In each monthly issue, Runner Triathlete News will publish one chapter from the new book "Becoming an Ironman." This month's story begins in the December 2001 issue of RTN.

To order your copy of "Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event," send $23 per copy (plus $2.95 per order for shipping/handling) to Runner Triathlete News, P.O. Box 19909, Houston, TX 77224. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery

The way I packed my bike looked like I was going on a picnic--I had lots of food. Of course, I hardly ate any of it. Every time I took a bite of an energy bar it would take me ten minutes of chewing and it wouldn't go anywhere. I'd have to spit it out. I just couldn't get the saliva going.

I handed in a special-needs bag for the bike course, but I never got it. I didn't even know when I was supposed to get it. I was prepared to not get it because people had told me not to rely on it. I remember ten miles after the bike turnaround, where the bags were supposed to be, thinking, 'Hmmm . . . I guess I missed it, but I don't know when I missed it.'

I drank what was on the course and managed to get down a couple of bananas and some the energy replacement drink I had with me. I felt sort of sick much of the time. My stomach wasn't being very receptive. Chewing and breathing at the same time is hard to do. Solid food is not the way to go, but I was able to take in semi-adequate calories. Because I wasn't pushing as hard as I could, I managed not to fall apart.

At one point along the bike course I had to take my feet out of my shoes. My toes ached like mad. They had gone numb--a strange sensation in the middle of lava fields--and wouldn't come back to life until I let them out to breathe. It seems like a little thing, but boy did my toes hurt.

I remember trying to pee on the bike and what an ordeal! I'd start the process on a downhill. By the time I'd almost get started, it was time to go uphill again and I'd have to stop. I never tried this training--I just couldn't see myself riding through the streets of Lincoln with pee running down my legs. My mother's biggest fear when I told her we were doing the Ironman was that I'd go to the bathroom on myself on national television. She'd be horrified.

Even though I felt like I took it easy, my bike split was one of the fastest in all the years I've raced in Hawaii. Starting the run I saw the girls who had passed me on the bike. They weren't too far ahead. I felt pretty good, had a nice rhythm, and passed a lot of girls in the first few miles. I was amazed I felt this good. I found myself running my way up to sixth place. My stomach doesn't like running with food in it, so I was convinced I could get by on water alone. I don't know where I got that idea.

Six or seven miles into it I was clicking off the miles--close to a 7:15 pace. I got up to the Queen K Highway and all of a sudden, people I had passed, mostly men, started passing me. I felt like I was winding down. Oh my god, I didn't train enough. I'm not prepared for this long of a race because I didn't put in enough miles. I have a long way to go. This is going to be hard. I suddenly slowed down to nothing. At nine miles I started walking and did until mile ten. This is crazy.

I knew I would eventually have to switch to Coke. People had told me to wait until the last 10K. But I had to do something right then. I took a cup of it and in thirty seconds I woke up. This isn't bad. I felt better and ran. It only lasted for about three-quarters of a mile. I had gone an hour or more without any calories so I was already depleted. I'd see the aid station up ahead, but I'd start winding down before I got there. I'd arrive, have more Coke, and it would get me another three- quarters of a mile. I did this yo-yo thing for the rest of the race. After a while the calories built up in my system and I began to feel better. But then my legs started to ache.

It was definitely hot. I could see the heat rising from the pavement. I looked around at the lava and there was absolutely no shade anywhere. Part of the allure of the race is that it's stark and barren. It's you against the elements. You're naked out there and there's nowhere to hide.

Michael and I saw each other on the bike and the run. Because of the nature of the course you know you're going to see each other. I was definitely looking for him after each of the turnarounds. We high-fived each other on the run. You go by so quickly, though.

I had one big motivating factor, which was my friend Wendy Ingraham, who had done well in past ironman races. She was up ahead. I knew I was probably a better runner although she was definitely more experienced at the distance. I'd like to get up to where Wendy is. She was in fourth. I finally passed her around mile twenty-two. I had been doing a little walking but when I could see her it was motivation to keep running. I was able to pass her and I knew once she could see me I really couldn't walk anymore.

About a mile before the finish I caught sight of a motorcycle with a cameraman riding next to someone. It was Sue Latshaw. That gave me a big spark because she was in third place. I definitely started picking it up and I was closing and closing on her and then the cameraman turned around as he was going around the corner. He saw me coming so he panned back to me. Sue saw that, which was smart. She realized I was coming and sprinted down the hill and managed to hold me off. If the cameraman hadn't given me away I might have been able to reel her in.

Coming down the final stretch on Alii Drive--in fourth place--I realized how well I had done for my first ironman attempt. I knew I was going to go back. It revitalized me because I had been doing short course for so long and this was something new and something I could get better at. It got me excited again about training and I think it helped me with my short course racing. You have to be careful, and it's hard to do two or three long races a year and do short course, but you can definitely do one or two. From then on Hawaii became a big focus of my season. It's the one race I get really excited about, although I must admit I dread it too.

My parents and I waited at the finish for Michael and Donna, who both arrived a little after eleven hours. In due time we hobbled over to a nearby restaurant for dinner--laughing at our inability to walk. We raised our glasses in a proper postironman toast. We had accomplished our goal and got what we came for: a cold beer.

Karen is one of the few triathletes to master both long-course and short-course distances. She won the Hawaii Ironman in 1995, and five weeks later won the short-course World Championship, making her the only woman to have won both in the same year. She also won the World Championship in 1990, the National Champion title for six consecutive years, the World Cup Series in 1991, the Triathlon Pro Tour in 1993 and 1994, and a gold medal at the 1995 Pan Am Games.