ascending the mount to see God’s beacon shine

focused on words that illuminate his soul

grateful for the quickening of mercies divine

Tonight I ran for the second time this week and the second time in perhaps 6 months or more. After the St. George in 2005 I haven’t trained much. I did run the Wasatch Back Relay, but I pretty much ran that straight up without forethought…and my legs sure thanked me for it!

Today I had been having a brain cloud, as I’ve come to recognize as a fairly common part of Ryan’s existence. I almost didn’t run today because I’ve been feeling “almost sick” lately. Ya know that feeling of fatigue, muscle soreness, hot/cold “make up your mind” stuff? Well, I’ve been having that but guess what? Here’s what I experienced upon returning from a 15 minute run, 5 minute walk, then repeat session:

• My mind felt clear and focused
• I had more energy
• I noticed patience came easier
• Gratitude filled my being
• (From the textbook) Overall sense of well being

I enjoy noticing the effects of my actions more these days. I haven’t always done that and it’s quite interesting and refreshing.

Ever since my physiological psych class with Dr. Yells several years ago I’ve had a strong interest in the brain, its hard wiring and its relationship to behavior, memory and learning.

Along the way I’ve also had a desire to be involved in the technology that would eventually revolutionize again the way we diagnose patients and help them in their journey towards happy existences.

A couple months ago I pulled out the drawings and drafts I had been making over the past several years about my ideas on what I’ve since come to classify as personal medical sensors and monitoring. The simple thought came to me, “I wonder if anyone’s ever thought about these things before.” So I jumped online and started the search. It didn’t take long to find solutions that others had come up with. BRILLIANT!

As I’ve started to learn about the brain again I’ve felt alive again, like I have purpose I guess.

This is not the only thing that’s contributed to the feelings I’ve been having, but learning IS a powerful motivator for me. In fact, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life actually talks about the need for life-long learning to keep your brain healthy. I’m feeling it.

In other news, last week I started doing sales for our company, ioVentures. Invigorating. I realized that I absolutely love meeting new people, sharing what I know about a topic and learning what they’re involved with.

Tonight we had our ioV company party. I was the only one not married, but no worries. I took Shimpie. We had a great time bowling. I got a personal best (156) along with Jason and Larissa. Fun stuff.

Today I found out that I was picked in the lotto to run in the Moab Half Marathon in March… ) Running, it’s become foreign to me. Let’s get back on that horse!

So I’ve got this silly/crazy idea in my head, yeah? I read the other day about two clubs that set a goal to run a marathon in EVERY STATE. One does every state plus DC. The other is all 50 States minus DC. So, I was curious when I caught up to a guy at the end of the St. George Marathon and he had a shirt that said he had done that. I talked with him a bit while we ran. He said it was something like his 230th marathon….can you say “SU-WEET”? Uh, cuz I can.

I’ve set my training program down for the Salt Lake Marathon on June 3rd, but I am just thinkin’ that I may do one before that too…as well as one after that. I’ve looked into some races in CA and AZ. But the race that is consuming my mind more than others at this point is our 12 man, 170 mile relay! WA-HOO. So, people are gettin’ on our team and we’ll soon have the full 12. That will be a sweet day. Some good friends are running it with us, so I’m very excited for it, even though it’s at the end of June.

Other news: Murph Dog created a running club at BYU and the coaches there are actually setting out the training schedule for several different levels of running groups. They’ll bring in pro-runner speakers for seminars and some other cool things. There’s already 75 members as of last night and it JUST BEGAN! Nice.

Well, that’s it for now friends. Thanks for all of your emails about how you’re doing. I really appreciate them all.

Luf,

Ry

I guess for now I can let you know that I started on Monday back at my old job that I quit back in March to pursue my own business ventures. Business was slowing up and I heard that a full time position was available. I jumped and am happy to be back at 10x Marketing working full time.

Business now has picked up in December and we’ve had several $300-$400 dollar days. It never fails to surprise me. We’re up in sales from last year at this time and the business is moving right along. Spring should be even better.

I’m registered for my last semester of my undergrad and look forward to finishing that up. I’ll then dive into grad school prep.

I’m still prepping for my races. I started a half marathon training plan on Dec. 1 and I’ve stuck to it thus far. It feels good.

That’s the good stuffs. I hope it whets your appetite more than all my dismal posts about how hard life is… ;o) Life really is good. So many friends, so many opportunities, and so much hope. I love it!

Thanks peeps.

Ryan

I’ve started to train for the Painter’s Half. The schedule is not too bad. It gives me several runs of 4-6 miles a week, an easy day, a cross-training day and then a long run that increases each week. I end up biking 5+ miles most days too. I haven’t been training for a bit. I think that’s why I’m tired these days. I’ll have to find out if need some special sleep regime or something. I think I’ll have more energy as I stay with the program…I think I need to be a bit more aware too of what I’m eating…to make sure that I have enough calories in the day.

The only other races that I’ve considered are the Wasatch Back Relay and the Salt Lake City Marathon. Both races are in June of ’06. The Wasatch Back relay consists of a 170 mile relay with 12 people. It spans an entire 24 hours and goes from Logan to Park City. Not a bad little jog, yeah? Well, each team member runs 3 legs ranging from 4-6 miles. Wow, that would be sweet! Hey, if you want to run with Team Pumpernickle then let me know! If we sign up by the 31st of Jan then it’s $60 a person.

That’s all for now…running really connects me to life. I’m a fan. I just found this cool tool to help you with your training pace. Peath out yo.

Miles 1-15 I was with Pete and we either stretched or walked every other mile for a minute. We tried to keep a 10 minute milepace. We did pretty good. By mile 15 however we had dropped about 12 minutes behind that goal. Pete had been injured the week before the race, so it was coming back now. He told me to head on out and about mile 15 1/2 I did. I started running faster than before to make up the 12 minutes we had lost. I believe I was doing around 8 minute miles from there on out, perhaps slower once I was sure that I had lessened the time gap. At mile 16 I was surprised to see my dad on the sideline! He came with Mindy, my sister and Cami Jo Massey, Mindy’s friend that I ran the Onion Days (Payson) 10k with. That was a neat turning point since I have never run more than 16 miles before in my life. During training I ran 16 and that’s as high as I got. So to have them there to spur me on was touching.

I don’t think from that point on I ever saw anyone pass me. My head remained mostly down as I had focus from who knows where. I recall passing many people, some gradually and some I ran rather quickly by. I say that not to point out that I’m better, because I’m not, but simply as an observation.

Coming out of the canyon I felt good. I believe there were about 5 or 6 miles left at that point and it was all down hill (btw, not too good on your quads…I was in PAIN for two days straight, faded about day 4 after a run or two, heating, icy-hot, etc). I ran quickly still, but the miles seemed longer than they had at the beginning of the race. )

As I came across the finish line sprinting I felt all my leg muscles very tight. I had the chip removed from my shoe and saw MJ waiting there. BOY, what a treat! Coming through that finish line and seeing her there was truly good to my heart.

I walked through the mist set up to cool down runners and then through the medal line. I saw my mom at the first aid station and found out that she had gotten to mile 4 and was in so much pain that the had bus brought her down. Worst pain of her life she said. Turns out she broke her femur. She went into the operating room last Friday to have a bar placed in her leg! And to think, all because I was crazy enough to run a marathon! She didn’t seem at all upset about the event though. All in all I think it was a good experience. Growing up I knew she had run marathons, so now it’s neat to carry on where she left off. We had given her a blessing before the race, the night before, Pete and I. It was the first blessing I had given to my mother. I was touched by the event and so was she. There aren’t too many experiences that we can have that can compare in sacredness than that of a blessing of loved ones.

The race wasn’t as bad for me as I had pictured in my mind. I did it and will do it again. Continual forward motion toward a goal is what brings me fulfillment. Stagnation is particularly damaging to my psychology if nothing else.

One last thing I want to note about the race. As we ran there were aid stations with water, Gatorade and fruit amongst other things. I took the help offered at each stop and was VERY grateful for the support offered by volunteers and paid staff alike. I wouldn’t have been able to do that race without them.

Thanks everyone for the help in finishing my first marathon!

More to come on this ultimate coolness…Look back tomorrow.

Hey, so, I guess this is it. All the months of anticipation culminate here. The marathon that I’ve always wanted to run is tomorrow morning. This time on Sat. I’ll be running the St. George Marathon. I was nervous at the beginning of the week, but am calm now. I am excited for conference as well, this will be a grand weekend for me for many reasons.

Tomorrow is 3 weeks with MJ…well past the 5 days of her last relationship and just over the 2 weeks I spent with Kathryn.

Anyhow, I best be off…my destiny awaits )

Discipline
Courage
Humility
Honor

St. George Marathon