Race day, I woke up around 4:30am ate some breakfast and put my tri suit on. It was extremely cold that morning, excited about the race but not the cold!
Once I had my gear all set up, I meet my Mom right outside transition. We then walked approx 1.2 miles for the swim start.
Waco had a wave start, basically you decide when to start by how fast you swim. I started about 20 mins after the pros went. This was by far the coldest water I have ever swam in. Funny, that day I had my fastest swim, maybe because I was so cold it made me swim faster? Who knows!
When I came out of the water, I was extremely cold. I felt frozen and found it really hard to move. By the time I got to the transition area I was shaking really bad. I put on two jackets, and a neck gator that I pulled over my face, except my eyes. I had to get a volunteer to help me put my gloves on because I just could not stop shaking. Despite the cold, It was an awesome feeling to see my Mom at transition when I came in from the swim. Really gave me motivation to keep pushing forward!
Now for the bike, I finally was bundled up enough to head out on my bike for a 56 mile ride. During the bike ride, I only stopped once. I actually enjoyed the ride and thought it was very scenic.
Now for the run, by this time I had warmed up and was ready for the run. I felt great, as I was leaving transition to start the run, there was my Mom cheering me on! What a trooper to be out there all day!
Iām off, now to run 13.1 miles a half marathon. I felt great. Actually, the run course was one of my favorites to date. Not only was it scenic but it had a lot of shade and hills. The shade was so helpful since I was running around lunchtime. Another bonus Waco has, the locals come out and they are cheering you along the way. I could not believe how many where on the run course, it was so motivating.
It was amazing, I had one of my fastest runs that day! When I came around to the suspension bridge where the finish line was, I felt so over joyed, excited and proud of myself for finishing and having this accomplishment!
Another 70.3 Ironman in the books. Later that week I found out that over 30% of the athletes that day had a DNF, this is a pretty high number and for whatever reason I had a finish that day! šš»
We then drove back to our room so I could shower, change and have a foot Ice bath before heading out to eat. By this time I was starving.
Now it was time to celebrate, my Mom and I decided to head out to a local restaurant and enjoy a nice meal!
TriathleteRaquel 