Carrie Chavez
Age Group:
40-44
Sports Bio:
I was not an athlete as a young child. I never played any sports and by the age of 14, I was 50 pounds overweight! Being an overweight teenage girl is the pits. I started "jogging" with my Dad, changed my diet and lost all the weight. I joined the track team as a freshman in HS and a running career was born. I ABSOLUTELY loved to run. I ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track in HS. Then went on to study Physical Therapy in college and ran 4 years of cross country. I ran my first marathon at age 19, as a sophmore, in 3:44 with no long run training. STUPID!! My longest runs were 10 miles. Needless to say that marathon was brutal. Completely scarred, I never did another marathon until I was 27. I ran lots of road races and marathons in my 20's and eventually qualified for Boston when I was 28. I thought this was the pinnacle for me. I could not imagine having any more lofty of a goal UNTIL I moved to California that year and was introduced to a bunch of Ironman athletes. It took a little while to do my first triathlon because I needed to LEARN to swim. YUP!! Started at age 30. First triathlon a few months later and Ironman the very next year. I have completed 13 Ironman triathlons since 1999. Nothing will ever compare to my first one!!! JUST INCREDIBLE!! I seriously have no more athletic milestone goals. I have achieved anything and everything I ever could have imagined for myself. Now I just enjoy training and racing and giving back to the sport.
PR's:
5KM: 18:16
10KM: 38:41
Half Marathon: 1:27:42
Marathon: 3:08:34
Olympic distance: 2:22
Half Ironman, Vineman 5:03
Ironman Lake Placid: 11:30
Highlights of past season(s):
1. Watching my 7 year old daughter Madison run a 5K with a huge smile on her face and constantly telling me how much fun it was!!
2. In 2011, I trained my heart out to try and do a PR at Vineman 70.3. I ended up smoking my previous best by 9 minutes and qualifying for the 70.3 World Championships in Vegas. It was also my first ever podium at an Mdot race!
Favorite race experience:
In 2000 I ran CIM without a time goal. Just going there to run it with friends and hopefully not be any slower. My previous best was 3:15 so I was hoping for something in that range. We started off and it felt so easy. I was relaxed and chatting with a guy I knew from the Wednesday night runs. This was all pre garmin era. We ran on feel and waited for the mile markers. The mile split readers were saying we were on 3:08 pace. WHAT?? I kept thinking I better slow down. But it felt easy. I kept up the pace AND NEVER SLOWED DOWN!!! HOLY Cow!! We ended up running the entire race together with perfectly even 1:34 splits and finished in 3:08. NO RACE WILL EVER TOP THAT ONE!!!
Worst race experience:
In 2007 I raced Ironman Arizona in April. I had an inflated sense of self and felt I was going there to get a KONA slot (as if?). The day was WINDY (like Wizard of Oz wind). I did not adjust my plan due to the weather and went out too hard on the bike chasing a time goal, and in the last 30 miles skidded into T2 completely gassed. I tried to drop out in T2 but the volunteers would not let me and pushed me out on to the run course. I somehow finished and vowed to always race within myself. I also decided KONA was likely not in the cards for me but I was going to continue training hard and if it happeded some day that would be great.
One unique or interesting fact about you or your life:
I love the LORD!! My husband and I host a weekly Bible study in our home. Both Steve and I speak at IronPrayer events around the country.
Best training advice ever received:
To get fast you need to train fast. HARD, INTENSE training with rest thrown in will make you very FAST!!
