Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/101127
At left: Doug Rosenberg with trainer Scott Spraggins; below: Kathy Williams in the Himalayas. member, used to hit the Club for two to three sessions of yoga, cardio, or core work a week. But a breast cancer diagnosis in 2009, followed shortly thereafter by surgery and chemotherapy, changed her body and her workouts. After treatment, her oncologist, also a WAC member, recommended personal trainer Mona Caravetta. At the same time, Kathy joined a program for women who have had cancer, Team Survivor Northwest, and discovered a new passion���walk-running half marathons, something for which Mona has helped her get in shape. ���I���ve done about five or six half marathons, and it���s something I���d never done before the breast cancer,��� she says. ���It���s very possible I never would have.��� Working out with arthritis pain can be equally intimidating. Retired lawyer Doug Rosenberg, however, has found Scott to be a major motivating force. ���I think where my trainer has been most helpful is in keeping me going each week,��� he says. ���He���s an exceptionally good trainer, and he���s also very inspirational. I don���t jump out of bed in the morning saying, ���I can���t wait to get to the gym.��� But Scott is always upbeat and positive, and it makes it a lot easier.��� Scott���s enthusiasm and expertise have also been a big factor in keeping the arthritis at bay, Doug says. Because it���s a degenerative disease, arthritis often brings people to a point where exercise becomes difficult, leading to further decline. ���Clearly, working out regularly���and also working with somebody who���s smart enough to figure out what you need on a given day���keeps that from happening,��� Doug says. Not only does Doug do a tri-weekly WAC workout that combines free-weights, stretching and cardio, but he also regularly takes on rigorous challenges, such as mountain climbing (his latest quest was Mount Kilamanjaro) and the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. The mountain top Kathy, too, has become more athletic since her battle with breast cancer. She climbed Mount Adams with Team Survivor Northwest in August (bad weather kept the group from summiting). This past October, she joined other cancer survivors on a three-week trek through Nepal to the 20,000-foot Himalayan peak Imja Tse. A bad cold and altitude issues kept Kathy from summiting, but she did make it to base camp at 16,000 feet. For her, that was a huge breakthrough. ���I was certainly able to do more than I was even thinking about doing before cancer,��� she says. ���It was the most challenging thing I���ve ever done physically.��� Diane Mapes is a freelance writer based in Seattle. JANUARY 2013 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | 35