Wing Ironwoman conquers UK triathalon

  • Published
  • By Maj. Kelli Molter
  • 62nd Mission Support Group
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  (Maj. Kelli Molter, 62nd Mission Support Group, recently competed in the Ironman United Kingdom race in Sherborne, Dorset, United Kingdom. This is a first-person account of her experience.) 

I did it! 

I completed my first Ironman, and it was a blast. Being my first Ironman, my goal was simply to finish. I trained with a coach for seven months leading up to the race. On average, I trained ten hours a week with the exception of four weeks where I added a five to seven hour bike ride. 

I told a few of my friends that I would be thrilled to finish within 15 hours. At 16 miles into the run it looked possible for me to finish in 14. I finished with a time of 13:54:08. 

The swim was thrilling. One thousand five hundred and seventy seven of us began in a mass start, wading into 60 degree water for 15 minutes until the start horn sounded. It was a frenzy of anonymous, wet-suited bodies for a half mile until world order took hold and we found our relative position for the remainder of the 2.4 miles. I finished in 1 hour 13 minutes, ranking 679th. 

The bike ride was grueling. Ironman UK is ranked 'challenging' and by the second lap of the three I understood why. At mile 70, I cried because my legs were spent and I knew the third lap was going to take everything I had. I got through it with my mantra 'Ironman, Ironman, yes, yes' -- and telling myself I couldn't stand returning to the States telling people, 'Yes, I went to the Ironman. No, I didn't finish.' 

I climbed The Giants Head one last time (after rolling over a dead rat's tail) and was never so happy as to see mile 112. I transitioned to the run thinking I would take a 15 minute nap. Then someone outside the tent called my name and said they were
looking for me. I ran out the tent thinking I would rest a bit up the way after I was out of this man's sight. Instead, I was amazed to find that my legs felt great and that running was no problem. I completed the run in less time than I took in my two marathons, with the second half being faster than the first, and got through the finish line when the 13th hour was still up on the timer board. 

The announcer called out my name and said that I was from the United States, that I was an Air Force officer, and that I was an Ironman. I'm moved by that even now. Of the 1,128 people that finished, 131 were female. 

I was one of them. Now I'm an Ironman.