Science says it takes one-fifth of a second to fall in love.
For Aussie triathlete Dan Brown, what happened may not have been love at first sight, but the heady cocktail of dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin and adrenaline shifted into overdrive when he first laid his blue-gray eyes on the Philippines’ olive-skinned “Iron Lady,” Ani de Leon, in 2010.
He had just landed from Australia, ready to start his first day at work the following morning, when he was introduced to the dusky beauty.
Cupid’s arrow found its mark. And just like that, he could not get her off his mind.
“Ani is unique. There is just no other woman in the Philippines I know who’s like Ani,” Dan said.
Understandably, when Dan bumped into Ani again the next day, he wasted no time and asked her, like the good old triathlete that he is, if she wanted to go for a quick, 4-kilometer swim.
They were in Subic’s White Rock beach, waiting for the teams they were coaching to return from their bike and run legs. Ani thought, why not? It would take about two hours for both their teams to be back anyway. And it’s not like he was a stranger, she thought; she met him, um, yesterday.
Before they parted, Dan asked if they could have breakfast together after the race the next day. Ani, who thought he might have asked everyone in the team anyway, said, “Sure.” But when she showed up at the hotel’s breakfast lounge the next day at 7:30 a.m., she found herself alone with Dan.
Not that she minded. For some reason, they just clicked. They clicked so well that time went by so fast. Before they knew it, it was 12:30 p.m., and way past their checkout time.
All timing
Two weeks after their first encounter, Dan declared his love for Ani. A month later they got engaged and, four months later, exchanged marriage vows in Subic, where they first met.
Like many things in life, it was all about timing, they said. That year, Dan had broken up with his girlfriend, and Ani’s three-year relationship had come crashing down a month prior. She was determined, she said, to never fall in love again.
“We met at about the same time in life—we were not young anymore, we did the same things, we thought the same way. When you move around a lot for work, like I did at that time, you just can’t come here to date. So I moved things around faster. I knew I was OK to stop and stay here,” Dan said.
Today, five years on, the Browns have two children—five-year-old Dash and three-month-old Amaya Rosa, meaning “love charm.”
“We made a deal. If the baby was a boy we’d give him a western name. If the baby was a girl, we’d give her a Filipino name. So Amaya’s name has really been in my head for a few years now. If you take out their names’ initials, that’s D and A, just like our initials,” Ani said.
Filipino names are nothing new to Ani. Born Ani Karina, she is the daughter of Felipe M. de Leon Jr., chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the son of National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon Sr. Her mom is music writer/women’s issues advocate Anna Leah Sarabia.
Her brother is award-winning composer Diwa, and Ani’s journey to becoming one of the country’s top triathletes was in part inspired by her sister, Sinag.
Last year, Ani was named Coach of the Year by AsiaTri.com, and her student, Maria Claire Adorna, gold medalist in the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, named Up and Coming Tri Female of the Year. Adorna is the first Filipino to win the tri gold medal at the SEA Games.
“It was very emotional for me when she won the gold at the SEA Games. We have tried for so long, myself included. When she was named Up and Coming Female Tri of the Year, it was very rewarding,” said Ani, who was five months pregnant at the time Adorna snagged the gold.
Dan smiled proudly at his wife. That Ani had always been the one in the relationship to attract media attention does not bother him at all.
“I don’t have an ego on training as much. I don’t mind if someone is faster than me. I just do what I think is the right thing to do. I think the media attention is good for us, and Ani deserves it all,” he said.
Secure and modest
The guy is not only secure; he is modest, as well. Dan is an elite triathlete; his personal best time for a full triathlon is 9 hours and 41 minutes. He also finished 8th overall in the Ultraman World Championships (10-km open-ocean swim, 421-km cross-country bike and 84.4-km ultramarathon run).
“People look at us and would just be amazed that we’re doing triathlons. For us, though, it’s never enough. We both always want to be better than our last race,” he said.
Ani, whose best time is 11:08 for a full tri in 2014, knows she can still do better. “It’s decent, I guess. It took me to the podium twice, so I guess that’s good. But it’s not fast enough. I’m not contented,” she said.
The couple wakes up at 5 a.m. to do their morning run, before juggling parenthood and training and coaching the rest of the day. Luckily, their setup in Nuvali makes training, coaching and parenting very convenient.
“I spend a lot of time with my son, pretty much more than 95 percent of the 40-year-old guy population, unless he doesn’t have a job. In the morning I help out a bit before I go biking for two to three hours, then I’m back home, and then I do our afternoon training,” Dan said.
Unless it’s Christmastime, traveling is not just for leisure anymore. Dan and Ani said they have now learned to combine work and leisure when traveling. By work, that means either coaching or joining tri events. This year they will be traveling to six destination tri clinics, places they would probably never consider going to, like Siargao or Lucena, if it were not for work.
Dan said sometimes his parents help out. When they flew to Sydney to join the tri event there, his parents took turns watching over Dash. One time, his dad and sister, both also triathletes, joined Ani and him in a race.
On some trips, their children travel with them. Going out with one toddler and a baby is tough, Dan said. “When we go out now, seven people travel in the car. It’s hard to find a car with more seats than that,” he said, laughing.
“I have mornings now when I’m just too tired from the baby and everything. When it’s counterproductive to force training, I relax. But I have to work extra hard to get back in the zone,” Ani said.
At home, they teach their kids, by example, how to eat properly. There’s always veggies in the fridge and fruits in the basket. They steam, grill, bake and sometimes stir-fry when absolutely necessary. They allow themselves treats, like chocolates or beer, once in a while.
The Iron Couple owns two two-story homes in Ridgeview Estates—one where they actually live, and the other, right next door, where they store 30 years’ worth of tri equipment and memorabilia. Together they own more than 20 bikes, dozens of shoes for both running and biking, and hundreds of pieces of sports clothing.
Stepping into the second home is like going inside a warehouse. Stacks of Gatorade are piled in one corner, shoes neatly aligned on the other, cartons of Enervon shakes stored in stacking shelves, bikes parked at the end of the room. There’s also a commercial-grade treadmill among other training equipment in the house.
With a full schedule ahead, how do they still manage to surprise each other?
“We go out on ‘dates’ each week, maybe for just coffee or dinner. But we also have to get the kids out of the house… It’s a challenge that requires planning,” Dan said.