When Kate Redmond, marketing director at Hunter Subaru, embarked on a fitness journey earlier this year, she had no idea that an injury would derail her plans. However, instead of giving up, Kate bounced back stronger than ever. In this inspiring blog post, we'll delve into Kate's journey and learn how she not only overcame injury but also reignited her passion for fitness.
Listen along to hear about where Kate is at today.
When Kate Redmond, marketing director at Hunter Subaru, embarked on a fitness journey earlier this year, she had no idea that an injury would derail her plans. However, instead of giving up, Kate bounced back stronger than ever. In this inspiring blog post, we'll delve into Kate's journey and learn how she not only overcame injury but also reignited her passion for fitness.
Listen along to hear about where Kate is at today.
All righty. I'm here with Kate Redmond from Hunter Subaru, and we talked about six months ago. Geez about. I know, right? February. It's been a minute. So we talked about six months ago and was really excited because you had started a new fitness and health journey for yourself and we were so interested and intrigued with this. Journey because you guys partner with us so much on our events and you've been to so many of our events and, we looked and here you were just starting this new journey. So you wanna know, how's it going? How's it been going six months
Kate Redmond:in all true things, a rollercoaster. Yeah. I. I had a, each year I create a bucket list for myself. And so one of the things was run a five k a month, like we sponsor a ton of'em to help nonprofits and different organizations. And so I was like, if I can run one a month, then I'll maintain I'll still have a goal every month and I'll keep up with my running because yeah, that's a great goal. If there's no accountability, I fail immediately. Especially when it comes to working out and health and fitness and I was training for jump off and I wanted to do the 10 K'cause that one doesn't have a five K. And so I was like for may let's double down, right? If you do five K let's shoot for the 10 K. I figured if all else fails, I walked five. I know I can run this half if all else fails. I walk the second half and I was traveling a bunch. For work. And so I will never forget this. I was in Tampa and I was doing a four mile run like it was like two or three weeks before the run and I fractured my foot. So I had a small fracture, stress fracture on the top of my foot. Which was very weird'cause I've never broken anything, cracked anything never physically truly hurt myself. Yeah. I was like not running. Jump off. And then my goal was to make it to bark and bolt, but that it just wasn't, there was not enough time to retrain to get back up. And I've kicked off running again. I'm doing with the guidance of my, both my doctor and my personal trainer. I'm redoing the couch to five K program. Okay. And so it's hey, we need to retrain all the muscles in your foot, in your ankle. So you endure again.'cause if you just start running three miles a day, you're you're just gonna reinjure yourself. And I did a bunch of research on shoes because I was like, okay, need to really look at shoes and which shoes I was running in. I was due for new shoes anyways. And so I started, I'm about halfway through the couch to five K program. Again, I will say this time around my lung capacity, I thought it was just gonna be like my foot and retraining my foot. And I was like, wow, I lost lung capacity That six, it was like, oh, it was almost eight weeks that I was like, no physical activity. And that's what's killing me right now. Like my, like I'm not sore, like I stretched before, I stretch after, but it's like my legs aren't sore, they're not cramping, I'm not having knee pressure or ankle pain or anything like that, but my lungs, whew. Maybe it's this heat I'm gonna bank on. It's the heat. Hoping it's not. Yeah.
Daphne Kirkwood:First of all, kudos to you for starting again because I think, you know what I've seen. Over the years is it's so hard when you start, right? Everything hurts your lungs. Like right now you're dealing with the cardio stuff and it's like, why do you wanna put yourself through that again? It's is it worth it? But you know that it is worth it. Yeah. Like the benefits are worth it. But so back up just a second because I know you, okay. You got your injury. Which, It is very common actually, in runners to get injuries. Like I remember when I got my first, and I was like, I didn't fall. Why do I have this hip issue? And it was so confusing to me. You had the foot problem, you were in a boot, right?
Kate Redmond:My doctor just put me in a brace. In a brace. It wasn't, it didn't require, it wasn't as big. So she was like, you can get away with a brace and a good padded shoe. You don't need a full boot.
Daphne Kirkwood:So during that time where you just I'm just. Gonna sit around no, I honestly what did you do during that time? Were you just woe is me? Like how are you feeling? And what did you do?
Kate Redmond:In the beginning I was mad. Okay. And then I was like, I can't work out. And then I was like, oh, this is nice. I get to, I can sleep till six 30 again. I'm not getting up at five to hit the gym. And then, so I took a couple days, came back from Tampa, took a couple days. And then I talked with my trainer because, so I normally run in the afternoon and I do strength train in the morning. And so she was like, look, we're just gonna work on your core and your arms like, we'll just work the upper half of your body instead of the bottom. And I was like, Okay. And then I realized that my core strength is nowhere near what I thought it was. That was nice to be able to focus and specialize on that as opposed to running.'cause I was like, oh, I still have a long way to go. You're never, ever done, being vocal or active or toning or whatever your goal is, but We focused on that. And that helped me because in the beginning, like those first couple, like two weeks, I was struggling because running had become my stress reliever. Like it's where I worked everything out in my head. Like I would leave work and I'd go for a run and I. By the time my run was done, like my head was clear, I'd come home, I'd make dinner, I'd relax. Like it was, it created this balance in my life that I never really had before. So it was normally like out of work home, but still thinking about work or thinking about this or thinking about that. And so it took, I started meditating actually, because I was like, I have got to get my brain to slow down because there was no outlet for it anymore. So I started meditating and that worked really well. Coming home from work and just doing that, but in the beginning I was like,
Daphne Kirkwood:this could, yeah. Yeah. It is hard when you're so used to moving your body and then all of a sudden you can't, like you, you can't move in the same way. And you have to find ways to adjust. And I'm glad you found some meditation in the meantime. And That was a big help. But now, so now you've started coming back to running. When did that happen? Was it in July? It's August right
Kate Redmond:now. I started again mid-June. I still had pretty heavy travel through June, I was in Connecticut, and so I was like, I'm taking advantage of this cooler weather from the south. Yeah. And so I initially started running there and then I was in Nashville the following week and was able to get some runs done, like on lower Broadway and along the river. So I took advantage of the scenery just'cause I was like, huh, different place. So I was able to get some runs in and then been working it back to, three to four days a week. Here, but
Daphne Kirkwood:it's hot. It is. I think the ness too has really settled in August in the mountains here in Western North Carolina. And I definitely have been feeling. Heaviness during the run. And I think it's a lot of it's to do with not just the heat but the humidity,
Kate Redmond:yeah. Since I'm on interval, I'm still on some of the more, they're not long intervals right now. It'll get there, I think next week we start amping up on time based on the app. But so I've been trying to do in the gym. I'm not a huge fan of treadmill running, but
Daphne Kirkwood:I've been working. So what's your next, what's your next goal? You said you like to have goals in front of you?
Kate Redmond:Yeah. So the next race I have is Apple Festival. So the Apple Festival race is a Labor Day weekend with Henderson County Chamber. I'll do that one. And then I signed up for Holiday Hustle again, so I'm really. I only wanted the medal, of course. But I signed up for all three of those. And I have some coworkers that are like, oh my gosh, are you gonna do all three again? And I said, yeah. So now I've got some coworkers that, wanna do it with me. And so I've pretty much have, I've a race for once a month for the rest of the year.
Daphne Kirkwood:Good. So you're started September on
Kate Redmond:track. You're back on track. Back on track. So I just missed June, July, and August. So I only missed three, which in the grand scheme of things, like I've never been a runner before. Last year was the first time I ever ran anything for distance or for more than a couple weeks at a time. I'm gonna be happy with my nine out of 12 months instead of my 12
Daphne Kirkwood:out. I feel like it was a lofty goal, right? Yeah. I, you're brain new to running. You don't really know what's gonna happen to your body during that time and right. Like I said, running injuries are so common. So for you to be able to pull off nine races year Yeah, I'm excited. That's huge. So I'm excited for it. So we at I d a we, see you on social media and stuff and we notice how much you've been traveling. Yes. And so I asked my team, I said, alright, I'm talking to Kate. What do you wanna know? And everybody's she's gone all the time. Like she's traveling. Like how is she able to, or are you able to, or eat, traditional foods and slash exercise and how are you doing that?
Kate Redmond:Yeah. First is I plan for it. I like, as much as I plan to pack which clothes I'm gonna take on a trip or like what work I have to prep for. I literally prep my either ideas for food or, and then the same for workouts. I, we did a girls' trip to the beach and it was like, okay, I need a running outfit for each day. I'm gonna be gone for three, four days. Like I need three, four days of running outfits. And my girlfriends are like, you're gonna run every day. And I was like, yeah.'cause I know I'm not gonna be the best on nutrition on vacation, so I'll feel less guilty if I can get a workout in Uhhuh, and so I just plan for it. I know that whether it's a work conference or if it's a personal trip, like nothing's really starting before eight or 9:00 AM Even conferences, like yesterday I had a conference in Greenville for the day, and so I had to leave by eight to get down there. But I was still able to get up and go to the gym and get a run in at the gym yesterday morning before I left town. And then, when I'm traveling further I do belong to a Planet Fitness, and the only reason I belong to Planet Fitness is because I travel so much and so I can hit Planet Fitnesses all over the country. And most of the time they're in the cities I'm traveling to for work. So if the hotel gym isn't as adequate as I need it to be, like I'll just go to the local Planet Fitness. But I do most of the conference hotels I have to go to. Luckily have a really good gym inside the hotel. So I just. I just plan for that. Like what does the gym, hotel look like? What are the immediate restaurants around it? What kind of food can I get? What kind of food is the hotel serving? So I just do some research. I don't drive myself crazy with it, but I'm like, look, if I, everything is fried. Like where can I get a salad? Yeah. I just find a restaurant for a salad. Or if vendors are, coordinating dinners, you have events and things like that. I've noticed nowadays it's not that bad. Like the food range is far more susceptible to be more nutritious than anything else. Like yesterday they had two different salad options, like roasted chicken, salmon, like it was. And you're like, I'm used to, chick-Fil-A sandwiches, so we love Chick-fil-A, but yes. Yeah, it's nice when they think ahead, but also I just do the research, what's near where I'm gonna be. So if I need something quick, I don't have to think in the moment. I've already done that before. I got there. Now, do
Daphne Kirkwood:you ever, I know when I travel, I try to look for places that have a kitchen or a little mini fridge or something that I can actually go to a store Yep. And get some things so that, like for breakfast, my breakfast is pretty, pretty simple with a chia seed pudding that I typically have. Yeah. And I make can make it ahead and put it in the fridge. And so it's nice to just be able to grab that and have that in the morning before exercise. But when you go to, a hotel for breakfast, typically they don't have that. They have a lot of processed foods, sometimes eggs and pancakes and things like that, which is great, but that's not usually what I want. Before I'm gonna exercise and stuff. Do you have a particular thing that you do for breakfast?
Kate Redmond:Lately it's just been protein shakes. Okay. If I can just because I can I can, it can be portioned, it can go into a Ziploc bag, it's super easy. So most of the time when I travel, my breakfast is like a protein shake. But. A lot of times, like I'll just go to the store and get like the pre hard boiled eggs and then I'll get some fruit. So it's like super, I don't have to worry about the cooking aspect of it. Yeah. And then, most hotels nowadays have mini fridges or Airbnbs or even tiny homes have little mini refrigerators. So I normally just whenever I get to a city that I'm going, and then I always have I always have pistachios on me. There's always like certain things that I like always just have to be like, if all else fails, I've got
Daphne Kirkwood:pistachios on my back, my blood sugar's crashing. I need something quick. Yeah, pistachios. Yep, absolutely. All that. Yeah,
Kate Redmond:no, absolutely. I do cheat and by the pres shelled one sometimes.'cause sometimes I don't wanna deal with all the
Daphne Kirkwood:shell simpler. Okay. Your how is like your fitness is coming back and I know one of your goals was weight loss Yeah. As well. Are you still losing, have you plateaued? Like where are you at with that? Have you reached your goal? Where are you?
Kate Redmond:Yeah, so I'm not at my goal. I did gain a little in my hiatus of running just'cause I was so regimented with workouts and running and dieting. And I'm okay with that'cause I beat myself up all the time. We're our own worst critics, right? But at the same time, I'm like, I have to give myself grace. Like this isn't like a one and done. And once I reach it, I'm done. This is a long term. Plan for me, it's not just, once I do this, I'm done and then I can go back or, you know what I mean? Yeah. So I did hit a plat, I gained a little, and then I lost it, and then I hit a plateau. And so I've really just been like, okay, we're just gonna lean in. I make sure I drink my gallon of water every day. I make sure I get my workouts in every week. I make sure that I am eating the right foods and. Yeah, I will eventually move past it, but I'm just trying not to focus on it because it could be such a deterrent. Like I saw some people yesterday I haven't seen in a couple months, and they're like, oh my God, how much more weight have you lost? And I'm like, not a pound. Yeah, not a single pound. But at the same time, I've been working with my trainer, so we've been like, body composition has changed. More. So and that's why I try not to think about just the pounds because my sheep continues to change and I continue to build more muscle and tone, so I look different. I just haven't lost on the scale.
Daphne Kirkwood:Yeah. I think, people have to find what's sustainable for them. And I think being deprived of things, can backfire on you. And so if you're so regimented with, nutrition or exercise or whatever, yeah. Eventually you just get burnt out on it, oh my gosh, yeah. Gimme all the cookies, gimme all the cake. And it's yeah. If you balance and allow yourself some things in moderation with the exercise I think that it's more long lasting is what I've in people, so I think you're on, the right track for
Kate Redmond:sure. There's especially, I'm a huge sweets person. I like me and my girlfriends joke all the time, like I can't say no to creme brulee, like if it's on the menu, like we're getting it. One of my favorite luxuries in life, and so it's like I just. And then, but what's really cool is like nowadays, even from a year or two ago, there's so many more products available. Granted, they're not, they're probably not good for you, but there's still more products available that are like zero sugar, no sugar. You can get flour tortillas with zero carbs now. That was never a thing before. Like I haven't eaten tortillas in months, but then I was like, zero shit. Yes. Or like I know, right? But you're like, okay, so I can have tacos like once. I don't need to have tacos every day or every week, but Now I have an option that I don't feel as guilty eating and still tastes as good or I love the zero sugar ready whip. I know it's not good for me, but every once in a while I just need something with a little bit of sweetss and I'm
Daphne Kirkwood:like, I got a friend who loved that too. Yeah. Yeah, you find your thing and the little tricks and the balance, and I think it takes time, right? It's not gonna just happen because you make the decision on, January 1st or whenever you decided that you wanted to change your life and your journey. It's gonna go through ebbs and flows until you figure out what works every day, yeah. So well that's awesome. I'm so glad to hear that you've gotten back in the running shoes. Yes. On the saddle. And haven't given up on it and moving'cause I think that it can be very discouraging to people when they get injured, especially as a new runner. And you're like, why am I even bothering,
Kate Redmond:yeah, I have to credit my trainer because mentally I was not wanting to get back into it. I was just like, I don't wanna ride. Like I don't wanna do this anymore. And I'm like, but you loved doing it when I was, in it. And she was like, this is your body just telling you need more time. Stop trying to force it. Listen to your body and when you're ready, you're just gonna go run. You're gonna be like, I wanna run today. Yeah. And it's exactly what happened. Yeah. And it was like, I ran outside both night both mornings this past weekend and I was like, man, this feels good to run again, even though I'm nowhere near where I wanna be. But it was, it felt good again. Yeah. So I think you just have to continue to like, Especially after an injury, just to, like I said, give yourself grace and to be like we'll get there. If it's a focus and a priority of yours, you'll eventually get there. But don't beat yourself up if it's not exactly what you want immediately.
Daphne Kirkwood:And having your own goals for yourself, right? Not comparing yourself to other people that may be. You thought you were similar to, or maybe you were in races and you were next to them, and then now you're like, oh, I'm gonna go to this race and not be next to them anymore. It's that's okay because you have had an injury and you're coming back from it and you're gonna end up being stronger in the long run. It's just the setbacks, that test us. Oh boy. Do. That's awesome. I'm so excited for you and that you're able to just continue with this while you're traveling and busy and injuries and all of that. So amazing.
Kate Redmond:I am happy. I'm home for a while. Very inspiring.
Daphne Kirkwood:Thank you. Yes. You've inspired a lot of people in the community and you continue to, and we wanna keep tabs on your progress and see you with that holiday hustle medal.
Kate Redmond:Yes. I'm so excited first. So yeah we're sponsoring the whole hustle this year, so I was like, let go. Let's do this.
Daphne Kirkwood:It's a great I think a lot of people, I've talked to my team about this a lot in the last few months. People think of races as you have to come run and it's all these competitive people and stuff, but when you come to a race, that, no, it's just a lot of fun, all abilities, all shapes, all sizes, and people have their own reason for being there. Maybe 5%, 10% are there to win. But there's so many people that just walk. Yep. Or events, that come because it's such a fun experience and there's so much fun energy and all the things that come along with the race. So I think you've probably figured that out too. Coming all the events that, hey, it's like I actually fit here too. I am like these people.
Kate Redmond:It's been pretty cool because when I first started at Hunter and then I was, at the events and I handed out stuff and I was like, one day, I think it was. Ugly sweater. Not last year, but the year before. And it was like the first one after the Covid shutdown or whatever, and I was like, this looks like so much fun. It's freezing, but it looks like so much fun because everybody was just hyped for the holiday and all decked out head to toe and the best Christmas running gear I've ever seen. And I was like, I wanna be a part of this. I wanna figure out how to be more a part of this. Yeah.
Daphne Kirkwood:Yeah. You don't wanna be on the outside of it. You on the inside of it, feeling all the feels with everybody else because it's such a good feeling. It's hard to even describe to people. It's so fun. Do it. But yeah, ugly sweaters are great. One for people who, might not be that into running or racing. And wanna just come and walk and figure it out and yeah. Have fun. Be in the spirit of Christmas. Absolutely. Get an ugly sweater from a thrift store and show up.
Kate Redmond:Just rock it out. You're good to
Daphne Kirkwood:go. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Anything else you wanna add before we go? No,
Kate Redmond:I just wanna thank you for having me on. This was fun. I love when we get to catch up.
Daphne Kirkwood:Yeah. I'm just so grateful for you guys at Hunter and for you. And we, like I said, we just love seeing the journey that this happening for you. Oh,
Kate Redmond:thank you. Yeah. We're getting there one day at a time.
Daphne Kirkwood:Yep. Yep. We'll be in touch. Talk soon.
Kate Redmond:Talk soon. All.