HELLO!!! Sorry to the six or seven of you that happen along this page from time to time in the lack of posting, but a fella has been neck deep in conference season, and it requires me to be away from my computers, and put all my focus into the new and exciting things I am learning to take back to my organization. Might be a little fun, occasionally, every now and then, thrown in there too, you know to break up the learnin'.
My most recent adventure started a couple weeks back in preparing to go to Toronto. The week of, I was a rockstar with my workouts, I actually had them all completed by Friday of that week, knowing that I would be on the road Friday and Saturday driving ( yes, but there is a method to my madness) and wouldnt really be in Toronto until Sunday. The gym in Toronto doesnt have access to a pool, so those work outs were critical to complete. So the week went like this:
Monday: 45min swim + 4km run + 20min bike
Tuesday: 2x750m swim + 45min bike
Wednesday: 5km run + 35min bike
Thursday: 6km run
Friday: 60min swim
Saturday: off
Sunday: 30min bike + 30min run
So YEAH, i even did extra when the final tally comes in!
So with all my workouts in, I could focus on hitting the open road with the family. We were planning on traveling through the US, last year we made the drive and went through Canada, and I gotta tell you, I love Canada, but holy crap is that drive BOOOOORRRRIIIINNNNNGGGGG! On a motorcycle, probably awesome, in a car, not so much.
So with passports in hand, we made a run for the border. We also decided this time to leave at dusk instead of early in the morning. Mostly for the hopes that the kids would sleep more and ask "are we there yet, how much farther" a lot less. For the most part this plan worked incredibly well. The only flaw was Maine. The route we chose from the boarder to Bangor was a single lane road that passed through many mountains. At 2am, there are many, many animals that are trying to just be them at that time. We almost smacked into 2-3 deer, a couple of raccoons with glandular problems and many other startled woodland creatures that had a look on their faces like ' ahhhhh you know its like 2am right? Why are you coming up in here and making all this drama?' So our pace dropped incredibly. We made it up though once we hit the glorious twined interstates starting in Bangor. This was another plus of driving through the states, twined highways/interstates everywhere! Now there is the pesky toll system also, but Im sure that money goes directly to maintaining the interstate system, and makes sense. I really didnt mind the toll thing, because it meant we could really cruise along without a lot of start/stopping.
The sun started to rise and it was time to pull off for a break, and get some breakfast. We pulled into to a subway/gas station combo. I went into subway to fetch breakfast for the squad, and the squad got gas, and released it haha.
Now I appreciate good customer service as we all do, but the subway guy was the subway flare champion. He had more buttons then shirt, and was happy to not only explain them all, but share his life story as well. This was a little much, but like a good Canadian, I smiled and through out a couple, oh yeahs, and no ways, so that my order didnt take a wrong turn to spitsville.
Breakfast sandwiches in hand, i headed out of the subway into the gas station section to see if there were any lost squad members. The clerk comes out from around the counter and in a creepy/giggly way explains that he cant sell me any liquor until 9am. 
I did a bit of a double take because I dont remember asking to buy any liquor at 830am in the morning, but maybe I did?
I go oh yeah, no problem, on a long drive anyway. He asks me what rig I am driving, and I said a Kia Sorento.
The look on his face was priceless. 
He thought I was driving an 18 wheeler. I guess my long haul trucker look finally paid off! haha
He says, oh I thought you were a trucker and was going to sell it to you anyway because we are the only truck stop for miles that has liquor and not just beer.
Im not sure how this makes it better, but I stupidly say thanks anyway and beat feet out of the store.
Mental Note: look at all trucks currently in parking lot so as to not be near them on the road in a half hour.
We start knocking states down Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and finally New York state. The funniest moment for me along the way was one point in Massachusetts outside Boston. We had been driving for about 9-10 hours at this point, Daphne was getting near the end of a 4 hour shift. Our gps had not failed us once in these 9-10 hours. We were driving along looking for the exit repeatedly offered by the GPS lady, exit 8 10km, exit 8 8km, when all of a sudden Daphne goes, nope I am taking this exit, exit 12.
The GPS lady and I are shocked!! She is yelling REROUTING, REROUTING and I am half laughing and half questioning her decision making ability after nearly 4 hours of driving. Whilst trying to REROUTE back to good old exit 8, Daphne cuts off a not so happy driver, then tries to blow through a toll booth without collecting the oh so important turn pike distance ticket, resulting in her trying to back up on the unhappy cut off driver, then getting out and walking back a foot or so to get the ticket.
Comedy of Errors.
We eventually get back to exit 8 and as soon as possible switch out. Around 4pm we get to our destination in upstate New York. Hugs, greetings, a pool, a drink or two and its time for bed. I am leaving for Toronto the next morning while the squad is staying put for the week.
I will continue our road trip adventures with the #cigarSunday blog post coming shortly.
First big race of the season is in a couple of days EPIC Dartmouth, 5km run and a 5km swim. Pretty excited because friend of the show and fellow cigar smoker, Dave Zinck will be running and swimming with me. So might be a couple days before I get the #cigarSunday blog done, but keep checking back, featuring some great cigars, and a trip to a Blue Jays game that I mostly remember.
Happy Canada Day!
​Sean "bigboyrunning" Ryan

After getting back from Vancouver I was reminded very quickly that Nova Scotia has not caught up to the fact that it is close to summer. Seriously it rained 6 out of 7 days last week. When you go from listening to your playlist, running and frolicing around the sea wall in Vancouver to the treadmill at the Antigonish Goodlife, there is much to be desired. It was to the point i had to change my playlist because it was making me depressed. Oh on this song I was usually by the inuksuk, and by this song I was by the outdoor pool, because here the views, although at times expansive ( guy on the eliptical in front of me), did not register the same motivational scenery.
The week went like this:
Monday: 1500m swim
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 2000m swim + 10mile bike
Thursday: 4km run + 5mile bike
Friday: 5km run + 2x750m swim
Saturday: Mega Chore Sunshine Fun Day
Sunday: 13mile bike + 6km run
So not a shabby week, all workouts were accomplished.
I guess the only thing that is weighing on me, is my weight. Granted even with the vegetarian thing on the go, i still make bad decisions with food, but I guess I didnt realize how bad I looked until some of the pics from Vancouver rolled in over the last week.
I am hoping the camera adds a good 140lbs but I dont think that is it. I really am having a hard time doing as much as I am doing in regards to work outs and not seeing any physical benefits. I suppose I should be grateful for the general wellness I feel after a good week, but holy fuck its getting annoying to keep seeing pics and Im like is that me? Is it the angle, the clothes, my posture? how can I look that fat? I dont feel that fat, when I look in the mirror at home I can live with it, so what the hell. For the most part I actually feel pretty good. In the forties now, so I dont expect to be able to do what I could 10 years ago, but Im in the game, and for the most part I am enjoying what I am doing. 
I mean if this all comes down to food, Im fucked. I dont see a point in my life where Im going to give up more then meat. I try to manage carbs as much as possible, but when there is no meat its a def go to. So maybe this it, this is as good at it gets? Maybe thats not so bad? My problem is I have tasted a leaner me ( okay that sounds way grosser then I thought it would) when I was hitting 240-250lbs but I felt like crap most of the time, really militantly structuring my food, and not only that but judging others for the things they were eating. A thiner me was a crankier ( i know, how is that even possible), food cop. I guess that is a way to go again, but I really dont want to.
I guess Im stuck. I could change up my workouts again, try my fitnesspal for the 100th time, but I like what Ive been doing, and the goals I have set. I guess I need to find a food path that I can live on, I am a bit all over the map with changing to the vegetarian path, but I really dont want to change that either as my inside belly health has been the best its been in a long time.
Heading to a Health conference in Toronto next week, so hopefully I will get inspired to tackle food again after that. We shall see.
Shoot me your two cents if you have a food strategy that is working for you!
Sean 'BigBoyRunning' Ryan

What a couple of weeks!!!! Getting ready for my second trip to Vancouver, traveling, meetings, conferencing, meetings and back home again, it has been a very busy time. But, I am happy to say that my workouts didnt suffer that greatly even though I totally broke the rules for #cigarSunday a few times, Im okay with my decisions.
So the last couple of weeks went like this:
Monday: 1500m swim + 13mile bike
Tuesday: 2 x 750m swim 
Wednesday: 5km run + 10 mile bike
Thursday: nadda
Friday ( travel to vancouver): 5km run + 10 mile bike
Saturday: 5km run ( sea wall) + 1500m swim
Sunday: 6km run ( sea wall)
Conference Week:
Monday: 7.5km run ( sea wall) + 1000m swim
Tuesday: 1500m swim
Wednesday: nadda
Thursday: 6km run ( sea wall)
Friday: 8km run (sea wall) + 13 mile bike + very long walk around Grainville Island
Saturday(travel home): nadda
Sunday: nadda 

So yeah, got a little spotty the second week, but the running outside on the sea wall was absolutely awesome. There was so many things to look at, plus the view of the water, mountains and skyline were all pretty amazing.
Couple of funny things that happened to me while out amongst the people of the sea wall. I did get chased by one over zealous Canadian goose, I was running by and had that strange feeling like i was being followed I looked over one shoulder, nothing. Kept running, but the feeling didnt go away, so I looked over the other shoulder, nothing. But something around my foot happened to get my attention. It was a Canadian Goose shooting off, and chasing after my ankle. I usually only have one gear, but kicked it up a quarter notch and jumped onto a nearby bench. The goose - Im calling Larry, circled the bench once like an extra from Michael Jacksons 'Beat It' video, gave me a final honk and waddled off with all the swagger of Jose Bautista after a winning solo shot into fourth deck.
I also had a very interesting thing happen with a homeless fella. 
Now as I have been completely honest about in past blogs, I am a crazy slow runner, i dont even know if you can call it running. Trotting is my preferred designation. Well as I was trotting along the sea wall one morning in my usual state of ' why baby jesus why do i keep doing this to myself ' 
One of the homeless guys camping on one of the beaches, flags me down. Now I am like okay what is going to go on here? Do I stop, do I not, maybe he needs help, maybe he thinks Im a big killer easter bunny, who the crap knows. So I decide to do a half stop and take my earbuds out. I ask ' are you okay?' he gives me a strange look, and says ' I was stopping you to ask you the same thing, when you ran by I wasnt sure if you were breathing to hard or not so I cleared a spot for you if you needed a rest'. 
So in one shot I felt amazed and depressed. Amazed that someone who didnt know me, and quite clearly had some bad beats, would still be concerned enough to try and help, and depressed that my running is so energy sucking that I basically look like Im trying to breath all the oxygen at once.
I thanked him and explained, no this is just how I trot around, shook his hand for offering to help and moved on with my air sucking trot.
My next run, I stuck a little cash and some pieces of fruit from the market across from our hotel in my pocket, but he had moved on, and i didnt see him on any of my other runs that week.
Its nice to be reminded from time to time that there is a genuine kindness out there.
As much as the out door runs were amazing, the pool situation was not so much.
The hotel pool wasnt awful, but it wasnt to many steps above. I dont think I have ever swam in as murky a hotel pool in my life. It was like swimming through foggy water. I kept expecting a Sherlock Holmes type villain to appear from the murky water with some mysterious dagger that would free the soul of the devil. Okay that might be a little far fetched. 
What was not far fetched was the first swim, I ran into 5 douche bags just home from some EDM rave where they clearly did not 'just say no to drugs' because there was so much chin wiggling and jaw clenching you would have sworn they were either part snake or witnessed some NoteBook-esque movie and were holding back tears.
Anywho, as they all de-pants and jumped in the hot tub, I decided to get out of there, as they were really fucked up. As I approached the table where I placed my towel, shirt and hotel key. There was a mismash of their cloths, towels and keys.
Awesome
So I grab what I think is my towel, and get my shirt on, one of the jaw rockers comes up and asks me what I am doing.
I explain that I am not sure which card is mine, I pick up a pair of skinny jeans so I can see if my card underneath.
Even sketcher wiggle jaw comes ever and explains in his douche way that the card isnt in those $75 pants so I should put them down. 
This guy and his pants are literally 1/4 my size. So I start to laugh, which does not go ever well with the band of merry idiots. 2 more get out of the tub.
In my firmest Dad/Bar Manager voice i say " OKAY boyz. I dont know what you think is about to happen here, but I have no interest in his pants or anything else, I just want my fucking hotel card, which was right here with my shit, until you guys through all your stuff around. Im taking this card here, and Im leaving."
I guess on second thought, a 300 pound, tattoo'd, mega mutton chopped dude in an Iron Maiden tshirt didnt seem like the type of action they wanted as two of them slinked back to the tub.
I grabbed a card and left. Stopping at the hotel desk, got my card check and suprise suprise, it was not mine. 
They recoded it for me, and I was back to the elevator.
The door pops open and there is $75 pants and Jaws, I explain to them they most likely have the wrong card also and to get it coded. They mumble a thanks and ask for me to hold the elevator for them while they go get it coded.
Sure thing I say, and hit the close door button immediately after they get out.
Suck it Druggies!!!
So yeah, couple of adventures in my attempts to keep to my work outs while away. Heading to toronto in a couple of weeks, so more adventure awaits!!!
Sean " BigBoyRunning" Ryan