Meta-morphosis Part 7: Closing Chapter.

2 nights before my first ever half marathon run..I figure what the hell, might as well bite Mike's ear off. :-p [2009]

Notice that running theme of me biting the heads of people...I swear it's vegan! Oddly, this pics were all taken at the same bar called Ikkyu in SF [2009]

I think I was 6 years old in this....a gangsta even back in the day! [1990]

You've hung in through 6 brutal chapters of my life story so I figured it's high-noon that I bring the goods on the last of this 7-part series, sure to become the newest NHK Taiga drama that will air on KiKu television in Hawaii and Ch 26 here in the Bay Area. I took some time this week to really ponder what I wanted to express in this final closing chapter...what I really wanted you all to walk away with; Rather than tell you the WHY [that was part 5] of things, I've decided to explain the HOW-aspect of it all. HOW I've managed to be so consistent over the last 1.5 years..HOW I've managed to stay vegan, HOW I've managed to cycle so much and HOW I've managed to progress not only athletically and spirtually, but on a human level. I feel it isn't good enough that I give you a map because you won't know HOW to use it; and so begins the final chapter of Meta-morphosis....

You see, it's one thing to say, 'Oh I'm a bike racer' or 'Yeah, I ONLY do half-marathons' and have a dual subscription to Road Magazine and Runner's World...no I don't have this, why do you ask? ;-) It's a whole different ball game when these things BECOME you and it turns into MORE than just sport or a drawer full of running-race t-shirts. Suddenly, you share a common bond with people you never knew existed and didn't know about. And while there's still a good chance you will never know them in person, the fact is, you can understand a piece of them....without even speaking. You know what they're like, that they can suffer, that they can laugh and that they mean business when they clip in on Tuesday Night Twilight Crits.

In reality, I see many people struggling to keep weight off, keep a relationship afloat, keep staying on the straight and narrow, keep ___________________ [fill in the blank for whatever 'personal issue' they are battling]. And the honest to goodness truth is it's not about the diet, the veganism, the cycling, the tomfoolery, the running, the banana-eating, the shaven-leg-thingee, the green smoothie....What it really boils down to are the friends you choose to associate yourself with. No doubt, as interests change, people change...heck, I am living proof of that. But I associate 95.3% of HOW I've managed to a) keep the weight off, b) convert to buddhism, c) keep running fast and then d) cycling fastER....all of these things are a simple product of some simple math:

DESIRE + FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS = RESULTS

Make no doubt about it, this is the easiest equation I can tell you with respect to your own personal journey. Part of the reason why I ballooned in weight and bad habits was due to the people I hung around. Eating and drinking was accepted by those I hung around with and I remember many times lining up at the University cafeteria with the same plates as my friends: two cheeseburgers, fries and my vegetable was the tomato I would put on it. And guess what? Dude to my left was having the same damn thing. And then when I first moved to Hawaii, steaks, sushi and fine wine were my vices..could you blame me? All my peers had the same damn thing too!

But then as I said, my ego got in the way and "I got clean" - quite literally. Now, the people I surround myself with are very different as I am very different. I have a group of people in Hawaii and in California that are down and supportive of me. Some have voiced their joking disapproval of my weegan ways, some don't cycle and will never know the sensation I get from climbing, some don't put agave nectar on everything, but rest assured, these people are down for Alex Tellez, and what I'm about. They offer advice, give compliments and tell me if I f*ck up and that's priceless to me. So you want to know about me? I would say ask my friends if you can't make it out to a bike race...they'll all know whatsup. It's no surprise that we are judged by those we hang out with and keep close contact to. Since my transformation, I can tell you that my list of priorities is simple...I'm 110% devoted to the following: my health, my family [inclusive of friends and sig fig], my athletics and my church. Those are the things that matter and the people that make up this list are those I WILLINGLY CHOOSE to associate myself with. Oftentimes, we are NOT of the same mind on certain issues but when the chips are down, they stand by me and represent all of my reasons for HOW I've been able to achieve my small successes. They represent my reasons and my work ethic, because without them, I couldn't be here, today, writing the conclusion to the meta-moprhosis series. My heart and my strength are composed of their collective strength and love for me.

Thank you all...truly...for helping me become me and giving me a life I thought was all but out of reach. I promise I won't disappoint;-)