In 2008 I decided to take up running to get my weight back under control. It was something I stuck with fairly well over the years but it was really back in 2013 when I decided to take up triathlon that fitness really cemented itself in my life. I’ve always been an avid cyclist, something I can thank my dad for, and I got really excited about integrating cycling into my weekly training. It didn’t take long before I was working my way to longer and longer distances. I’ve done multiple full Ironman races and even more 70.3s. At this point, I’m game for anything, as long as it’s hard! Not ultras though. One 50 mile run is enough for me!

I want to eat my way around the world. I’ve been all over the world for work and play and in my opinion one of the best ways to experience a culture is eat where they eat. I love trying new things and visiting new places. That’s probably why my wife and I get along so well. Traveling is also a great excuse to go for a run in an entirely new place. Or schedule a race in an entirely new place.

Melanie and I are also pretty avid cooks at home and we’re willing to pit our meals against anyone. Sometimes it’s not always easy to cook a complex meal with a little one running around but we’ve gotten pretty good at cooking things quickly!

I live in New Orleans now but there is one thing I miss about Florida and that’s easy access to diving. I’ve been diving for over 2 decades now and it’s probably my first passion. On ever cruise I’ve ever done, I only dive at every stop. I plan whole trips around where I’m going to dive. When I’m underwater I feel like I’m on an entirely different planet. I could definitely lose myself beneath the waves. There’s really nothing more relaxing to me than just drifting along with the current over a coral reef.

Did I mention I’m a huge geek? I have been slowly working on automating my home. While I’m using a standard, off-the-shelf hub, I bought one with an easily accessible API. I did this because for the past few years, I’ve been writing all of the automation using Drools Fusion and integrating all of the various pieces with Camel routes. It all runs on a few Raspberry Pis. This is really just something I do for fun and because I can. Also, I’m pretty proud of it because it actually works really well!

I could go on. I love reading, skiing, and gaming to name a few more hobbies but it’s hard to fit it all in. I would say the only other thing that I’m really into outside of hobbies is Getting Things Done by David Allen. It’s definitely something that I would say defines the way I go about my day to day and I’m quite religious about it.