Here’s a pic from the water fun.
and here’s the best of shot of Cora’s Hair so far…
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:
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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…
]]>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.
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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.
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.
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One day less than 2 weeks after Ironman USA, Tiff and I traveled to Benton Harbor, MI for the Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon (Half-Iron Distance). The weather was shaping up to be pretty nice, if maybe a little hot. The course has been described as fast and includes a 1.2mi swim in Lake Michigan, a 56mi bike over rolling hills & a 13.1mi run over slightly less rolling hills. Now normally the part I am looking forward to least is the swim (it is my weakest event), so when we walked down to the swim start (a 1mi walk north of the transition area) and were told that because of the choppy waters they would be cancelling the swim, one would think I would be happy about this…I wasn’t. Why? It is no longer a Triathlon…what ended up happening is a Duathlon with a 2mi run instead of the swim. There was a part of me that was looking forward to my first large Lake swim in a race.
Enough of that…on to the results.
Tiffany and I both finished strong and near where we wanted to be (time-wise). My legs were still a bit soft from Ironman, so my performance suffered a little. My one main goal was to not walk except through water stops (I absolutely cannot drink/eat anything while running), and I was successful there.
Tiffany Overall Time: 4:41:41
Jeremy Overall Time: 4:57:16
Click here to view all results
All said and done, this was a pretty good race, and I would certainly do it again. Next up…Vermillion, OH
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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.
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…
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