High Priority

Pat Seitz is serious about working in her workout. She has to be. This single mother of two teenagers spends nine hours a day as a career counselor and doesn’t have much time to fool around. And her current situation is even an improvement over the past, when her schedule also included younger children, attending college, and caring for her chronically ill ex-husband. “Exercise has been my glue, mentally and physically, and I have fit it in under all circumstances and times of day because it is a PRIORITY.”

Pat keeps that commitment interesting by participating in at least one organized marathon or bike race per year. “So I have a goal in mind,” she says, “I don’t need motivation, it’s just fun to be part of the organized event.” She also claims she doesn’t need to train…well, not exactly:

“I don’t ‘train’ really, I just do. For example, I had never run a full thirteen miles before making the decision, two weeks before the event, to participate in the Brooksie Way Half Marathon. I just added a mile or two every time I went out to run. I decided I would run it again the next year and spent the year between maintaining thirteen-mile runs. My goal was to run the marathon comfortably, not necessarily to make ‘time.’ Being able to run it comfortably was my success.”

Of course, Pat can “just do” things like marathons on, or The Iceman Cometh Mountain Bike Challenge of 2010, because she squeezes a regular fitness regimen into her life. “My goal is three to five workout sessions per week. I cross-train to prevent boredom and injury, but I always run.” Her current routine includes riding her bike to work, jumping rope, running two or three times a week (with one or two of those being a half marathon), and swimming. “I’ve also been known to run up and down the stairs from basement to family room while watching a television show.”

“My children come first and exercise second, but both are prioritized. I’ve always told my children ‘I’m going running now and will come back a much better momma.’ We must take care of our own minds and bodies in order to give a bit of our best to others.” One way to do this is by “setting reasonable goals. And once those goals are reached, you set new ones.” Another is being ready to use any available moment. Whether she starts exercising after her kids are in bed or pounds up and down her workplace’s basement stairs during lunch breaks, Pat knows that “working out gives me strength and endurance to conduct my daily activities and play the way I like. I can share this strength and confidence with my friends, co-workers, students, and clients.”

“Yup,” she concludes, “strong and confident is how I feel and how I see myself.”

Home: Auburn Hills, Michigan
Occupation: College Career Counselor
Education: Associate Degree Dietetics, Bachelor Degree Human Resource Management
Partner:Tom Lining
Children: 19 year old daughter (Jaimie) and 16 year old son (Jake)
Age: 46 years
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 150#
Sports, past and present: Run, bike, swim, snowshoe, hiking
Athletic accomplishments: Finishing any organized event I’ve paid money to participate in is an athletic accomplishment!
Little known fact about you: I love to dress for, and attend formal events.  I LOVE evening gowns worn with beautiful high heeled shoes and salon styled up-swept hair!!
Guilty pleasure:Sitting on the couch in my pajamas drinking coffee and ignoring chores.
Most embarrassing moment: Hyperventilating while trying to give a presentation to a large group of cardiac patients; this was early in my clinical dietetics career.
Greatest triumph: Obviously the uneventful, natural birth of my two healthy and beautiful children.
Favorite thing to do when not working or working out: Working on home improvement projects around my home.  I take pleasure from enjoying the outcomes of my work.
Moment of Inspiration: Feeling my deceased mother with me when I gave birth to my daughter.
Favorite Quote: Just do IT.

3-5 x per week of different activities for 1-2 hours, if not longer depending on the activity.