Ryan Ortiz, Director of IT Customer Services (ICS) at 黑料不打烊 University, shares what inspired him to get active, the many ways in which getting active helps him,聽and how he has made running a habit for over 10 years. Read on to be inspired!
What do you do to stay active?
I try to work out five times per week. On weekdays, I tend to get up around 5 am, have a quick breakfast before either heading out for a run or doing a HIIT (high intensity interval training) / weight training routine. My weekday workouts are usually around 50-60 minutes. On weekends, I usually try to get in a longer run of 90 minutes or more. It may sound a little intense, but I really don鈥檛 push myself that hard. The goal has always been to do something that is sustainable over the long run. I鈥檝e been doing this for about 10 years and it is more or less a habit for me now. That鈥檚 the key, it must become like brushing your teeth. I also don鈥檛 beat myself up on weeks where I don鈥檛 get in my five workouts. If you see it as a failure when you don鈥檛 hit your goal, you鈥檙e likely to get discouraged and not keep it up. For some, working out with a friend or group can be a good motivator too, but that wasn鈥檛 really the case for me. I actually like the solitary aspect of running and it鈥檚 where I get a lot of my thinking done.
I really got into running when I signed up for a marathon. This was initially my primary motivator to train. Since 2009, I鈥檝e done 7 full marathons (always Montreal) and 2 half marathons. Now that running is more of a habit, I don鈥檛 need the race to keep me going anymore.
How do you think staying active helps you?
Since becoming more active, I feel like I have more energy and stamina. I don鈥檛 come from a very active or sporty family, so this is something that developed much later in life for me. I started running seriously when I was 35 and I鈥檓 45 now, but the main benefit for me聽is psychological. The runner鈥檚 high is a real thing and I think it has gone a long way towards helping me stay centered and more or less stress free. I come from a family with a history of anxiety and depression and I think running has really helped me in this area. I can certainly feel it on days where I haven鈥檛 worked out. I would say this is now my primary motivator, whereas at the beginning it was more about getting more physically fit.
How do you stay motivated (especially during cold weather, fatigue)?
At this point, it鈥檚 the habit that keeps me going. It鈥檚 just something I do now. That鈥檚 not to say there aren鈥檛 days where I鈥檓 tired or don鈥檛 feel like going out in the cold (I run year-round), but I still manage to do it most of the time. I do have lazy days though. For me, the best trick is to just get dressed as if I鈥檓 going to work out. I tell myself that if I get dressed and still don鈥檛 feel like working out, then it鈥檚 ok. 9 times out of 10, however, once I鈥檓 already dressed to work out, I end up working out.
How do you fit getting active into your schedule?
Getting an early start in the day has been the key for me. I used to do a lot of my running in the afternoon. We live in NDG (approx 9 km door to door) and I would often run home from work. It was great in some ways because it didn鈥檛 take any extra time at all. Running home was actually faster than taking the bus and metro. I just found my energy level at the end of the day not very conducive to good running. Running in the mornings means getting up earlier than I used to, which also means getting to bed relatively early as well (rarely later than 10 pm), but I鈥檝e gotten used to it.
Any advice for getting others inspired to move more?
My advice to those who are looking to get active would be to start slow, listen to your body (learn the difference between good pain and bad pain), and develop good stretching habits. With running especially, the cardiovascular improvements tend to happen much quicker than the bone and connective tissue improvements. I have suffered a number of soft tissue injuries over the years which I鈥檓 pretty convinced could have been avoided, or at least lessened, with a more disciplined stretching routine.
It鈥檚 never too late to get active. Running is one of those things most people can do without any real training. Sign up for a short race! That鈥檚 what initially did it for me!
