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!

What to Eat After Exercise?

Race #8 took us to Littleton, MA for the Eat Balanced Nutrition Mile. The Nutrition Consultant for the www.OneMileRunner.com website, Marc O’Meara, hosted the event on a Thursday evening. After the event, Marc made us a special “post-race” meal in order to speed up my recovery and help me heal my body for another race in a short amount of time.

I Start My Day With Vega

Many of you have written me about how do I start my day as a 46 year old vegan athlete? What do I eat as a vegan athlete? Why am I vegan? One of the big reasons I was able to accomplish my 20/20/20<5@45 event last year was due to my vegan nutritional intake. I have been a vegan now for almost half my life. I began my vegan ways when I was living in India coaching the Junior Davis Cup Tennis Team from 1986-91. Back in the late eighties in Madras, milk was brought to your house in a plastic bag directly from the cow and you had to boil it. Ice cream was one of the easier ways of contracting typhoid. And the Amul cheese was just simply disgusting. So I traveled to India as a lacto-vegetarian (consuming dairy products), and soon became a vegan as I stayed away from the milk, ice cream, and cheese. After my years in India, I tried to eat some dairy products when I returned to the USA, but I found I felt better without any dairy in my diet. From the late eighties until now, I have been a devout vegan athlete.

I grew up on the “traditional American diet.” During my senior year at Bowdoin College, I became more interested in vegetarianism. After college, I became a lacto-vegetarian, then during my time in India evolved into a vegan. I was an easy convert. I could not believe the difference I felt when switched to a solely plant based diet: waking up the same way every day – never groggy, more energy, lighter and faster, more “in tune” with my body, and needing less sleep. I was amazed. My blood type of AB+ is well suited to a vegan diet. So since my late twenties, I have eaten only a plant based diet. It has provided me a solid foundation to build my active lifestyle.

Now at 46, I am always searching for new products that can add quality to my life. After I completed my 20/20/20 quest in 2008, a friend of mine told me about Vega products. Vega is part of Sequels Natural Ltd. based in Vancouver, Canada. I tried their all-in-one plant based formula and I could really feel the difference quickly. In early 2009, I had a meeting arranged for me with Vega founder Brendan Brazier.

I have tried almost all of the vegan protein shakes. After my testing, I chose the best one – the Complete Whole Food Health Optimizer from Vega in the chocolate flavor. This is how I start my morning. I pour vanilla rice milk in my shaker bottle, mix with a scoop of the Vega Optimizer, shake it well (I like it the “James Bond, way” – shaken, not stirred) and drink down this clean alkaline-forming drink. It is the first thing into my body. And prepares my body for excellence.

This is how I begin every day during my grueling “SmoothToe New England Marathon…One Mile At A Time.” Recovery is the key as I try to run sub 5 minutes for the mile 27 times over 2 months. Feel free to check out Vega products on our “online shopping” page or at our “sponsors page” at www.OneMileRunner.com or at www.myvega.com.

All the best with your healthy and energy providing diet. It will provide a foundation that allows you to reach your highest aspirations!

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