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This year, Thanksgiving was busy, as always, but we had the added dimension of this being Cora’s first Thanksgiving! We had lots of fun with her as she continues to travel well and be a real sport when being passed around to family and friends the entire day. As always, we ran the Turkey Trot 5mi in Miamisburg on Thanksgiving morning (this year with  my dad, my uncle, a cousin, tiffany and I, no cora this time). We went on to make our way back up rt. 75 to New Knoxville to finish out our day. Friday was an off-day, then we had another thanksgiving meal with my immediate family in BG on Saturday…concluding with a 5K race in Maumee (Holiday Hustle…race reports for both races coming soon)…If it sounds like a lot, it is…but it is always fun each year we do it and we consider it a blessing to have so much family that still gets together with so many relatives! Here’s some of the pictures from the opening weekend of the 09 Holiday Season…

UPDATED

Results for the Turkey Trot have been posted and everyone did really well!

• Jeremy: 36:42 – 7:21/mi pace
• Tiffany: 33:15 – 6:39/mi pace
• Craig: 44:28 – 8:54/mi pace
• Scott: 40:44 – 8:09/mi pace
• Kara: 40:44 – 8:09/mi pace (bandit)

Also of note: friend Johnny Moore completed the race in 34:41 in the wheelchair division..awesome

if i’m forgetting anyone else from this race…i’m sorry

Results and photos have been posted for the Holiday Hustle..Tiff ran a 19:32…awesome! Cora and I ran a frustrating 23:34 due to the amount of traffic at the beginning…to the right is the photo they took pre-race….click for race results.

It took until just before I actually crossed the start line, but I decided to not go for any sort of finish time. Instead I wanted to have my first marathon that I actually enjoyed…and I did! How so, you ask? Well, I ran with a group of friends (my dad included in that group as well) for the first 5-6 miles, then I saw another friend (don) and we ran together and got a bit ahead of that group and actually caught up to another friend (mark). The three of us ran together until i decided to attempt a fall-back to see my dad before he would be cutting off for the half finish. That didn’t happen but shortly after the cut-off I noticed another person I knew standing alongside the road waiting by the portajohns…It was my cousin Caitlyn (waiting on her running partner). We ran together from around mile 14 to somewhere around 21, where I decided to make a restroom stop and then attempt a fall-back to find the original group. I then went past my aunt and uncle’s house where they and my grandma and others were cheering on the runners. In my desire to have a fun race, I proceeded to stop running and chat for a few minutes before taking off for the final 4-5 miles. Those next 2 miles or so were some of the best i’ve ever had that late in the race and the rest of the race was almost as equally enjoyable (still painful though). I never caught back up with the original group. In my last and final attempt to truly enjoy the race I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture of the finish line as I approached (downside is that the official race photographer caught me and my finish line picture is of me checking out something on my phone Also of note, they actually got a picture of me that makes me look like I’m running…doesn’t happen that often…

Anyway, tiff had a great comeback (from having a baby) race with a time of 3:15:48 and My finish time was slower than that…

The minster Oktoberfest has been a bright spot for the houseofdixon these past years. We have made it another one of those annual races. Tiff has done this race many more times than I as she participated during her younger years. This race is always exciting due to the prize money offered for winners. If you don’t know, prize money is a great way to get some incredibly high-caliber athletes to run your race. Put it this way…the winner was running a 4:46 per mile pace…that is wicked fast…put it this way…the 2008 Olympic Gold medal winner ran a 4:21 per mile pace. All of that to say, we really enjoy this event both because of the competition and the food/festival afterwards.

This year, I decided to push the stroller and my dad came down to run, so we ended up running together. It was the very first 3G (generation) race! Cora slept most of the way…again, but woke up just before we all 3 crossed the finish line! I just spent a few minutes perusing the race photos and as it is pretty easy to spot a stroller as i quickly scroll across the page, I found 3 pictures taken of us around mile 4 1/2. Here’s one of them (they have watermarks across them because they are official photos)

Now it’s Tiff’s turn…She had an absolutely incredible race! She had a 10K PR of 39:49 (first time to break 40 mins) and came in 1st in her age group! If you’ve been following the Tiff’s exploits these past months you’ll know that this race breaks her winning streak, though an age group win amongst that many high-quality runners is still quite impressive in my book. I think she was pretty happy with her performance as well. The best part was that she received as an award for her first place age group finish, what has to be the single best award EVER!!! I’m serious this thing is awesome and the real deal! What is it… a wooden shoe (or clog, for those traditionalists) Here’s some pics:

Here’s some other pics from the day!

 

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…

Here’s another gallery of photos from the Vermillion race weekend courtesy of brother-in-law Dave…

In the last two weeks Tiffany has competed in two races (5k and Sprint Tri) and won them both! The first race was the Sole to Soul 5K at Levis Commons in Perrysburg, OH (results here). With a time 19:54 Tiffany was the first female finisher (she did get beat by a high school runner, but there was a separate contest for them), and thus won a pair of shoes! The shoes were the main reason Tiff decided to run this race, and she is definitely glad she did!

The next race she did was the Vermillion Harbour Triathlon where she continued in the Wheelie Fun Triathlon Series 09. She had an absolutely killer bike averaging around 22mph, which is fantastic! As she crossed the finish line she hear the announcer say “First Female Now Crossing the Finish Line” and the first thought she had was something along the lines of…Yeah right, they must’ve gotten something wrong…but they hadn’t…and she did indeed win her first triathlon! Here’s the results page for both her race and mine.

Here are a couple of the photos I was able to find on the photos page (here’s a link to the main bulk of the photos…use password “hfpracing”)

We are currently getting ready for the Buckeye Challenge Triathlon in Springfield, OH where, for the first time this year, Tiff and I will be competing in the same race! I am calling it the “Battle Royale”. After Tiff’s showing at Vermillion, I am really getting afraid of getting crushed…but hey, I’m used to getting beat (in races) by my wife. Also of note, Tiff’s bro or Uncle Dale to Cora will be competing in the Half-Iron distance race as well, so we are excited to both see him and cheer him on in his race!

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…

In my last post, like running through molasses, I detailed how sluggish and off my game I’ve felt ever since the GCM. I also mentioned a possibility of racing the Flag City Sprint Tri…Well, I did, and it turned out very well in a number of ways.

I realized my slowness was at least partially, in my head. From the start, I decided to compete strong but not go all out. This worked out well for me as I felt strong the whole race and felt I still had a little left at the finish line.

The race started off decently enough with a swim around the Findlay reservoir, which by the way is very clear, crisp water. After a little foot slip up the boat launch ramp, I found my bike and off I went. Shortly into the bike, after passing the fast swimmers, I found myself pacing near one other guy. Every turn, he would pass me and then the next one I would pass him back. As we approached the turn around, I started counting the bikes coming back at me. When i got to 2, we turned hit the turn around! Remember now that the races are all wave starts so people who are faster than me may still be behind, but still, my spirits were high.

Off the bike and into my running shoes, i felt strong and ready to race the 5K. I paced with my bike friend for the first bit until he pulled ahead, sadly for good. A strong kick at the finish completed this first triathlon of the year, and I felt good.

Results: I waited around long enough to find that I had come in 2nd place in my age group (behind my bike friend) and 7th overall, I love smaller races!

This race was just what I needed…I don’t feel so slow!

My official time for the race was: 1:12:41

Click here for the rest of the results, links to photos are also there…