Glory Days

If you knew me in high school and all the way down to elementary school, you probably saw me running, playing soccer, basketball, football, and asking random people to race, spar, and jump rope with me.

I was full of energy all the time. I harnessed my hyperactivity in sports and it gave me an advantage. All I needed was a small carton of chocolate milk that came standard with a school lunch.

Sitting Down on the Job

Years later, I choose a job where I sit. A comfortable chair that has a massage unit attached. I often move around by crossing my legs different ways, face palms, and I get out of my chair to grab some more coffee and maybe a cookie, sandwich, and a soda! None of that really counts as physical activity.

So I decided to take on the challenge of going out for daily bike rides. For me, doing a physical activity such as bike riding made me feel great both physically and mentally. Riding the bike is extremely beneficial to me because I could step away from my desk and clear my thoughts.

Run Ryan, RUN!

Hail to the Spiders, Webb Junior High

A few months later, Justine turned me onto runDisney. We are officially signed up for Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.  Not for competition and glory… we’re doing this to run together, experience the cast of characters, take pictures along the way, and to take full advantage of the beer and wine festival afterwards! We started planning our training. One problem for me though… I hadn’t run in over 16 years.I thought I was ready, I really did….

I got brand new running shoes, a new tank top, and washed my sun glasses. I remembered I was once a track star almost 16 years ago. I recalled the same stretching and preparation routine and warmed up. I thought I was ready, I really did…

Reality Check

I wanted to stop five minutes into this run I planned out. I felt my body falling apart. I would look behind me and see a part of my leg on the road. I looked back again, it was my kneel caps this time.

It was so grueling and painful, I couldn’t find a good pace for my breathing. I also started off running too fast, burning the energy I had immediately.

I asked myself “What I am thinking, I should stop and get my bike!”  Through out this whole run, that’s all I could think of… stopping.  I pushed through it and reminded myself that I will only improve.  So I kept that mind set and I was able to finish my first run in 16 years without stopping.  :)

Present Day

As the weeks went by, I kept at it. Making progress along the way. When I felt that my body was falling apart… it was. All those years of sitting down were dropping off on the road… I didn’t need to look back.

Getting back into biking and running required me to make a few lifestyle changes.  The most important change to me is making time for fitness activities.

I’m still a work in progress, as I climb up to running longer distances. The half marathon is October first. Here is some of the progress I’ve been making:

Resources

Feel free to take advantage of the resources below if you have interest in Run Disney or fitness in general. Below are a list of links I’ve used myself:

• Run Keeper: I use it to log all my fitness activity.
• Run Disney: Learn more about Run Disney.
• Run Keeper’s Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon entry