20 Things that Shape Me

There is only so much room on the About Me section I think from time to time it's worth going a bit deeper. Otherwise you can read this daily or weekly and get lost in what I'm trying to do here. So I'm going to take a deeper dive into what makes me tick.


Family

1. My wife Mary and I committed to each other for life. That was 20+ years ago and the only thing I know is that if you don't work hard on the relationship every day then it won't last. 
2. 15+ years ago our son Marco was born and it changed our lives forever. There is nothing better in life then raising a child. He is his own man but at the same time he carries our values and our drive to succeed. He's a runner by choice and that's why he is fast. If it felt like a chore he wouldn't be fast. 
3. My sister Cyndi is my confidant. She has quietly guided my values for my entire life. Sometimes out of pure fear but mostly out of love. 
4. My brother Bob has ALS and it sickens me every day. It drives me to stop caring so deeply about my job and to start caring about the next 25 years with 1 & 2. 
5. What would Papi Do? I'm not sure how my Dad still influences me but he does. He calms me down and keeps me thinking straight. He passed away almost 5 years ago. 

Running

1. I started running because my brother Bob ran and my high school girlfriend ran. 
2. I decided shortly after I started that I love running shoes. 
3. I'm 100% committed to helping others enjoy what I feel when I run. It's such a beautiful sport that it's simply awesome to share. 
4. Running got me into Triathlon and that changed my life. Before Triathlon I was shy and not very confident in my ability. I went from Saying "No fucking way those people (Ironman Hawaii) are crazy to doing the race 2 years later and having a total out of body experience on the Lava fields. I went from running fast, to running between aid stations, to running the aid stations and walking between and then back to running fast over the last 6 miles. I still can't explain it. 
5. I owe Triathlon and the people in it my career. Paul Huddle asked me to sell shoes, Murphy Reinschreiber taught me the business side of the sport and taught me to go after what I want. 

Travel

1. I was born in Bogota, Colombia
2. When I was 3 I ended up in Sao Paulo, Brazil
3. I've been on every continent but Antartica. 
4. I've run in every country I've ever visited and there are a host more countries I want to run in. 
5. Work Travel is not glamorous. I won't miss it when that part of my life is over. 

Lifestyle

1. I believe in constant learning and my learning is personal (how to be a better person). The trend word is bio hacking and I've been doing that for a really long time. I read a ton and listen a ton and try a ton but when I'm lost or confused I go see my friend Chris and he sets it all straight. If he ever decided to write a book it would change the face of what we all know but he won't. 
2. I love technology and hate what it's doing to our society.  
3. I was once a vegetarian and although I didn't realize it at the time it's when I was in really poor shape. Then my friend Chris came along after his education and changed my diet and I got faster again. 
4. I relate better with dogs than people. Dogs trust me and I'm not sure I trust people enough. So if I'm forcing myself into a conversation it's because I'm working hard on that fact. 
5. California is best at slow speeds. In fact it's really amazing to Cycle, Run, Walk and most of all to get into open water. 

Running Shoes

1. There are too many running shoes on the market today. There are more shoes than retail space available which means there are more shoes than runners can actually absorb. Something will give soon. But this opens the door for me to educate on the tool that is a running shoe and I love to do. 
2. There is no running shoe if there isn't a runner to run in them and a running store to sell them. 
3. The most innovative shoe I've ever been a part of is the Nike Free. I was lucky to be brought into the project really early in concept and it was a total blast to work with scientists and engineers on that project. The cool thing is that darn shoe really hasn't changed and yet it is still way beyond the expectations of the concept. 
4. My favorite running shoe ever has yet to be built. But my 5 favorites are Nike Pegasus (90's), Mizuno Wave Rider (early 2000's), Nike Free 5.0 (the first one), Asics Gel Lyte 98, adidas SuperNova Classic (by the way I'm also the one who killed the SuperNova Classic) 
5. I love Hoka so much I hate them. Hoka became an answer to something nobody could clearly identify. Originally designed as a down hill mountain running shoe, Ultra Marathoners found it made running 100 miles "Painless" and then runners in pain found them to take the pain away. Simply something you have to love. 

It's a good life…...