For those of you who followed my entire journey on Saturday, I wanted to recap and give you some insight on my day!! First of all, I was rather calm in the days leading up to the event. I didnt feel my nerves kick in until I got into my wetsuit & put my cap & goggles on! I decided to start the swim closer to the front, but on the right side, thinking that I would rather have fewer people to pass, and wouldnt so much mind people passing me. I am very comfortable in the water, and by no means a fast swimmer, but certainly not the slowest! About 5 minutes or so into the race, I started coughing, and could not stop. I hadnt taken in water, so not sure what caused this, but if youve ever tried swimming and coughing, the two dont work too well together. I somehow made it through the first 1000 or so meters, and just when the thought that I may not be able to complete the final 3000 meters entered my mind, my prayers were answered! Two guys on a kayak came close enough for me to grab on and rest. At this point, my heart rate was through the roof, and I could only take short, shallow breaths. Holding onto a kayak is legal in the race, as long as they are not propelling you forward. I so took advantage of this!! I rested long enough to settle my heart rate and slow my breathing a bit. From this point on, I was only able to take between 25-50 strokes before I had to stop again to get my breathing and heart rate down. There was a doctor on a boat nearby who threw us a water bottle, and I had coughed so much already that drinking cold water burned my throat. From this point on, I took the swim one buoy at a time (which was about 150 meters). At times, I could not even make it that far without stopping and gasping for air. It was a horrible feeling! I realized that I had to be coming close to the time cut off (which was 2 hours 20 minutes, or you dont continue the race), so I pushed on. My kayakers followed all the way in, and anytime I needed them, they were right there for me to stop, slow my breathing, and continue on. I am so thankful for them. I would not have been able to finish if they hadnt been there to see me through. When I was about 500 meters from the finish, I noticed that people were able to stand and walk through the canal. Although I had heard from many that you should not put your feet down due to glass on the bottom, I felt that was my only option to make it out of the water on time. I was able to walk part of the way, and swim when it got too deep in places. This strategy, along with amazingly encouraging spectators walking alongside me on the bank, got me through the swim with only 8 minutes to spare!! Never in all my planning and strategizing for this race, would I have dreamed that it would take me even 2 hours to complete the swim. Needless to say, I was glad to be on dry land, and happy to make the cut off. However, I knew I had about an hour of time to make up for over the bike and the run. When I made it into the changing tent, I realized both of my big toes were cut, but thankfully not too bad. I just wasn’t sure how that was going to feel for 112 miles on the bike and another 26.2 running. My emotions were all over the place when I entered transition to get my bike. My support crew were all there yelling for me, encouraging me, and though I just wanted to cry about the swim, I knew there was no time for that!! I just had to go, go, go!! My bike wasn’t as fast as I would have liked it to be, but again, I was a bit limited by shortness of breath, that didn’t seem to calm down until halfway through the bike. Luckily the first half was fairly fast, and I was able to push w/o an incredible amount of effort. I made the 60 mile bike cut off with about ten minutes to spare. The last 60 miles was a bit tougher with headwinds and a few rolling hills, but I knew that if I could push myself, I would have plenty of time to finish the marathon. I was more than happy to hand off my bike when I finished the ride! Running into transition I saw all my peeps once again! I was so encouraged by all the love, how could I not just push forward!! After a quick clothes change, and some bandaids on my toes, I was ready to run. I really enjoyed this part! Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I did! I followed my interval run plan (4 min run/1 min walk) the entire marathon, and it really paid off. I was able to finish 26.2 miles in just over 5 hours 30 minutes. It was an amazing journey, and to hear Mike Riley say, “She’s a 42 year old school teacher from Round Rock, Texas, Tricia Vasquez, you are an IRONMAN! Now you’ve earned that tattoo.” was so worth the blood, sweat & tears put into 6 months of training, and over 15 hours of pushing my body to the max!! I am an IRONMAN.....and I will get that tattoo!!!
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 17:40:23 +0000
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