Roses for my Birthday

These are the roses I got for my birthday. They were from the man in my life. (And my mom.)
That's right, when my mom asked my nephew Caelen what she should get me for my birthday he said, "I think she would like roses Grandma." So, on Monday, there was my mom holding these. They are beautiful and awesome, just like the people I got them from.

Special note - we are raising one hell of a good man!

Yours in (mental) health, Kate

My Left Knee

No, this isn't a sequel to "My Left Foot". I will not be talking about an artist who is mostly paralyzed but can miraculously play guitar.

I walked instead of running yesterday for my 37 minutes. On my way up to Valley High School my knee started hurting. I blew it off and kept going because I live by the expression, "Walk it off". It got a little better and I stared down the Valley track.

When I was in high school, I couldn't run all of the way around it. I would pant, bitch, moan and inevitably slow to a walk (almost crawl) while thinking my heart could probably explode at 17. So, on the way to the school, which was really about making a loop past it and heading back to the gym, I decided the track and I were going to come to terms.

I approached the blacktop and it looked as daunting as ever, amazing the tricks the mind plays. I took lane 8 - the outside lane - and started in earnest. The track yawned out in front of me like a big black tiger that would rather consume me than let me run. I started running harder, I have no idea why. I finished the 1/4 mile-lap in 2:20. Not bad. That fat high school girl has retired.

Anyway, the knee. I had to walk harder to cover the same distance back to the club. By the time I got back I knew my knee was cranky, but today it's out-right pissed off.

This is the knee I had to have rebuilt 10 years ago (all original parts) after an idiot ran through me rather than around when playing softball. (He was out so HA!) With that knowledge, I have a theory - the warranty is up on the reconstruction. If this persists, as it has on and off for months, I will have to call the doc. For now, I am going home to fry my core.

Yours in fitness, Kate

P.S. - the 37 Workout went great yesterday and trainer Traci thought it was a great idea.

The 37 Workout

Today is my first full day of being 37. I was born at 11:52 p.m., so I was technically only 37 for 8 minutes yesterday. To that end (and because I was too tired to go yesterday), today will be my "Birthday Celebration Workout". I don't think normal people use those words together.



Since I am now 37, I have decided to do 37 of everything today - in a row. As in:

37 minute run (that's a 5K+)

37 squats (cake)
37 inverted crunches (doable)
37 push-ups (okay, that's gonna have to be done in multiple sets - but it'll be sets in a row)
37 bicep curls (love it)
37 of some other kind of crunch
37 tricep extension (that's gonna be sore tomorrow)
37 hamstring on ball moves (I have no idea what it's really called)
37 shoulder moves (we'll see how far I get after last week's injury)
37 butt extensions (nope, not even near what's it's really called, but I do it on a machine and I know what it is, so that all that counts)
37 of whatever I randomly choose at the gym

Appropriately that is 370 exercises + 37 minutes running. I think I will make this an annual tradition, so it will only get more challenging as I get older. Of course, we'll see what I have to say about this way of thinking at 95! But then, I like to think, I'll always be up for a challenge.

Yours in fitness, Kate

From the beginning... It's All About Me

Monday's columns are always about how to get started on a weight loss/ health regime or tips I learned at the beginning of my journey. Today is the ultimate one - It's all about me.

That may sound conceded or selfish, but it's flat-out the truth. You cannot do this for anyone except yourself. If you do you will fail and worse yet, you will blame that poor unsuspecting schmuck you were 'doing all this for'.

You will benefit this most from losing the weight - better health, better mental fitness, better relationships, better shopping - so it needs to be all about you. Especially since you are the only one who can keep the pumpkin spice Kisses out of your mouth (damn evil Hershey's people). You are the only one who can put your butt on a treadmill at the gym. You are the only one who is ultimately responsible.

So, on my 37th birthday, as I take stock of my life, I am grateful to me. I have stumbled, I have failed, I have put another Kiss in my mouth - but I have also come a long way baby. And because of that, I expect to celebrate several decades of birthdays to come and that is the ultimate gift - for me.

Yours in health, Kate

I do not know this baby, but this is how much I love birthday cake too.