Saturday Spotlight- Kristine Goz

I chuckle as I begin this Saturday Spotlight and think of Kim’s response last week..if she was the “bottom of the barrel” what am I Lou? Lol.? Anyway..here I go..I have been accused of rambling too much ” talking peoples ear off through a half marathon” but I’ll try my best not to go on and on..pretty much

I’m an open book ..Oh Lord my opening paragraph is already too long!

My Full name is Kristine(a) Elizabeth Carradine Gozaloff. Nicknames: Mcguiver, Cricket..Goz. Louise & Blossom.. Not sure what they say behind my back
Age:48- ish
I am the 7th of 9 children in a blended family. Yes l am the second cousin to the famous actors David, Robert and Keith Carradine. ( no biggie)
I am the Proud mother of 5 daughters ages 28,22,20,11&9 and the proudest Grandmother of a gorgeous granddaughter and yes finally a grandson!

I graduated HS in 1983 and in 1984 I went to Culinary school where I got the biggest surprise of my life. In 1986, my daughter Danielle was born 2 days after I would have graduated.
As I began to raise a family I was diagnose with Thyroid disease this was followed by 5 years of fertility treatments for my next two daughters who were born in “92 & 93.

My marriage ended very quickly due to my husbands ” situation” but I can tell you we are best friends to this day. The one thing that came out of it is that he would not give me money to rejoin the gym. So…. I started to walk WHICH I HATE! I really wanted to run but I was embarrassed to be seen …so I waited until dark . I started out running to the corner, then around the block and so on. I eventually got to a mile then 2-3! I started running in LA Gears the only shoes I had ! I would get blisters so bad I would stop and tuck leaves in the back of my heals to stop the bleeding omg lol. How far shoes have evolved!!!
I actually took my ex husband to court and asked the judge for money to rejoin the gym because I was just diagnosed with thyroid disease and Lyme he said yes! My first victory won!
With this my life changed forever!

In 1997, I was on the treadmill and this creepy guy lifting weights with a leather belt pulled tight making his waist smaller than mine was looking up at me like he was all that. He was strutting around like all the other cops that just woke up after their night shifts. I am not a cop fan.. I wasnt impressed. Well not at first. After one date, I never left his side I’ve been married to that man for 12 years now

I ran my first race that year. It was the 4 mile Sayville Seaside Sprint in the pouring rain. MY favorite way to run! I ran alone for many, many years until a little gym in Sayville opened and I met a whole new group of friends and I began to add a ton of mileage to my wheels. We all traveled to NYC to run the More Half Marathon …. crazy story. I was given a ” motion sickness pill” the night before by one of the woman which really was a Xanax and it knocked me out immediately the entire pre party and I do not recall the entire half AT ALL. She was CRAZY!!! Anyway Focus Kristine. Once Sayville Fitness closed I felt lost without the closeness of a large group that I thought I really didn’t “need”. I began to train for Cow Harbor. My favorite race of them all! I knew something just wasn’t right. I couldn’t make it up the hill and by the winter I could hardly get out of bed! We had planned a trip to Disney with the girls and unfortunately by day two I was in a wheel chair in severe pain. My Lyme disease had returned in full force. The nerve pain was horrific and I could not control the shaking yet I couldn’t move. I was devasted I couldn’t run, hell I could even walk. On a positive note the doctors thought I had MS. I was treated with steroids which made me gain ALOT of weight and if anyone knows me well enough that crushes me, not in a snobby way I assure you. I describe the Lyme pain as a combination of hitting your funnybone and pins and needles at the same time. I pushed my way through the pain once again to run cow harbor and I even convince my buddy Lauren Elizatbeth to get me up James street and I’d fill her car up with gas..well I got half way up and I said “can’t!”. She grabbed my arm and said “oh yes you can!” Well at that moment I popped my IT band! I finished the run ( crying) because I had to get to NJ to my daughters college game. After getting a MRI of my hip, I tell this girl she saved my life. I am in surgery a few weeks later getting a complete hysterectomy because that MRI spotted a diseased organ. Thank you My friend! I didn’t give up and I ran 4 miles 4 weeks post surgery!!! My life has since been up and down. So you all know I have has numerous surgeries these past few months and I thank the good Lord above for giving me such wonderful friends and putting them in my life when I need them most! You all have helped me through these times and I can thank you enough. I am running Wine glass Marathon on October 5th on the 10th Anniversary of my dear Mothers car accident. After that I will start the low dose Chemo …they say it’s gonna make me gain some weight….how funny is that…??