Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990 TAG: 9006250177
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JEFF MOTLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Soon, though, he will have much more time - and much less money - than he had imagined.
Within the next couple of months, Ryan, now one of the top triathletes in the New River Valley, will lose his job when AT&T makes cutbacks at its Fairlawn facility.
Unemployment may cause him to give up several things, but Ryan vows his training and conditioning won't be among them.
"The training has become an outlet for me," Ryan said. "Without it I don't know what I would have done. When I'm out running or biking, I feel like I can handle anything. It really lifts my spirits. . . ."
When he was notified that he would be laid off, he also learned the company would pay his way back to school. But all the confusion and change almost caused Ryan to give up the sport he has grown to love.
"When I first got the news, I almost stopped," he said. "Now that I am going back to school, I don't know if I will be able to keep up my intensity. It has been a long time since I went to school, and if you add a wife and two kids to that, it will be really tough for me to keep it up."
Ryan reached one of the highest points of his competitive career recently when he won the Mount Festival Triathlon in Bluefield. He completed the half-mile swim, 15-mile bicycle race and 5-mile run in 1 hour, 14 minutes, 59 seconds.
He also has competed in triathlons at Charlotte, N.C.; Hilton Head, S.C., and Baltimore, but his travels soon will be limited.
"Most places I go, the entry fee is about $35 or $40, and the one I'm going to in Baltimore in a couple of weeks is $60," Ryan said. "Then I have to pay for a hotel room because the meet usually starts about 7 a.m. Since I have a family, I like to take them with me. . . ."
Ryan says he is hoping for some sponsorship - from anywhere. In 1987 he qualified for the U.S. Triathlon Society championships at Hilton Head. The New River Community College alumni association paid his expenses.
Most of the meets in which Ryan competes offer cash for first or second place. Money isn't why Ryan is involved in the sport, and, by his own admission, that's a good thing.
"There is a meet in Charlotte next month that pays $500, but I won't come close to the money," Ryan said. "I do this strictly for recreational purposes. . . . I just try to better my time each time out. I guess the biggest thing I get out of it is the self-satisfaction."
Training for a triathlon is rigorous, but it isn't as bad as one might think, Ryan says. "I do hard training with laps in the pool and several miles on a bike and running. But you don't go out there and kill yourself. I do it to get better and better constantly.
"I have gotten to where I enjoy what I am doing. There were times when the meets got a little hairy, though. When the swim portion is in the ocean somewhere, the waves make it hairy. Then you may swallow some salt water and be sick for a while.
"But I pride myself on being a good runner. The swim and bike are always first, so I am fairly fresh during those events. When I get to the running I may be tired, but that is also my best event. The hard part is going from the bicycle to running, because you use different muscles."
Ryan has also learned from experience how to start the triathlons.
"The first time I was in one, I jumped in the water and started swimming fast out front," Ryan said. "Then when the more experienced guys started to pass me I would get beat up, kicked, and my goggles would get knocked off. I learned real quick to hang back."
Ryan said it was just a hobby when he started, simply recreation and a chance to keep his mind off work. Now triathlons are still a hobby, but he will have a lot more time to fine-tune his performance.
by CNB