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From the Banks of the Ohio to the Streets of Indianapolis

10/27/2013

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PictureDr. Bob and Mike in the 2012 Marshall University marathon
It's now been almost a year since we launched the LifeNuts vitality program with a presentation at the Marshall University marathon expo. Mike broke the world marathon record for a 90-year-old and we both enjoyed the scenery along the Ohio River. So this weekend marks the one year anniversary that LifeNuts has gone public. Unfortunately no city or village has taken up the challenge. But we're still hoping that a runner will convince his or her city council to implement the program for a year and see if it saves budget dollars.
    But, for now, we'll again present this coming Friday, November 1, at the Indianapolis Monumental marathon expo and once again hope that some marathon runners will take the LifeNuts program home. This will be Mike's last blog for a while. He's postponed having his shoulder repaired surgically until he fulfills his part of the LifeNuts challenge in the IMM half marathon. That's quite a generous gesture on the part of a 91-year-old. Don't miss the chance to meet him, to run with him, and to soak in the knowledge and wisdom that he exudes. Maybe he'll have a sign to carry so that you can locate him on Saturday morning. One thing for sure: he'll probably line up near the end of the pack at the start. Cheer him on if you see him. He's a hero in my book! Here's his weekly blog:

Running Practice, week of October 20|: walked 5, ran 22 miles
Likely runs, week of Oct. 27, two 10-mile practice, 5-mile walk and IMM half-marathon, = 33.1 plus the walk.
             
           THE CHALLENGE

 We started this challenge in  June: Can you beat a 91-year old in the half-marathon? The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, that is. Why June? To give you time to practice for it, in case you had doubts about your capability. Please note that I, 91, can run about as fast as a 4-year old boy (world champion) if he held on to his mother's little finger. Truly. The statistic is that he ran a whole marathon in a little over 6 hours in 1972 or so; so a half could have taken him less than 3 hours. They no longer list him but they do list a 5-year old with a marathon time of 5:25! Woo hoo!

Recognizing finally that letting little ones run marathons was akin to cruelty to animals, the race officials now record only males 14-year-olds and up in the half-marathons. Acknowledging the superiority of women, they record the time of a 9-year old girl, 1:59:58. I did a 2:02 at age 80, to
compare.

That's why I promise to go slow. Because I can't go fast! Your challenge is to walk steadily for about 3 hours. You can easily pass me at an hour or sooner.

It's really amusing to run at this age. I can't run fast enough in cool weather to get warm. I can't run hard enough to get tired. Or get sore muscles. There's talk I'm trying to break the world record for age 91. Nonsense! The competition is too fierce! It's me! And I'm 7 months older now than when I set the record, which means nearly 4 minutes slower.

Sincere congratulations if you pick up the challenge! Let's talk on the way! and at the finish.

 Maybe they'll have me or a standard-bearer holding a flag on a stick at the start so we can start off together and you can gauge your pace to suit.

We'll be making a presentation at the Expo at 1:00 PM on Friday. If you pick up on some of what we have to say it could improve your health, weight, speed and quality of life. I've been running
marathons for 42 years and shorter races as well, and Bob Kroeger has run 60 marathons in the past 6 years. Looking forward to seeing you then!



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One more passionate plea from Mike.

10/20/2013

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Picture
The countdown now is less than two weeks - to see if you are faster than a 91-year-old in the Indy Monumental half marathon. Mike's ready. Are you? Some of you who read this have decided to not take this challenge and continue to carry unhealthy weight. Fine. That's your choice. But, if we do this challenge again in 2014, you'll have an entire 11 months to prepare. Please don't be afraid: if you adopt the LifeNuts lifestyle, you'll kick the obesity habit and start a new life.
    As you'll see below, Mike has a lot of irons in the fire, a high ikigai, a term the Japanese use to describe purpose in life. There is no word in Japan for retirement. Mike's ikigai is contagious.

Running for the week of October 13: 30 miles (3 ten milers), plus a 5-mile walk
Plan for the week of Oct. 20, same as above, plus or minus a few miles.

                                       TWO LIVES

Some of us lead two lives, one in the here and now, as we always have. Our other life is in the future, where we believe it will be quite different, perhaps "nasty, brutish and short".

You know about the future one - global warming. Too hot to grow crops over much of the planet. Nine billion people to feed by 2100, to clothe, house and transport. Exhaustion of natural resources such as potable water, wood and fish. Metals and other minerals scarce. Hundreds of millions of desperate refugees from countries evacuated because of the rise in sea level. Resource wars. We will kill to get supplies. Dictatorships. Lives shortened by nuclear disasters (more Fukushimas) if not
nuclear wars.

Contemplating this miserable gloom and doom that lies ahead - so soon - is so dismal that we gratefully return to our present healthy and prosperous lives, living as kings and queens never did in all of history. When will we stop burning fossil fuels? When will massive methane clathrates melt and surface? When will we control our population growth and reverse it? Have we the intelligence to prevent the end of civilization and of human life on earth? Will we spend the next 3, 10, 20 years doing effectively nothing to change our privileged world to prevent this horrible calamity? Will we spend this time to the tipping point squabbling over gay marriage, pitting murderous Shiites against Sunnis? Investing in more fences to keep out Mexicans? Burning the rest of our fossil fuels?

We cannot adapt to the expected changes. We can reverse the situation at reasonable cost if  we understand what is happening, and force our Congress and President to act IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST. NOW! I'm doing what I can. I'm worried about my children, grandchildren
and great grandchildren. Good luck, gang!

Editor note: One simple thing that we can all do is to take a few cloth bags with us when we go shopping for groceries. A few years ago Kroger stores offered a rebate of a few pennies every time a customer brought in his or her bags. More than a few folks took advantage. But when Kroger stopped the promotion, most returned to using the plastic bags. Believe it or not, if everyone would do this simple environmental act, it would help! Here's a book that offers more ideas on how we can preserve our resources: http://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Global-Warming-Save-Money/dp/0740733273/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382315362&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=100+ways+to+stop+global+warming
You can buy the book for a penny plus shipping. You can make a difference!

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Only three weeks to go!! November 2 draws near!

10/13/2013

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Picture
As race day quickly approaches, Mike's blogs are numbered. And, if you can, please come to hear him in person at our expo presentation at the Indianapolis Monumental marathon on Friday, November 1. Here are some more insightful comments from my favorite 91-year-old.

Training for last 2 weeks: ran 65 miles total, walked 5.

GENES AND CANCER
     
BRCA1 and BRCA2. Lay description: mutation of genes that normally furnish proteins that destroy breast cancer cells, removing this normal protection. If women have them, this leaves them open to from a 55% to 65% chance of getting breast cancer, our #4 killer. Angelina Jolie recently had
mastectomies because she had these genes, and said she reduced her chances from 87% to 5% thereby. (Confusing figures).

I believe the 55 to 65 percentage is a simple statistical American figure. The incidence of breast cancer is high in the US, compared to dietarily different countries, like Japan.

A few years ago there was an American study showing that African-American men over 55 had much more prostate cancer than white men of that age group. The natural implication is that it's
because of their racial differences. However, people are not the same as laboratory mice or rats, which are bred most carefully to be absolutely as identical with each other as possible. I believe it is likely that diet may be the principal deciding factor and the stresses of life a secondary one, rather than race. It may be that if the feed and stress were reversed, the whites would get more prostate cancer than the African-Americans.

Likewise, the breast cancer 55 to 65 percentage might grossly diminish if we implement a disease
preventive lifestyle like LifeNuts. Diet and exercise! Please consult the Nutrition Guide for
Clinicians
, 2009, pages 172 - 187. Also be aware that women who have been sexually abused (at least 1 in 4 women have been) have a higher than average risk for many diseases.That kind of stress can be fatal.

The October 8th New York Times carried an article called Weighing Preventive Surgeries which reported that your BRCA genes also decide that ovarian cancer has a 40% to 60% likelihood for you: so maybe you should have ovaries removed. Uterine cancer is somehow related. The article discussed all possible options: Fallopian tubes, hysterectomies, surgical menopause. There was no conclusion. Just confusion.

NOTHING  ABOUT PREVENTION. NOTHING ABOUT DIET AND EXERCISE. NOTHING ABOUT STRESS MANAGEMENT.

Is it possible that doctors only understand prevention if it involves surgery? LifeNuts stresses personal responsibility in the areas of health, diet, exercise, and stress management. To ignore these aspects of life or to assign them to someone or something else usually means trouble.

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    Author

    Dr. Bob Kroeger is the founder of LifeNuts. He's also proud to be a LifeNut.

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