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Tiffany has now won (1st overall female finisher or 1st prize due to eligibility) the last 4 races she has contested. The first was the Sole to Soul 5K at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, OH. She actually was beaten by a high schooler, but as OHSAA rules apply there can be no prizes awarded to HS athletes in their sport…long story, Tiff was awarded the first prize of a pair of shoes! Awesome! Next up…the Vermillion Triathlon where she was the actual first overall female, though she didn’t believe it at first. Then we have the Buckeye Challenge Triathlon in Springfield, OH where she again was the first overall female finisher. Finally, this past weekend, Tiffany was the female winner in the 1st ever Boy Scouts Half Marathon in Bowling Green, OH (hometown race!)

Now first let me say that this is absolutely incredible, one might argue it can be described as an epic comeback (having given birth to Cora merely 5 months ago) I would not dispute such an idea, as I am awestruck by her God-given abilities and the humility with which she accepts it. She is, in my opinion, a very talented athlete who succeeds in virtually any sport she attempts.

That said…

I was holding Cora as we were watching friend Monica finish the aforementioned half marathon, when two girls said hi and asked if i was the one pushing the jogging stroller for the race (tougher than it looks…really…sore hamstrings). One of the two said that they saw me as I passed by them towards the beginning of the race. Obviously it was meant as a compliment to me, of which I am grateful. My initial thought, however, was that, yes I may be faster than some, and one day maybe I may even win a race (big maybe)…but the thing that must not be overlooked is the simple fact that those two put their foot on that starting line, ran and finished a half marathon that morning the same as me or Tiff or that guy who won overall with a ridiculous 1:09 time (very fast in case you didn’t know…almost olympic level).

Being a finisher of any endurance event is an incredible thing and I don’t want to ever forget how much it means to just complete the race. For me, no more than 3 years ago, I could almost not even finish a mile run (knee problems), so I know what it means to simply not know if you can even finish. Sometimes I even wonder if those who do win lots of races even remember the simple joy in crossing the finish line…that my friends is the true shame. So know that if you have finished something that you didn’t think you could or would ever do, you’re a hero in my book…

p.s. I’m not dilluted enough to not have thought of the fact that I may be using this rationale to justify getting beat by my wife in almost every race I’ve ever done, but still… and again, I’m not taking away from Tiff’s accomplishments at all…

A quick post here, but I’m happy to say that Tiff and I  finally did a bike race last night! We did a Time Trial with the Maumee Valley Wheelmen. It was a good first taste of cycling races, and we’re sure to do more. Anyway, the results are in and if you’ll click the following link, you can read all about it LINK

Caesar Creek is the one race Tiff and I really enjoy. The bike course has some rolling hills and one awesome curvy ascent (see course profile to right)that always proves challenging. For me (jeremy) this was the location of my first Triathlon & Half-Iron Triathlon. This year was for Tiff, her 2nd comeback race, and she did great (3rd in her age group, 1:18:20) and I came in top 10 in mine (2:30:26). All said, it was a good race, we’ll be back next year. Full Results here…Check the race photos below:

Yesterday was a special race for a number of reasons. First, It was Father’s Day! My first Father’s Day since becoming…a Father. Secondly, it was Tiffany’s first race since Cora was born. Finally, it was Cora’s first Triathlon spectating experience. Quite a day indeed!

Let’s start the reporting off in reverse order of importance…Me first…

Being my second race of the year, and my first olympic distance, I felt as prepared as I could be given the lower training levels compared to last year. My wave was well after Tiffany’s as she is doing sprint distance this year, so I get to wait around a while until getting my piece of the melee that is triathlon beach starts. I can’t really say much about this race other than that I felt strong the whole way and didn’t overdo any one part. I was excited, however, that my average bike speed for the 24mi was 22.1 mph! The other exciting thing about the race is the photo above, where I actually look like I am running!

Now on to Tiffany’s comeback race!

She will probably say that she didn’t train nearly enough, which is possible, but given the outcome, I’d say she is doing just fine. With a 20.4 mph bike average and a 22:06 5K she took 1st place in her age group by a whopping 6 minutes and 3 seconds!

As far as Cora’s first spectating experience, I’d say that too was a success. Tiffany’s mom, [read: grandma] came with us and the two of them and friend Mike W. hung out together while watching us. Sadly, we have no photos of this as I forgot to pack a camera…I guess she will just have to start racing to get photos at these things…

The power of a smell…

Yesterday during the sermon, our Pastor told the story of when he was growing up he detested the smell of a certain Bisquick cake his father used to bake. Years later, after the passing of his father, he found himself baking that very cake and being reminded of the fond memories he had. A once mal-odor became a sweet memory through the lense of time and experience. Every once in a while I have a similar olfactory experience and it is one in particular that I found myself dwelling on after church was over.

As I was looking through some bags and random racing/triathlon supply boxes, I found myself looking into the closet of our guest bedroom, which happens to have our wetsuits. Suddenly, I found myself taken back to the last triathlon of the much storied (at least by me) 2008 racing season…the Portage Lakes Triathlon, the last race in the Wheelie Fun Racing Series. The culmination of a season packed with lifetime memories and experiences, excruciatingly painful running courses, seemingly endless uphill bicycle battles, frigid swim courses, that feeling you get as you come into view of the finish line, hearing your name followed by the 4 words “You are an Ironman” and knowing you have earned it. Memories abound as I reminisce about predawn wake ups, race day checklists, pre-visualizing T1 then T2 making sure everything is in its place, shoes here visor there…don’t forget the race number belt. All of this because of a smell…

What was the smell? Like Pastor Malanga’s sermon, it wasn’t the smell of roses, or fresh bread, no this scent has a darker origin…Neoprene and stale lake water. Why does this smell have such power over my memories? Why does the combination of synthetic rubber and highly suspect lake water have such a cogent affect? It isn’t a sweet smell, not particularly inviting at all, but it is the smell that bears the memories of a summer spent training, racing and traveling with my wonderful wife. It was a good summer, one I’m sure to look back upon fondly as I share those memorable moments with friends, family and now…my daughter Cora.

Tiffany and I were talking yesterday afternoon, and I mentioned how that summer could not have been planned better. It was a grueling schedule of training, B-races, A-races, and everything else. It was exhilarating, challenging, painful, but most of all…wicked awesome fun! Tiffany had a suspicion and we later confirmed that during Ironman and all subsequent races, that she was pregnant. She was still able to not only compete in the remaining triathlons we’d planned, but she became the champion of the Wheelie Fun Series…with child… All of this and many more memories are firmly stored in that part of my brain that can be accessed by (among other things) the smell of a man-made rubber-like product aimed at keeping me warm and the strange concoction known as your ordinary off-the-shelf lake water.

As we plan our comparatively meager racing schedule for this year, I find myself still highly affected by the smell that currently resides in the closet of our guest bedroom, to which I’ve returned a few times to make sure those memories are still there. I do not look back with a sense of longing or regret that life has taken its unexpected turns, no those memories deserve so much more. They are a single summer, a collection of events that came together in a way that can never be, nor should ever be, repeated. That smell will forever be known in my own mind as the smell of racing.

As with all babies, when Cora was born it took a little bit for her to take her first breath…This is one thing that you can be told and think you understand, but absolutely cannot know until it’s your child laying there awaiting whatever it is in the brain that tells her to inhale for the first time. In less than 60 seconds (but felt much, much longer) her tiny little body realized that it was time to take that first, life affirming, life giving, breath. Ever since then, I have had an almost paranoid compulsion to make sure she is breathing. If she doesn’t move or make a sound for a while, I find myself putting my ear next to her nose to check that she is still breathing. Originally, I thought myself alone in this preoccupation, but I’m finding that it is more wide-spread, especially amongst dads. A vast majority of breathing is sub-conscious meaning it happens whether we think to breathe or not. As a new dad, I find myself doubting this most simple of instincts in someone who has been living for mere minutes, hours or days…So I double-check…

As I ponder the depths of my not-quite-rational urge to confirm respiration in my daughter, I realize that there is much much more to this whole breathing process that goes beyond the survival instinct. Good breathing technique is essential to running or cycling and most obviously swimming. People who aren’t confident in their swimming typically cite their inability to breathe as their main deterrent from starting. What is truly interesting about this whole topic is that by focusing on your breathing during physical exertion you are able to calm your nerves and even limit the pain or discomfort you feel. If someone is punching you in the arm and you cannot stop it, the best remedy is to try and think of something else. Breathing seems to be contrary to the notion of taking your mind off the pain, rather you would be best served by putting your mind on that pain. Breathing is one of the only things you have control over during any endurance type activity, it is both a source of pain and discomfort and a worthwhile endeavor to limit that same pain and discomfort. So to all you new moms and dads, runners, swimmers, cyclists and anyone else within the human race, take a long deep breath and realize the life-giving, pain-reducing, calming effects that accompany this most basic of life’s activities. Read the rest of this entry »

For the last few weeks, I have been doing a workout that can best be described as a combination 1hr Bike Trainer Tempo Ride & 40min Tempo Run. This workout has taken place on Monday nights and I have grown a weird affinity for the special kind of pain that this workout seems to inflict on my legs…

A quick glance at this combination and you would say that this is an ordinary Brick workout ala your standard triathlon training, and yes that is what this is…But it is much, much more…The run is, in fact, a workout that would fit all of the characteristics of a Marathon training plan tempo workout. I keep my pace steady and fast…10K pace. By the end of the run, my legs start screaming for it to end.

Now the Bike ride…I started this as a typical winter trainer ride where the pace hovered well within the “easy” category, but recently I’ve felt that this is just about useless to me given my desire to time-trial this spring in some official races…So basically, I have turned this bike workout into another tempo workout where I constantly keep my cadence in the 95-100 range. When you put that bike ride up against the tempo run, it makes for a cardiovascular festival of oxygen deprivation and muscle fatigue [read: pain]. I am really hoping that this serve to increase my overall fitness and endurance as I train for the Glass City Marathon, the Maumee Valley Wheelmen Time Trial races, and several Olympic Triathlons and the big race of 2009 for us…SteelHead 1/2 Ironman…

So take an icy cold leg bath in a mountain fed spring on me…As a good friend is fond of saying…“Get into it!”

Although this past weekend was one of the more crazy (lots of stuff to do) weekends of late, Tiff and I still managed to find time for a great ride. The weather was almost perfect, perhaps a bit chilly. We rounded up two others (my dad and our friend Tim S.) to go with us and we did around 26miles. It was especially nice as last week I had gotten my trainer out for the first 2 rides, and was longing for at least one more outdoors ride before the doredom and punishment that is trainer riding. Now, unless there are some weekend rides left, we are indoors for the winter as the clocks were just rolled back an hour making it get dark now at 5:30 or so…

Last night tiff and I went for a ride with Pat P. and my dad. I finally remembered to take my camera along and ended up with what I’m considering my favorite photo of tiffany…I love the overall composition of the image, the blurred road/trees and the smiles on her and Pat’s faces.

On the HFP website there was an article posted noting how the Vermilion community was excited to have a race in its community. While I would normally just brush these words off as a PR attempt, it turns out that this was actually true. There was no lack for enthusiastic volunteers both in the park and out on the courses who were not only helping out but also cheering as we passed by. GO VERMILION!!!

Overall/Age Group Results are here…and photos from the day are here…

To the race report:

The Swim: this was officially our first large lake swim (Lake Erie). Even though it got a bit choppy and the waves picked up during the swim, I had fun with this one. Riding the crests and troughs of the water as it surged underneath made for an interesting/challenging swim split.

The Bike: We were told before this race that the bike course was supposedly one of the more difficult ones in the HFP Weelie Fun Triathlon/Duathlon Series…and they were right. The rolling hills were nice, but as we approached the first of 3 bigger decents and resulting climbs, it became apparent that the course designers were not on our side. Going from 45mph on a nice downhill stretch to 4mph is quite the swing and difficult at best. This isn’t to say that the course wasn’t enjoyable, just that it was tough.

The Run: The only part of this race that I would want to change a bit. An out and back course through downtown vermilion and a couple miles to the west of town. It was a bit exposed on the outer portions with traffic still going both ways, so we were relegated to the road’s shoulder which was a little cracked and uneven. There was no lack for aid stations though, and they were ready to hand out whatever you asked for…(Water on my head, then water in my mouth is my motto).

The Results:

Tiff: She won her age group…again…with a time of 2hrs 35mins 39secs

Jeremy: I did not win my age group…again…with a time of 2hrs 32mins

OF NOTE: There is a racing series that we have been partly participating in that consists of 6 races(here and here) and currently Tiffany is winning this series for her age bracket (F25-29). For me…I am actually 5th in my age group out of 44 people, which is the top 11%, so I’m excited about that.