Mieko prepares for Kaike

After two grueling races early this month, CNMI triathlete Mieko Carey is up for another tough competition in the 31st Annual Annual Kaike Triathlon Championships.

Carey, who joined the 2011 JCF Mountain Bike Japan Series 2 in Nagano on June 4 and then traveled to Kansas for the 2011 Ironman Kansas 70.3 a week after, will be the Commonwealth’s lone representative to Kaike. The triathlon event in Japan’s Tottori Prefecture will be held on July 17.

It will be the 33-year-old triathlete’s third appearance in Kaike. She debuted in the 3-kilometer swim, 145-km bike, and 42.195-km full marathon race in 2009 and timed in at 8:22:35 to finish 62nd out of 821 participants. Last year, Carey competed in Kaike with Tinian triathlete Joshua Manglona and the former placed third in the women’s division and 43rd overall among 850 finishers after submitting 9:56:38.

“I am going to Kaike to represent Saipan. Unfortunately, I am the only one going to Japan, but my family will be there to support and cheer for me and that makes me excited. My nieces are excited and the older one wants to run with me. She is only 7 years old,” Carey said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

Carey was scheduled to leave Kansas yesterday and return to Saipan today. She will take several days off before resuming her preparation for Kaike. The XTERRA World Championship-bound Carey needs to rest for a while to recover her strength after racing in Japan and Kansas.

She finished the 20-km up and downhill MTB race in Fujimi in 1:42:12 despite breaking her chain in the last 200m of the event. Carey had to walk her bike to the finish line. A day before the race, she crashed while practicing the course.

Then in Kansas, she raced in pain but managed to complete the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and a 13.1-mile run in 5:25:13, which is better than her 5:31:17 in 2008.

“After the Kansas Ironman, my was body was in pain. I know I am not young enough to do back-to-back races in one week. Before the race, I told Kevin I will stop if I feel pain, but I continued. It is a big challenge when your body is telling you to stop, but your mind says otherwise,” Carey said.

Despite her struggles in Kansas, Carey still had a respectable finish, coming in at 11th place out of 65 finishers in the women’s 30 to 34 age group. Twenty-one others in her division failed to complete the race.