Category Archives: – My Daily Journal

Feet Are The Foundation

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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!

Orthotics – New and Improved

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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

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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

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Training has begun for ourwww.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

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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:

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

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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.