Mark Facciani a Man of Many Hats

Pasadena resident Mark Facciani wouldn’t describe himself as a fitness expert, but having completed seven Ironman triathlons, countless shorter and faster triathlons, and having recently moved into adventure racing, any advice he has to offer is worth a listen.

 Most people I have spoken with about fitness wish they were active.  They may have even had periods of time in their life when they were active and enjoyed the experience, but more often than not life gets in the way and they put their health and fitness on the back burner.

 For Facciani that is not an option. 

 “Racing is not my life,” Facciani said, “but it is a part of my life that I really enjoy and that I make time for.”

 Facciani has learned to use what time he does have efficiently.  First he wakes up early to get workouts in before his family even begins to stir.  But because of the distances he trains for and because he is a person who is needs to be moving at all times, he often finds he needs to make time in the middle of the day.

 “I can add two hours to my day,” Facciani said “honestly.  I put my bike on the resistance trainer, sit the whole thing beside my bar where I have my laptop, phone and anything else I need and I combine a two hour conference call with a two hour ride.  There you have it 26 hours in my day.”

 Facciani applies the same tools to his parenting.  Instead of sitting at a soccer or lacrosse field for two hours while his children practice he runs or bikes.  On vacation, he includes his kids in some of his workouts and does other workouts while they are sleeping in or chilling out by the lake.  Facciani is a master of time manipulation.

 But fitness is a lesson in melding areas of his life together as well.  For Facciani fitness isn’t just about looking good.  It isn’t just about being competitive.  It isn’t even just about being fit.

 “It is part of my lifestyle.” Facciani said “I have made so many friends through the sport and the sport has given so much back to me.  I am so much more efficient because of lessons learned through fitness.”

 Friendship is a huge part of the draw for Facciani.  Several years ago Facciani began attending the White Lake Half Ironman.  The race was a great experience but what he talks about and the reason he keeps going back is the atmosphere surrounding the race and the friendships he has made there.

 Whether it started with Facciani or with his wife Donna, fitness has permeated their family. 

 “Its funny because once in a while one of our teenagers will try to skip out on a workout and in our house they can’t really get away with that,” Facciani said, “My son recently said to me, ‘Ya know, sometimes I think it would be kinda nice to have a normal dad.’”

 I found this statement interesting because after seeing photos of Mark Facciani and hearing stories from local athletes who know him, I went into this interview expecting to find a super obsessed, over the top kind of athlete that would be hard to relate to.

 Instead, I discovered that Facciani is a dad, husband, friend and employee who happens to make time for fitness.  I found a person who loves to workout and race but also loves to stand on the sideline cheering for his children, cookout with friends and have fun like the rest of us. 

 We can treat fitness like a chore, something that has to be done and is just hanging over our heads or we can learn from athletes like Mark Facciani and embrace it as part of our lives, making it something to look forward to and understanding that it isn’t just about getting it done but about all of the benefits we will receive from getting it done.