In other news:
* Study indicates you shouldn't stare at the sun.
* Four out of five meteorologists suggest you shouldn't wrap yourself in tin foil and walk outside during a lightning storm (the fifth was too busy yukking it up with the sports anchor to answer our phone call).
* If you spot a hole in a mud bank that looks big enough to hold a bowling ball or, perhaps something with teeth, you probably shouldn't insert your hand out of curiosity.
I bring all this up because, yes, "in other news," a new study indicates a triathlon can kill you.
Oh really?
The traditional distances used for international triathlon competitions: You swim nearly a mile, you bike nearly 25 miles, then run just over six miles. And I know what you're thinking: "I do all that after swimming? The rash alone will make me wish I was dead."
In order to make this an official study, the cardiologist group in charge of the study had to put numbers to it. They say triathlon deaths number 15 out of a million, which dwarfs the number for mere marathons (4 to 8 out of a million).
For most of us, you wouldn't need a math major to calculate the rate of deaths if we dared try a triathlon: 1 out of 1 is pretty easy to calculate.
Meanwhile, I'll stick to a more modest plan regarding exercise and overall physical upkeep: Do just enough so that one day I don't step off a curb and break a hip. Not for a few more decades, anyway.


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