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.

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.

Official Ironman USA (Lake Placid, NY) Website

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.

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…

We are accepting all sponsorship opportunities at this time

Here’s a screen shot of the page on Fox’s website.

Here’s one of the Finish Line!!!