The past and present….but mostly the past.

Recently I have had a few people ask me about my up bringings. It used to be a sensitive subject as a lot of it was hard and hurtful. What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger and has turned me into who and what I am today. And I like myself…..so I’ve decided to share with a little of what and where Kat has been. Please be forewarned none of this is sugar coated and some of the memories are very dark, but know I have taken something positive out of all of it.

*I lived in hotels on more then one occasion while a was a child.
*I moved so many times I never had a best friend; until I was 15.
*For many years I had a Coke and a Snickers Bar for breakfast.
*My mother had cervical cancer and was in and out of treatment for 3 years – some of the worst of my childhood.
*Although my parents despised each other they always showed their love for me.
*First movie I ever saw in a theater was The Little Mermaid with my mom. I think this is one reason I love swimming so much.
*My dad taught me how to ride a bike….I was 8, better late then never right? He did have me in the pool with him by the age of 1.
*I tried to end my life when I was 15
*I have been affiliated with organized crime although if you try to link it there is no visible proof.
*My mother and I spent a good year in a Catholic home for abused women when I was 5.
*I tried to enlist in the Army when I was 17, but a rather large heart murmur prohibited this.
*I didn’t learn how to drive until I was 18 (thanks Robin!)
*I dropped out of school and moved out on my own when I was 15.
*Got my GED when I was 16
*My first job I worked as a maid for a slum lord; happened to live at the same place I worked.
*I spent 6 years not talking to any family member. Now my mother and father are my best friends….although still not around much, thank God for a thing called a phone.
*At one point of my life I helped a friend *at the time* rebuild his car engine.
*My grandfather had lung cancer and his lung removed; he is now in remission.
*I have seen/lived around pimps, hoes and drug dealers….and have walked in on a few over doses/deaths.
*My mother makes the world’s best Mac N Cheese.
*By the time I was 16 I worked two jobs and over the next two years never had one solid day off in a row.
*I have dealt with court cases; city police and FBI on more times I’d like to remember.
*I have never been married or desired children.
*I worked my way up from being a maid to a Senior Buyer for a multi billion dollar company with no education other then a GED.
*I went from a cute skinny kid to a fat ugly kid within a few years; that’s what happens when mom gets sick and stops cooking.
*My father has melanoma; his fate is certain.
*I lived off Top Roman & PB & Honey sandwiches on white bread for 4 years, it sucked.
*When I was young I despised running. Running sucks when you’re overweight. Who would have ever guessed that I would learn to love it?
*I worked for the same company for over 8 years, I’m only 27.
*I fell in love when I was 16. Our relationship lasted 6 years and this man is still my best friend to date. It’s a bittersweet story.
*Ah back to the age of 15, turned gang related…I have scars to prove this.
*At the ripe age of 25 I ran my first 10k. By the time I was 27 I had completed several Olympic triathlons and a Half Ironman.
*Within the last 2 years I have raised over $10,000 for charities.

Today I am a young single women making a comfortable living in a safe, friendly environment and enjoying the things I love most; training and food.
The sky’s the limit. Ironman 09 here I come.