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…
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.
All I’ve got so far is the photos to show. My plan is to do a proper race report in the near future…So for now, enjoy some photos from the weekend and race itself.
Final Preparations have begun! We have officially entered the Ironman taper. No more long training weekends or tune-up races; all that remains is the day itself when we find out what exactly we are made of. For those that do not know, the race comprises of the following events/distances:
Swim: 2.4 miles
Bike: 112 miles
Run: 26.2 miles
Yes it is a very long way (140.6 total miles), yes it’s going to hurt, and no, none of us are planning to win.
I’m mainly writing this post for our friends and family who are interested in what we are doing, so below you’ll find links to the official Ironman webpages where they’ve provided an athlete tracker, and even some live video.
IronmanLive Webpage (The day of the event (7/20) they will post the live “Athlete Tracker” and live video of the event to watch.)
For tracking an athlete, follow the “Real Time Athlete Tracking Instructions” from the link above. Use the following names/bib numbers to track us.
Jeremy Dixon: Bib# 233
Tiffany Dixon: Bib# 1990
Dale Brown: Bib# 183
I’m hoping to post on this blog while we are there (starting this thursday, july 17) with updates and photos, so check back towards the end of the week and throughout the weekend.
Wow, even typing it takes a while. I’m not trying to say that I didn’t enjoy my Independence Day weekend, just that it was very full. We kicked it off Friday morning with a 65 mile bike ride during which we met up with a group from the toledo area and rode to Grand Rapids, OH for breakfast before finishing the ride. Then, later that afternoon, we went to Toledo for a wedding…Congrats Jon and Missy…and back to Bowling Green for the reception over at Stone Ridge GC (Speaking of weddings, I wrote a post over at my work blog about weddings…read it if you like here).
On to Saturday where we woke up and ran a short/easy 4 miles (after which I took a long nap…happy day!!!) About noon I started packing for Sunday’s race while also preparing for our second wedding of the weekend. There is a certain trick to packing bikes and wetsuits while dressing for a wedding (the key is the order in which you do things…I know I’m a bit slow sometimes). Our plans were to leave the reception early and get to a friend’s house mid to late evening and spend the rest of the day with them, which we did…
Sunday Morning…5:30 wake-up and 6:00 out the door, we arrived at the park just before 7am. I’ll cut this short because there are a few things I want to hit on before i lose everybody with the length of this post…
1. I successfully completed my first triathlon on my new bike setup (converted to a Time Trial setup) Yay!!!
2. Tiffany won her age group…again…but I think she enjoyed this race a bit more because she was trying to take this one a bit easier and enjoy the race…Must be nice to take it easy and still win…but I’ll never know that.
Anyway, we go from that incredibly busy weekend and now we’re officially on our taper for IRONMAN… I’ve only been tapering for two days now and already I’m starting to feel anxious about it…
So if you happen to be in Lake Placid for the race…congrats and hope you enjoy it…
As of today, Tiffany, Myself, and Dale (Tiff’s brother) are signed up for the 2008 Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY. I know what you’re thinking…but you just did your first Triathlon last year. Yeah, it’s a little crazy, but I have been continuously improving my Running/Cycling/Swimming over the past year and feel like this is something that is doable but will challenge me in ways I don’t even know about yet. So there it is. Below is a countdown to said event.
Last friday (8-3-07) Tiffany was interviewed by Fox Toledo’s Joe Rychnovsky. They aired the piece during the 4 o’clock news that day. Even I got into the action, when Joe turned the camera on me and I answered a few questions. I looked like a deer caught in headlights…very smooth. Click here to see the video on FoxToledo.com
We are accepting all sponsorship opportunities at this time
Here’s a screen shot of the page on Fox’s website.
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