“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air…”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week three of your training! The routine is getting easier, and the longer days are upon us. However, with summer comes unpredictable weather, vacation plans, and kids out of school. Suddenly your nice and solid routine went out the window! What to do now? This installment of our blog is dedicated to those moments when life throws you a curve ball- the kids get sick, your boss drops a stack of new work on your desk…the RAIN begins. This is the time when you remember your goal: to finish a triathlon and to feel good about your accomplishment. Your objective, remember, is to maintain and/or increase your level of aerobic fitness.

Read the full post on Entering the World of Multi-Sport Racing, Part 4.

Did you know?
Testicular cancer is most common type of cancer in males ages 20 to 35, but can occur at any age. It is very curable, especially when it is found and treated in its early stages.

Steps to take
Do a testicular self-exam (TSE) monthly or as often as advised by your doctor. Find out how to do a TSE from cancer.gov. To show awareness for cancer and give support to cancer survivors, wear a yellow Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG bracelet. Order these bracelets from livestrong.org.

Here are a few numbers recently reported by the National Sleep Foundation:

Read the full post on America’s Poor Sleep Habits.

• 6.9. American adults average only 6.9 hours of sleep a night – less than the 8 hours recommended by most sleep experts.
• 75. That’s the percentage of adults who say their partner has a sleep-related problem. Snoring is the most common complaint, which can be a symptom of sleep apnea.
• 25. Sleep problems affect 25% of American adults in a negative way. While most adults don’t use any sleep aid, 11% say they use alcohol to help them relax. Another 9% use over-the-counter sleep aids and 7% say they use prescription medication.

When Miami Dolphins, Head Athletic Trainer shared the wisdom of his fifth grade teacher, Sister Mary Aldoncha (sp), I was fascinated.

Something must be working right, as Kevin O’Neill has been in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 years, while enduring five regime changes and is still going strong. He was awarded training staff of the year in 2007, so you can imagine what I learn from this friend and colleague.

He never forgot these golden questions and neither will I …

1) Who am I?
2) Where am I going?
3) Do I like myself?

Read the full post on Three Questions That Will Make You Smarter than a 5th Grader.

Did you know?
The 2nd leading cause of unintended deaths in the home is poisoning. This is from drugs, solids and liquid substances, gases and vapors, etc.

Steps to take
Keep all poisons out of children’s reach. Put child-resistant latches on cabinet doors. Follow use and storage instructions on product labels. Install carbon monoxide detectors, too.

If you have been following our blog for the past few weeks, you are ready to begin week 2 of 8 for your sprint triathlon training program. If you are reading our blog for the first time, we suggest reading from the start to get to this point.

Read the full post on Entering the World of Multi-Sport Racing, Part 3.

Did you know?
The number one cause of unintended deaths in the home or a group residence is from falls.

Steps to take
To help prevent falls, use safety rails and mats and nonskid rugs. Keep pathways clear of ice and clutter. Be careful when taking medicines that decrease alertness. Learn more from homesafetycouncil.org/homesafetymonth

While you may be able to tolerate less sleep as an adolescent without immediately noticeable side effects, recent research shows that adults who lack a consistent good night’s sleep can speed up their aging process. In the November 2009 issue of the journal Aging, it was noted that lack of sleep decreases your ability to handle stress, increases neurological and motor deterioration and ultimately shortens your life.

Natraj Krishnan, a research associate at Oregon State University, commented, “This study suggests that young individuals may be able to handle certain stresses, but the same insults at an older age cause genetic damage and appear to lead to health problems and earlier death. And it’s linked to biological clocks.”

Read the full post on Don’t Want to Look So Old? Get More Sleep!.

Did you know?
The 1st Sunday of June is National Cancer Survivors Day. This day honors people who have a history of cancer, their family, friends, and caregivers, and persons who do cancer research and provide treatment and support services.

Steps to take
Start to think of cancer as a chronic illness, not a death sentence. Support cancer research. Learn more from the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, Inc. at ncsdf.org. and from cancer.gov.

A Calendar that will provide a Tip of the Day for June or Any Month!

SparkPeople’s calendar will help put a focus on one healthy habit each month. For June, that means achieving an active lifestyle.

Contained in this calendar are 30 daily tips that will help you include more activity in your day. Click here to download and print your June calendar. (You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this PDF – You can get it here http://get.adobe.com/reader/.)