All posts tagged heart

Make Each Day Your Masterpiece

In running, training and in life we want instant results and fail to see the small steps all lead to the big goal or big picture.

If you get careless and impatient you will lose focus and sight of what is truly important and you will find yourself making wrong decisions that will lead to the whole goal breaking down and falling apart completely. In the end you will regret it when everything you have worked for has crumbled.

Is someone to blame? Yes, you have to look in the mirror and take responsibility; this is the first step to stepping out and realizing your mistakes and then making adjustments when it’s time to go again so that you may never find yourself in the same predicament.

So set out today and make it count. Take each moment to give thanks for having the gift of running and the gift of life. Then give yourself the greatest gift and pursue your craft and make it a masterpiece today.

Running will change your life and if you step out of the box and see things from a different point of view, you really can do and achieve anything you like, It’s just knowing that each day really is one step to having all that you choose to have. Don’t be of the many who fail to realize this…

Today, you are exactly where you are suppose to be so be great.

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by ryanmichaelruiz on April 23, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged believe, Brooklyn, challenge, change, choices, determination, dream, dreams, excercise, fear, fitness, goals, grow, half marathon, healthy, heart, Inspiration, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, love, manhattan, Marathon, marathons, motivation, New York City, New York City Marathon, NYC, nyc marathon, opportunity, pasadena, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on April 23, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/04/23/make-each-day-your-masterpiece/

LA Marathon, Congratulations & Time To Recover

Well was it everything you thought it would be? The energy out there on the course looked really great, the weather cooperated and you now have a medal and you are a finisher of the 2013 LA Marathon. Congratulations on 26.2

Did everything go great? Did you reach your goal? Are happy with your outcome? If you had a great race, write everything down, put your experience in a diary from your taper all the way up to the finish line of the race. That way you can reflect back in the future and keep in mind what worked for you. This is vital and I encourage you to take the time as you will thank yourself down the line.

Did you miss your goal? Are you disappointed? It happens and I have been here many times. As runners we are competitive with ourselves and its normal to feel like you failed but some of our greatest failures are our most important teachers. If you are open to it, there are lessons to learn so I invite you to write everything down from your taper all the way to the finish line. Maybe you will see what you did wrong and most importantly you can reflect back and make some adjustments in the future and try not to repeat this particular experience. The marathon is so unpredictable from race to race; maybe it just wasn’t your day. Keep your head up and put your focus on the accomplishment.

Now the recovery begins. The rule of thumb is you need a day of recovery for every mile you have run, 26 days of no running? Not quite but you need to take it easy in the next 26 days. You put your body through a ton of stress and it now needs its rest. Through the process of running 26.2 miles at top effort you tore a lot of muscle fibers in your legs that now need your help to rest and let them repair themselves. This doesn’t mean any running but keeping effort and pace down.

Are you sore today? Well if you said yes, chances are Tuesday you will feel even more sore. The key is to keep your body moving, keep the blood moving in the days ahead to get all the soreness and lactic acid out of your legs. Go for a great walk everyday and shake it off. Water will always help flush out the soreness so stay on top of your water intake. Proper food will help too so enjoy the food you have sacrificed over the months but get in that proper fuel to help you recover. Cross training will also help if you need to keep exercising without the impact.

So what now?

Enjoy your accomplishment; take some time to enjoy all the sacrifice you gave up over the past months. But sooner than later it will be time to get back to the drawing board.

If you made your intended goal, you don’t stop there! The mountain of success keeps going up. You are a success but staying there in that success, you can never continue to grow. Continue to look up and find ways to be better than yesterday! Challenge yourself to get better and stronger and faster. That’s what we do.

Continue to believe in yourself and congratulations again!

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 18, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged believe, change, choices, determination, excercise, fear, fitness, goals, grow, healthy, heart, Inspiration, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, love, manhattan, Marathon, marathons, motivation, nyc marathon, opportunity, pasadena, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 18, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/18/la-marathon-congratulations-time-to-recover/

LA Marathon, Have A Great Race

“26.2 miles? Piece of cake. The walk to your car after? Painful”

This is officially it, you made it! Tomorrow is the big day.

You have done the work, now it’s time to go!

There isn’t a lot to say to you, everything has been said. The power is now in your hands.

Line up on the start line tomorrow and write your story!

This is more than just a line on the road,

It is more than a banner across the road,

This is more than a finish line.

THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

Have a great race and congratulations in advance, you are a marathoner.

Your friend always,

-Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 16, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged believe, change, choices, determination, dream, dreams, excercise, fear, fitness, goals, grow, half marathon, healthy, heart, Inspiration, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, love, Marathon, marathons, motivation, opportunity, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 16, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/16/la-marathon-have-a-great-race/

LA Marathon, 3 Days And Counting….

3 days and counting and the excitement continues to build. It is going to be a great race. If you are feeling like you could have done more, dont worry as this is normal. Even if you did all you could do in training, you will still show up to the start line feeling like you could have done more. Trust your training, believe you are ready to go and everything will fall into line.

The marathon is two races, the first race is mile 1-20 and the second race is the last 6 miles. You can never truly predict what will happen to you on those last miles but there are a number of things you can do to put yourself in the best position to tackle those last 6 miles.

Your body can only hold 2000 calories of glycogen(energy) in it s body at one time. Burning 100 calories every mile x20 miles equals 2000 calories. This is why they say you usually hit the wall at mile 20 because you have exhausted your glycogen. What happens in the last 6 miles is really unpredictable but you can do as much as you can to head into the 20 mile mark. This is why taking your gels and gu’s along with water and electrolytes consistently through the race is vital.

On another note have you ever had a full tank of gas in your car and punched the accelerator? The gas seriously goes down quickly. But if you cruise at a decent speed consistently your gas will last longer because your engine is running at a more efficient approach. The same holds true for your body, get out of the gates super fast at the beginning of your race and you will bonk out. Approach your race by allowing your body to naturally warm up and get into a consistent cruising pace and you will have a successful race. Ever seen runners walking their way into the finish line? This is not how you want to experience a marathon. Be patient out there.

The start line

Try and line up at your appropriate pace in the proper corrals. Trying to line up close to the start can only put you in the position to run faster than you should. Also try to avoid zig zagging between runners at the start, this will take a lot of energy out of you and this is the last thing you need. Too much of this can make you pay for it in the later miles. Be patient, you have a long way to go and you will have your chance to make your moves.

Gels and Gu’s?

Please be consistent, you don’t want to create fluctuations in energy. As blood sugar rises when you take a gel you want to avoid being inconsistent with your gel consumption as your blood sugar will dip which will create a feeling of lethargy and fatigue. By staying consistent with gel intake you will keep the blood sugar level even which will help you experience a great feeling throughout the race. If you take a gel, time it perfectly either by time (every 45 minutes) or by miles (every 4 miles).

Are you running with a pace group?

Running with a pace group is always great in a race because you can tuck yourself in the middle of a large pack chasing a particular goal you are interested in and you can best of all draft a lot of people. Drafting is usually illegal in major sporting events like cycling because it allows you to reduce the overall effect of drag due to exploiting the lead runner’s slipstream. Drafting can significantly reduce your average energy expenditure required to maintain your intended pace. It works and can keep you ready when it’s time to make your move to go after your goal.

So When do you make your move?

If you are running the marathon and at mile 10 you feel good and decide to pick up the pace you are making the wrong decision. Mile 10 is much too early to make your move. You will surely have a tough effort all the way to the end. If it is mile 13 and you decide to pick it up chances are you are making the move at the wrong time, still a lot of running to do. I would suggest keeping a consistent pace to mile 17 and then evaluating where you are and feel and start making a gradual pick up in pace. I think based on how you feel, you can either start making your move at mile 20 or 21. Don’t make a sudden burst but gradually pick it up and then run in control and start getting mental and start putting it all on the line.

How do you put it on the line?

Simple, push yourself. There will come a point in the marathon when you are faced with a choice, a fork in the road if you will. The choices are simple, choose one road where you can ease up and pull back the pace because it feels safe and you are tired. You will cruise in to the end but you will finish with that elusive question, WHAT IF? What if you had not pulled back? Then there is the other choice. Choose to push yourself and go into unknown territory. It’s a scary place because you don’t know what can happen. You potentially can put yourself in a place of a lot of pain but I invite you to go there. Your body is very smart and will figure out a way to keep the effort and pace. You then see you can do it and you find yourself succeeding. The feeling is exhilarating crossing the finish line knowing you gave everything you had. From that point on your running will never be the same as that choice re-invents not only your running but it re-invents your life. Because remember, we take the lessons in running and apply the same courage, perseverance and vigor to our everyday lives. Choose wisely on Sunday.

Stay positive with your thoughts, today is a great day to get in a good carb dinner so have a great dinner and carb up!

See you tomorrow,

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 14, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged challenge, change, determination, dream, dreams, excercise, fitness, goals, half marathon, heart, Inspiration, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, marathons, motivation, opportunity, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 14, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/14/la-marathon-3-days-and-counting/

LA Marathon 4 Days And Counting….

It is now 4 days and counting and the streets of Los Angeles are waiting for you. The weather here in Los Angeles is just incredible this week. I hope you are anticipating a great race. If the nerves are kicking in, no worries, welcome to marathon racing. Maybe it is good positive energy ready to go and you are confusing it with nervousness and anxiety. Stay positive out there.

LA Marathon Wednesday is here and I bring you a variety of tips today to think about and apply to yourself if you feel it applies to you.

NUTRITION

It basically comes down to nutrition from today to race day. All your goals and expectations for race day come down to this. Stay smart out there and make the right decisions. You have sacrificed so much the last months of training so stay true to healthy and smart portions.

HYDRATION

The weather is heating up here in LA and it is beautiful but it may feel a little hot for a marathon. Stay on top of your fluid intake in the next days to race day. Remember the average couch potato needs 60 ounces of water but you are an athlete so more is required THROUGHOUT your day. Please don’t gulp water.

CHECK YOUR URINE

This sounds a bit strange, I know, but hear me out. A great way to see if you are properly hydrated is to check your urine. If your urine is completely clear this is probably not what you want to look for. Chances are you have had too much water and you have now flushed a lot of the salt out of your body. Showing up to the start line like this will make you feel extremely sluggish and “tired.” What you want to look for is a light lemonade tint color, a little yellow and a little white. This is a great hydration measure. If your urine is super dark or orange, you are dehydrated. If you take vitamins chances are your urine is super yellow and it will be hard to determine this way so monitor your intake carefully.

WATCH THAT ALCOHOL INTAKE.

alcohol is fine to have but keep that drink to one or two at most. If you drink beer on the course, usually they hand them out in the 20’s, just make sure your stomach can take this. I have seen a lot of runners throwing up several yards after taking the free beer offered by spectators on the course.

SLEEP NOW

Today is Wednesday and the perfect time to get sleep in the next two days as from Friday on it will be a bit challenging to get a good night’s sleep due to anticipating the big day on Sunday. You may find yourself tossing and turning the next days and that’s OK. On Saturday night this may be the biggest day you toss and turn and you may lay in bed for hours before falling asleep with very little sleep when its time to wake up. If This happens to you, don’t worry. This is the norm and you will be just fine. Don’t stress over this if this happens to you.

COFFEE?

If you are a coffee drinker like me you very well understand the saying, “Don’t talk to me, I haven’t had my coffee yet” In seriousness coffee is perfectly fine to have pre race and it will actually help with endurance. But I say this trusting your body is completely hydrated. Two cups won’t kill you as well but I would probably limit it at two. Stay hydrated and you will be fine.

ARE YOU RUN WALKING?

If you are run walking like a lot of marathoner’s this Sunday it’s important to remember when you come to your walks to keep the heart rate up so when it’s time to run you don’t feel tired when its time to run which will naturally raise your heart rate. Keep the heart rate up by pretending you are a late for an appointment kind of walk. This will help so much.

WALK THROUGH WATER STATIONS?

Nothing worse than approaching a water station and grabbing water and drinking while you run and the water going up your nose. It is a good idea to grab your water, come to a “late for an appointment” walk and drink your water. Be quick and when you dispose of the cup get back into pace. I actually know someone who qualified for Boston by walking 30 seconds through every water station. So don’t worry about time so much. In the big picture it may be beneficial.

WHY WALK?

The whole concept of walk breaks in the run/walk process is the walking actually delays the on set of lactic acid which builds in your legs and gives you that heavy, tired feeling. So don’t feel like you are doing wrong if you need to get a one minute quick walk in. It will help you so much if need be.

START SLOW

Don’t let the anticipation and the adrenaline of the race get you out to a fast start. Show massive patience and discipline and allow your body to get into rhythm and build its natural progression to your race pace. Most marathoner’s make this mistake and while you feel good, you will pay for it in the later miles. Be Zen like and stay in the moment and execute your plan.

YOUR INNER VOICE YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD

Lastly the marathon is an amazing test to the human spirit. It challenges you in ways where you are faced with a wall to climb when it seems you have nothing left physically to continue forward. But the human spirit and your heart are powerful and just when you thought you can’t move forward, you always find a way to push forward even when it seems you can’t go forward. In this process there will be an inner voice inside you telling to never quit or give up and it may be a voice you never knew you had. The marathon is about how much you can take and keep moving forward, very much how life is. Look for that inner voice on Sunday and listen to it and push through the challenge. When you cross the finish line Sunday the real work begins as you continue to listen to that inner voice and take on any challenge in your life and never give up. The finish line is more than a line on the road, it teaches us to face adversity with the same positive outlook we have in running and to always persevere no matter what life throws at us. Stay in the moment and show gratitude every day and all great things will come your way.

See you tomorrow,

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 13, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged challenge, change, choices, dream, excercise, fitness, goals, heart, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, Marathon, marathons, motivation, opportunity, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 13, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/13/la-marathon-4-days-and-counting/

2013 LA Marathon, 6 Days And Counting….

It’s Monday in Los Angeles and here we go, time to get ready, get excited and feel the energy that is LA Marathon. After getting into Downtown Los Angeles this morning I can see the buzz around town with a lot of runners running around the streets this morning in their LA Marathon shirts. Its marathon week and there is nothing greater than that.

The Expo opens this week on Friday at the LA Convention Center and I would suggest getting there on Friday that way on Saturday you take the day for yourself and relax and stay off of your feet. If Saturday is the only day you can get there I would suggest getting there early so that you may have enough time to take the rest of the day to relax and get ready

Try nothing new at the expo! If something seems appealing, put it in your bag and save it for the following week and give it a try. Nothing worse than trying something new and it upsetting your stomach and you are dealing with that until race day.

Just some other reminders. How does the weather look? Are you keeping tabs?

How is your stretching going?

Make sure your runs are slowing down and you are pulling back on both volume and speed, You should only get a couple of runs in this week and rest the remaining days. I would suggest 2-3 light runs this week with the idea of staying loose on these runs, nothing too serious. Take time to stop and stretch out after a mile. The idea isn’t to run true miles but to get out there and keep the body moving. I know you may feel like you have a lot of pent-up energy but PLEASE save it for the race. There is nothing you can do this week and that can improve your performance on Sunday. On the flip side of that there are plenty of things you can do to hinder your race performance such as tough runs and workouts so take it easy until race day. Your moment is coming.

Are you running with music? It’s time to get the playlist ready.

See you tomorrow, stay focused.

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 11, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged challenge, choices, determination, fitness, goals, healthy, heart, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, Marathon, marathons, opportunity, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 11, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/11/2013-la-marathon-6-days-and-counting/

LA Marathon, One Week And Counting

It’s Sunday and one week until race day and the official countdown begins. You have a week to get ready mentally and physically. Everything you do in the next seven days will have an effect on your race so stay positive out there and make wise and great decisions this week.

Now the number one question I get during race week all year from runners running marathons is “What should I eat the night before the race & the morning of?” The greatest thing about running and training for marathons is you truly learn so much about yourself and the real gift is realizing you are your greatest teacher. During the process of all the training runs and the triumphant cross of the finish line you not only learn of your true potential but also you learn so much about your body and what it needs to reach certain heights and limits. So the answer is really in you.

What have you eaten to help you finish tough long runs in your training? What foods propelled you to have amazing runs? Did you find a system of nutrition and hydration that worked for you? We are all made different and we all work on our own circuit board in a sense and what works for one runner doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for you.

We follow basic nutrition guidelines to help us but trust your body and feed it what make you perform at an efficient level.

If you have no clue what makes your body work, this may be a great lesson for you to consider the importance of a training diary where you write about your great runs and you not so good ones. In the diary you can always be specific as to what helped you have a great run and on those rough ones you can always reflect back on what caused that and how you can avoid those same patterns .

Reflect back and figure out what works for you. Take 15 minutes of your day today and write a list of what works for your body and work on getting this fuel in your body this week and make a plan for the 2-3 days leading up to the race including your race morning meal. Organization is key and vital to the success you choose to have on race day.

Have a great day and start those mantras and positive thoughts,

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 10, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged believe, Central Park, change, choices, determination, excercise, fitness, goals, half marathon, heart, Inspiration, inspire, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, Marathon, marathons, nyc marathon, opportunity, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 10, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/10/la-marathon-one-week-and-counting/

LA Marathon Countdown, Carbo Load NOT Carbo Stuff

“The gun goes off and you cross the start line, you get into pace, the crowds are immense, you share the camaraderie with the runners and the road ahead looks promising. Guess what? You are running a marathon. You are a marathon runner. Is there anything better?”

Welcome back to my LA Marathon countdown. Carbo loading may be the biggest mistakes I see runners making during the taper phase because for some reason runners have the misconception that it means carbo-stuffing and stuffing your face all day with pasta or anything else leading up to race day. The reality is eating pasta and everything in sight will no doubt carb up your body but it will also allow you to over eat and you will show up to the start line bloated and heavy.

The true idea is to get into the habit during the next two weeks of practicing smart choices with small carb portions THROUGHOUT your day. Carbs, fruit, veggies, protein and healthy fats are great ideas to keep in mind as you plan your daily meals to get your body prepped for the big day. Smart healthy choices throughout your day will help keep your body fine tuned and ready to perform at the level you intend to. Try and think of your body as a high performance race car. To make you perform at an optimal level you will need optimal food as well. Stay disciplined in the next remaining days to put the proper fuel in your body and not get into the mind frame that you can eat whatever you like.

Since we are pulling back on miles it may be normal to gain a little weight so don’t freak out. It is just your body and muscles storing the much needed energy it will need to sustain the 26 miles for race day.

Another idea is to try nothing new in the next couple of weeks especially the last days leading up to the race. Stick to what has worked for you to carbo load your body as you have been doing in your long runs during your training phase for this race.

As you can see the power to go out achieve your desired goal times are often in the power of our own hands. It s the decisions we make on a daily basis that will determine our outcomes. Sure you can say “well I have done this or that and it has worked” and well that’s great but imagine what you really could have achieved if you did it right? Be patient.

Don’t be over ambitious in this last phase of training. You have put in too much work to be stubborn and compromise your race. You owe it to yourself.

See you tomorrow where I will talk to you about finding balance in the next remaining days.

Stay focused out there

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on March 4, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged believe, carbo load, challenge, choices, determination, excercise, fitness, goals, heart, Inspiration, LA Marathon, life, limits, Los Angeles, Marathon, marathons, motivation, opportunity, possibilities, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on March 4, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/03/04/la-marathon-countdown-carbo-load-not-carbo-stuff/

Welcome to 2013, Follow Your Heart

Happy New Year and welcome to the first day of 2013. The road ahead looks amazing for you and all things are possible for you to shift and become all you have ever dreamed of, this is your year. Whether you know it or not you are living in an incredible time where we truly have the potential to be everything we ever wanted to be.

Just 9 days ago the sun rose upon December 21^st which was the Mayan calendar’s call for time to end and many around the world believed the end of the world was possibly before us but the truth is the date marked a rebirth, a rebirth of our life and our world, an opportunity to experience jubilation, anticipation and celebration of life. The rebirth is YOU and 2013 represents that rebirth to become who you truly are meant to be.

In 2012 we left the age of Pisces and entered into the Age of Aquarius, which represents great change and huge opportunity. The transition into the Age of Aquarius represents transition from thinking with our minds to now living and being with our hearts. When we follow our hearts, all great things are possible. With 2013 upon us you are now in full swing of this energy so listen to your hearts and watch your worlds transform and manifest into all your greatest desires.

Have you ever had the opportunity to see artists paint? Have you ever had the opportunity to hear an artist speak of their work? They don’t create from their hands. They don’t create from their minds but create from their hearts. Watching their hands gracefully move back and forth on canvas is almost like experiencing time standing still where silent music starts to play and true creative beauty exist because the heart is guiding their creative vision and leading the way to create their work. When you look at art pieces around the world it is no wonder why we are able to connect with their work because their work finds a way to touch our souls much the same way the artists use their hearts and souls to create their work. This is why art becomes pure and always remains timeless and beautiful. The heart is powerful.

Runners are much the same way. Imagine if you will running a 26.2 mile marathon and reaching mile 20 and feeling like your world has collapsed. Your legs feel heavy and you have this sting in your body that radiates pain and in many ways you become confused because your body is fatigued and you are now flirting with your body’s edge of what it can take. It is sometimes a scary place to be because you are pushing your body and spirit to its limit and you don’t know how you can endure another 6 miles of pain. I have preached for years to thousands of runners that when you reach this place, it becomes the time to run with your heart, your heart will find a way to carry your body, spirit and mind to the finish line. And when you reach that finish line, it finds a way to change your life no matter how many times you have crossed it because each time you cross the finish line your heart becomes bigger and more powerful. The heart is the true catalyst to helping you become great in any endeavor in life. Runners and Painters are just two small examples of this process.

2013 can be an amazing year for you if you follow your heart. Your heart will always take you where you need to go. Follow your intuition this year because your intuition is connected to your heart and when you learn to live intuitively you are living with your heart. Children are very much like this and often listen to the first voice that helps them become fearless. We were all once children so look for your inner child and live fearlessly this year.

So go out today and for the rest of the year and remain positive and tune out all the negativity. With the energy and vibrations strongest in this year, whatever you put your focus on will be amplified tenfold. So why not go for the most incredible, spectacular life you can imagine?

This year is your year to liberate yourself from the limitations and belief systems you have put upon yourself that no longer serve you. Some of us tend to be so hard on ourselves and it’s time to let go, listen to our hearts and know the only limitations we have are the ones we put on ourselves.

So with those parting words I say to you,

Welcome to the re-birth of you the Mayans predicted.

Welcome to the Age of Aquarius where all things are possible

Welcome to 2013. May you find your mountain top and let the sun shine upon your face all year.

Your friend always,

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on January 1, 2013 • Permalink

Posted in Running

Tagged 2012, 2013, Artist, believe, change, choices, Darling wishes, dream, dreams, fear, goals, grow, healthy, heart, Inspiration, inspire, life, limits, love, manhattan, motivation, New York City, NYC, opportunity, Paint, possibilities, risk, run, running, story, training

Posted by ryanmichaelruiz on January 1, 2013

http://ryanmruiz.com/2013/01/01/welcome-to-2013-follow-your-heart/

Welcome To The End Of 2012

“Don’t tell me how old or how young you think you may be, I am not interested in how poor or how rich you think you are. Don’t tell me what you do for a living and don’t tell me all the things you have or don’t have. But PLEASE tell me who you are. That is all that matters.”

Welcome to the final days of 2012, another year and another chapter of your life. So how did 2012 fare for you? Was it all you thought it would be?

This past year we rang in the New Year with a renewed zest for a new year, a new start and along the way we learned valuable lessons. Hearts were broken and people fell in love. Moments of pure joy were born and moments of tears came too. We met people who came into our lives and changed them and we even met people and found ways to change their lives. Somewhere along the way we sometimes felt lost and alone but we always managed to find our way back. New friendships were born and some even were lost. Business deals went sour and some were spectacular. Money came and gone. But through all the great and tough moments of this past year we learned and grew so much and we are here, alive, with endless possibilities for today and tomorrow.

The last few remaining days of 2012 are still undeclared and unwritten and even in these last remaining days a moment or several moments can still cross our paths to inspire us and change our worlds. So go out and make these last days count.

As you close the book on 2012 on December 31^st, reflect back and smile at the great times and memories. But also smile at the tough ones as well because they are our own most valuable lessons.

As you open the book for 2013 on January 1^st, smile, have faith, show gratitude and decide to let your heart guide you and live each day with lots of love and go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

When the ancient Greeks died, they didn’t have eulogies or obituaries. They only asked one question….”Did he have passion?”

Go after your passion and watch all the great things unfold for you in 2013. And most importantly, BELIEVE. Believe in yourself and your gifts.

Be amazing every day and have a great new year.

Anything is possible under the sun.

Your friend always,

Ryan

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by ryanmichaelruiz on December 28, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Running