Yes, I have a personal trainer. His name is Daniel, he’s 27 and super cute. I see him twice a week, and it’s a love/love relationship. I love his personality, the fun we have and how much he helps me grow. And I admit I love the way he kicks my butt. I’ve always been drawn to challenges.

I started playing sports in 7th grade at the small Catholic school I attended. We had a fierce Catholic school sports league in my hometown, and my tiny school was often league champion in both boys and girls sports. I’ve also had ferocious asthma since the day I was born. (I’ll write more about my dad later, but all credit goes to my dad for not allowing me to be the ‘sick kid’ but instead, take charge of the asthma and not let it wreck me.) Anyway, the point is, I’ve been athletic most of my life.

I played HS volleyball, basketball, softball, track, and even badminton. I started in Judo in 9th grade and then Tang Soo Do (Korean Karate) when I was 19. I competed in both Judo and Karate until my son started school in 1986. I ran for fun and did 5K/10Ks until the turn of the century when I trained for my first marathon. Since then, I’ve competed in marathon, 1/2 marathon, triathlon and cycling events. I’m a seasoned veteran. So why a trainer? Even trainers have trainers. Here’s why:

• We don’t know everything. No matter how experienced, we can and should learn new things
• He or she will show us what we’re ‘doing wrong’ and correct our form and technique
• We like comfort and our ‘rut’. A trainer will push us out of our comfort zone and somehow get us to do things we thought were impossible. I would not do squats, lunges or dead-lifts on my own. I just wouldn’t
• We take the workout seriously when we’re paying for it. We show up when we have an appointment and we don’t skip or slack
• We share our goals and our trainer will create a program specifically designed to meet those goals
• They help us with nutrition and diet, making us accountable for what we consume
• They come up with crazy, fresh and fun ways to work out that we can’t even imagine – until we do it
• They celebrate our victories and encourage us to be our best!