Hello Everyone!!! This is me.

Some years ago (like a decade ago), I decided that I needed to run a marathon. I had seen some races on TV and got caught by the look of accomplishment of all those who crossed the line. Also, my wife and I had just moved to Madrid and it was so normal to see people running, training, and participating in all types of races and distances. It did not matter the shape, size, age, or gender of the participant. All of them had the same look in their eyes when they were running and crossing that finish line. I wanted that too and began a long journey to become an amateur marathon racer.

When we moved to Madrid, my wife and I were alone. No family or friends and did not have any kids. The world was our playground and we planned to take advantage of it. We started to exercise more, took care of our eating habits, took advantage of the delicious and natural food in Spain, began new careers at an amazing company, enrolled in an MBA program where we met amazing people. And it was under these circumstances that I achieved my objective and became a running addict. Four marathons, several half and 10k distance races, and many running sessions, our time in Madrid came to an end and we returned to the USA.

Back in Texas, my wife and I were blessed with our first son and the family started to grow. Our first kiddo gave mommy a pretty tough time while she was pregnant and our "dream" pregnancy of lots of exercise and continued events came to an end pretty quickly. A couple of years later, our daughter make her appearance and life at home was a nicely organized chaos. While all this was going, I tried to keep my running hobby alive and well, but it started to slowly die. In a desperate and, probably not smart, effort, I decided to try a half ironman, because why not? Maybe adding two more sports would help me keep engaged in fitness and help me lose the "baby weight ;)".

So, I signed up, got myself a trainer for the bike and a gym membership to a 24 hour location so I could train while the kids slept. In 2018, I finished my first 70.3 with the help of my wife, two kids, and some friends who became like family. I felt good again and thought I had it all figured out. In my mind, the only logical thing to do was to finish a 140.6. My wife had her issues with that but I convinced her that it was ok and that I would find a way to train without getting in the way of being with her and the kids.

Well, life is not always as you think it is going to be. One morning, I went out for a long ride with a group of people as training. I didn't finish the ride. I lost control of my bike 7 miles before the end and fell. When I fell, I heard a snapping sound coming from my neck together with the pains and aches of pavement burns and getting hit with the floor. When I finished rolling, I was just looking at the clear blue sky and wondering what had happened. Afraid of what I could have, I moved my toes and fingers and checked if I could feel my body. The pain from the fall quickly let me know I was "ok". I stood up and someone took me to my car and I drove back home.

See, my wife has a lot of talents and she is amazing, but one of her greatest powers is to know when we are not ok. When she saw me walking in, she quickly knew something had happened. After my initial dismissal and not wanting to go to the doctor, she insisted and took me to the ER. I walked into the ER but did not come out from there by myself. A CAT scan would reveal a fracture in my C4 and they took me to the hospital for a possible emergency surgery. My life turned around in seconds. That morning I was training for an Ironman and now I was going to get surgery.

That is how life changed me. Since that February in 2019, I had been dragging my self blaming life for this unwanted setback, for all the lost opportunities, for all the pain, for all the mess, for all the tears my family shed.

However, something changed. It was not long ago but it finally did. Now, I am here to pursue new dreams while trying to enjoy those hobbies that made me happy before. But this time, there is new purpose in them. This is the next chapter and would love to share the story.