Training In The White Mountains

After running 13.1 miles on Siesta Key Beach at the end of June in 90 degree weather and high humidity. It was time to go north to the White Mountains to work my legs in a different way as I prepare for the long run across the Grand Canyon. My older brother, Dick, is an avid hiker and a member of the New England 4000-Footer Club which includes all 48 peaks in the White Mountains. He has asked me for years to do some long hikes with him, but with my past summers filled with one-mile speed races I could not partake in these journeys. However, this year is a different story. I am hiking The White Mountains in New Hampshire and Mount Katahdin in Maine and then running the 20 mile dress rehearsal through the mountains of Vermont. I thought this would be a great way to prepare for the rigors of The Grand Canyon. Steep ascensions and descents are a great way to strengthen parts of your legs that are often missed. Balancing on a rock or a dirt edge tests your ligaments and muscles around the joints of your lower extremities as you strengthen through vertical stabilization. Dick and I were planning to hike the Presidential Traverse which is over 20 miles, but Hurricane Arthur had other plans for us.

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When Dick awoke on Saturday morning, he came into my room to tell me about the change of plans. The back winds of Hurricane Arthur were still looming in the northeast United States. The winds on the top of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern US just over 6200 feet, were gusting over 100 mph. Now 100 mph pales in comparison to the world record in 1934 that Mount Washington once held for wind speed measured at 231 mph, but we could not chance the exposure that the high traverse entails hiking over Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Washington. Instead, we stuck to lower peaks and under tree levels. We hiked up to Mount Eisenhower, Mount Jackson, Mount Pierce, and the Webster Cliff trail. The views were tremendous but so was Hurricane Arthur (with 60 mph gusts on Eisenhower) as can be see in the video and photo on Webster Cliff later in the day. It was a great day of training with Dick as we covered 13 miles of wet, windy, and slippery trails.

Our plans were supposed to take us to Israel later this month, but with all that is happening there it is postponed to a future date. We look forward to the next training hikes and runs in August, but this time without any hurricanes. At www.OneMileRunner.com, we just migrated our blog site to Word Press. Please let us know what you think of the new format.

When An Injury Becomes a Godsend

To start 2014, www.OneMileRunner.com wanted to share an inspiring story of recovery and performance…here is an article by Jim Burnett, resident of New Hampshire and member of the Upper Valley Running Club:

October 20, 2013: “Turn and burn,” Joe, shouted as I carved my way around the final turn, hugging the curb and peeking back to see who was creeping up on me – 200 meters to go. This race, the Granite State 10-Miler, was to be a tune-up for the Manchester City Marathon two weeks hence, which in turn was to be my final race for the New England Grand Prix Series on which I had pinned my hopes for a top five age-group final standing. I sprinted down the home stretch, my pursuer licking at my heel and then, with 20 meters to go, my hamstring suddenly “popped.”

December 8, 2013: Seven weeks after the hamstring injury I floated along the coastline of Cape Ann wearing a smile that wouldn’t go away. I had done my rehabilitation homework, passed strength and agility tests week after week and 49 days post-injury, I raced the Half MerryThon in 1:37:07, twenty-two seconds faster than at the New Bedford Half Marathon nine months earlier. I was not only “back”, my hamstring was stronger than ever.

Honestly, the hamstring injury scared me. Could I fully recover? I was also embarrassed for desperately flailing and over-striding down the home stretch and I paid the price. I was unable to run the Manchester City Marathon and, as a result, slipped from 5th to 7th in the series age-group standings. It was a stupid mistake, but with the help of some running friends, I learned a valuable lesson. If you put your mind to it and you are patient and careful, an injury can become a godsend. You can recover and come back with a vengeance and become stronger than before.

As fate would have it, a few days after the injury I was to meet with Laura and Greg Hagley to discuss coordination of the Upper Valley Running Club Tuesday Night Track (UVRC TNT) workouts for the upcoming winter months. I mentioned my injury and within five minutes Laura and Greg (both practicing physical therapists) diagnosed the severity of the damage and recommended an article for rehabilitation from the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy (Vol. 40, Number 2, February 2010 entitled, Hamstring Strain Injuries: Recommendations for Diagnosis, Rehabilitation, and Injury Prevention). Greg asked if I felt pain in the middle of the hamstring or at either end where the tendons attach to the bone. The good news for me was that I had partially torn fibers in the middle of the muscle and I had not ruptured the muscle or its tendon. Laura liked the journal article and recommended it because it lists 3 phases for rehabilitation in which the injured runner performs a series of exercises and movements, such as side-stepping, pedaling a stationary bike and doing body bridges, until he/she meets the criteria for progression to the next phase. In order to progress from phase one to phase two, for example, you first have to be able to perform a normal walking stride without pain and be able to jog at very slow speed (10-12 mpm). I liked the program because I could start right away, even in my injured condition – walking and pedaling and doing slow speed agility drills. I also followed the typical rehab routine of icing and elevating the injury. Within a day I was seeing progress, and I was convinced I was on the road to recovery. I also knew that I needed to be patient because it would take 4 to 12 weeks to get back to competition. I was told that many come back too soon and reinjure the muscle and make things much worse.

Earlier, during the summer and before my injury, I became interested in Dave O’Meara’s Body Protection Program – Injury Prevention Training for Competitive Athletes (www.BodyProtection.com). I met Dave when, at the invitation of Kim Sheffield, the UVRC Summer TNT coach, he came to observe one of our afternoon track workouts and to give a presentation about his Body Protection Program that evening. After my injury, I started to gradually incorporate Dave’s methods into my rehabilitation program. I bought his instructional CD, communicated through email and followed his advice. He suggested that I start with Foundation Training then move into the strength, endurance and flexibility exercises. Systematically, I began to introduce my body to the Body Protection movements and as a result I gradually got stronger (legs, arms, core), improved my balance and became more flexible. Combining the advice of Laura, Greg and Dave I have successfully worked my way through, rehabilitation and recovery – I believe that I am now “back” and better than ever. But, for me, this is just the beginning. Like building a pyramid, I have established the first tier, the foundation, and the work continues. I now plan to add more layers of Body Protection – strength, endurance, balance and flexibility – in order to improve my performance and remain injury free. I only wish I had committed myself to this path sooner. But, sometimes it takes a serious injury to open your eyes wide.

At the age of 63, I continue to try to improve my running performance – speed for the mile run and endurance for the marathon. I love to workout at the track and run short, fast races – the mile, the 1500 meters and the 3000 meters. After my hamstring injury I put my plan to train for the 1500 and 3000 at the Dartmouth Relays in January 2014 on hold. About every two weeks during my rehabilitation, I emailed updates to Laura, Greg and Dave. Their feedback and encouragement played an important role in my recovery. It’s much more difficult to recover alone, without advice and reassurance. After six weeks of progress, I told Dave I thought I was ready to run the Half MerryThon in December. I reassured him I would not run under 7:00 mpm and there would be absolutely no sprinting at the finish. He gave me the green light and after its successful completion, I began to think that maybe I could run the 3000 at the Dartmouth Relays. I ran it by Dave and he agreed.

January 12, 2014: Rob and Geoff had run the 1500 and now stood by the finish line to watch their wives Cindy and Nancy and me run the 3000 and count laps. Rob held out fingers for laps remaining, 6…5…4…3… running round-and-round in the hypnotic swirl, I felt the exhilaration of speed afoot…2…1… around the far turn and down the back stretch – Mike and Betsy cheering – down the homestretch, no flailing this time, 12:19 on the clock, one year older and 6 seconds faster than last year. Yes, an injury can become a godsend.

By Jim Burnett

What Physically Makes The Best Athletes?

When we watch professional sports, the ability of an athlete to rapidly accelerate and then quickly decelerate over and over is one of the elements that separates the best from the rest. The myth that the person with the largest muscles creates the best athlete is put to rest when observing a wide variety of sports. The person with the ability to have the strength, stability, and explosion to perform these movements at the world class level is physically the best athlete. The traditional “body building” training will actually diminish the accelerate/decelerate abilities. Strength/endurance foundations and proper speed/explosion movements will improve the skills of these professional athletes.

2013 Body Protection Tour will finish in the Middle East. There is a slight change (due to the Embassy closings around the world) as we reduced the four-city stop to three. We will be in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Manama until early September.

Body Protection Training travels to NH and VT

The Body Protection Tour made its way to the northeast United States as I trained with Upper Valley Running Club and the Lebanon High School cross country team and then finished with a speaking presentation nearby Dartmouth College at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH.

It was great to work with many members of the Upper Valley Running Club on Tuesday night and then pacing the top Lebanon high school runner on Wednesday morning in a 2 mile tempo run (photo below).
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Wednesday night I gave a presentation to the public on the differences and benefits of Body Protection. Thanks so much to Mark and Kim Sheffield for their hospitality and to all the people in attendance for their interest, enthusiasm, and questions. The tour now moves to a 4-day clinic in Massachusetts…

Cool Down?

A new study published in The Journal of Human Kinetics claims that a cool down does not relieve the pain from workouts. The test compared individuals after exercise. There were three groups: Group 1 that warmed up before exercise but did not cool down,  Group 2 that did not warm up before exercise but cooled down, and Group 3 that just exercised. The study states that the group with least amount of muscle pain was Group 1 emphasizing the benefit of a warm up. Groups 2 and 3 were found to have the same degree of muscle pain emphasizing the lack of importance of the cool down. Please check out the article by Gretchen Reynolds from the NY TImes: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/do-we-have-to-cool-down-after-exercise/

At www.OneMileRunner.com, I have gone into great detail about my extensive warm up, mobility program and the difference it makes for me to avoid injury. In addition, even if a cool down does not assist in post exercise muscle pain, it is an ideal time to increase your flexibility as your muscles are filled with blood. Our 3-D flexibility program is a wonderful way to work on your range of motion. So do you take the time to cool down or not? The choice is yours. I will choose to open up my range of motion at the completion of my workouts with 3-D Stretches, hurdle walk overs, a foam roller, The Flex-N-Go, and The Stick to loosen my tight areas.

Congress Avenue Mile

20130309_1WJ2155640x427(Photo by Wayne L. Johnson – waynepacer.smugmug.com)

As I turn 50 years old in less than one month on April 10th, it is time to announce my first race for 2013 – The Congress Avenue Mile in Austin, Texas on May 18th. It was the second race in my 20/20/20<5@45 event back in 2008. I won the Masters Heat (over 40) in 4:50 at 45 years old. I have begun training now to try to beat my time of five years ago. Racing the mile faster five years later at 50 would be a great way to kick off the racing season. In 2013, I will be returning to some of my favorite races around the country. We travel to Texas first.

Our training concentrates on first establishing a running and strength base. In the photo above, we destroyed one of my 6 pound medicine balls on aggressive throw downs in the strength portion of the workout. As in the past, I put in 30 miles a week with each day being a different distance and theme to race one mile well in May.

With St. Patrick’s Day upon us today, I will be toasting the holiday with my green drink specially prepared by beautiful Sekyen. The concoction is made of kale, carrot, celery, spinach, and apples – and it is pure energy! Happy St. Patty’s Day to you all…

3 Ways To Be Explosive and Powerful

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(Photo by Wayne L. Johnson – waynepacer.smugmug.com)

While the northeast was clearing out from the record snow fall, we were finishing up our first week of training with 7 x 1/4 mile on the incline of the Ringling Bridge in 75 degree weather. In speaking to family and friends up north, they were all having fun in the snow. To each their own as I am happy to be running and training in the Sunshine state.

In my last blog post, I spoke about the importance of landing stiffly on your foot pad when sprinting to decrease your time on the ground and thus becoming faster. Many runners have a difficult time with this stiff landing and the explosive push off because they do not yet have the strength in their lower extremities to run like this for very long.

Here are 3 ways to properly develop the muscle structure in your legs to become explosive:

1) Work your way up to the Speed and Explosion segment of Body Protection, at www.BodyProtection.com.
All the explosive movements are done on your foot pad as you can only stay 1/4 of a second on the ground. Very difficult to do, but worthy of trying as you build your legs for speed, stability, and power.

2) Practice your Power Preparation before you run to prepare your legs for the power needed to run faster in your sport at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WxcZtJeYAE&list=UUuZjTDO6NmSeuiWZ7jbgrxw&index=34

3) As you can see in the above photo shot yesterday at the conclusion of our workout, cool down with flexibility exercises that increase your range of motion for sprinting like the walkover/ bounding hurdles. Please note the stiff landing and how my heel does not touch the ground when I am bounding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGEaFslzNf0&list=UUuZjTDO6NmSeuiWZ7jbgrxw&index=73

Remember that I maintain my stiff landing throughout my mile competition. Months of strength, explosion, and speed training needs to be done in order for you to depend on your sprint and power form. I will be announcing my first race in 2013 in my next blog post. All the best with becoming your best!

The Secret To Running Faster

Most people discuss the two most common ways to run faster by increasing stride frequency or increasing stride length. However, I feel the key to running faster is landing stiffly on the pad of your foot. The more time that you spend on the ground, the slower you will go. It is simple – fast running is not done on the ground but in the air. If you have not worked your entire body to incorporate speed and explosion, you will not perform very well or you will get injured.

When I am running faster, my foot lands stiffly on my foot pad (the area between the toes and the arch of your foot). This area is commonly referred to as the “ball of the foot” which has a fatty pad that protects the five metatarsal heads and provides a nice cushion when you land. When you run fast you are putting 100% of your body weight on this specific area. When I say landing “stiffly,” I mean that my heel does not hit the ground. I am trying to reach out in front of my body as far as I can and still land on the foot pad; thus , decreasing my time on the ground. Landing on your heel is like putting on the brakes due to your leg being straight and spending too much time on the ground. A variety of injuries (from your foot to your back) can occur if you continue to land on your heel. Once I land on the pad of my foot, I explode forward and up with almost a bounding feeling.

The best way to find out how you land is to take your shoes off and run. See if you land on the ball of your foot, your heel, or flat. A soft flatter landing (still hits the foot pad first but allows the heel to touch) is good when running slowly and with a shorter stride length as you do not want to run with a stiff landing unless you are elongating your stride length. If you continue to land stiffly with a short stride length, this will create a sheering effect as your femur pushes down in front of the tibia creating knee pain.

Please spend time strengthening all your muscles, ligaments, and tendons (especially in your legs and feet) before trying this stiff foot pad landing. Please visit www.BodyProtection.com for your copy of the exercises and movements to create the strength you need to become an explosive, fast runner.

A Simple Way To Run Faster

So many runners just go out and jog through their distance training for the week. They like the camaraderie of their fellow runners as they speak about their lives, races, and nagging injuries. They jog long and slow many times during the week and when they have more time on the weekend, they go a little longer. Then after so many miles of running, they wonder why they are not getting any faster in their races.

These runners have trained their slow twitch muscle fibers and their aerobic base all week, but they have not developed their fast twitch muscle fibers and their anaerobic base. If you are one of those runners who love to run, hate to go to your local track, and want to get faster, here is a simple way to get faster in your running workouts.

Instead of just jogging with your friends, take 20-30 minutes in the middle of your next run and increase your pace and effort. A fun and easy way to do this is to take turns choosing different objects to open up your stride to for a short burst. For example, one person might say “to the telephone pole” which is 100 yards away. After you all pick up your pace to the telephone pole, then slow back down to your normal jog for some time to recover your breathing. Then the next person might say “to the stop sign” which is 50 yards away. After you all pick up your pace to the stop sign, then again slow back down to your jogging pace to recover. By changing the short distances and the recovery times in between targets, you begin to work your body in a way that will help you get faster. You will begin to feel muscles higher up your legs that not have been incorporated before in your running style and you will feel your lungs expand even further with your deeper breathing.

You might find out that the chatter begins to wane as the intervals increase, but I hope you find the change in your run not only beneficial to your race times, but also a lot of fun as you begin to open up your stride with your friends.

Body Protection Training DVD Video Trailer

Learn how competitive athletes are training to prevent injury. This 1-minute video trailer will provide you with a quick glimpse of the content contained within the 2-Disc Body Protection Training DVD that was filmed at The Movenpick Resort and Spa at the Dead Sea in Jordan. The DVD is now available for purchase on www.bodyprotection.com.

Body Protection™ is a movement-based training program designed to prevent injury and optimize athletic performance in any sport at any age. The components of the program provide competitive athletes with strength/endurance, speed/explosion and flexibility, while developing the body’s connective tissue. This multi-muscle, multi-directional, and multi-functional series of exercises also stimulates an athlete’s proprioception which promotes better balance and stabilization.

The Body Protection Training program is available on DVD. This two (2) DVD set is packed with over 90 minutes of instruction and 60 minutes of example exercises. These exercises are the basis of the personal training that David O’Meara teaches his high-performance clients during their in-person sessions.