2021-July-13
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Cisco Manager by Day, Ironman by Night
BY KRYSTAL CHENG · EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS · UNITED STATES
Victor Hugo Bustamante Vallin is a Customer Success Specialist Manager whose not-so-secret passion is competing in triathlons.
In fact, the most recent triathlon Victor participated in was on May 23, 2021. He completed a Half Ironman in Acapulco, Mexico. During the race, Victor swam 1900 meters (1.2 miles), biked 90 kilometers (56 miles), and ran 21.1 kilometers (13.11 miles).
Despite temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) that day, Victor still finished the race strong, at an impressive 6 hours and 31 minutes.
But this was far from Victor’s first triathlon — it was number 24 for him.
Learning to outrun limitations
Victor started training for triathlons over 19 years ago and has competed in cities throughout Canada, the United States, Costa Rica, and his native Mexico.
“I remember in the very beginning, I thought it was too hard to run for just one hour. But then I learned to push myself so that one hour became two hours, two hours became three hours, and three hours became four,” he recalls.
“I learned that as long as I was patient with myself, I could push past my limitations.”
After decades of racing, Victor now incorporates his triathlon training into his daily exercise routine.
Six days a week, Victor begins his morning workouts at five a.m. with a mix of sports, from running and biking to swimming and lifting weights. He also always saves one day for pilates and yoga to stretch and recover.
“It’s about maintaining endurance, stamina, and strength in your body, and maintaining motivation in your mind,” Victor explains. “Throughout these years, I’ve learned that while a strong body helps you compete in a race, a strong mind helps you to complete it.”
Finding support from the sidelines at Cisco
Victor has worked at Cisco for 1.5 years and has found that competing in triathlons and working at Cisco have many things in common.
“Finishing a triathlon is a challenge because I start as a swimmer, transform into a cyclist, and evolve to finish as a runner. Similarly, leading a team of customer success specialists is also a challenge because I need to define strategic objectives, translate strategy into tactical actions, identify the services we will deliver, and more.”
Victor also sees that just as he receives support from his family during races, he also gets support from his Cisco colleagues throughout work’s challenges.
“During the Ironman in Acapulco, there were times when I vomited and got severely tired due to the intense heat and humidity. But once I saw my wife cheering me on in the sidelines, I felt my energy magically return,” he shares.
“At Cisco, we also have had to overcome challenges because of the pandemic. Last year, the delivery of services to customers became totally remote, so we learned to adjust the way we worked and collaborated with one another. And through it all, our Cisco teammates and leaders have cheered us on, giving us everything we needed to get through it all and come out stronger than before.”
Victor’s race to gave back to his community
Most importantly, Victor loves Cisco’s Time2Give program because it gives him the opportunity to give back to his community by doing what he’s passionate about.
In July 2021, Victor plans on using his Time2Give hours by organizing sessions for attendees to learn about how they can prepare for triathlons and participate in fun exercise challenges.
Victor also plans on using these sessions as an opportunity to educate participants about low-income children in Mexico with cleft lip and cleft palate, and encourage them to donate to Operation Smile Mexico A.C.
As for his next race, Victor is currently training for the Championship triathlon in Slovakia in August 2021!
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