Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Howie Long, and Men's Health

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."– Carlos Castaneda

Yesterday, I mentioned my conversation with Ed Budde, the president of the Kansas City Chiefs alumni Association.  He referred to himself as an old chief and the feedback that I gave was for him to re frame that and call himself a Kansas City Chief Instead.  I wanted him to remove the word “old” so that he could challenge this depiction.  We want to think of ourselves and about ourselves positively and remove words that have a negative connotation.

 I am going to share with you one story about Ed.  Some years ago, on a Sunday, I was watching an NFL program, with past players talking about the current football games.  Howie Long, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, was telling a story about when the Raiders and the Chiefs were playing one Sunday.  Lined up across from Howie for the Kansas City Chiefs was none other than Brad Budde, the eighth overall pick in the draft.  During the game, Howie busted Brad’s nose.  Howie said he heard that Papa Budde was at the game, angry, and was looking to tear up Howie in the tunnel.  Hall of Famer Long said he did not want anything to do with Papa Ed. I am gowing to ask Ed about that story. Ed has a reputation.

A while ago I was writing about Men’s Health.  Ways to improve men’s life expectancy.  Presently, the average life expectancy for men is 77 years, compared to 82 for women.  Some recommendations to increase life expectancy are as follows: 1. Have an annual physical, preventive screening tests, and immunizations. 2.  Do not smoke-men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer and smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer death in men. 3.  Be physically active-a minimum of 30 minutes most days of the week. 4.  Eat a heart healthy diet-fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars. 5.  Stay at a healthy weight-balance calories from food and beverages with calories you burn off my physical activities. 6.  Manage your stress-stress, particularly long-term stress can be a factor in the onset or worsening of ill health.  Managing stress is essential to health and well-being and should be practiced daily. 7.  Drink alcohol in moderation-that means no more than two drinks a day.  I.e. 12 ounce bottle of beer, 5 ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits. 8. Know your family health history- learn about relatives that are deceased.

Website that might be helpful: us.movember.com/men’s health/.  Remember, these eight recommendations is good advice for everybody. I am doing my part: Digger and I ran an 8 to 9 mile loop incorporating Dead Truck in the process.  I add fruits and vegetables to my morning smoothie.  I also make more than enough and have a least one to two glasses for lunch as well. Be and stay healthy.

Cowboy Poetry Reading,Getting Better Grades, and Men's Health Issues

"It is necessary to try to surpass oneself always; this occupation ought to last as long as life."– Queen Christina

On Saturday, November 26, 2011, I plan to do a book signing at the Placer County Farm Supply located  at 10120 Ophir  Rd. , Newcastle, California  95658  from 12:00 – 2:00 PM.   Hopefully you can arrange your schedule and be there as well.  Early morning, on that date, our running group is planning to do a run also. This Saturday the 12^Th, Pam will be taking copies of “It Has Nothing to Do with Age” to the annual cowboy poetry reading in Nevada.  Placer County Farm Supply has a booth and will be selling my book there too.  Unfortunately, Secretariat and I will be running the hills at Stinson Beach in Marin County.  And as the Queen says “Do your best, as long as you can.” I am looking forward to the run  on the 26 as well as the book signing,  since both fall on my birthday . I am pleased that I have the will, strength, and health to continue  what I do at a high level.

For those of you that still take exams or know someone who does, take the following test as to the best way to study.  This article was found in the October 26, 2011 Wall Street Journal.  How To Ace the Test: 1. Review the hardest material, right before bedtime. 2.  Turn off music, text messages, TV and e-mail .3.  Test yourself repeatedly. 4.  Eat oatmeal for breakfast.  The correct answer s is?  Test yourself repeatedly before an exam, because it teaches your brain to retrieve and apply knowledge from memory.  This method is more effective than re-reading a textbook. Sleep also plays a role in test performance.  Review the toughest material right before going to bed the night before the test.  And, do not wake up earlier than usual to study because that could interfere with rapid eye movement sleep that aids memory.  A common study habit like pulling an all nighters’ is a bad idea. A high carbs, high fiber, slow digesting food like oatmeal is best to eat before a big exam.  Further, one study had 16 college students tested on attention and thinking speed.  The students were fed a five day high-fat, low-carbs diet heavy on meat, eggs, cheese and cream. The researchers found these students had poor test performance.  How could that diet be good for anybody?  Researchers also found that distractions make you less likely to remember material you were studying at that time.  Turn off the electronics.  Study, learn, and enhance your life.

Back to the previous discussion about men’s health.  Some the reasons for the poor state of men’s health in the US and around the world are numerous and complex.  And this is primarily due to lack of awareness of the health issues men face.  This can largely be attributed to the reluctance of men openly discussing the subject due to long-standing traditions, coupled with an “I’ll be alright attitude.” Men are less likely to schedule doctor’s appointments when they feel ill, or for an annual physical, thereby denying them the chance of early detection and effective treatment of common diseases.

Many men do not get regular health checks because: 1. Fear it will lead to a hospital visit.2.  Embarrassed to discuss their health issues.3.  Find it too hard to see a doctor because they just cannot fit into their schedule. 4.  Just cannot be bothered making an appointment.

Who says that men are foolish and employ such defense mechanisms as denial, rationalization, projection, and conversion?  I do!  For me, I do not want a health issue to get in the way of my life and as the Queen says”I want to be able to continue and surpass what I do.” Guess what, I just had blood work, taken for my annual physical checkup.

Geoffrey Mutai, Trail Race Challenge, and Men's Health

"Every time I go out there, I win. Every time I finish the task that I've set before myself, I win again."David James Elliott

Can you believe that Geoffrey Mutai ran mile 22 and mile 23 in 9:04 in last Sunday’s New York City Marathon?  Wow!  If you have run against the clock, either on the track, trail, or street for 2 miles, you can appreciate how fast Geoffrey ran. If you have ever run a marathon, remember how you felt after 21 miles?  So for that man, to run at that pace, seems remarkable to me.  By the way he set a new course record with a finishing time of two hours, 5 minutes and 6 seconds without having a rabbit or pacer.  Hats off to you Geoffrey on your accomplishment for a job well done.  This source is taken from the Wall Street Journal, November 7, 2011.

 For another extreme, I just read about a relatively new ultra in Louisiana.  This 126.2 mile race goes along the Mississippi River levee and is called the Rouge-Orleans.  The inaugural race was held last March.  Two men put together a point-to-point course that hugs the Mississippi River, the longest river in the nation.   If you do not want to run a solo you can put together a team consisting of 2-6 people.   Some of the difficulties in this run include the following: aid stations are located at miles 5, 25, 50, 75, and 105; there is not much shade; and you are going to be running on a flat and gravel surface.     For humor on their website, they warn the runners “If you are unable to finish the race you will be fed to the alligators.”  .  In 2011, there was a solo finisher.  If interested go to www.forgeracing.net.  This source was taken from Trail Runner, December, 2011.

How many of you would be interested in competing in a trail run of 5 to 10 miles with obstacles or challenges along the way.  A challenge could be some variation of the following: 1. Push-ups. 2.   Chins. 3.  Running in water. 4.  Lifting a tree. 5.  Carrying water buckets uphill.6.  Running backwards. 7.  Jump roping. 8.  Swimming. 9. Climbing a tree 10. Jumping jacks. 11.  Sit-ups. 12. Balancing on a cylinder.  13.  Plyometrics exercises.

It  seems  that this trail run would be a test of speed, endurance, upper body strength, fast twitch muscles, and coordination- balance.  Of course the challenges would require more refining.  Input from a personal trainer, physical therapist, and fitness operator would be welcomed, necessary and pertinent.

On our tapering run today, I talked about this idea with Secretariat.  He said it reminded him somewhat of his days in the military.  In fact he did well, with his obstacle training while in the Air Force.   The trails in and around Cool would be perfect for this type of event. .  I would appreciate input regarding putting on a race like this.  Would you come and do it?

Now for a few statistics: 1. An estimated 13 million adult men over the age of 20 in the US have diabetes-and 1/3 do not know it.2.  Approximately 50,000,000 men and women in the US have high blood pressure-almost 30% of them do not know it.3.  About one in three adults has high blood pressure, and blood pressure tends to rise with age. 4.  One in eight men who suffer from mental illness actually seeks help. 5.  Four times as many men commit suicide compared with women.6.  24% of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women.

 It is no wonder women live longer than men.  Men we must do a better job of taking care of ourselves.  More about this health topic tomorrow.