Carey bagged an overall time of two hours, 58 minutes, and 37 seconds to rule the women’s division, beating UK’s Darrelle Parker (3:10:11) and Guam’s Kelly Dawes (4:01:56).
“It feels great. I was 5th in XTERRA Saipan and 2nd in Tagaman and finally I got 1st,” she told Marianas Variety in an email.
Carey improved by two minutes compared to last year’s results (3:00:43), where she trailed Swiss athlete Renata Bucher and Shonny Vanlandingham.
Meanwhile, Gardner conquered the odds and — after getting injured in this year’s Tagaman Triathlon — still posted the fastest time of two hours, 30 minutes, and 47 seconds in the men’s division.
“I think I was just relieved more than anything. After the crash in Tagaman I was pretty sore the next few days and I couldn’t swim. Basically I pretty much did no training between Tagaman and Guam, except riding the bike course twice. My goal was always to win all four races and each one had a different set of problems, so it’s nice to say ‘mission accomplished,’” Gardner said in an email.
“Motivation was hard, as I was pretty tired both physically and mentally. I had enough fitness in store from a winter’s training to not train too much in between the races. However I always find my form takes a dive when I return to England after these races, due to all the traveling and the training I’ve missed.”
He defeated second-ranked Takahiro Ogasawara (2:33:41) of Japan and Guam’s very own Peter Lombard (2:54:55).
Carey finished the 1,000-meter ocean swim a minute faster than Gardner. The UK-based athlete recovered in the bike and run legs, posting 1:26:01 and 46:28, respectively.
Their victories didn’t come in so easily, however.
“It was rainy during the race. It made [the] bike course wet. Guam’s bike course is muddy, which is very sticky and slippery. I fell one time just when I tried to turn to the right,” noted Mieko.
“The run down the waterfall was very slippery and I didn’t want to fall over on my injuries so I took it pretty slowly and carefully. Luckily it wasn’t too hot for the race,” added Gardner.
It was mind over matter for both athletes, who also took on last month’s XTERRA Saipan and Tagaman races.
“I tried to gain any little advantage at all times. Small things like having my cycling shoes attached to my pedals with rubber bands helped me save 20 seconds getting on the bike. It all helped me get out of site and out of mind, with the fastest transitions out of anyone,” said Gardner.
“I always try to do my best and think ‘go’ all the time during the race,” said Carey.
“I just look forward to the finish line. I never think negative. If I start to think negative like ‘tired’ or ‘pain,’ then my body listens to it and it makes me slow down.”
In addition to the ocean swim, XTERRA Guam included a 31-kilometer mountain bike leg and an 8.2-km run.
Gardner now plans to compete in France’s Alpe de Huez triathlon in July, the English Cross Triathlon Series (a national off-road race in the UK), and the Challenge Henley (an Ironman distance event) in September.
Carey will compete in a mountain bike race in Japan and an Ironman event in Kansas.
