a gift to myself

Turning sixty took me aback a little. I spent the day fairly gloomy until my kids called to tell me I was still cool, even if I was OLD!!! I still don't know how I got this far so fast - it does fly by, even if you live by "time is a thief and life is so brief, when you're undecided..." I do try not to be undecided, at least for the last 10 years or so. I had been struggling with sore feet for about a year - the dreaded plantar fasciitis - anyone who has had it knows what I am talking about. It was miserable. I had lost my graduate school weight about 6 or 7 years ago and had kept it off pretty well...when my feet went bad (due to pounding the pavement on race walks with a former boss) I quickly gained 10 lbs which were very reluctant to leave. I finally put myself in a Kaiser weight loss class last summer and really attacked the foot problem at the same time - my podiatrist finally gave me cortisone shots in my heels (really, not as bad as it sounds) which finally cured the problem. I also got back down to a reasonable weight and could zip my pants again. (One of the deals I made with myself the last time I lost the weight was that I would NEVER buy a larger size again... that was one of the things that drove me this time.)

Once I was feeling better, I decided to finally get back going to the gym - County employees get a good deal - and this time I decided to get a trainer. Not cheap, but worth it since I am a total klutz and totally unfamiliar with all the equipment. My trainer turned out to be a nice kid, Johnny, who really knew what he was doing, training-wise. I told him about all my weak parts, of which there are many, especially my left shoulder and knees that sound like they have crinkly cellophane in them. He made sure I didn't over do it, but he gradually cranked up the weight and made sure I tried a lot of different things. After 10 sessions, I really do feel better. The best thing is that I am not afraid of the gym anymore. I can do 15 minutes on the elliptical machine, I know, not much for most people, but that's a biigggg deal for me!

Now the big challenge is to keep going. Before, I had an appointment, so I went. Now I have to start going on my own. This is where the proverbial sneakers hit the treadmill. Wish me determination!