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Mike's momentous marathon memories continue ...

9/29/2013

Training, so to speak, for the week of Sept. 22, 2013:
ran 27 miles, walked 3

For week Sept. 29, run 30 miles including a 15 miler.

MARATHONS AGAIN

The Boston marathon happens about April 15th. About 1980 I went to run one. The day before, the
temperature forecast for the race was 95 degrees; so we went to the beach instead. The only thing in bloom was forsythia in bright yellow. My wife and daughter and I went into the cold ocean in our underwear (beach was deserted). Boston does that to you. In 2003 I dropped out at about 15 miles because of the heat (Why be miserable?) and we drove up to Ipswich on the North Shore - to the beach, of course. Crane Beach, excellent to run on. Ran in the wind, sand and surf and not a building in sight.

At Boston in 2005, my "sponsor" asked me to recount; there were 22 corrals, each for 1000 runners. It didn't start until noon. In full sun, at 85 degrees. My corral didn't start running until 20 minutes after the gun went off. Thanks for chips! The wind was westerly, gentle, at our backs, so worse than useless. I was committed so had to finish this hot Boston. It became windy and at the finish line the space blankets had come loose and were flying through the air as high as the 6th floor of buildings, an extraordinary sight. During my run the temperature remained at 85. [Ed. note: Mike was 83]

In a much earlier Boston I caught up with Walt Stack, a San Francisco hod carrier, famous at 75. We talked a bit. I may have asked him how he did both his work (hods are loads of bricks and heavy to carry up a ladder on a stick - maybe 100 pounds) and regular training on a 17-mile course including
the Golden Gate Bridge. That may be the time he said, "Well, I start off slow...and taper off!"

At the Cincinnati Flying Pig in 2005 I saw noted marathoner Karen Cosgrove helping out at mile 24 and she said " Need some salt, Mike?"
She gave me a McDonald's salt packet as I complained to her, "Why am I so slow? Fifteen minutes slower than last year!"
She replied, "Mike, you're not 82 any more!"

Also at the Pig, about 2006, I was doing pretty well at Mariemont when I spotted a friend watching the race, who was here from Utah and dressed up for church. I talked to him for at least five minutes and maybe missed making a national or world record! Oh well. It was a good chat!

Boston in 1973 had about 1750 runners, all of which I think were male. We assembled at the high school in Hopkinton without nearby restroom. One clever runner laid out a towel on the grass and said "make a circle." So we did, improvising outdoor facilities and did our business there. In the same race many runners ran barefoot, which was more a political statement than an athletic performance issue.

FAQ:
1. What's special about the Boston marathon? Unlike other marathons where you sign up, pay up, and show up, one must qualify for Boston by running a certified marathon fast enough to qualify according to one's age. Such qualifying times are not easy to accomplish and many good runners never qualify in their career. Qualification standards and its age (It's the oldest of them all) make it elite.
Boston used to be the only marathon to demand qualifying for, but there was one at Fukuoka in Japan. Maybe we need some more qualifying marathons since Boston fills up fast. And Boston is as far east as you can get. How about a Midwest and a Western one?

2. And why is it held on Monday instead of a weekend day? Well, it's held on Patriot's Day, which is a state holiday in Massachusetts for one thing. Another is that the route goes past several churches that would be affected by a Sunday race. So it misses out on all the furiously valuable media attention it would get in a weekend. (I thought races were for runners, not commerce.) However many raise
large funds for charities.

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Mike's look back in time ...

9/22/2013

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Knoxville marathon, April, 2013

Training for week of September 15, 2013: walked 5, ran 5. Raced canoe one 3-mile course. My excuse for so little training: torn rotator cuff; doctor, therapy, severe sciatica. Tore it while loading my canoe onto my car. Unlucky.

Hopeful schedule for September 22 week: run 30 miles or more. No more canoeing this season!

RUNNING MEMORIES FROM A 91-YEAR-OLD

About 1960, age 38, I began running every day after work, say 5:30, 7-1/2 miles, at Sharon Woods, a Hamilton County park. I ran for fun, on the trails until deep in winter when it grew too dark, and thereafter only on the blacktop. Running became therapy for me since my wife died a few years before this, leaving our three young children and me behind.

I didn't race until 1970 when I ran my first marathon in 1971 in Monroe, Ohio, wearing heavy Sperry Topsider boat shoes. I finished in a minute or so under four hours, suffering a diaphragm cramp for the last half hour and bent over, clutching my stomach. (Remedy for this: exhale a few times, hard!) Three girls took pity on my condition and drove me to my car 100 yards away. I worried that I couldn't operate the clutch and brake but made it home.

I ran my first Boston in 1973 and didn't drink any water until the Prudential Building when a few of us runners snatched some water from uncleared restaurant tables from lunch. Carried a glass down to the bathroom where runners were crazily draped along the stairs and against the walls. A guy asked, could you spare a drink for old Johnny Kelley? I said sure. He was on the floor, back to the wall. Ed. note: Johnny Kelly was a Boston marathon legend.

In the mid-'70's Bill Hegwood and I founded the Duck Pond Athletic Club at Sharon Woods
where small numbers of us have been meeting every Sunday at 8:00 AM to run 5 miles or more, sometimes 20 miles (4 circuits). Over the years we have graduated a number of marathoners and Boston qualifiers. I started out faster than most of the rest but now I am the slowest of all: so we don't run together any more but we socialize in advance, shivering in the parking lot, while I listen to the younger members as they post mortems on the Saturday baseball, football or basketball games.

Since I run alone I can stop and talk with people, many of whom are regulars, some coming from nearby as often as three times a day, some with up to 5 dogs, many of whose names I know - for as many as 3 dog generations. In their wisdom, some (not the dogs) have become vegans after being hectored by me. Dogs love the parks which are museums to them because of the countless smells that they must investigate.

No matter the weather, these runs are an unalloyed pleasure. To be able to run 15 miles without any concern (except that it takes me forever with such socializing) is an unbelievable gift, to which in my younger days I would never have dreamed of aspiring. Twenty miles takes a little forethought about weather and plans for the evening. After having run a 20, running a marathon is not physically that difficult - unless you want to win (first place or an age bracket award).

I owe this gift primarily to the whole-food plant-based diet I have pursued for 22 years, acknowledging that life has permitted me to be stress-free, independent and domestically content. These factors are some of what the LifeNuts principles that promise successful living.

Note on the American Condition: I have a date this week with an MRI machine because of the rotator cuff injury. To confirm this appointment, a medical person called me and proudly announced that their new machine, the latest design, could now accommodate up to a 550-pound person. There must be a demand ....

Ed. note: you gotta love the sense of humor in this 91-year-old!

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More from Mike, less than two months from "The Challenge"

9/16/2013

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Mike's Blog for this week is geared towards fueling our bodies properly.

Outdoors Experience week of September 8:
Walk 5, ran 30, three 3-mile canoe sprints

Plan for week of September15: run 30, race canoe 3 miles 3 times

COOKBOOKS FOR A WHOLE-FOOD, PLANT-BASED DIET

There are dozens. All the following are good. My wife Marilyn suggested these and wrote most of this piece. As to what I eat. Think of meals centered around a whole grain, instead of a chicken. Brown rice, oats, quinoa, whole wheat and more. If you want to be traditional, have oats for breakfast, with a non-dairy alternative like soy, rice, hemp or almond non-milk.

For breakfast, a bowl of miso soup, which is a few vegetables chopped up, with a tablespoon of miso simmered in. And greens: collards, kale, mustard greens, or turnip greens. Steam them a few minutes, just until the color changes. Stems on some can be tough, so either cut them off first and steam them longer or use them to make vegetable bouillon.

Some books on lunch and dinner. The Quick and Natural Macrobiotic Cookbook has a weeks worth of recipes that introduce you to new foods you might be unused to like miso. John Robbins has great recipes in May All Be Fed. Kushi’s Macrobiotic Cooking has recipes for a wealth of vegetarian meals. Note that macrobiotic diets include some fish. You can skip that !

The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen is a lot fun. And Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen is awesome. The Vegan Table takes some traditional foods and creates great vegan meals and The Natural Gourmet , while not totally vegan (switch from butter to olive oil – or skip the oil altogether) has some fine grain-based dishes and new ways to do vegetables.

Definitely experiment with cutting and eliminating oil in a lot of recipes. You’ll find some of these also have granulated sugar. The macrobiotic cookbooks show how to avoid cooking with processed sugar. Some favorites: Dark Onion Soup, Noodles with Sesame Sauce, Baked Beans with Miso and Apple Butter, and Orange Millet Pilaf from The Natural Gourmet.

Tofu Scramble, from Vegan Table and Scrambled Tofu and Corn from Macrobiotic Cooking are great brunch dishes that stun the I-don’t-like-tofu crowd.

Seitan Stroganoff and Sweet and Sour Vegetables and Seitan from Cooking with Seitan are good for starting to learn to cook with seitan and are fine one-dish meals. Bryant Terry’s Smothered Seitan Medallions in Mixed-Mushroom Gravy is awesome. Always bring Terry’s Roasted Sweet Potato Puree with Coconut Milk to Thanksgiving dinner.

John Robbins’ Brown Rice Paella is a campfire favorite and Ginger Carrot Cake can be fixed at home and brought along.   Cooking the brown rice for the Paella separately and freezing it, makes cooking the dish after a day of paddling faster and easier. And the frozen brown rice helps keep
the cooler cool! Mediterranean Vegan Cookbook tops the pasta with a real change of pace.
Check out the pesto recipes.

Subtly Sweet Chick Pea Stew from The Macrobiotic Community Cookbook and Red Lentil Soup from The Tempeh Cookbook always work well. Rosemary Popcorn, is a fun start at looking at food differently.

The Rave Diet. Breaking the Food Seduction. Power Foods for the Brain. The Engine 2 Diet. These books have recipes, but I really recommended reading!

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Two months to go before the LifeNuts Challenge!!

9/8/2013

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Only two months left to train to see if you are faster than a 91-year-old in the Indianapolis Monumental half-marathon. We hope you're making good progress. Remember: if you can walk at a brisk 15-minute per mile pace, you'll come close to beating Mike.
Now for a new challenge: Are you faster than a 66-year-old in the marathon? Yes, the 26.2 mile marathon. If any mayor or city council member is up to this challenge and can beat me, he or she will receive a copy of the book, LifeNuts, and a complimentary consultation of how LifeNuts can save city budget dollars. All you need to do is to register at our presentation at the expo on Friday, November 1. Of course, you'll also need a time of around four hours, give or take ten minutes, depending on weather conditions. How valuable is this prize? Remember that the LifeNuts lifestyle is why Mike Fremont is still running marathons in his 90s. Now for his weekly message:

"Training" efforts this past week, 9-1 thru 9-6-13: ran 25 miles, walked 5 miles, raced canoe 3 miles three times.
Schedule for week of 9-8-13: run 30 miles, race canoe 3 miles three times, rest 1 day.

A RUNNER'S TRAVELOGUE OF REWARDING PLACES TO RUN

Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada, smallest national park, 30 miles from Detroit, trails and road, gravel beaches with sand, flat, natural, wildlife especially birds, lake views.
Pelee Island ( by boat from Leamington, ON or U.S.) small, deserted roads, lake views.

The Algarve in Portugal, beaches Praia da Falesia, (1 mile plus, short but amazing red cliff beauty)
Praia da Rocha, and beach at Faro, long. Many beach people go nude or half that way.

San Francisco, the Embarcadero, concrete but interesting harbor; Golden Gate NRA beach

Santa Monica, CA "one of the best 10 beach cities in the world", very wide beach with bikeway

Mt. Washington Auto Road, New Hampshire, 8 miles to summit, pick up about 4800 feet, superb views. Challenging hill, up, as well as down.

Franconia, NH, a 9-mile bikeway, very scenic as picks up some 2000 feet through the "Notch."

Logan, Ohio, Hocking Hills Park, any number of spectacular trails, not paved, natural, good
dining

Peninsula, Ohio, The Towpath, where the Towpath marathon is held, Cuyahoga National Park, crushed stone trail, great natural beauty, no structures. It's where the Ohio and Erie Canal ran, with stone remnants and a wonderful national park museum on the history of the towpath.

Presqu'Ile, PA (greater Erie) The earlier Erie marathons used to do 2 circuits of this park so you can get 13.1 miles of new sights.

Niagara Falls, ON along the Niagara River, a bikeway on a river that doesn't flood (it connects Lakes Ontario and Erie), no industrial or commercial eyesores, land used for vineyards, to historical village Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Vero Beach, FL, the beach along the ocean, great sand at low tide, at least 15 miles of unobstructed beach, maybe the best I have ever run on. Only one high-rise in the whole region. Includes Sebastian Inlet beaches, spectacular tidal flow, surfing and big sea birds to see.

Cape Hatteras, NC, beaches, Ocracoke, Outer Banks, all the running on the beach mileage you could want. Shark's teeth in the sand. Ran 105 miles, 15 miles a day for 7 days about 1982.

Ipswich, MA, Crane Beach, about 5 miles of superb beach with sand dunes and sand trails with beach grasses, hornbeam and maples.

Mill Valley, CA, to Stinson Beach, or vice versa! The famous Dipsea Trail. Challenging, steep, 7.1 miles, beautiful, natural, no buildings, all woods and rocks. Mountain lions have been seen there

Newburyport, MA, north of Boston, Parker River Wildlife Refuge, 6 mile road ending in
beautiful beach just across from Crane Beach mentioned above. Wetland viewing sites, very little traffic, blacktop to dirt road

Sharon Woods, Hamilton County Ohio Park, 5 mile trail circuit heavily wooded with 100 feet of rise per mile - so good hill training, thru spectacular valley and around a lake.

Eleuthera, Bahamas beach. Beautiful gently shelving sand. Do it now before ocean rises and covers it. Natural gas sends up bubbles in wet sand.

Mt. Desert, ME, Bangor area, Acadia National Park, a big hill with magnificent views. The MDI marathon is held here in October.

Chicago lakefront, unobstructed lake view for several miles on concrete surface.

Charleston, SC, many miles of good runnable beach.

Cartagena, Colombia beach

Rio de Janeiro beaches - Copacabana and Ipanema - these are big and interesting and runnable.

Laguna Beach, CA, wide and beautiful.

Dixville Notch, NH, a road to Colebrook picking up about 1500 feet over a mountain pass. Ran a marathon there, one of only 25 in the race. Beautiful scenery, challenging climb, few cars.

Escondido, CA, San Dieguito River Park Trail, Trail #6, Mule Hill. Gorgeous, interesting, warnings about rattlesnakes and mountain lions, about 10 miles, gentle hills.

All these have been most worthwhile to run, quiet, uncrowded, safe except for the snake and lion warnings. Be careful in New Hampshire - there are bumper stickers "I Brake for Moose". Hitting a moose is not like hitting a deer.

Some of these experiences go back as far as 1965; so some of the runs may have changed, for better or for worse! Questions? Call me at 513-771-5087.

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Physician, Heal Thyself!

9/1/2013

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More information from our 91-year-old LifeNut, Mike Fremont.

Training log for the week of August 25th:
Sun. Ran 5
Mon. Canoe race 3
Tue. Ran 10
Wed. Canoe 3
Thurs. Ran 5, walked 5 Fri. Canoed 3 Sat. Rest
Future week forecast: Run 30 to 35, canoe three 3-mile races( weather permitting)

PHYSICIANS OF THE FUTURE

There are some of them out there now. The entire thrust of their medical practice is preventive medicine. Some may mix it in with far eastern medicine, which seems less drastic, less invasive, simpler and maybe even ... less effective than our allopathic kind. Or in some cases it works where nothing else has. Mainly, though, preventive medicine is about what we eat. Diet is implicated in obesity, heart conditions, stroke, diabetes, some popular cancers, MS, some asthma, some arthritis and many, many diseases as listed in Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (a manual by Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine). All of these ailments are affected by diet and many cases are cured, of which I am an example - not just a reporter.

The only diet I trust is commonly known as vegan, which means no animal protein - no meat, poultry, fish, seafood, milk or milk products, and no eggs. It also suggests minimal sugar or refined grains and sensible salt intake. Several world-famous athletes use this diet. Doctors who treat patients with dietary advice include John McDougall, Dean Ornish and Joel Fuhrman. There are many more. By feeding their patients properly they are strengthening their immune systems – which, to my layman’s mind, is what preventive medicine is all about.

Had I undergone standard treatment for cancer (when I was 70) with radiation and chemotherapy in 1994, I seriously doubt I would be writing to you today. In my opinion, my newly-adopted vegan diet enabled my immune system to kill the metastases that was found in my diagnosis.

As said in a previous message, medical schools have not offered nutritional training worthy of mention, to this point. I believe they will. Too much is now known about how diets affect our own health, our national health, and our high incidence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and childhood
obesity. Witness our relatively short life expectancy! Physicians are the ones ideally suited to spread this gospel. Schools will have to require doctors-in-training to UNDERSTAND how to feed their patients. We expect them to comprehend the infinitely complex medicines they prescribe for us. Just because they didn't get this nutritional information in medical school is no longer an adequate excuse not to use the therapeutic value of healthful food in treating patients.

There is in effect a whole new market for this kind of physician! And these people are out there right now! Here's an example. I have a good friend in his sixties who has been treated by a leading local physician for 20 or 30 years. This doctor is on the board of a local hospital. My friend had a life-threatening heart attack, for which he had the usual drastic dangerous treatment. We are lucky he's alive and we give due credit to the surgeon. But I blame the attending physician for allowing my
friend to eat like a fool and shoveling medicines at him for years for blood pressure and cholesterol etc. The doctor had every opportunity to put pressure on him to change his diet, to read certain books, and to change his lifestyle. The standard excuse is that physicians weren't taught to do this.

As an engineer for 45 years, I started out with a slide rule and when I retired we were using computers to design machinery and computer-controlled machine tools to manufacture. Most fields of science don't stand still, but the medicalprofession has effectively remained stagnant in not adopting the principles of nutrition. What with the enormous cost of American medical care,
now $9000 per person per year and expected to go to $14,000 soon, this has to change. Some three-quarters of this cost could be avoided simply by following reasonable lifestyles, mainly diet.

Today the plea of innocence because
of ignorance is no longer compatible with the Hippocratic Oath. Changes are
coming and we should encourage them! Physician, heal thyself and others through
preventive medicine!

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Mike's momentous marathon memories continue ...

Mike's look back in time ...

More from Mike, less than two months from "The Challenge"

Two months to go before the LifeNuts Challenge!!

Physician, Heal Thyself!

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