It’s officially summertime, but if you’re training for the Susan G. Komen 3‑Day^®, the livin’ ain’t easy, contrary to the old song.

If it’s getting unbearably hot where you live, you might wish you were relaxing, traveling or doing anything else besides training, but you must stay focused on getting ready to walk 20 miles a day for 3 days in a row.

Accountability is Key. Walkers can help hold one another accountable for their goals by providing encouragement or, better yet, by training together.

“In general, group exercise—or even just exercising with a friend—is thought to enhance adherence,” says Wendy Kohrt, PhD, a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the Nancy Anschutz Endowed Chair in Women's Health Research, and member of American Bone Health’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board. “Getting out the door for your morning walk may be more likely to occur if someone is waiting for you on the corner!”

To help hold you accountable, there are 3‑Day training walks happening all across the country. Use this link to search for walks taking place near you. You don’t have to be registered to attend a training walk, so please be sure to bring a friend, or you can just meet a new one at the walk.

Feet Don’t Fail Me Now! While you’re training this summer, don’t forget to work on your feet—after all, they’ll be carrying you for 60 miles over 3 days! Here are some simple exercises to strengthen and stretch your feet, courtesy of Harvard Healthbeat.

Straight Talk from the Pink Bubble – How Does Walking the 3‑Day Keep You Healthy? “The training walks built my stamina and gave me a level of strength I didn't know I had. My initial goal in training was to walk 10 miles and follow it with 8 miles the next day. Once I did that, I decided I wanted to push it further. Ultimately, I think I ended up with a 25-mile day toward the end of training and I knew I was more than ready to tackle the 3‑Day.” Hank Margeson—2018 first-time walker, ready for 2019!

Time for a pop quiz… well, survey!
Throughout this series, we’ve been talking a lot about bone health and what choices you can make to impact your bone health as you get older. Do you know how to build and maintain strong bones? We would like to know what you know — and what you don’t know — so we can better educate and empower people like you to build and maintain strong, healthy bones for life. Take the poll here now, it should only take 2-3 minutes of your time and we can’t make an impact without your feedback!

This email is a part of the Healthy Living: Preparing your Mind, Body and Bones for the 3-Day Series. To catch up on blogs and emails about Healthy Living, click here.

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