Last Sunday, Carey did not only break her target but also beat the bad weather that stalled one of Japan’s biggest sports events. She was already looking at the people crowding the finish line when the rain started to pour. It went heavier and prompted the organizers to cancel the race leaving over 500 more participants still in the middle of each course.
Mieko who finished the triathlon in nine hours and 47 minutes was among the 340 triathletes who reached the finish line before the weather went worse.
“They had a bad weather again so they had to stop the race because some portions of the run course became hazardous,” said Carey who finally joined the swim course this time.
She said 821 people from Japan and many other countries competed in Kaike race.
The previous Kaike race was also pounded by bad weather and Carey who did not race in the swim course finished the shortened race in 8:22:35 hours.
Like last year, the 29th Kaike challenge involved 3 kilometer swim, 1.45 kilometer bike and 42.195 kilometer. Carey said in an interview before she left Saipan last week, all she wanted to do is finish the entire race in 11 hours.
Yet, she flexed her muscle rigidly enough to meet what she thought her maximum duration.
Little did she know, she would get a much better record than she expected.
Carey completed the 3-km swim course in 44 minutes ahead of hundreds of other participants. She trekked the 1.5-km bike course, half of which was a rocky uphill trail under the threatening weather in fours hours and 59 minutes. Then, she dealt with the 42.195 kilometer run course in four hours and 3 minutes.
The swim course, she said was not hard because the water was very calm. It was in the 300 meters when the swimmers cruised apart from each other.
The bike course was very good too, Carey said, but the run was very hard for.
Carey said the final course was on flat road on which she had to exhaust the same leg muscle.
“We even had to stop under the traffic light then, kick off again,” she said adding that she competing against herself instead of the other triathletes ahead and behind her.
“Mentally, I fought. I raced against myself. I kept telling myself I had to finish,” she said, pointing out that it’s not a test of speed but a challenge of endurance.
Carey arrived on Saipan at 3 a.m., yesterday.
“I thank the Kaike people. They treated us very nice. When they come here for the Tagaman Triathlon they deserve the same hospitality,” she said.
Carey also expressed gratitude to the CNMI people who supported her.
