A few observations from the past week.
-We are entering the peak of the fall colors. As such, I am trying to get out more frequently to gaze upon all this spectacular and soothing scenery. It’s pretty darn cool how the simplest things in life are so aesthetically pleasing and FREE!
This is just a friendly reminder to encourage you to do the same before these few precious opportunities pass you by. It can be as easy as stopping to gaze for a few moments throughout your run while choosing routes with more vivid colors, going for a walk around any pond or lake with trees at any time of day, or simply carving out some time to plop down on a lawn chair in front of a favorite spot. It’s so satisfying and calming to your soul so definitely worth it!
-I was drawn to attend to a visitation/wake of a man whose youngest son I grew up with in the same community and school. Although I didn’t know him well, I knew him well enough from the few times I came into contact with him growing up to know that this was a special man who had his priorities in the right order. I’m so glad I went with my parents to pay my respects. I’ve never gone to a wake where so many of a deceased person’s children and several grandchildren got up to share fond & heartfelt memories of their dad and pepaw. It got emotional and was convicting to be reminded on the importance of keeping the main things the main thing and how worth all the extra ‘work’ will be when it’s all said and done when it comes to the sacrifices made for your family. It was so inspirational to hear about how they marveled how he found the time to spend with each of them on top of his full and part time jobs, refereeing multiple sports, and coaching all their teams!
-Runners are downright tough and do not give themselves enough credit. While spectating at the Kansas City Marathon & Half Marathon, I saw runners of all ages and abilities conquering mile after mile, hill after hill (some of them monster hills!), hour after hour. It was an amazing sight to behold on both the power of individual grit and collective toughness. To be able to achieve your time goals (or come close) on this course over these distances and after all the setbacks overcome through months of training is pretty flippin AWESOME! Congratulations to those who have thrown their hat into the ring to see what they can achieve this fall!
Post Race Recovery Tips – Many of you have completed your target race this month. After months of building up and running your race in peak condition, the question becomes, now what?
If longevity in this sport is important to you, NOW is the time to come back down the ‘mountain of peak fitness’ to recover, regroup, and rejuvenate your mind & body. Failure to do so adequately will set you up for a greater risk of injury, burnout, and staleness for your next adventure.
On average, it’s important to take it super easy for 1 week after a 5K or 10K or 2 weeks after a half marathon or marathon. By super easy, it can be anything from complete rest (especially if you are dealing with an injury or burnout) to something completely different like going for walks or low to moderate intensity cross training of your choice, or nothing more than super short & relaxed runs every other day (run streakers should do more than their 1 mile daily minimum for the ‘off days’).
After that, ease back into some form of maintenance mode over the next 2 weeks. There’s no need to gravitate to the harder and longer runs until you are close enough to doing so for your next race (i.e. 8-12 weeks before your next 5K/10K, 12-16 weeks before your next half marathon, 16-20 weeks before your next marathon). Just have fun settling into ‘good enough’ shape to maintain a nice base for the next race, whenever that may happen.
To put it another way, isn’t it great that you don’t need to train SO HARD all year long? You just gotta climb the mountain and enjoy the hard earned view from the top. But, after that, it’ll be time to come back down and take it easy until you decide on your next mountain to climb!
So, have FUN with this aspect of running. You may even want to be like many of the Kenyans who take a complete break from running and indulge in life (and food & drink) to balance out the previous training cycle! Then, when they’ve had their fill of this after several weeks and their ‘pendulum’ is ready to swing the other way, they ease back into running and training.
If you do this, you’ll last longer as a healthy & happy runner, I promise 🙂
Work when it’s time to work, but also Rest when it’s time to rest.
Ordinary People Achieving the Extra Ordinary – Jim Kohout has been through the ringer over the past year with his stage 4 cancer diagnosis. And yet, despite the odds being against him, being a numbers guy like most runners, he made it his goal to complete his 100th and final half marathon. This is his story…
Get us caught up to speed with your cancer
I could live for a couple years…or live for quite awhile. It used to be that if you got to Stage 4 cancer….that you would have a couple years to live. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer last Fall, when the cancer spread from my bladder to my lungs. At that point…in October, they started immunotherapy. I’m on a drug called Keytruda that stimulates the immune system to prevent the further growth of cancer. It is working quite well. I still have the cancer, but it is in remission. It is not spreading, and the tumor that developed in the lungs is shrinking. I get CAT scans every 9 weeks to provide evidence that the immunotherapy is working. Also, I get immunotherapy treatments every 3 weeks. If this continues, and I stay in remission, then I may beat the cancer, and need no more treatments. This determination would be made in January 2026.
When the immunotherapy was started in October of 2023, they also started me on a new chemotherapy that ended in January of this year. The chemo kicked my rear end. I lost all of my hair, and couldn’t eat….and I could hardly drink anything. I lost 30 lbs and had no strength or energy. Once the chemo stopped in January, then I started eating again, and regained strength. At that time, I couldn’t walk a block. I started walking at the gym, and soon got up to 2 miles. One of the side effects of the immunotherapy is neuropathy and vertigo when I stand still for a couple minutes. I’m not in pain…but I can only run for about 1 minute at a time.
You recently completed your 100th and final half marathon. Why did you decide to make this your final one?
This was my final half marathon due to issues related to Stage 4 bladder cancer, and due to neuropathy in the feet. I can only run a bit…I mostly walked.
Talk about what it took to make it to the start line of this final half marathon
It tool a lot of effort. When I finished chemotherapy earlier this year ( January 2024), I could only walk about a block. I had to train hard to get to 13.1 miles.
I retired from my job at end of March. With the extra time, I started going to the gym more. Then I decided to walk/run the Omaha Half Marathon. The training was brutal….but i stayed locked in…and got up to 13 miles. I don’t have pain, as the cancer is not in the bones…..but I have a tingling feeling in the feet…and my balance is sometimes unsteady. Anyways, I’ve pulled off a feat that I don’t believe many could do. My doctors are amazed…and my urologist may have me speak to a cancer support group about the positive effects of exercise, and a strong mental attitude.
How did your 100th half go?
Much better than expected. I trained hard…and the weather was perfect…about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
How did it feel to cross that finish line for the final time?
Pure elation….. a great feeling. My wife met me at mile 13…and we walked in the last .1 mile.
How many half marathons have you pace?
I’ve lost track …about 20 halves.
Share some of your favorite half marathon memories both as a race participant and as a pacer
One of my favorite running memories was that I thought we got to the half marathon in Grand Island, Nebraska about an hour early. I was sitting down and relaxing…and then heard the gun go off. I ran about a minute to the start line, and continued at a sub 8 minute pace…..and finished in 1 hour and 43 minutes…which was a PR for me.
I really enjoyed pacing halves. Usually, I would work in motivational techniques after mile 10 when a person would get fatigued. If they would start to walk…I would ask them how long they trained. When they answered the question, I would say….”Did you train this long to quit at mile 10?” This always worked..they would start running again!
What running and racing achievements are you most proud of and why?
My personal enjoyment was the journey, not the completion of the journey. I enjoyed meeting other runners, and setting goals for myself…to see if I could reach the goals.
How many marathons did you complete? Which marathon was your favorite and why?
Completed 18 full marathons. My favorite was Chicago…finished it in 3:56. Almost every mile was at a 9 minute pace.
Why and how did you get into running?
Just love running. I don’t need any external motivation. Always ready…when I’m feeling good!
What sage running & racing advice would you like to pass along to people who want to keep doing this year after year?
Keep a strong mental attitude….listen to your body, when tired,… and get out of your comfort zone, and run harder when you can.
What are your running, racing, and exercise plans moving forward?
Will still keep running and exercising…but will cut the distance back to a maximum of about 6 miles. I will still do events up to a 10K distance, and hopefully increase the ratio of time that I run….relative to walking.
Another amazing thing…after all that Ive been through…I still have good knees, hips and feet!
Streaker Update – Great job to the following people for keeping their daily exercise streaks going: Michael Andersen (97 days), Laura May (177 days), Scotty Todd (540 days), Megan Hamilton (663 days), Ryan Kimbrell (804 days), Karen Hayse (1,030 days), Sarah Johnson & Sylvia Davison (1,242 days), Eric Leigel (1,476 days), Greg Schultz (1,615 days), Kenny Miller (1,616 days), Kallie Flexman (1,639 days), John Pitzel (1,653 days), Rebecca Kandt (1,665 days), Dawña Garza (1,679 days), Chau Smith (1,682 days), Micah Jacobsen (2,231 days), Stephanie Michaelis (2,731 days), Tomi Duffett (2,902 days), Ken Skrien (3,108 days), Emily Lott Viebrock (3,252 days), John Crum (3,258 days), Cheryl Lentz (3,709 days), Ben Chan (4,231 days)!
We invite you to consider crafting any type of streak that helps you release stress while boosting your health and joining us for positive accountability but keeping it simple with trusting in the ‘honor system’. I’m happy to add you to our list!
Have a great week!
Eladio Valdez III