Consultant - both based at our choice of a recovery center - Wellness Concepts. And you can now find us on FaceBook at Body Protection.

The Isles Mile Challenge combines the themes from our past four tours: speed/strength/endurance (2008), recovery (2009), international travel (2010), and adventure racing (2011). The Challenge is to race 7 one-mile races (each under 5 minutes), on 7 different islands, in 7 different time zones, over 7 weeks. It will begin on July 1st in Greece. If I do not break 5 minutes in a race, I must find another island in that time zone and beat 5 minutes before I can continue on. Here is the race, travel schedule, and time zones:

1) Santorini, Greece (GMT+2)
2) Copenhagen, Denmark (GMT+1)
3) Reykjavik, Iceland (GMT)
4) Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA (GMT-5)
5) Hamilton, Bermuda (GMT-4)
6) Whidbey Island, Washington, USA (GMT+8)
7) Honolulu, Hawaii USA (GMT-10)

The 5th event at www.OneMileRunner.com, The Isles Mile Challenge should be a great mental and physical test this summer.

Why Do You Run?

2011-12-09T22:03:56Z

Why do I run? I have been asked that question many times. I have also been asked numerous times, why do I race? I answered that question in my last book, Creating Amazement. I feel the physical, mental, and spiritual challenges in the mile race actually bring me closer to God. Then people ask, what do I mean? My response is that I am interested in life in things I cannot touch or purchase. Each run and race brings me closer to my spirit within as I learn about courage, faith, trust, confidence etc. Each race required me to aspire to new perceptions and beliefs that taught me something about myself and called upon me to go beyond where I had been before.

An infographic agency just rolled out a fun infographic illustrating the anatomy of American male and female runners. The last question illustrates the reasons why men and women run. What is your motivation to run or race?

Running Music for a better running experience!

How Nutrition Plays A Vital Role In Your Recovery

2011-11-22T02:08:34Z

We had the special opportunity to hear Brendan Brazier speak in Sarasota on Sunday afternoon sharing snippets from his new book, Thrive Foods. A former professional Ironman triathlete and author of Thrive and Thrive Fitness, Brendan is the creator of a whole food line of nutritional products called Vega. In the photo below, Brendan and I are flanked by Sheri and Leslie from Sequel Naturals.

I have traveled all over the world the last few years as a Vega Ambassador with my nutritional packets of Vega to start my day with Vega's Health Optimizer - thus replacing any other supplements. Then I finish my workouts with Vega Sport, a natural plant based performance protein, for my recovery phase. These are the main products that I use in the Vega line. Vega products are a great example on one of the topics that Brendan discussed yesterday - high net gain nutrition vs. low net gain nutrition. He believes that with athletes of similar talent, workouts, etc. - the difference is the recovery phase for improved performances. He went on to say that the key to the recovery phase is nutrition - about 80% of the recovery phase is your nutritional intake between workouts.

Please check out his new book, Thrive Foods, on how nutrient dense foods can change your life and the lives of others.

Nutritional Seminar

2011-11-02T03:12:39Z

Vega is an award winning line of plant based nutritional products that has been a long standing sponsor of www.OneMileRunner.com. I will be joining Brendan Brazier, the Formulator of Vega, at his event in Sarasota on November 20th at 2pm at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center as he gives a nutritional seminar based on his new book, Thrive Foods. Brendan will be discussing the importance of nutrient density to ensure healthy eating. RSVP at (941) 924-4754 or via email at vega.sarasota@gmail.com if you are in the area and would like to attend.

Also, please check out the 10/24 interview with another of our sponsors, SOLE, as it summarizes our 2011 event, "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes." It can be found on the SOLE homepage at www.yoursole.com.

Thank you all for your support in 2011!

Body Protection Filmed At Movenpick Resort and Spa at The Dead Sea

2011-10-17T19:47:12Z

It was a long journey in a short period of time and my lead videographer is still probably cursing me today that I decided to shoot Body Protection in Jordan, but it was worth it. Our crew did a great job working endlessly to capture what we needed in four days of filming. We are excited, but also exhausted...

The Movenpick Resort and Spa at the Dead Sea in Jordan showed us wonderful hospitality and support during our demanding video shoot. They went above and beyond to assist the filming.

With the Dead Sea and the West Bank of Israel as the DVD's backdrop, it made for a picturesque setting. Now the editing begins. Body Protection will be released in January 2012. We look forward to sharing with you the training secrets to keep you injury-free.

We have a lot going on before the end of the year as BodyProtection.com will be launched in December. It is now time to spend a couple of months at home after being on the road since May with "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" and now the filming of Body Protection.

Returning to the Dead Sea

2011-10-04T18:19:37Z

We have had a busy schedule since returning from our "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" tour. After a clinic in Martha's Vineyard and then a trip to Atlanta this past weekend, we are now traveling back to Jordan to shoot the new "Body Protection" DVD. Sekyen and I and our film crew team will be leaving Thursday to travel to Amman, Jordan via Dubai. We start shooting at the beautiful Movenpick Resort and Spa at the Dead Sea on Sunday morning. We have five mornings to shoot the entire training program. So I hope we all know our roles and are able to complete the shoot in the allotted time slot.

We will be returning to the USA on October 15th. We will be editing and putting the DVD together in November and December and have it ready for sale by the end of the year. We are excited to share all this information with you and give you the opportunity to be injury-free with Body Protection.

"Body Protection" DVD Will Be Filmed At Dead Sea

2011-09-19T22:41:27Z

We will be returning to Jordan in the second week of October to film our new fitness DVD at the Movenpick Resort at the Dead Sea. The www.OneMileRunner.com film crew will be boarding the plane for the 14 hour plane ride to Dubai followed by a 3 hour plane ride to Amman, Jordan. After completing 4 different and unique one-mile events over the last 4 years, it is now time to share the reasons why I have not been injured during these trying tours. "Body Protection" will be broken down into three levels - beginner, intermediate, and advanced and is for athletes of all ages.

We are spending this week on the beautiful island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts leading a tennis and fitness clinic. I will spend a week in Sarasota preparing for our upcoming DVD. Then we are off to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea, to create a DVD for you all to utilize in order to stay injury-free in your chosen sport.

Running At Petra, Jordan

2011-09-11T11:08:31Z

Our final leg of our 2011 tour "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" took place in Petra, Jordan. Petra is an incredible old city found in the red rocks at almost 3000 feet above sea level. Petra fittingly means "rock" in Greek and inhabitated in 600 B.C. by the Nabataeans. Petra was chosen on the 2007 list of The New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. With their importance of "after-life," the Nabataeans created many tombs by hand. 80% of original Petra has been destroyed over time and two earthquakes, but what remains is absolutely breathtaking.

This is where the Petra Marathon and Half Marathon took place on Saturday September 10th calling the event - "run back in time" www.petra-marathon.com. After our time at the Dead Sea, we took a taxi for about 45 minutes to meet our our organizers and the marathon participants in Amman, the capital city of Jordan, on Wednesday afternoon. We spent the night in Amman and then all boarded a bus on Thursday morning to start our journey south to Petra stopping off at the Crusader fortress of Kerak. On Friday, we had an hour-long race meeting in the morning and toured Petra until lunch. Then on early Saturday morning, marathon and half-marathon participants walked down to the Treasury for the start of their adventure marathon and half marathon races.

Two race organizers, Tomas Thomsen and Erling Nielsen, measured out the last mile of the route for me to race. Due to the extreme mountain conditions, the beginning of my mile was my slowest 1/2 mile on tour at 2:36, then after a bit of a panic I kicked in the last half mile in 2:17 finishing the mile in 4:53.15. I want to thank all the organizers at Albatros Travel who put on a great event for us. With their array of "adventure marathons" around the world, it made sense to team up with Albatros Travel to finish our tour of "adventure miles" in 2011. Below with me is Hanna, Lars, and race doctor.

And thanks to all our www.OneMileRunner.com supporters who helped us complete our 4th event in 4 years. We completed "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" in a total time of 24 minutes and 31 seconds. We now look forward to shooting our new "Body Protection" video in October sharing the exercises in my training that kept me injury-free after these years of mile events.

In Jordan - First Stop The Dead Sea

2011-09-06T14:25:46Z

We arrived in Jordan after a few days in New Delhi. We came immediately from the airport to the Dead Sea as it was a dream of mine for the last 25 years to come and float in the salt waters of the famed Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has a long heritage for many thousands of years from Herod the Great to King David. It is really a lake not a "sea," bordering Jordan and Israel. It is the lowest spot on earth as it is around 1200 feet below sea level. You have plenty of oxygen for running here.

Due to its super salinity, no sea life can live in waters that are almost 34% salt. So they call it the Dead Sea, but I feel that it is the opposite: a fountain of youth because it cures so many common ailments known to man. I cannot float in any water, but I do here. You just lie on your back and float, then smear this incredible mud that they get a few meters below the bottom all over your body. You let it bake in the sun and viola - your skin, joints, etc feel better. It is a natural therapy that is so rejuvenating.

We travel to Amman the busy capital city of Jordan to meet up with our tour group. Then we travel 4 hours south to Petra where I will race a mile of the Petra Marathon on Saturday. It will be an exciting place to finish the 2011 www.OneMileRunner.com tour of "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes." I hope my few days at the Dead Sea has rejuvenated my body after our time in India so I can finish strongly in the last race.

Running At The Taj Mahal

2011-09-02T06:15:20Z

For all of us at www.OneMileRunner.com, it has been one of our most interesting weeks on tour. Overcoming my sickness, arranging a difficult race under strange conditions, and finding the courage to conquer my fears, it has been a week in India that we will always remember. Delaying the race until Friday worked out great as the road to the East Gate of the Taj Mahal was more free as The Taj is closed on Fridays. We had two bicycle rickshaws surround and protect me as I raced down the road to the East Gate. I lost one of the bicycle rickshaws after the first minute as he underestimated the speed required. The other driver, Bobby, did a wonderful job and stayed with me for the entire race keeping out of harms way of numerous wayward dogs and the wild monkeys that surround the walls around the Taj.

I managed to run a 4:55.62 mile. I had a great start in the heat of the morning, but I relaxed too much in the third quarter, and then panicked and dug deep to sprint in the last quarter mile. It is the best I could do under the conditions that we were presented with this week. We tried to capture the event the best we could in the video below:

The Taj Mahal is even more beautiful than I remember 24 years ago when I came here for the first time when I coached the Junior Davis Cup Team in Chennai. Sekyen and I both agree that it is the most magnificent building we have seen. The Taj Mahal meaning "crown palace" is a 400 year old mausoleum in Agra, India. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal in loving memory of his third and most beautiful wife, Muntaz Mahal. Muntaz Mahal died after the birth of her 14th child. The intricate details within the Taj Mahal's walls are simply amazing. If you have not been to see this incredible Wonder of the World, it is indeed worth the trip.

We finally are traveling back to New Delhi to catch a flight to Dubai. We will stay there for a day and fly to Amman, Jordan on Saturday. We hope to spend a couple of days training at the Dead Sea before we meet up with the marathon group for the Petra Marathon on September 7th. Thanks to all our readers that have wished and prayed for me this week for a speedy recovery, your support was much appreciated and effective.

Sick in India

2011-08-30T04:41:40Z

Before arriving in Agra, India I was experiencing a slight fever in Chennai. Then things intensified in Agra as the fever continued and diarrhea followed. We finally called the doctor to the hotel last evening as my situation was not improving. He checked out my symptoms and confirmed that it was not malaria or dengue fever (two of our concerns), but was indeed a bacterial infection with something I ate or something on my hands when I rubbed my eyes. The doctor has put me on a five day cycle of antibiotics, electrolytes, etc.

We have again moved our Taj Mahal race for a few days until September 2nd giving me an opportunity to get my strength back. Then we will travel to the Middle East and race on September 10th (this date is set and cannot be moved as I am racing a mile of the Petra Marathon).

We will be patient and let my body mend over the next few days...

O2 Health Studio Clinic In Chennai, India

2011-08-25T14:06:30Z

We have been spending the week in my old "hometown" of Chennai, India where I lived for 5 years from 1986-91. We have been the guests of O2 Health Studios as we led a "Body Protection" fitness clinic to all their trainers and physiotherapists. Tomorrow we finish with a "Creating Amazement" seminar with the managers of O2. From Hyderabad to Chennai, it has been great to spend this time in southern India sharing our fitness concepts.

I went over some of the basic movements of my "Body Protection" program and then showed some of the resistance moves. The O2 trainers participated in learning the moves in order to protect their bodies from injury and prepare their bodies for speed and power. We went over some of the fitness myths that need to broken in order to take our athletic performances to the next level. We will address these fitness myths in our upcoming "Body Protection" video.

We fly north to New Delhi on Sunday morning. Take a train to Agra and get ready to race at the Taj Mahal on August 30th. At the moment in India, there is a non-violent revolution going on. Anna Hazare is undergoing a supervised fast in opposition to the government. Anna is the symbol of the anti-corruption movement taking place throughout India since we arrived a couple of weeks ago. It is, indeed, an amazing time of transition in India.

Hyderabad Clinic

2011-08-16T07:17:02Z

Here's a view from the Charminar, built in 1591 and still a major landmark in old Hyderabad. We had the opportunity to visit Charminar and the Golkonda Fort, an incredible fortress on the outskirts of the city, the day before we started our clinic.

Sekyen and I made it to Hyderabad, India this past weekend on our first stop in this remarkable country. I am leading a tennis and fitness clinic at the NVK Sports Complex with 20 wonderful students ranging in ages from 11-21. It is indeed a pleasure to be working with these young, upcoming star athletes. It feels like I am coming home in many ways after all my years being based in Chennai.

I am sharing with these athletes many of the new movements of my "Body Protection" program that we will be shooting the video for in October on our return to the US. I wish I had learned this program when I was a young aspiring athlete in order to keep strong, fast, and injury-free with proper technique and explosive exercises.

We will finish in Hyderabad this weekend and travel to another week-long fitness clinic in Chennai. After Chennai, we will be traveling to Agra (via Delhi) for race #4 at the Taj Mahal on August 30th. Then, we make our way into Jordan for the big finish of the www.OneMileRunner.com 2011 tour "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" in the majestic city of Petra.

From Sea to Shining Sea

2011-08-02T12:47:19Z

After race #3 in San Francisco, we traveled to Salt Lake for a day then onto Jackson Hole, WY to visit a friend of ours, Jo Ann DeMartini, who is spending the summer at the base of the magnificent Teton Mountains. We enjoyed a few days seeing the area and meeting up with friends from Sarsota. Here is a photo after our dinner at the Blue Lion (L to R - Sekyen, Vicky, Jo Ann, and Kevin). Vicky and Kevin are getting married in Jackson Hole this weekend.

Sekyen and I had a great time training in the high altitude and clean, crisp air of Jackson Hole. Our morning runs were followed by some wonderful hikes at Yellowstone National Park and Jenny Lake. Here is a view from Jo Ann's backyard:

We then traveled to the east coast to Cape Elizabeth, ME to visit my elder brother's family and train on the roads of Maine up and down the course of the upcoming 10K race (that was part of my tour in 2009), The Beach to Beacon. It is a beautiful time of year to visit the shores of Maine. I stopped into my youngest brother's place for a couple of days in Massachusetts on my return to Sarasota. Now I am packing for the long trip to India and then onto the conclusion of "The 5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" in Petra, Jordan.

The purity of the Jackson Hole and Cape Elizabeth air quality will be in stark contrast to our upcoming race #4 in one of the world's worst cities for air quality - New Delhi, India. We leave on Sunday to race at the Taj Mahal located a few hours south of New Delhi in Agra, India. The Taj Mahal is on the New Wonders of the World list and should make for a challenging "adventure mile." I hope my lungs are ready for the shock.

Down But Not Out at The Golden Gate Bridge

2011-07-18T03:50:12Z

Running "adventure miles" in our 2011 event brings us to The Golden Gate Bridge for race #3.
It was a brutal day of weather on the Golden Gate Bridge as the rain and wind made it difficult to run fast. It was more of a "go" then "slow" type of race as I had spots where I could open up the speed followed by spots where I had to shuffle or scrape my feet on the ground in order to just stand up on the course (you can check this out in the video as I had to go around the first tower 180 degrees shuffling my feet so I would not fall).

When I came off the bridge and tried to turn for the last 300 yards to the finish line, I slipped badly and fell backwards. I am glad that I did my balance reaches in the warm-up as I put my hand behind me and slid on the rain soaked surface for a few feet before I pushed with my right hand and lifted my body back up to standing position. My butt did not hit the ground, but it was close (laughing spectators said I looked a like Apolo Ohno, the speed skater). My timer and protector behind me on the bicycle said afterwards that he would have also crashed into me as well if I had fully landed on the ground. So I finally finished the race in 5:04.72 standing upright with no injuries. It might have been my slowest mile race of the year, but it was also the most fun. I had a blast.

I travel to Jackson Hole for a few days visiting friends, then Detroit for a night, then to Maine to train before returning to Florida for 5 days before we take the long trip to India (via Dubai) to race #4 in Agra, India at the Taj Mahal.

Peachtree followed Stonehenge

2011-07-11T02:17:44Z

We flew from London to NY, to Washington DC, and then finally into Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race expo. It was a packed expo (a larger hall is needed) as The Peachtree Road Race is the largest 10K race in the country with 60,000 participants.

I spent those few days training in downtown Atlanta sprinting the hills of the city. I was there on behalf of my graduated compression sock sponsor, Sigvaris www.athleticrecoverysock.com, who has their factory just south of Atanta. It was fun to share the message about the socks and hear back from Peachtree participants how well the product worked for them in the race.

I have been working out this week in Florida. We travel to San Francisco on the 13th and race on the 16th. We will be having two cameras on the bridge to capture the race, so we will make sure to have that video up for you at http://blog.OneMileRunner.com by the 18th.

Hope everyone had a great July 4th holiday!

Running At Stonehenge

2011-06-30T04:55:00Z

Sorry for the delay in writing the blog after our race, but we just arrived back into the United States after a few days in London with our nephews, Darius and Braedon, who came on the trip to England with us. We had a great time sharing the major sights of London with them like The Tower of London, The London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. Here is a photo (Darius, me, Braedon) after the race at Stonehenge:

We all flew into England on the June 23rd after flying through the night on the 22nd from Atlanta. We rented a car from Heathrow and made the trip to the southwest of London. Our hotel was too far away the first night (and the driving through the small towns of England were a real challenge with the many roundabouts and tight roads), so we took a hotel closer to Stonehenge the next day.

Stonehenge is a archealogical marvel that is 5,000 years old. We checked out this Medieval Wonder of the World on Friday and wheeled out the selected course nearby. We woke up at 4am on Saturday to begin the race at 545am. It was raining and made the course a bit slippery, but I ran a solid race posting a time of 4 minutes, 43 seconds, and 11 hundredths.

Braedon who is not only talented, but also creative put together the Stonehenge video. You can hear Braedon and Darius' teenage voices yelling during the race. Check out the short video below about race #2 at Stonehenge:

I will be at the Peachtree Road Race Expo on July 2nd and July 3rd on behalf of my sponsor Sigvaris. Please come by the Sigvaris booth this weekend if you are in Atlanta and try on a pair graduated compression socks!

Training, Traveling, and Cricket

2011-06-13T02:29:08Z

After overcoming a bit of a cold this past week from my high altitude racing at the Grand Canyon, I had a good weekend of training with speed work at the track yesterday and a long 8 mile recovery run on the beach today. We are planning a 1/2 mile time trial on a nearby road this Saturday the 18th, then we board a plane to Atlanta for a few days of training before the rest of our traveling team arrives on Tuesday. Travel to London on Wednesday night arriving Thursday morning, then race on Saturday the 25th.

We had the pleasure to have Shiv Chanderpaul, one of the top batsmen in the world of cricket, training with me in Florida last week. Please check out the link to the story in Guyana Times Sport about his work with me: http://65.175.77.34/guyanatimes/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Main&queryed=9&querypage=23&boxid=192159468&parentid=25411&eddate=06/07/2011
Directly following my race at The Grand Canyon, we boarded a plane to meet Shiv back in Sarasota. With my new training program, "Body Protection," focusing on injury prevention while gaining the strength and power to excel at your sport, Shiv flew back to Guyana on Tuesday ready to resume his international play.

After our race at Stonehenge, we fly back to Atlanta for the Peachtree Road Race Expo held on July 2nd and 3rd. I am there on behalf of my compression sock sponsor, Sigvaris (www.athleticrecoverysock.com). I look forward to meeting the participants of this very popular 10K road race at the Sigvaris booth.

Running At The Grand Canyon

2011-05-31T02:07:06Z

Our 2011 event at www.OneMileRunner.com, "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes," began on Sunday May 29th. Sekyen and I flew to Phoenix on Thursday to meet the One Mile Runner team. We then traveled about 4.5 hours to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We had a sunset photo shoot planned after I took an easy run in the high altitude. On the run around the Canyon roads, I could feel the difference in my breathing at 6700 feet. During our photo shoot, we enjoyed a beautiful, pleasant night of weather. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, when it gets dark - it really gets dark and makes it difficult to walk around (last buses come around at 830pm).

We finished the photo shoot at sunrise on Saturday and we could feel the weather begin to change as the winds were increasing. After getting up at 4am for the photo shoot, a good nap was in order to prepare for the race tomorrow. We relaxed Saturday afternoon watching the Grand Canyon IMAX film, playing cards, and getting final instructions from Charlie Olbrias from The Last Mile Racing Management Company as we had one of his summer interns with us on this trip. A "high wind advisory" was put into effect for the rest of Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. So we had another challenge at The Canyon from Mother Nature besides the high altitude. The One Mile Runner team met again in the evening before going over everyone's responsibilities at sunrise on Sunday.

Sunday we all awoke at 4am and drove to the south rim and took a bus out to our finish line at Hermit's Rest (the western most point on the south rim). The race begins at Pima Point and goes to Hermit's Rest. The course is uphill at the beginning and downhill near the end before a nice flat finish. The race started at 630am at about 50 degrees. I finished the mile course in 4 minutes, 54 seconds, and 7/100ths of a second (4:54.07). We had two cameras videotaping the race on this holiday weekend, so please enjoy the short video of the race:

I wanted to thank the wonderful team all weekend. They did a superb job under difficult conditions! Our second race is scheduled on June 25th "across the pond" at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.

Time To Travel West For First Race

2011-05-25T01:47:00Z

We are set to travel to Phoenix on Thursday where we meet the rest of the www.OneMileRunner.com team. Then we drive up to Flagstaff, then onto the Grand Canyon. It is an exciting time as we launch our 4th event in 4 years.
"5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" will again take us around the world to locations that will indeed be a challenge and an adventure. The series of "adventure miles" will begin this coming Sunday at the Grand Canyon. The mix of 6000 feet of altitude and dry conditions will be very different than my sea level and moist Florida training conditions.

We will be having two cameras rolling this weekend. We will indeed post a video of the race next week for you to check out. I will also be blogging multiple times each week right through our final race in Petra, Jordan in mid-September. We look forward to sharing what works and what does not during this event. And we look forward to hearing your thoughts whenever you have a question or a comment.

From Chennai to Tampa

2011-05-09T02:45:00Z

We traveled to Tampa on Saturday to run the first mile of the May Classic and to use it as a time trial as we are now three weeks away from our first race at the end of May. It was great to practice with so many other runners and to go through my race preparation rituals along with visualization practices. I ran a sub-5 minute mile workout and then "ran in" one of my buddies who was participating in the 5K race.

At the end of the race, an Indian man came up to me and introduced himself - Easwara Moorthy. He went on to tell me that he participated in our www.OneMileRunner.com Asian race in 2010 in Chennai, India and the experience inspired him to race again. Easwara recently moved to Tampa and now resides in the United States. He and his Citibank colleagues took part in the 5K race. For some of his colleagues, it was their first race and for one colleague, David, it was his first race since 1976. It was great to see the Citibank camaraderie in action as they all finished the race and vowed to race again...from left to right: Ming Kang, Dash Amitav, David Decker, me, and Easwara Moorthy.

We travel to Phoenix on May 26th to meet up with our race and support teams. Then we drive up together to the Grand Canyon for the first leg of "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes."

"5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes" Begins in 4 Weeks

2011-05-02T02:52:00Z

We at www.OneMileRunner.com are quickly approaching the beginning of our 2011 tour, "5 Wonders Under 25 Minutes." Training has been on schedule as I just finished my 1/2 mile repeats at race pace. Usually I undergo a 3/4 mile time trial 3 weeks before my initial event. This year I thought I would join in on a race and use the first mile as my time trial. So this coming Saturday morning 5/7/11, I will be running at the The May Classic, www.mayclassic.com. It should be fun to race the first mile down Bayshore Drive in Tampa in preparation for The Grand Canyon at the end of May.

48th Birthday Workout

2011-04-14T23:35:00Z

Last weekend on April 10th, I celebrated my 48th birthday. My brother-in-law and his family drove down from Georgia to visit us for the weekend. My nephew and young runner, Noah, visited our practice session.

We had some Chinese Olympians working out at one corner of the Out-Of-Door Academy track and we were at the other. It was a fun morning filled with strength building exercises for runners. We began the warm-up with a 3 mile easy run, then did my mobility and bounding exercises. To commemorate the 10th - we did 10 x 1/4 miles with one and a half minute rest in between each 1/4 mile. Then we hit the hurdles, medicine balls, weighted vest push-ups, heavy band pulls, and 3D stretches. Please check out this short video on my 48th birthday workout and see how our training is progressing.

The running portion of the strength workout is to perform 1/4 mile repeats at mile race pace (for me 1:08-1:13 per 1/4 mile). The repetition is key to connect the mind-body relationship. I can tell you "to the second" what time we were running each interval. My body gets used to the feel of the pace and my mind records it as well. We need to train the body and the mind with our interval workouts. There is no such thing as "muscle memory" as there is no memory in the muscle, but there is memory in the mind. The mind remembers these movement patterns. This is the same with the exercises to build overall body strength and specific strength for running. The mind remembers your movement patterns. So please exercise correctly to not only avoid injury and build strength, but also to train the mind on how a proper exercise is performed.

2 Months Until First Race

2011-03-29T00:24:00Z

The countdown begins as we approach our final two months of training before our first Wonder of the World event at The Grand Canyon on May 29th.

I am on schedule as I have completed the 100 meter and the 1/8th of a mile portions of my training program. I feel it is important for my racing performance to be able to do my speedwork at the shorter distances first. By starting out with these portions of the mile race, I am avoiding the lactic acid buildup that comes from higher intense workouts such as 1/4 and 1/2 mile repeats (that I am beginning in April). Identical and multiple repeats of the shorter distances allow me to concentrate on the efficiency of my sprinting form while introducing my body to the rigors of fast running.

Since I am not racing on the track this year, I "wheel out" straight sections of road, grass, or dirt to perform my sprint workouts. You would be surprised how long a 1/4 mile is in a straight line. The track makes it look so much smaller. The team of Consultants at www.OneMileRunner.com recommends me avoiding the turns of the track this training season. They feel strongly that all-out turns on the track can throw my hips out of alignment and put unneeded pressure on my inside leg with frequent repetitions. The idea of sprinting in a straight line is not only good for my body, but also is the closest thing to my race venues in 2011. I will be hitting the track hard in two years after my 50th birthday - so we will wait on the excessive turning until 2013...