'Ironwoman' tests human body's limits Published Sept. 29, 2010 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- "It's unbelievable what the human body is capable of." That's how Yekaterina Karpitskaya described her view of the almost 15 hours it took her to complete a recent Ironman competition. She competed in her first full Ironman Sept. 11 in Madison, Wis. The event consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run. She finished the event with a total time of 14:55:25. Her times for each leg were 1:28:53 for the swim in Madison's Lake Monona, 7:53:54 for the bike ride around Wisconsin and 5:01:02 for the marathon. "I wanted to test the body's limits," explained the 33-year-old orthopedic surgeon from the 81st Surgical Operations Squadron. She had noted previously that she had participated "for all my active-duty and retired patients whose injuries rendered them unable to do such things." Training mainly solo for the event over a span of 20 weeks, Karpitskaya estimated she biked approximately 500 miles, ran another 800 miles and swam 60-80 miles in the base pool. "I did quite a few rides with a local group of triathlon enthusiasts," she said. "We called ourselves 'The Ticking Tri-Bombs.' They really helped me with my cycling. They are Leah McBride, 'SeaBee' Tyler Watters, Allen Stanfield and Darren Koennen." She hopes to participate in another Ironman in November 2011 in Panama City, Fla. She plans to run in a Mississippi Gulf Coast half-marathon in November at Stennis Space Center and a full marathon in January at Walt Disney World. Karpitskaya came to the United States in 1992 from Simferopol, Ukraine, became a naturalized American citizen in 1997 and was commissioned in 1998. She received a bachelor's degree in biology and psychology, a master's degree in neuroscience and her doctor of medicine degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. The "Ironman" completed her orthopedic residency at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Arriving here three years ago, Keesler is her first active-duty assignment.