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 couple of my old neighbors, Charlie and Lois, come out to cheer me on. It was a fun course on a beautiful evening. I ran a 4:45.90.

Today, we also had a centerfold photo in the English magazine, Running Free. Click here and navigate to page 30 to see the chosen inspirational image!

Wednesday is our featured race, The D.A.R.E. Classic, of The SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time as we travel to the NASCAR race track in Loudon, NH. The weather is a little suspect, but this unique race should be a blast.

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. I had the pleasure and support from our title sponsors as they traveled to Maine this past weekend as well, John Haigh from Invista and Greg Hoscheit from SmoothToe Energizing Socks.

Charlie Olbrias from The Last Mile Racing Company measured the first mile of the 10K course and added about ten more feet. The 10K racers would be going diagonally to the right and I would be staying to the left to finish the mile. The different tangents create more length to the officially marked first mile. This is how precise The Last Mile Racing Company is for every one of my races – accurate, professional, and to the hundredth of the second. Here is a photo of Charlie and I standing at the finish of the SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time with marked first mile of the Beach to Beacon 10K in the foreground.

Here is a photo of me finishing the mile. I ran a 4:51.71.

After the race, here is a photo of Jeremy Litchfield of Atayne picking up the trash from the flock of runners. He is going to use the plastic bottles (trash) and turn them into high performance tops (treasure).

This would be our last race in Maine. We move to NH, MA, CT, and RI…second half of The SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time is on its way!

Atayne Mile

The Atayne Mile (race #13) took place actually in Falmouth, Maine. We were supposed to run the race in Portland, but traffic concerns took us over the bridge to Falmouth. The founder and owner of Atyane, Jeremy Litchfield, was in attendance as he called out my splits on his bicycle. Jeremy was the one who actually suggested to The Last Mile Racing Company about an alternative course. The route we finally chose is part of the Maine Marathon course. It goes up an incline for the first 1/4 then pretty much flattens out with a slight decline at the end. It was a solid course with a wide lane for the safety cars to be in front and behind me.

At Atayne, they use recycled polyester (from plastic bottles) and Cocona (activated carbon from coconut shells) to create their performance apparel. Some might call them “trash.” Athletes call them a “treasure” – www.atayne.com.

Here are a couple other photos from the race as my older brother, Richard, and my niece, Bethany, supported me and Jeremy at the race wearing their Atyane shirts.

I ran a 4:57.43. Thanks to Jeremy in hosting the mile event,  thanks to Kyle Dunnack from The Last Mile Racing Company for putting on the event, and thanks to my family in Maine for their continual love and support.

Here is a photo with Kyle and Jeremy after the race:

The race (#12) this past Monday took place at my alma mater, Bowdoin College. Here is a photo in front of Bowdoin’s mascot – the Bowdoin Polar Bear.

Now it is onto the famous Beach to Beacon 10K race on Saturday. I will be racing the first mile of the event concluding my Maine portion of the SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time. This will take us to the halfway point of our event with a full month of racing in August!

Race #11 – Augusta, Maine (Capitol #2)

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.

Next stop on 7/27 is a race at the place I graduated back in 1985 – The Bowdoin College Mile in Brunswick, ME. Then on 7/29 we race in Portland, ME at The Atayne Mile as the host for that race is Atayne – a company that takes plastic trash and creates high performance athletic clothing.

Resistance Training (Part One)

Part of my strength workout utilizes tubes. By using the tubes I can work lateral or horizontal power.

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!

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