Nutrition, exercise, and health in general have been my passion. As a dental hygienist, mom, and "practicing nutritionist," I have been motivated to educate others on the issues of limiting sugar, having good digestion, improving our immune system, and making superfoods a part of an overall healthy diet. But I also feel compelled to help in additional ways, and this year I am doing an Olympic distance triathlon with Team in Training for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The thousands of individuals involved with Team in Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. The triathlon will involve a swim of almost one mile (in a river), followed immediately by a 26-mile bike ride and then a 10-K (6.2 miles) run. It takes place in Philadelphia at the end of June 2007--feel free to visit my website for more information!

Normally I work out 5-7 days a week, which I have been doing for over 15 years. I decided that the older I get, the harder it is to keep starting over every time I get too busy to work out. Now I know at the beginning of the week when and what I will be doing: swimming 45-60 minutes several times a week, running, elliptical training or deep water jogging 2-3 days, and spinning (cycling) two days. In winter I also do 2-3 days of weight training a week. I give myself permission to take time off in winter more than in summer to give my legs especially a break, though I really haven't this year.

With the triathlon coming up, what I am doing now is training seven days straight, with a day off every 2-3 weeks. I swim 50-60 minutes for two days, distance one day (swimming 40 minutes or more freestyle before I switch strokes), then do stroke work with sprints and mixed strokes another day. On Saturday under a coach's supervision, I participate in Master Swim for 1½ hours. Sometimes the coach has us sprint most of the session, which can be as much as 4500 yards at a time.

I've been building up my running mileage, going slower for a longer period of time, building up to 12 miles eventually, then adding speed within four or five weeks. I'm at 4-5 miles right now. I still haven't biked outside yet--that great Cleveland weather! I am spinning two times a week, then running after for 20 minutes, and will gradually increase the time for this feature of my training. Though triathlon officially comprises three sports, they say it is actually four because of the transitions, which are really hard. Your legs are as wobbly as they can be going from one thing to the other! I am still doing weight training (core and abs), which has really helped me a lot. I also continue to do some elliptical and stair work when running inside, but find the treadmill boring.

When I started with Simplexity Health products almost 10 years ago, one of the first things I noticed was that I didn't feel wiped out after I exercised. Usually I felt like I was dragging my body out of the locker room, thankful that I was done and could eat! But with the products, I almost always feel energized after training; I can feel how they are supporting me. During training, I will increase my daily amount of antioxidant CoQ10, as well as vitamin E every other day. I'll also start using Alpha Gold again before a workout...oh my, there is nothing like it, especially at 6 AM! I normally use six Alpha Sun and four Omega Sun, as well as E-12 with meals daily. If I am running at night, I might take four more Alpha Sun around 1 or 2 PM. I will use Acidophilus and Bifidus at my cleansing times (spring and fall), and increase the amount of enzymes, taking them throughout the day. I just started using StemPlex and I think it is the combination of StemPlex and a more consistent exercise routine, diet, and the other supplements I am using that allow me to feel less sore, tired, overstressed, and more focused than I have in the past. Even though I have a tough routine (which will only get longer as I get closer to the summer), I feel very joyous and energized, and very focused on giving to Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I will be ever grateful to Simplexity Health and Super Blue Green Algae for giving me what my body has needed--awesome nutrition and great physical and mental support. I'm also grateful for the incredible people who have supported and nurtured me, especially Kate Rander, who encouraged me to submit my story to Team Simplexity.

I'll look forward to updating this report after June 2007 so that I can share with you the results of the triathlon!

Marla Schlessel