Get to know Luis, our December Spotlight Athlete! He's been conquering triathlons for 5 years now - a true story of transformation from tennis player to determined triathlete. When he isn't training, you'll find him motivating those around him with his 700-day running streak (as of the time of writing) or spending time with his wife Bi and their family's new addition, their daughter Rosie. Join us as we get familiar with this amazing athlete in our community!
Age: 30
Occupation: Import Commercial Manager for a pet food ingredient company.
How long have you been swimming, cycling, running, and/or doing triathlons?
I have been doing triathlons for 5 years. I did some junior competitive swimming before I started liking tennis too much and then never swam until I started doing triathlons. Like most junior athletes or active people, running was always seen as some type of warm up or a punishment never something that was done too consistently. Running for me started right after finishing my college tennis career as a consistent workout since I was not spending 3-4 hours on a tennis court. I've been cycling for about 5 years on and off (definitely need to work on my cycling a lot)!
What aspects of triathlon do you enjoy most?
I really enjoy the challenge that it brings. There are very few sports that can challenge you in more than one leg during the same event and the fact that they are outdoors where you are always exposed to nature. In the last two years, another thing that I really enjoyed has been being able to do it with teammates and meeting pretty cool people with different backgrounds.
What has been your favorite training or racing event, and why?
I have always been a fan of Olympic distances, and did a few in Florida before moving to Texas. This year I did the Cap-Tex event and it was really nice to be able to compete with the team in Austin. This year I also traveled to Maine and participated in their Ironman event; it was one of the nicest and most challenging bike rides I have done so far!
What's next on your race plans?
Right now I am signed up to do
Downhill to Downtown, Half Marathon - Austin, TX
Statesman Cap 10K -Austin, TX
Full Ironman Event in 2023 (TBD)
What is your favorite post-workout or race meal?
A nice slice of pizza does it for me post race!
What is one recent accomplishment you are proud of? (race, academic, life goal completed, etc)
My family! This year Bi and I welcomed our daughter Rosie to this world. It has been a couple of fun months so far, and I can't wait to see what the future brings to us. As for race achievements, this year was not exactly the best race year for me in terms of performance, but something I am also really proud of has been keeping my run streak! This week it will be 700 days straight! I started this as a personal challenge of doing one thing every day no matter how small it was (In my case 1 mile = 10 min of my day = less than 1% of the day). Whenever I tell others about it and how I make the time for it, I hope that I can inspire them to approach and tackle their goals too.
What do you want to be when you grow up? (We're all growing up still!)
Great question! There are a lot of things that I want to achieve in this life! I am hoping to one day own a Bed and Breakfast with my wife. My take on this would be targeting athletes looking for a place to recover, disconnect from the daily routine, and have some delicious meals! Whenever that happens every Paragon athlete will be invited to recover from suffering faster!
What is something no one knows about you?
Fun Fact: I used to speak 4 languages when I was 6! (English, French, Spanish, Arabic) but only two stuck with me. Hoping to re-learn French in the next year. All recommendations are welcome!
