No Heart Left Behind

Yes it’s true. I want to make sure that everyone gets a Valentine on FEB14. Remember when you were a kid and you got the big bag of Valentines and gave one to everyone else; along with those candy hearts that have messages on them!

Valentines Day can be about that kind of love again too, not just romantic love. So:

1. I am giving away 7 Day gift subscriptions to my site Greetums.com.

2. I have created the hashtag #noheartleftbehind for updates and tweetchats (this Wednesday, FEB10)

3. all you have to do is follow me and make sure I follow you too, then DM your email and I will send you details.

4. Once you redeem your gift subscription, every Greetum Valentine/Love eCard includes a 7 Day gift subscription for the Recipient.

These subscriptions are unlimited within the 7 days so you and your friends and family can share and send unlimited Valentines this year for FREE.

Contact me @Greetums for details and to get on the list.

What Makes Kat Caverly Run?

Special Announcement: I am running my first half-marathon (13 miles) on April 25th. Remarkable considering that as of today my personal best is 500 feet! Yes I was pretty lame, almost literally.

As a child I had to learn to fight because I couldn’t run. I think it was just because I was so damn skinny; no muscle. So my wee muscles would fail and I would fall. Boom! Eventually I just stopped trying to run and I built up a prejudice against running.

For the past 26 years I have taken fitness very seriously; swimming, weight lifting, hatha yoga, Feldenkrais, boxing, pilates and I built some serious muscle! I like being strong and a couple of years ago I decided I needed to “train” for some athletics, some activity. I decided I wanted to learn to RUN.

I had the perfect excuse NOT to run; I have two herniated lumbar discs. A neurologist and my last trainer said I should not run. But something told me that I HAD to run (maybe because someone said I couldn’t). I had just moved to a new area and a friend’s sister-in-law was an elite athlete, and a perfected runner.

I started to meet her at the local track and learned how to jog and started walking. I built up to a 5 mile walk and can walk faster than some people run! But still I was worried about falling, so I never broke a jog up to 500 feet before: I was just not breathing enough to feed my muscles but I could continue to walk at a fast pace. Fear was holding me back not my body! My back never hurt from this but my core did get stronger and stronger.

Last week my now dear friend Kellee made a proposal: do the Shamrock Run on March 15 (2 miles) and the More Run in Central Park (13 miles) on April 25th. Her faith in me buoyed my confidence and I got the needed boost to get through my fear and past it into the best conditioning I have ever achieved. I am ready to start.

The goal is to arrive at each race uninjured, so I need to train smart and promote recovery from my training sessions. I am on my 55th trip around the sun, so recovery takes longer. But I am hoping that I can support my body in the following way:

1. hydration, 8 oz of water every hour awake, 16 oz of Cytomax 2 hours before training and during.

2. eat healthy, get lots of lean proteins, drink a Muscle Milk shake within 1 hour after workout, and another before bed.

3. supplement with extra Krill and Flaxseed oil, keep down inflammation

4. Sleep 8-10 hours a day, take naps

5. Train smart, take time to fully recover between trainings; stretching, balance, and core exercises daily to prevent injuries.

I am ready! I have enjoyed working through my demons and over-coming other things that kept me from doing anything. The running is as much emotional as it is physical and I will benefit by getting the best conditioning I have ever been in, ever and that is very exciting. I am also looking forward to the endorphin rush!

Do you have any advice and tips? Please comment below:

The Patron Saint of Greetings

No Heart Left Behind – Give Every One a Valentine on FEB14

Who is this Saint Valentine and what does love have to do with it? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. According to one legend, Valentine sent the first “valentine” himself to his love from prison. It was signed “from your Valentine”.

Some believe that the Romans had a mid-February custom, that stems from the believe that birds chose their mates on February 14th. Pastors would substitute the names of saints to suppress such practices and February 14th became known as St. Valentines Day, but the custom of celebrating the choosing of a mate, like most old customs, stuck.

St. Valentine was executed in Rome on February 14, about the year 270. The oldest known Valentine, in England, dates from around 1400. According to Catholic.org, St. Valentine is the patron saint of “affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, young people”.

Hmmm, the patron saint of greetings?? What does Valentines Day mean to you? Please leave a comment below ☟

Visit Valentines Day on Greetums.com