Let's see what we all look like!

[poplopez]

Hey Folks

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[Rico]

Thanks for sharing more pics gang.  Kids and ice cream - perfect fit!

P.S.  And Bryan after seeing you race across that finish line I just have one thing to say ----  eat a bag of chips!  Hehe!   :roflmao     ----  I kid, I kid --- great job!

[Bryancd]

Oh, I'll do you a few better, Rico! These are from my Half Ironman race last week, where i finished 19th overall out of 1700, 8th amatuer, 3rd in my age group men 35-39 :).



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[Rico]

Wow!  Nice pics!  I'm curious Bryan - have you always been so athletic or was this a later in life challenge for you?

P.S.  Who's taking the pics?

[Bryancd]

Pretty much all my life. I was a swim team rat in the '70's, dabbled in soccer and lacrosse, was the captain of my cross country running team in High School, played Ultimate Frisbee on a top ranked team at Tufts University in Boston. My 20's, I lifted weights and some running. By my early '30's, I started running again and playing Ulimate with a men's Masters (32 and older) team. Gave up Ultimate to concentrate on running when I moved to AZ. After the Phoenix Marathon in Jan., decided to do triathlon. Here's why, my Inspiration:

In 1972, I was 4 years old. My mother was raising me alone after an amicable divorce from my father. He as not around very much, but Mom worked two jobs and we were happy. That winter, she was skiing up at Stratton Mountain, VT with friends when she hit a patch of black ice and launched off the side of a 150 foot ravine. Half way down she hit a tree which broke her fall but also fractured her pelvis and skull, crushed 6 vertebrae, and collapsed her lung. When the ski patrol finally reached her, they thought she was dead. As they brought her down off the mountain, they were sure she would be paralyzed. She had to be transported to Boston and then to a special trauma center in New York City but was eventually stabilized. While there, she met a nice young doctor who would eventually become my Dad.

It took almost 2 years, 4 surgeries, and nine months in a full body cast, but she eventually was able to function normally again. They fused the damaged vertebrae so she lost a few inches in height, but otherwise she made it through. She never had been much of an athlete. She was a school teacher and helped coach the girl's Field Hockey team. Running up and down the field gave her a lot of pain. In 1976, Jim Fixx, a resident of my home town of Greenwich, CT., wrote his book about running. At around the same time, Nike introduced it's first waffle soled running shoe. Mom new Jim and thought the shoe's were funny so she bought a pair. Suddenly, running on the field didn't hurt. Sometime in the summer of 1977, she found a quiet outdoor track and took her first steps as a runner.

In 1979, she completed The New York City Marathon. In 1983, she saw news coverage of a crazy endurance race in Hawaii called Ironman. She made the decision that she would finish that race. We were now a very athletic family. I was a competitive swimmer as a kid and a cross country runner in High School, we rode bikes for fun and exercise, and Mom's running trophy case grew and grew. So in 1984, she flew to Kona and did competed in Ironman. She had such a wonderful experience, she returned every year for the next 4 years, setting a World Record for women's masters division, age 40-45! I was so proud of her accomplishment especially considering the adversity she overcame. She continued to compete into the '90's in both Triathlon and Marathon. Her last Ironman race was Pensacola in 1999, where at the age of 57 she finished in just under 13 hours. This past January she ran the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon with me and my wife and at age 63 finished a mere 43 min. behind her 37 year old son in 4:13, qualifying yet again for Boston. Amazing.

I had always been a very strong runner (good gene's, thanks Mom!) but never raced until last year. My competitive nature took hold and I was hooked. This year, I decided to follow in my mother's footsteps. I was a strong swimmer and thought biking looked like fun. After the Marathon in January, I bought a 5 year old carbon Kestrel EMS 200, got my butt back in the pool and started cross training. On May 21st, I competed in the Tempe International Triathlon. I finished in 2:12:00, good enough for 3rd in my age group out of 50 and 23rd overall out of 450 athletes. I'm hooked. I have 3 more International races this year, a half Iron in October, the Marathon again next January and then Ironman Arizona next April. I have hired a personal coach to help bring me into the IM AZ race and my goal is to try and qualify for Kona.....for me and for my Mom. Every day I stare into the cold water of the pool or lace up my Asics or hop on my TriathGel seat I think about a single Mom who wasn't afraid to take those first steps into a larger world of self fulfillment.....and I fly.


...oh, the pics are from a company that does all the triathlon race pics.

[Geekyfanboy]

Wow Bryan, what a great story.. so inspirational... Thanks for sharing.

[Rico]

Awesome story Bryan.  Your mom sounds like quite an amazing person.  Congrats on everything you both have worked so hard for.

[Trekkygeek]

Bryan?      :Bow:

[RichardMEL]

Totally agree! Wonderful and inspirational story about your whole family. Thank you for sharing with us all. I am so glad your mother made it through all that trauma OK and went on to conquer so many things.

There's a message in there for all of us, I think!

[MSUFan]

Well here is Rico's son himself- his eldest at least. No comparisons to myself and my Dad. I'm much better looking =).



My day job..



Pretending to think while my girlfriend laughs at me trying so hard..





My beautiful girlfriend and myself who is not so beautiful hah.



So now you all have a little taste into the great Rico's life through the life of his son hah. Enjoy!

[Trekkygeek]

The family resemblance is definately there. Welcome  ;D

[Rico]

Steve is so modest!  Hehe....nice pics there son.  It will be good to see you this weekend at home.  :)

[Geekyfanboy]

Hey Steve.. Welcome to the group. I take it that you are not a "geek" like your father?  :cheers

[MSUFan]

I think my Dad can answer that question :).

[Rico]

Well, my wife Lynn and I have two sons.  Steve is a freshman at MSU and Eric the younger one is a sophomore in high school.  They both enjoy computers, video games and some geek type films (Star Wars, LOTR, etc...) but Eric is a bit more of a geek than his older brother.  We watch the Sci-Fi channel, some Trek and other SF TV together.  Steve is more the sports guy.  But neither one is into it as much as their dad.