It starts with the desire to acquire knowledge of nutrition, athletic performance, and their effects on optimal health. Then, the extreme element kicks in where few care to venture. It’s called heat emersion in running, swimming and cycling. Training in 118-degree heat is not for sissies.
People across the world are living longer but not without significant disease and sickness. According to the Mayo Clinic, “The data show that gains in longevity are not matched with equivalent advances in healthy longevity.” In the United States, the culture of seniors is not conducive to a culture of health. Instead of bingo parlors, we ought to have running tracks.
The stigma of growing old is our worst enemy. Society is literally killing the elderly by self-definition. To break this cycle of growing old with physical impairments, one must possess desire, motivation, willpower and courage to stand out from the status quo.
So now we come to the desert mecca of Borrego Springs, where summer temperatures reach well into the triple digits. It’s so hot that more than half the population leaves town during these hellish months. How hot is it? It’s so hot you can fry an egg on the pavement in 30 seconds.
But I don’t go there for eggs. I go there to run — and run fast. Make no mistake, at the age of 71, I have a direct line to my cardiologist, chiropractor, acupuncturist and primary care physician, all through Apple technology monitoring my vitals every second. I even maintain backup technology.
Nutrition is everything in preparing for these runs, including having essential minerals, vitamins and water, water, and more water. Sometimes I feel like Shamu surrounded by water. Most people can not withstand walking 200 feet in this torture let alone 25 miles in one day.
Now, here is something to think about. Plasma accounts for 55% of your blood and helps regulate blood pressure. Blood plasma helps distribute red blood cells to the vital organs. Strenuous exercise requires healthy red blood cells. So, eureka! Running in the heat is scientifically proven to increase blood plasma.
According to Runner’s World magazine, heat training is actually superior to training at altitude. Years ago, I trained in Flagstaff, Arizona, but running in Borrego Springs shows far superior results. Very few men of any age take interest in my passion. Many will ultimately pay dearly in health span.
The elephant is still in the room, however. If we do not voluntarily kill ourselves, American culture will finish the job. Everyday in San Diego, I witness organized social insanity with cars bumper to bumper, not moving with the living dead behind the wheel. We are killing ourselves en masse.
Robert Kennedy Jr. together with his Make America Healthy Again movement has the right intent though sometimes his message is a bit bizarre. Despite how the mainstream media portrays the new secretary of health and human services, Kennedy has solid and mostly valid intentions.
It is not possible to sustain the health of America on the current course. We must reverse our sickly decline. And that is why I choose to swim, cycle and run in the 118-degree heat of Borrego Springs.
Daniel Smiechowski has been an Ironman triathlete since 1985 and has completed over 500 events around the world. He is known as the “Million Mile Man” a television documentary. He lives in San Diego.
