Pride, Accomplishment, and Relief what's next?

Hello Readers!

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

Destination Marathon Achieved!

Hello Readers!

This weeks blog brings me great pride. On Sunday I completed my first marathon in San Antonio, Texas. The day was a perfect day for running, the temperature was about 55 degrees and cloudy. There was an anxious crowd on hand of approximately 30,000 runners. With this many runners they start you in stables of 1,000 runners. My stable was 24, each stable starts approximately 2 minutes apart. That meant it took me roughly 45 minutes to make it to the starting line, which meant my anticipation continually built. Finally the moment came and it was my opportunity to start. I took off like I was shot out of a cannon which was probably not the best way to begin a 26 mile journey but I couldn't be contained. People had told me the key is to run the first two miles the slowest and get into the race, but in my excitement I completely ignored all advice and forged ahead. The race took me all over San Antonio, I briefly saw the Alamo, I saw several historic Spanish missions but I was focused in on the destination so many of the sites were missed.

Everyone hears stories about people hitting the wall in marathons this is definitely true. About 17 miles in I was mentally prepared for GU packets which are basically pure energy packets and didn't receive them at that mile mark, the course took me on a long one mile uphill which beat me up mentally and physically. The key is to remain strong in your belief, I did walk for about half a mile in this stretch before giving myself a tongue lashing and forging on. At mile 23 I began cramping up a bit which was a new experience for me, I had been taking an average of two waters and two cytomax (gatorade substance) at every station after 8 miles into the race, but it apparently wasn't enough. So at the last three stations I took on three of each which carried me through.

Mile 25 finally rolled through and I knew I was almost done, the last mile was lined with tons of people cheering you on which was very important to helping complete the course. At mile 26 the course took a turn at the Alamodome and went straight up a giant hill. My friend Jen who had run the half earlier came back to the end to watch me finish. This is when the greatest and funniest part of my marathon experience began. Jen saw me turning for home and getting ready to climb this final mountain. She jumped the fence, ran toward me and started yelling at me to get up that hill, not to quit on the race at that point. She yelled "you make this hill turn for home and have 100 yard left, smile damn it!! This is your marathon this is your finish" I had my own Jillian Michaels on the course motivating me to drag my tired woosy legs across the finish line. There it was, it was over just like that. I was so excited and so overcome with emotion that I didn't want to take my finisher medal. I told Jen that is not my medal, mine is Red like my race bib. She just laughed and said "No that is your medal, as she forced me to take it and look at it. After taking some water I realized she was correct and it clearly said Marathon Finisher on it. Thanks friend!

Next week I will talk about the emotions and the feelings that one experiences when running 26.2 miles, it is truly an amazing feeling. I wanted to send a special thanks to Jen, Jeremy and Troy for making the journey down and being a part of the experience. I wanted to thank all my friends and family who have been a part of my marathon journey, who received the text updates on how I was doing, who have continually pushed me to stretch my goals in life. You are all so special to me and this glorious moment in my life would not have been possible without all of you. I leave you this week with my favorite quote, life is short live it hard. Take each day and truly make the most of it.

Ryan

Anticipation is almost over!

Hello Readers!

It has been a few weeks since my last update. Marathon week is finally upon me! There has been a lot of build up for this moment. I leave for San Antonio on Saturday morning at 7:55 and get there around 1:30 in the afternoon thanks to a relatively long layover in Denver, Colorado. This is a week I wasn't sure would come soon enough. The training has been very long and very grueling, but well worth it from a fitness standpoint. I have had to tighten the belt another notch as again I am starting a trophy to showcase where the journey started. My new pants bought back in March now are too big and sagging on me, and I feel like a million dollars right now. This week I have been in full taper so as not to drain my legs, I still exercised well with boot camp on Monday, a 5 mile run on Tuesday, a 4-5 mile walk of the dog and Bosu/Weights class Thursday at the "Y". This may sound like a lot but this was a light week for me. I don't want anyone to think that I am slacking, as I give myself no real rest I am signed up for a 5K the following Sunday in KC and then another 5K on Thanksgiving with my best friend Jay.

As exciting and as much as I am ready for the moment to arrive, the moment where I test my endurance, my mental fortitude and just about everything I have in me. I am just as excited about the trip. I have never been to San Antonio and Jen, Jeremy, Troy and I all have a very exciting weekend lined up. When we arrive we are going to the expo to pick up our packets in final preparation for the race, but then we are going to experience some of the great history and fun that San Antonio has to offer. We plan on hitting up one of the boat cruises through the famed river walk area, we plan making the most of the day. We have a dinner lined up that night a highly recommended Italian place to complete the carb loading for the next day. Once the race is complete we have plans to paint the town red that day by catching the Chiefs/Broncos game somewhere and indulging in some Margarita's on the river walk at Casa Rio. I don't want everyone to worry, I certainly plan on rehydrating before partaking in the adult beverage section.

In a random switch, I wanted to pass along that I am finally in my new place. The move went very well thanks to JJ, Jessica, Jay, Brad, Uncle Tony and my mom. I got moved in last Saturday and have enjoyed everything so far. When people get the opportunity to see the place I am very proud of my stadium (living room) I call it the stadium as it my personal version. I have a a picture of Farout Field (Mizzou Football Stadium) that was painted hanging above my big screen, along with my autographed picture of Sean Witherspoon and Tony Gonzalez so it feels like a total man cave. I still need to add my George Brett Autographed Jersey to this room but people will love the sports stadium feel. No worries, I will have a room at some point that has a little less bachelor pad feel, that just takes a little time. I am very excited to host people at any point so don't be afraid to let me know if you are in town and need a place to crash. My addresss is 4200 Booth Street, Kansas City, KS 66103. I live in an awesome area of Kansas City approximately half a mile from KU Med Center, one mile from Westport and one mile from the Plaza.

Have a great weekend all, I will update you with race results early next week and try to describe all the feelings and emotions of completing this part of my journey known as life.

Life is short, Live it Hard!
Ryan