One of the great treats at The Beach to Beacon race at the beginning of August was that so many people flew in to Maine to support reaching the half-way point of The SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time. Not only did my title sponsors fly in from Minnesota (Greg Hoscheit – SmoothToe) and North Carolina (John Haigh – Invista), but also one of my One Mile Runner Consultants from Florida, Jacqueline Moore.
Jacqueline has been so supportive of me over the years. She has helped me with my mental preparation for many of my events.
Here is an interview that we did together about the rigors of our event and how we manage the mental side for peak performance.
Author Archive: David O'Meara
Race #18 = Border to Border
Race #18 took me to Douglas, MA just outside the birthplace of my mother in nearby Webster. My father grew up in neighboring Dudley, MA, so I sort of knew the region when The Last Mile Racing Company told me where I was racing tonight. It was a hot and humid day in New England, but the course was covered by a canopy of trees in the Douglas State Forest.
I might have been excited to run The Beach to Beacon or The D.A.R.E. Classic on the Loudon Speedway, but Charlie Olbrias, the President of The Last Mile Racing, was pumped up about this course. He found this route that had me starting in Douglas, MA going through Thompson, CT and then finishing in Douglas, MA again. Cool course on a humid evening. I ran my quickest time of the event at 4:40.39.
Here is a couple of photos of Charlie and I showing how this granite stone marks the change of the state line. On one side it is Connecticut and on the other side, it is Massachusetts.
After watching the video of me struggling
Race #16 – D.A.R.E. Classic (Part 1)
Race #16 on The SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time was the D.A.R.E. Classic on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. It was a very special evening as we celebrated the 19th year for this race www.dareclassic.com .
Here is a photo with Charlie Olbrias, from the Last Mile Racing Company, a color guard who performed before the 1 mile race, and Race Director, Maureen Steer who did a fabulous job along with the other NH State Police Officers.
We are going to publish another video this weekend of all the sights, sounds, and stories of this race, but first we will show the video of the one mile race. The rain held off, but not the wind as I struggled on the back stretch. I ran a 4:57.99 with a surge at the finish. I had an old friend, Jim Farrelly, at the wheel of the pace car along with Charlie Olbrias timing
Race #15 – Apple Orchard Mile
Race #15 was The Apple Orchard Mile in Londonderry, NH. We ran past Mack’s Apple Farm where they have done farming in Londonderry since 1732. My family used to go there as kids to buy apples by the bushel. We even had a
Race #14 – Beach to Beacon
Here is a photo from the Beach to Beacon 10K race and below is a video of the first mile.
Race #14 was the prestigious Beach to Beacon 10K. I ran the first mile of the race and it was featured in the Portland Press Herald http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=273917&ac=b2b. The Beach to Beacon 10K is a big race with 7,000 runners on the country roads of Cape Elizabeth, ME. The founder of the event, Joan Benoit, was there in attendance greeting runners and showing support for their efforts. I contacted Joan in February of this year about including the Beach to Beacon on The SmoothToe New England Marathon…One MIle At A Time race schedule.
Resistance Training (Part 2)
This is Part 2 of my resistance training program. The video is set on Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, FL. Watch how different this training is versus traditional weight training. I work on my horizontal power and strength each day that I do not race. I travel with my JC Bands, dumbbells, medicine balls, and pvc hurdles in my car throughout the event. It is my training office on wheels. I work vertical power to horizontal power as I try to stay fit and strong through the course of a grueling 2 month event. Have fun checking out this video workout on the beach:
Race #13 – Atayne Mile
The Atayne Mile (race #13) took place actually in Falmouth, Maine.
Resistance Training (Part 1)
Part of my strength workout utilizes tubes. By using the tubes I can work lateral or horizontal power.
Here are the two main reasons why we believe horizontal resistance training is important:
1. When we are running, our bodies are opposing two types of forces, vertical (gravity and ground forces) and horizontal (air and wind).
2. When we are running, we are swinging our arms and legs powerfully to displace our bodies forward, but we are also required to work against the backward swing.
To control and dominate these forces and not let these forces control us and slow us down, we must train not only vertical resistance, but also horizontal resistance.
This is where the strength training with the tubes comes in – working that horizontal power!
Check out this video to learn more:
Part 2 of my Resistance Training Program will come next week.
This is where the strength training with the tubes comes in – working that horizontal power!
Check out this video to learn more:
Part 2 of my Resistance Training Program will come next week.
Race #11 – Capitol Mile #2 (Augusta, ME)
We finally made it to Maine for a series of 4 events beginning in the state Capitol of Augusta. It feels good to be up north for these events finishing with the first mile of the famous Beach to Beacon 10K on 8/1.
Races #8, #9, #10 – MA and VT
Here is a little race footage from our races in Massachusetts and Vermont. Now we move onto Maine as I have 4 races in one week.
We will begin with our 2nd Capitol Race in Augusta on Saturday, Brunswick on Monday, Portland on Wednesday, and