The Saipan-based pro-triathlete clocked in at five hours, 25 minutes, and 11 seconds to win 11th place in the women’s 30-34 age group.
“I enjoyed this race without any pressure,” said Carey in an email to Marianas Variety.
This year, Carey improved her record from 2008’s 5:31:17 mark. The race consisted of a 1.2-mi. swim, 56-mi. grueling bike ride, and 13.1-mi. run.
Carey enjoyed her swim at Clinton Lake and came out fifth in her division at 33 minutes and 19 seconds.
She recalled the bike course as “tough,” but not “tougher than Saipan’s hills.”
“It was hilly and not flat. It was windy too,” she said.
Carey didn’t feel a sharp pain in her left knee cap until 30 miles into the ride. Skipping the rest of the course, however, was no option for the XTERRA veteran.
“I just wanted to finish without quitting, and many people passed me. The pain was getting worse and I start thinking, ‘Can I make the bike?’” she added.
“I tried to think about something different. It works sometimes to think about something and the pain will be gone.
“But not today. I saw the 50-mile sign and I knew I can make it.”
Carey – still worn from last week’s mountain bike race in Japan – recovered on her final transition and conquered the two-lap run course.
She placed ninth in the bike-leg at 2:53:38 and 11th in the run-leg at 1:54:49.
“I thought I should try to run and see how I feel. If the pain is worse then I will stop. But once I started I knew I won’t stop even if I walked to the finish line,” she stated.
A total of 1,350 participants competed in Ironman Kansas.
Carey now prepares for Japan’s upcoming Kaike Triathlon.
