Hello Readers!
The last couple of weeks have been very busy but extremely important for my from a personal standpoint and a physical standpoint. I am in the home stretch for my marathon. The official date is November 14th which is less than a month away. I am extremely excited for the event to finally get here. I have purchased the hotel room, booked my flights and started asking for great places to visit while in San Antonio. Readers please feel free to comment or reply on FaceBook of places you recommend in San Antonio I will do my best to try as many as possible. I have some friends who are coming along and want to send a shout out to them for taking times out of their busy lives to support me in my goal. Jen and Jeremy thank you both for how much you have contributed to keeping me on track and inspiring me through this process. Chip you never allow me to slack in class or when you train me I do hope you are able to make the trip down. Stay tuned later for the final results from San Antonio!
It is too early to be handing out too many thanks as I have not completed the journey yet. In the past couple of weeks I have pushed myself to the limit though. I have done my longest run ever of 22 miles which has me feeling like nothing can stop me. This previous Saturday I competed in the Kansas City half marathon. I ran the same half two years ago the improvement in my time was over 13 minutes. I finished in 2:05 which is an average mile of 9:37 absolutely incredible for me. I have never broken 10 minute miles in any race. Once again my Jen and Jeremy were there with me for the day. They both did incredible and finished in 1:48 way to go both of you. When I mentioned earlier I have been pushing it to the limit, I have probably averaged around 2:30 of gym time a day. My body is in the best physical condition it has ever been in which helps keep me inspired daily to continue this journey. Hopefully you as readers are seeing great results as well, if you ever need inspiration or someone to help you reach your goals don't hesitate to ask as I love being a part of others success as well.
I mentioned above I have been very busy from a personal standpoint as well. A couple weeks back I mentioned that I was in the process of purchasing a house. I wanted to let everyone know that I should be closing on the house next week!! This is very exciting for me. I can't wait to open up my home to many of you whether it be for a party, to watch games, or to stay with me when you are in town. I will plan on posting some pictures once I am in and the furniture is moved in.
Happy Exercising,
Ryan
Fraternity Centennial Celebration
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Flashback
Hello Readers!
I am sitting at home right now watching The Biggest Loser on TV, the show is always inspirational and tonights episode is no exception. The show brings back scary memories for me. Tonight is like a flashback. Several years ago these contestants were me. I was that person who could not even think of finishing a workout without feeling total exhaustion. The great thing about the show is watching the contestants realize what the weight was doing in their life. This was no different for me. I went through many of the same emotions the contestants are going through right now. I had the low confidence, I had the feelings that I was not worthy of others but like the contestants times change and confidence is sprung. For those who follow and struggle with their weight as well, remember maintain your confidence if you put in the effort the results will come as will personal happiness.
Continuing on the flashback theme, the past couple weeks have brought back memories of grade school and high school. My work held a kickball tournament. I truly forgot how much fun playing kickball is. All rules remained in tact, I am now known as the hitman at work as I got a throwout and managed to knock the lady in the mud with my throw. The moment was great as I was then tackled by one of her teammates in the mud. The moment is still being talked about at work and people are still laughing at the incident. The day was a true blast and all involved in the tournament had a blast.
My high school flashback moment being relived it the dreaded two-a-days. Those who played any high school sport remember these grueling workouts. I have recently been putting in two efforts a day no matter what I have done. I have been meeting Chip a personal trainer at the YMCA in the morning for sessions, then make sure I continue to make class or do my runs at night. This last Saturday I put in a 16 mile run then went and played a full three sets of tennis. This Saturday will be my biggest test of the year, I am going to run 20 miles in the morning then I have my friend Jen's volleyball tournament where I am guaranteed at least 5 volleyball matches. I will let everyone know next week if I am still standing!
Lastly I don't have a flashback moment but want to give everyone an update I am six weeks out of the marathon, training is fully on course and I will be set to finish. Thank you to everyone who continues to push me and make sure I stay on course for this. I am in the process of getting the hotel booked, the goal is on the famed Riverwalk. This will be my first experience in San Antonio and I have heard everything about the city is incredible. I am pumped for the trip as this is one of my largest goals in life to complete this, thanks to those committed to making the trip to share this special experience with me. You are some of the main reasons I am where I am today.
Have a great week!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Status Updates
Hello Readers!
It has been a while since my last post as I have been extremely busy here the last couple weeks between travelling for fun and getting in my running. A couple weeks ago I mentioned a run I was competing in the Patriots Run. I actually competed in this run last weekend and hit my target amount of 18 miles. Everyone will be pleased to know I completed this faster than expected. I recorded a time of 3:23:01 which was a very good clip for me. This was one of those days I have mentioned where everything felt very good. I was done with my first three miles in 28:30, my first 6 miles in 59:00 and my half marathon in 2:14:30 all which are personal bests for me. This race is extremely inspiring which might have been what caused me to hit these personal records, or it may just be that my training has me more prepared than ever.
I need to post some new pictures soon as this running is showing up in how I look. I had a few things happen last week that shocked me and let me know the effort is paying off. My friend and follower Josh was in from Orlando, I met him and his family for a Royals game. Josh had my ticket and I was meeting them at the stadium, I showed up at the gate to pick up my ticket and he didn't recognize me. This was a great personal feeling, someone who knows me so well and had seen me as recently as two years ago wasn't able to recognize me. A second great moment was Jessica my sister in law bought me a size large Mizzou Dri Fit polo shirt for my graduation. I informed her that I don't wear a size large, she said have confidence. Jessica was right I wore the shirt to the Mizzou/Illinois game and it fit very nicely. This should let everyone stick with your regiment and the results will come!
I wanted to update people on a few more things, last week my training hit a 40 mile week. I mentioned the 18 on Saturday, I also completed 15 on that Monday and two four - five mile runs in the mid week. I also wanted to let everyone know who hadn't seen on Facebook I have purchased a house. I am in the process of finishing up on the financing and submitting my bids, but everything appears on pace to close on November 2nd. This will pain many of my friends and followers but I will be living in the state of Kansas. I didn't think I would ever say that in my lifetime, but when you like a specific house you make certain sacrifices. There is no worry as I will never become unfaithful or unloyal to my beloved Missouri. I will fly my Tiger flag with great pride. Until next week, Happy Exercising and continue to live life to its fullest!
It has been a while since my last post as I have been extremely busy here the last couple weeks between travelling for fun and getting in my running. A couple weeks ago I mentioned a run I was competing in the Patriots Run. I actually competed in this run last weekend and hit my target amount of 18 miles. Everyone will be pleased to know I completed this faster than expected. I recorded a time of 3:23:01 which was a very good clip for me. This was one of those days I have mentioned where everything felt very good. I was done with my first three miles in 28:30, my first 6 miles in 59:00 and my half marathon in 2:14:30 all which are personal bests for me. This race is extremely inspiring which might have been what caused me to hit these personal records, or it may just be that my training has me more prepared than ever.
I need to post some new pictures soon as this running is showing up in how I look. I had a few things happen last week that shocked me and let me know the effort is paying off. My friend and follower Josh was in from Orlando, I met him and his family for a Royals game. Josh had my ticket and I was meeting them at the stadium, I showed up at the gate to pick up my ticket and he didn't recognize me. This was a great personal feeling, someone who knows me so well and had seen me as recently as two years ago wasn't able to recognize me. A second great moment was Jessica my sister in law bought me a size large Mizzou Dri Fit polo shirt for my graduation. I informed her that I don't wear a size large, she said have confidence. Jessica was right I wore the shirt to the Mizzou/Illinois game and it fit very nicely. This should let everyone stick with your regiment and the results will come!
I wanted to update people on a few more things, last week my training hit a 40 mile week. I mentioned the 18 on Saturday, I also completed 15 on that Monday and two four - five mile runs in the mid week. I also wanted to let everyone know who hadn't seen on Facebook I have purchased a house. I am in the process of finishing up on the financing and submitting my bids, but everything appears on pace to close on November 2nd. This will pain many of my friends and followers but I will be living in the state of Kansas. I didn't think I would ever say that in my lifetime, but when you like a specific house you make certain sacrifices. There is no worry as I will never become unfaithful or unloyal to my beloved Missouri. I will fly my Tiger flag with great pride. Until next week, Happy Exercising and continue to live life to its fullest!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Joys and Pains of Running
Hello Readers!
This past weekend I ran a 5K here in KC with my friend Kerri, this experience brought out the reasons why I have so much fun with running now. Running and exercise provides you with an awesome opportunity to catch up with great people and get to know so many more. Kerri and I were old college friends, she is married to another great friend of mine from Drury Mike. I am unlike many runners I love to chat while I am on the course, I find it takes my mind off the actual running. On Saturday I had a blast talking to Kerri during the race and hearing that she used to dislike running but that she has found that recently she really enjoys it and looks forward to running more races to come. I think we may have even convinced Mike to join us on my favorite race every year the St. Patty's Day 4 miler. The true joy though was seeing the excitement on Kerri, Mike, and their children Audrey and Mike's faces when Kerri crossed the line and set her new personal record that morning. Congrats Kerri you made that a very fun race for me! I can't wait for the next one.
A second joy with running is the fact that every race has a post race celebration. This race was especially fun as it was Mizzou versus the dreaded Jayhawks. In the post race celebration the glorious news was announced that to no surprise more Mizzou fans showed up and raced. The post race also provided fun as the bar sponsoring the race provided me with two complimentary Bloody Mary's, that is a fun treat for putting in the miles. The post race celebrations always provide an opportunity to talk to other competitors and swap stories on how the race went for them, many times these can be very interesting or inspirational stories which are great to hear.
The name of this post was the joys and the pains, so there was a second part to this weeks blog "pain". Pain can refer to many things, for me this week it meant exhaustion. This was my craziest and most intense week of training yet, and for some unknown reason I forgot my iPod so it was just me, my mind and the open road. Just to give an idea of the week I put in Monday I ran 4.5 miles and did my boot camp class, Tuesday night I put in a ten miler, Wednesday I got up early and spun, Thursday and Friday I took some well needed rest, Saturday I competed in the 5K in the morning but felt guilty as that is normally my long run day so I put in a 1700 meter swim that afternoon just to get the guilt off of my conscious, and finally Sunday I did a 14 mile run. I am actually exhausted just writing about that. In the end when the destination is reached the joy and the pain will all be worth it.
Have a great week, live life hard it is short!
Monday, August 23, 2010
No Turning Back Now!
Hello Readers!
Last Thursday I reached the point of no return. I am now officially signed up for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. This was a giant step! I have been saying all along I was going to do this, I have been logging the training and preparing but until you actually pay the money and enter the race there is still time to back out. This is no longer the case. Training wise I am in very good shape, for the most part I have been very diligent in my training. I did have a minor setback this weekend as I went out of town and didn't get my long run in, but do not fear I plan to absolutely crush it this week.
This weekend marks an exciting day. My friend from college Kerri will be running a local 5K here in KC with me. She is new to the running world so hopefully this is a great experience for her and just the first of many runs yet to come. We are running the rivalry run which will be a ton of fun, this run is Mizzou fans versus Kansas fans. The good news is currently more Mizzou fans are signed up for this run, lets hope it remains that way. I am hoping that maybe this will be the 5K where I break the 30 minute mark.
I have already put this out on facebook, but for you who are not using facebook a couple weeks back I mentioned that I did a interview for an Aha moment for Mutual of Omaha. I received the link and I am very happy with it. For those who do not know me about 8 years ago I reached a peak weight and size, since I have lost almost 160 pounds and 14 pant sizes you will see a photo in the link where I am almost unrecognizable. Personally I keep this photo with me at all times to remind me of the transformation accomplished in my lifetime. Here is the link to my video hopefully this will show that hard work pays off and inspire others to reach all their goals as well.
http://www.ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/16696 hopefully everyone enjoys.
Until next week have a great week of exercise!
Last Thursday I reached the point of no return. I am now officially signed up for the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon. This was a giant step! I have been saying all along I was going to do this, I have been logging the training and preparing but until you actually pay the money and enter the race there is still time to back out. This is no longer the case. Training wise I am in very good shape, for the most part I have been very diligent in my training. I did have a minor setback this weekend as I went out of town and didn't get my long run in, but do not fear I plan to absolutely crush it this week.
This weekend marks an exciting day. My friend from college Kerri will be running a local 5K here in KC with me. She is new to the running world so hopefully this is a great experience for her and just the first of many runs yet to come. We are running the rivalry run which will be a ton of fun, this run is Mizzou fans versus Kansas fans. The good news is currently more Mizzou fans are signed up for this run, lets hope it remains that way. I am hoping that maybe this will be the 5K where I break the 30 minute mark.
I have already put this out on facebook, but for you who are not using facebook a couple weeks back I mentioned that I did a interview for an Aha moment for Mutual of Omaha. I received the link and I am very happy with it. For those who do not know me about 8 years ago I reached a peak weight and size, since I have lost almost 160 pounds and 14 pant sizes you will see a photo in the link where I am almost unrecognizable. Personally I keep this photo with me at all times to remind me of the transformation accomplished in my lifetime. Here is the link to my video hopefully this will show that hard work pays off and inspire others to reach all their goals as well.
http://www.ahamoment.com/pg/moments/view/16696 hopefully everyone enjoys.
Until next week have a great week of exercise!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Awesome Opportunities for Charity and Exercise
Hello Readers!
I am very excited as I post my blog this week. This previous week my intensity level continued to increase with my marathon preparation. I put in close to 30 miles. My longest run was 11 miles on Saturday that was sandwiched with 2 four milers and and a 6.5 miler. I mixed in some standard cross training of walking, boot camp, weightlifing and finally swimming. The effort is starting to show in my stamina and according to others in my looks. I have had several people ask this week if I have lost weight, thank you to those people as that is always motivational and inspirational for me to continue this effort. I want to share a couple of great opportunities coming up that will allow you to exercise and help out with great charities.
One of my biggest inspirations in running is my friend Jen, you see me mention her name often as she continues to push me along with my brother and sister-in-law to reach these lofty goals. Jen is running the Boston marathon next April which is the most prestigious marathon one can run. She is raising money for a great charity which is the Miles for Miracles. This charity raises money for the Childrens Hopital in Boston. One of her prime fundraisers is the Dig for Kids Charity Volleyball tournament on October 2nd at Volleyball Beach. You have heard me pimp Beach Volleyball and the incredible workout it provides recently. This in an opportunity for it not to be ridiculously hot and get out to support a great cause. The following is a link to the site for this tournament please get out and support it: www.digforkids.net. There will be some great raffles, a silent auction, and many other opportunities to win prizes and have a ton of fun.
The second event I am going to mention is the Patriot Run in Olathe. This run goes from noon to 9:11 PM and is run on September 11th every year. This cause is definitely near and dear to most peoples hearts as this is for our soldiers. What makes this event so special is that the soldiers in Afghanistan are actually taking part at the same time as the runners here in Olathe. I will be particpating in this event with my co-workers at USC. This will be the part in my marathon training where it gets really difficult as my schedule has be due to complete 17-18 miles on that day. I will be out there an running my set amount. These distance runs require an insane amount of phyical exertion so I would love for followers to make it out that day and run a few laps with me. The course is one mile in length. This will probably take me around 3 1/2 hours to run. Again I challenge you to make it out, support the cause and help push me to my limits that day. You can sign up for the event at http://patriotsrun.us.
Readers I look forward to seeing or hearing from you on your adventures. Please support these great events and causes and happy exercising this week!
I am very excited as I post my blog this week. This previous week my intensity level continued to increase with my marathon preparation. I put in close to 30 miles. My longest run was 11 miles on Saturday that was sandwiched with 2 four milers and and a 6.5 miler. I mixed in some standard cross training of walking, boot camp, weightlifing and finally swimming. The effort is starting to show in my stamina and according to others in my looks. I have had several people ask this week if I have lost weight, thank you to those people as that is always motivational and inspirational for me to continue this effort. I want to share a couple of great opportunities coming up that will allow you to exercise and help out with great charities.
One of my biggest inspirations in running is my friend Jen, you see me mention her name often as she continues to push me along with my brother and sister-in-law to reach these lofty goals. Jen is running the Boston marathon next April which is the most prestigious marathon one can run. She is raising money for a great charity which is the Miles for Miracles. This charity raises money for the Childrens Hopital in Boston. One of her prime fundraisers is the Dig for Kids Charity Volleyball tournament on October 2nd at Volleyball Beach. You have heard me pimp Beach Volleyball and the incredible workout it provides recently. This in an opportunity for it not to be ridiculously hot and get out to support a great cause. The following is a link to the site for this tournament please get out and support it: www.digforkids.net. There will be some great raffles, a silent auction, and many other opportunities to win prizes and have a ton of fun.
The second event I am going to mention is the Patriot Run in Olathe. This run goes from noon to 9:11 PM and is run on September 11th every year. This cause is definitely near and dear to most peoples hearts as this is for our soldiers. What makes this event so special is that the soldiers in Afghanistan are actually taking part at the same time as the runners here in Olathe. I will be particpating in this event with my co-workers at USC. This will be the part in my marathon training where it gets really difficult as my schedule has be due to complete 17-18 miles on that day. I will be out there an running my set amount. These distance runs require an insane amount of phyical exertion so I would love for followers to make it out that day and run a few laps with me. The course is one mile in length. This will probably take me around 3 1/2 hours to run. Again I challenge you to make it out, support the cause and help push me to my limits that day. You can sign up for the event at http://patriotsrun.us.
Readers I look forward to seeing or hearing from you on your adventures. Please support these great events and causes and happy exercising this week!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Special Moment
Hello Readers!
Last Friday I was given an opportunity to share my story with Ah-ha moments, this is sponsored by Mutual of Omaha. This is a traveling Winnebago where people share when the moment was in their life that caused them to change in a positive direction. I was very touched that this blog was being followed and they wanted me to share with so many people. I will publish my link in about three weeks after they send it to me for everyone to see. This blog is exciting for me as I enjoy sharing tidbits I have learned along the way and trying to inspire others to reach any goals in their life as well. FYI this link will have pictures of a couple props I took one was my pants when I was a size 54 inch waist and the photo of me at my peak weight, I think many of you will not even recognize me in the photo and be shocked at the pants.
This upcoming week will mark me getting fully back to the grind. I did a very good job of exercising last week and incorporating some fun new things into it. I competed in a Sand Volleyball Tournament for charity which was a true blast. I don't think people realize how exhausting this is, I woke up a little sore and very tired the day following. This is highly recommended for those who do not enjoy running. I will be joining league during the week at night as I had so much fun. A point I always try to make is exercising should be fun. When it becomes routine and no fun then the benefits and the great feeling starts to fade.
Not to fear everyone, I did not let my running slip as I still got all the necessary training runs in. Getting back into the grind means it is time to ramp up the mileage. So far my longest training run has been 10 miles, but this week I will begin extending this out. I will begin increasing some of my shorter runs from 4 to 6 miles as well. I have new set of running shoes just itching to push my body and mind to the next level. For those of you that are new to the running scene you want to make sure you get new shoes every 500-600 miles you put on them otherwise you will risk injury.
Everyone have a great week!
Last Friday I was given an opportunity to share my story with Ah-ha moments, this is sponsored by Mutual of Omaha. This is a traveling Winnebago where people share when the moment was in their life that caused them to change in a positive direction. I was very touched that this blog was being followed and they wanted me to share with so many people. I will publish my link in about three weeks after they send it to me for everyone to see. This blog is exciting for me as I enjoy sharing tidbits I have learned along the way and trying to inspire others to reach any goals in their life as well. FYI this link will have pictures of a couple props I took one was my pants when I was a size 54 inch waist and the photo of me at my peak weight, I think many of you will not even recognize me in the photo and be shocked at the pants.
This upcoming week will mark me getting fully back to the grind. I did a very good job of exercising last week and incorporating some fun new things into it. I competed in a Sand Volleyball Tournament for charity which was a true blast. I don't think people realize how exhausting this is, I woke up a little sore and very tired the day following. This is highly recommended for those who do not enjoy running. I will be joining league during the week at night as I had so much fun. A point I always try to make is exercising should be fun. When it becomes routine and no fun then the benefits and the great feeling starts to fade.
Not to fear everyone, I did not let my running slip as I still got all the necessary training runs in. Getting back into the grind means it is time to ramp up the mileage. So far my longest training run has been 10 miles, but this week I will begin extending this out. I will begin increasing some of my shorter runs from 4 to 6 miles as well. I have new set of running shoes just itching to push my body and mind to the next level. For those of you that are new to the running scene you want to make sure you get new shoes every 500-600 miles you put on them otherwise you will risk injury.
Everyone have a great week!
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