Careys return from 2008 Ironman Kansas

The Careys—Kevin and Mieko—returned from the 2008 Ironman Kansas 70.3 race last week, an event made more memorable by a tornado that touched down at Lawrence as the triathlon was about to wrap up.

Mieko, who won silver in the half marathon of the 2008 Oceania Championships Saturday, came in sixth in her age group (30-34 years old) and was the 21st woman overall to cross the finish line in a time 5:31:16.97.

The 2008 Ironman Kansas 70.3 was held last June 15 and consisted of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run.

The former Pacific Islands Club clubmate negotiated the swim in 35:32.008, pedaled the bike course in 2:52:21.630, before putting on her running shoes and completing the run in 2:00:19.090.

Mieko said the swim was a bit cold because the lake’s temperature was 74 degrees.

“For people here, they said the water was warm. Almost everybody wore a wetsuit,” she said, adding that waves came about every three minutes.

Meanwhile, she said that the bike course was harder than the Tagaman Triathlon.

“There was no flat. Only up or down. No time to eat or drink or get [power] gel. The wind was also strong. But I liked it. The aid stations were awesome. They have Gatorade, gel, water, ice, sponge. The course had a cross which we passed four times. I could see Kevin behind me. Many people used triathlon bikes, but I like my road bike.”

Mieko reported that like the bike course, the run course was also mostly up and down.

“We ran two loops. The course was sometimes off-road and hilly.”

Kevin, for his part, competed in the men’s 35-39 age group and finished in a time of 5:40:20.18. He completed the swim in 43:05.613, needed 3:05:53.190 to finish the bike course, and ran the race on two legs in 1:47:10.000.

Mieko, in a post in the Northern Mariana Islands Triathlon Federation website, said initially she didn’t know what time she completed the race, “because after finish the organizers and the park service made us leave fast because of the tornado!”

Mieko said despite the tornado scare, she and Kevin enjoyed their participation in the 2008 Ironman Kansas 70.3.

“There were 1,400 athletes on the start line. Everything was big and professional—organizers and athletes…some of the pros were really pros. They won last year’s nationals. Their bikes were awesome. I have never seen [some of them and] I wanted to steal [them],” she said jokingly.

“Some of the pros said it was the hardest course because of the hills and the wind. They all say they thought Kansas was flat, but it was more difficult than the backside of Saipan. About 4,000 people were cheering with cowbells, whistles, and I saw a deer… no it was a turtle! I want to come back and finish in less than five hours. Now time to be a cowgirl.”