It has been two weeks since I completed my marathon. I have had a lot of people ask me to try and put into words the emotions felt during and upon completion of the marathon. After reflecting and remembering that moment, I can tell you the PRIDE is the first emotion that went through my mind. This was a moment I had been preparing for, for over six months of my life. So much effort went into getting to the finish line that my sense of pride was at an all time high. To know that mentally when I set my mind to doing something and being able to deliver brings an amazing sense of pride. I remember immediately after crossing the line my friend Jen hugged me and said she was so proud of me. At that moment it truly hit me that others felt the same sense of pride in me that I did.
ACCOMPLISHMENT is the second emotion that I immediately felt. This was a huge goal in my life, I had always told my friends, family and other very important people in my life that I really wanted to do a marathon in my lifetime. This is something that is a huge accomplishment for anyone to complete in their lifetimes. In the actual moment and as I was coming to the finish line a tingling feeling came over my body, I was probably a bit overwhelmed at the actual moment because of the mental anguish experience when it is you, the road and your thoughts for five straight hours. I mentioned earlier that Jen hugged me and said she was so proud, this actually caused me to break down for a minute. My brother and Jessica both called about 10 minutes after to congratulate me and say how proud they were this also again the overwhelming feeling of the moment caused me to break down.
The last emotion that I felt was RELIEF. This may sound silly but those who know me best know the amount of pressure I always put on myself to be successful. I had let so many people know that I was doing this that when the moment arrived I didn't want to disappoint everyone or myself. When I reached mile 25 relief kicked in as I knew at that point there was absolutely no way that I would not be finishing that race. That is when all the feelings started to take over and when I actually started feeling all of the emotions mentioned above.
My trainers and friends have all asked what is next, what will I strive to push myself to next. I did mention that I will do another marathon. I think trying to complete one a year is a legitimate goal, this will allow me to stay in very good physical and mental shape. The thing is I am always looking for something new and bigger to achieve. I have said that next year I am going to get into triathlons as I am a good swimmer as well. My next goal will be to do an Olympic sized triathlon. This is around a mile swim, 30 mile bike ride and 10K run (6.2 miles). If things go well with training and performance maybe a half iron man could be in the future. It is my belief that one must always set high goals to get the most out of their life.
This is Thanksgiving week, I hope everyone had an incredible holiday but it is important for me to thank everyone for all the congrats received in the past two weeks. To achieve these lofty goals one has to have a strong support team backing them. You as readers continually keep me motivated and on my toes. If you are reading this on Facebook take a look at the pictures titled before and after. You can see what the hard work and effort put forth really do. There is a picture of me at my best friend Jay's wedding and then me on Thanksgiving doing a 5K with him and his daughter. It is very possible you may not recognize the person in the before photo. It still shocks the heck out of me. Thank you all for pushing me and making me the best I can be.
Life is short, live it hard!
Ryan
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