'Holy cow…where did she come from?' exclaimed the stunned race announcer at this month's Ironman 70.3 Panama. He was expecting to announce Leanda Cave or even Margaret Shapiro as the second-place finisher behind champion Angela Naeth. In an unexpected turn of events, Kelly Williamson dashed across the finish line with a come-from-behind -performance to place second overall.

Just a few days after the race, Williamson was back home in Austin, Texas, and sat down with us in between training sessions to discuss her Panama performance, as well as her steady ascension over the past few seasons. 'I don't really have a spectacular story,' she says. 'But if I did, it would be about constantly believing in yourself and never giving up. Yeah, I guess that's my story.'

One thing is certain: It was most definitely her story in Panama.

Williamson got off the bike about 10 minutes behind Naeth. 'The bike took more out of me than I expected,' she admits. 'After the race, a few people even complimented me on my strategy to hold back on the bike, but that wasn't my strategy,' she laughs. 'I was going as hard as I could out there and that was all that was in the tank!'

'[Lance] kicks my butt in every run we do. He's pretty awesome to watch right now.'

In order to have a chance of landing the podium, she had to control her intensity on the first loop and hope for a serious negative split. There were bound to be some implosions ahead as the temperatures climbed into the low 90's. She had run into fifth place by the halfway point, though she wasn't sure of her pace. Since the distance markers were in kilometers, she couldn't rely on the numbers and instead had to listen to her body. Having just endured a frustrating and difficult bike ride that put her in an almost insurmountable deficit to the leaders, this was hard to do. But somehow, with less than three kilometers to go, she passed both Leanda Cave and Margaret Shapiro, securing her second-place finish with an all-out dash to the finish line. Her run split? A blistering 1:16–the fastest time of the day.

Winning last year's race in San Juan

While her gutsy performance in Panama was certainly monumental, her status as one of the country's top professional triathletes has been anything but meteoric. Williamson has been chipping away at her career since she earned her professional card over ten years ago. This former collegiate swimmer from Zionsville, Indiana turned to triathlons after graduating as a way to stay healthy and have fun. Her college swimming friends thought she was crazy because she was back in the pool almost immediately after graduation. 'I couldn't help it,' she jokes. 'I absolutely love to train and race, so I couldn't stay away.'

Early successes led to an invitation to the Resident National Team at the Olympic Training Center in 2002, where she was also named USAT Elite Rookie of the Year and ITU Pan American Champion. While she absolutely loved her time at the training center, she wasn't totally attached to Olympic draft-legal racing. 'I've always liked to do my own thing, have my own space, and accomplish my goals individually,' she writes in her bio. A major bike crash in 2005 proved to be a turning point both personally and professionally. First, she and her husband Derick moved from Colorado to Austin, Texas in 2006. Then, she started training and racing longer distances. Things began to click.

'I definitely think being older has helped my racing and training,' when discussing her recent success. (A list that includes four 70.3 victories, a runner-up spot at last year's Inaugural Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas, a victory and 1:14 personal best at the recent 3M Half Marathon, and multiple podium finishes.) 'I'm more patient and definitely more mature. Plus, I've also just simply learned to appreciate everything more.' Her husband, Derick, owns a coaching company called Durata Training, but acts more as a consultant than coach to Kelly, who still writes her own schedule. 'That said, he has been instrumental in dialing things in for me, getting me to push myself beyond what I would do otherwise, and getting me to believe in myself more than I would have. He's been a huge part of my success.' While most athletes tend to overtrain themselves, her sessions are definitely about quality over quantity. She doesn't necessarily track the number of miles or the amount of hours she puts in per week, she explains. 'Every session has a specific purpose, whether it's power, pace, or recovery. There's no need for a lot of junk miles.'

While she trains a lot by herself on the bike and run, there has been a fun clique of elite triathletes and runners in Austin who hit the trails together each week. This power pack includes Lance Armstrong, who took second place in Panama as well. 'He's quiet, focused and cool,' she says of the seven time Tour de France champion. 'And he kicks my butt in every run we do. He's pretty awesome to watch right now.'

There has been some debate about the 'Lance factor' in triathlon, but Williamson thinks he's good for our up-and-coming sport. 'He raises the bar of competition and has definitely raised the profile of the sport.' She adds that she, like most, didn't get into triathlon for fame or fortune: 'I love what I do and if Lance can bring more recognition, I'm all for it. After all, the sport is still relatively young and we've got a long way to go. It's a process, but I like where it's headed.'

If her race results are any indication, Williamson should love where she's headed, too. Though she doesn't keep as high a profile as some of the other women on the racing circuit, she prefers it that way. 'I like flying below the radar,' she says. 'But by the end of the race, I definitely want people to know who I am.'

Williamson's next race is the Jeep Ironman 70.3 San Juan, a race she won last year. Her stacked race calendar for 2012 also includes Ironman Coeur d'Alene (where she was 3rd in 2010), Ironman 70.3 Texas, several Rev 3 and 5150 races, and hopefully a trip to Vegas and Kona, where she placed 13th overall and 2nd American last year.

'At the end of the day, I just want my results to speak for themselves,' she says. And if her performance continues as it has for the last few seasons, nobody will be asking 'where did she come from?' ever again.

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Carrie Barrett is a USAT Level 1 Certified Coach and freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Her articles have appeared on Livestrong.com, 'Runner Triathlete News', 'Inside Texas Running', and the recent triathlon anthology, 'The Meaning of Tri.' For more information on her coaching, speaking and writing, visit fomotraining.com