Ringing out 2011. What a Year!

Hello Readers,

This is my annual year in review post. Looking back 2011 was an incredible year for me both personally and from a fitness perspective. I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know some incredible people in the last year, I have reached many of the goals that I set for myself, and I have myself ready to make 2012 another great and successful year!

2011 saw me list as my goals to better myself as a person, continually improve my fitness level, and take more chances. I can honestly say that I achieved all the goals. I think each of us are always looking for ways to better ourselves. One of the ways I have tried to better myself is to see all situations in a positive light. As I move into 2012 this is a goal that will remain with me. There are certainly ways that I can continue to grow as a person and continue to better myself. I look forward to seeing the results in the coming year.

The second goal was to improve my fitness level. This goal seems like it might have been a difficult goal to achieve as 2010 saw me stretch myself to the ultimate limits. Amazingly I was able to reach this goal by finding new limits to test. In 2011 I ran my fastest half marathon ever, I broke 2 hours for the first time and hope to be able to better that time in 2012. I competed in three triathlons in 2011, one of them being an international distance event. This pushed me to that next level, not only was the distance the greatest I have completed, but the day the race was on was one of the hottest days in KC last summer so I was pushed to the maximum mentally as well as physically. With 2012 in sight, I have a couple huge fitness goals in mind and will share them in my upcoming goals post.

The third goal of 2011 was to take more chances. I do feel that I succeeded in this goal as there were times last year I stepped out of my comfort zone. Chances are something that for me are difficult. As many crazy things as it sounds like I do, my personality is one that is actually very conservative. Running and fitness have afforded me the opportunity to gain much self confidence in my life which allows me to take more chances. Taking chances will be something that will remain on my personal lists of goals every year, as I do believe the more chances I take whether fitness chances or personal chances the happier I will continue to be.

As I look forward to the challenges that will be 2012, I look back and think I can only hope that it brings me the happiness and greatness achieved in 2011. To my loyal readers, let me know what your goals are for 2012, if there is anyway that I can help you achieve them don't be afraid to reach out to me. As much as I love succeeding in my own life I absolutely love being able to help others reach their dreams and goals. Happy New Year to ALL!

Life is short, live it hard!

Ryan

Seasons Greetings!!

Hello Readers,

Seasons Greetings to all! Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and families, I know I did. If many of you are like me you over-consumed both food and beverage. Honestly that is what Thanksgiving is for! That weekend was especially fun for me as I saw several great people and friends. On a personal and fun note, the weekend was also significant as Mizzou played their final border war game with Kansas. This game brings back some amazing memories for me. The great news is Mizzou finished the series properly by putting the Hawks and Turner Gill down for the count. Go Tigers!

I don't know about you, but for me this is a crazy busy season. It seems I have something going on constantly for the next three weeks, it is extremely important that during this busy time we don't forget or neglect to finish the year strong toward completing our goals and maintain a strong exercise ethic. For me this hasn't been a problem, I was out of town last week but still managed to put in my longest run so far of training by doing 13 miles. I have found that for me, the key during this busy time is finding hidden time in your day. For instance, instead of going out for lunch or sitting in the break room for lunch, I use my lunch time to get in my daily training run. I then eat my lunch at my desk. I understand this may not work for everyone, it is just one idea. The real point is that we are all busy, but we can find a way to make some time in the day to find and remain healthy.

This week I was watching the biggest loser on TV, this was their marathon week. I am not sure how many of you watch this show but it the marathon episode is one of my favorites each year as you get to see each of the contestants reach the pinnacle of their own personal journies to become healthy and lose weight. You can see when you watch this episode the true emotion felt by each contestant and the pride and self confidence they have by completing this. I can speak from experience and someone who has gone through the battles the contestants do that the show is the closest to reality of any reality show I have seen. I know after watching I am inspired and ready to do battle with my next marathon course in Little Rock.

I want to say to everyone enjoy the next few weeks, enjoy what the holiday season is all about, cherishing time with families and friends and lastly be safe.

Life is short, live it hard!
Ryan