The Start of the 2012 Season

I will officially start my training for the 2012 season, December 1, 2011. This past month was a much needed break from scheduled training but now I an rejuvenated and extremely excited to start training for the 2012 season! My first big race of the season will be St. George Ironman, May 5th!

Leaving Hawaii, I Will Be Back!!!

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DOUBLE

The Hawaiian Airlines “Double” award is given to the amateur man and woman with the fastest combined 2011 XTERRA World Championship and Ironman Hawaii Championship time, a feat reserved for the world’s leading endurance athletes.  Hawaiian Airlines presents the amateur winners with round trip tickets for two from the U.S. mainland West Coast to Maui while pros race for $2,500 cash.

URETA, KEHOE WIN 2011 HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DOUBLE
Pablo Ureta and Danielle Kehoe won the Hawaiian Airlines “Double” award as the competitors with the fastest combined times from the XTERRA World Championship and the Ironman Hawaii Championship.

Ureta had an Ironman time of 9:18:34 two weeks ago, and finished with an XTERRA World Championship time of 2:46:51. Kehoe had an Ironman time of 10:57:13, and an XTERRA World Championship time of 3:22:14, which was fast enough to win the women’s 20-24 age group.

Ureta and Kehoe each received roundtrip airfare between Maui and the west coast of the United States from Hawaiian Airlines.

There were no professionals, male or female, that completed the Double this year.

Xterra World Championship Race Report

This was my last race of a very successful and exciting, but also long season. How was my body going to feel today after only having two weeks to recover from a very brutal race that took it out of me in more ways than one?

I stayed with a teammate and great friend, Tyler Voltz, who wasn’t feeling great two days leading into the race. Was I in danger of catching the same thing since my immune system was already extremely compromised? The morning of the race I could feel a scratchy feeling in my throat, was this going to affect my performance today?  Endless questions ran through my head as I ate breakfast and made my way to the car for the race.

Once we arrived we set up our transition area, Xterra’s transition area is extremely laid back compared to Ironman. Xterra athletes are more relaxed in general and willing to laugh and be social before the race vs. Ironman athletes. This is a huge contrast because, it is almost as if the race starts right when an Ironman athlete wakes up the morning of the race and god forbid they help you or even crack a smile… J

I absolutely love Xterra for keeping even the World Championship low key because any race that I can go into without pressure allows me to do better!

After setting up transition and making a few new friends I got body marked and then it was time to wait for the start. I headed to the ocean and thank goodness it was calm waters. There had been predictions that a major storm was going to roll in the night prior bringing with it 7 foot waves. However, they were 1 foot waves at best, which was good for me since swimming is my weakest part of triathlon and Xterra.

I warmed up by swimming for about 10 minutes then headed to the beach for the traditional Hawaiian prayer and blessing. Then all the athletes lined up on the beach for a canon start. The professional males wore white caps, professional females were in pink, and the entire amateur field was in yellow. Tyler my teammate tapped me on the shoulder and said “hey, look its Lance Armstrong,” sure enough the pro male right next to us on the starting line was Lance! Dang! he looks different now; he has bulked up significantly since being in the Tour De France. What an experience to start a race with Lance Armstrong right beside you, this was truly special for me!

Bang, the canon erupted, leading to mass chaos as all the athletes ran to the water to start the swim loop of 750 meters. Once you completed your first loop you ran on the beach briefly before diving in the ocean again to do the same loop a second time making it a mile swim. I was proud of my swim because I managed to outpace a few of the professional women and exit the water before them, which normally never happens.

After the swim there is a short run up the beach to the transition area. I quickly got ready for the mountain bike and made a decent transition time. Next year, I need to work on getting this a little faster. Once on the mountain bike, I knew I would need to conserve some energy since the first 8 miles were predominately up hill. However, since I didn’t have an excellent swim I was still caught behind a few people who did not have good bike handling skills. The first two miles were really tight switchbacks and fast corners which lead to some people having to dismount their bikes. The problem was this section of the trail was very narrow and almost impossible to pass. So once they were off their bikes everyone behind them had to get off as well to avoid crashing. This caused everyone to lose their momentum and adds significant time to your race.

After a few miles on the bike it opened up to a jeep road which was my moment to shine. I was able to pass a ton of individuals on the climbs. Unfortunately, for every uphill there must be a downhill and this is where I lost a significant amount of time. I was getting destroyed on the downhills. Since I am fairly new at mountain biking, I still struggle descending at speed and maneuvering through technical terrain. Also, since the dirt was really dry and loose if you were following anyone downhill you couldn’t see a thing in front of you because of the massive dust cloud. At points, I asked myself, “Am I even still on the trail?” I had a 50 year old lady pass me on every downhill like I was standing still, she was telling me to lay off the breaks because I was killing my amazing performance. She was right, I had passed a vast amount of people the first half of the course and yet they were not working any harder than I but flying down with no fear. Since, Ironman was my main focus this year I had not been on my mountain bike for about three months prior to arriving in Maui. I know this contributed to my death-grip on the breaks. In the off season, I am going to work really hard on downhill and technical skills, so I can truly crush this course next year!

Once off the bike course, I knew it was my favorite part of Xterra, the trail run! This was a great run course with super challenging uphill and steep downhill sections. The first three miles were predominately climbing with a few short descents providing a break before the next major climb. After this you looped around a lake at the highest point on the course before making your way to a fast, steep and technical downhill section. I was passing tons of people on the run and I felt fantastic. It was funny because hurting in the Ironman so badly two weeks prior made this feel easy, “in comparison”!  “Only 6.9 miles, that’s not bad at all! I passed one male who said, “Girl, you are breathing really hard, you need to pace yourself, I don’t think you can keep that pace the entire time, you’re going to die out.” I told him I was fine and could hold the pace. He then replied, “You better not let me re-pass you on the run.” I said in a joking but stern voice, “oh, you won’t!” I continued to pass more and more people, only one male passed me on the entire run and it wasn’t the same male who committed to me earlier in the race.  I was having an incredible run and I knew I only had one mile to go. It was the hardest part of the run. There was a steep mud section that you had to use your hands to get up and over then you had a killer climb on the road. I was able to power up the hill and to the last downhill section. Finally, the trail kicked you out onto the beach and up the very last hill to the finish. Here, Kathy my teammate and great friend yelled at me to push as hard as I could. She is such a sweetheart and it was just the words I needed to hear, I ran as hard as I could passing four more males on this stretch alone. I crossed the line with such excitement. I had done it; I finished a fantastic year with a great race. I am the 2011, 20-24 year old female World Champion! But I am more excited about winning the Hawaiian Airlines Double, which is the female fastest combined Ironman and Xterra World Championship overall times. I am the only female in the world to complete Ironman 70.3, Ironman, and Xterra World Championships in 2011! 

Again, thank you to my sponsors, LifeQuest Transitions and Wheat Ridge Cyclery, without you this phenomenal adventure and unforgettable experience could have never been possible. Thank you to my family and friends for all your love and support. Thank you God, for guiding me down a truly glorious journey!

King James Version (KJV)- ⁷I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

2011 Xterra World Championship Video

2011 Season Wrap Up

Wow, what a phenomenal racing season, it has been so much fun! On Sunday, I conquered my last of Three World Championships this season:

Ironman 70.3 – 3 place age group 20-24 female

Ironman -8 place age group 20-24 female

Xterra – World Champion age group 20-24 female

United Airlines Double Female Winner- Fastest combined Ironman and Xterra time for amateur female. I finished my last race on Sunday.

I was the only female in the world this year to finish all three World Championships!

I couldn’t have done it without my amazing Sponsors: LifeQuest Transitions and Wheat Ridge Cyclery! It was so gratifying to not only do all these races but to also race for a cause and gain awareness of invisible wounds! Thank you again to everyone who donated to the Ironman Foundation for LifeQuest!

Lastly, I want to thank my family and friend. Your support, love, prayers is what carried me through this season. It has been six months of constant racing, several Saturday and Sunday back to back races which takes a toll on the body and mind. However, because of all the inspiration I received from the soldiers at LifeQuest and the uplifting motivation from my friends and unending love of my family it was an extremely successful season. With God at my side and guiding me throughout this incredible journey, I knew it was bound to be unforgettable!

Philippians 4:13 - (NIV) ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Meeting Lance Armstrong

You know it's a big deal to meet Lance Armstrong. He has been my hero for so many years and not only will I see Lance Armstrong on Sunday at the Xterra World Championship but I will be starting on the same starting line as him. We will be swimming at the same time, biking the same course at the same time and I will be having a killer race if I even start the run while he is finishing up the run. This is very exciting!!!

Friday Two Days Out Schedule

7:30 Wake up
8:00 Breakfast oatmeal and banana.
8:45 Drive to race site with Tyler Voltz fellow teammate.
9:15 Tyler registered for the race and I got my bike worked on.
10:00 Ran the run course with Tyler.
11:00 Biked the first five miles of the bike course out and then back in for a total of ten miles with Tyler. It is really nice to have a buddy to train with after training on my own so many day in a row.
1300 Went to the store for a early dinner.
1530 Had amazing chicken tacos
1630 Got cleaned up and ready for bed
1700 Relaxed made some calls home
2000 To bed, goodnight!

Follow Me Live During The Xterra World Championship

Join the excitement and follow me live this Sunday as I race in the Xterra World Championship. The race starts at 9am Maui time which is 4 hours earlier then Colorado time. You can follow along at xterramaui.com, www.twitter.com/xterraoffroad and/or www.facebook.com/xterraplanet. I am super excited, hope to represent USA extremely well, and make you all very proud!!!

Bike Issues Two Days Out From The Xterra World Championship! Yikes!!!

Wow, I have had a very stressful past two days because I have had one malfunction after another regarding my Mountain Bike. All the mechanics know me by name because I have had so many issues. First, it wasn't shifting correctly. Then the chain was falling off the bottom wheel because the teeth were so warren out from use, so I had this replaced. Then the rear derailler broke during my preride of the course. Great, a very expensive fix. I placed stands in the wheel and it wasn't seeding correctly. Lastly, I had a fellow teammate Jason look at my bike and he couldn't believe how loose a lot of the bolts were and helped realign the front break pads so the wheel will not rub on the rotor as much. Thank God this all happened before the race. I pray everything is all dialed in now for the race. Please God, no bike mechanical issues during the race!

Neural Warm-Up on the Beach!

Just Previewed the Xterra World Championship Bike Course

It is a fantastic course! There is a ton of climbing as predicted. The first climb is super steep up a cement path which kicks you out onto the first trail. The first three miles included a ton of switchbacks and blind turns. This is going to be fine during the race because the slowest individuals will be off this part of the course by the time the professionals are exiting the course utilizing the same trail the opposite direction. However, during practice hours athletes are starting the course as they please leading to a lot of head on traffic which might end up being a major safety issue. A lot of the athletes are not aware of this and are flying through the turns and having to slam on their breaks to miss colliding with you head on.  Once you safely make it through this section you enter the start of a huge circle. The first eight miles are predominantly uphill with a few short downhill sections.  Luckily, for me there isn’t anything too technical on the entire course. There are a few hairy downhill sections but nothing unridable.  

At mile 12 is another long climb which is the last big push before entering the same blind switchback section to exit the bike course. Should be a great course come race day. Lots of space for passing which is great for a World Championship! Come on climbing legs, I will definitely need you come Sunday!!!

Xterra Worlds Coming Up Fast

Wow, just a few days away from the World Championship. I am headed to race check in and then I will preview the bike course for the first time, I cannot wait! I will let you know what I think of it when I get back!

Bible Verse for Inspiration

Isaiah 40:31

King James Version (KJV)

 ³¹But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Wounded Vets Move Back to Health, One Adventure at a Time

Please watch for more insight of what we do on a daily basis at LifeQuest Transitions. If you would like to donate to LifeQuest through the Ironman Foundation program please do so at the following link:
http://ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/lifequest
Thank you so much!
Danielle Kehoe

Swimming with Sea Turtles

Today, I went swimming in the ocean to prep for the Xterra World Championship this Sunday. As I was exiting the water a lady committed to me that I was swimming right next to a huge sea turtle. Really? I didn’t even notice, so I stood on the beach and scanned the surf to locate him. Sure enough, after about three minutes of waiting, a huge head popped up and immediately I ran out into the Ocean to swim beside him. To my surprise there wasn’t just one but three honu’s (Hawaiian for Sea Turtle). I got to swim with these gentle giants for half an hour, it was absolutely amazing!

Xterra World Championship 2011 - Building My Mountain Bike

Helicopter Tour of Kauai

How Can You Tell It's Xterra Time???

My Room in Maui

Maui Studio - Outrigger Royal Kahana

View From my Balcony

Ironman Foundation: It's not to late to Donate!!!

Please go to the following website to make your donation today to help our soldiers:
http://ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/lifequest
Thank you so much!!!
Danielle Kehoe

Xterra 2011 Bike Course Preview- Video

Xterra Worlds- Oh Baby!!! Bring it on!!!

Now it is time for the Xterra World Championship in Maui, October 23! This is a whole new breed of Triathlon. Xterra is an off road triathlon, which means a rough open water swim in this case the ocean, mountain biking various terrains, finally running dirt trail, sandy beaches, over rocks, roots and even lava rock. Xterra is considered significantly more anaerobic then regular triathlon with punchy hills, and obstacles that shoot your heart rate up instantly.  This course is said not to be technical but still extremely difficult with vast amounts of climbing both on the bike and run. I cannot wait! I am super excited to see the course and race my final race of my season. I hope to cap it off the 2011 season with a fantastic race!

2011 Xterra World Championship Bike/ Run Course

Please see that the bike section is in blue because both bike and blue start with B and the run section is in red because again both run and red start with R. This is how it will be marked on the actual course race day so racers do not get confused!

START AND SWIM: The race starts with a 1.5-kilometer rough water swim at D.T. Flemings Beach fronting the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. Pros are easy to spot with their identifying swim caps - men in blue and women in pink.  A short beach sprint mid-race between two 750-meter laps of a triangular course gives spectators a chance to pick out their friends and family from the field.

BIKE: The bike is one big loop that goes up-and-down the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains more than a dozen times. “First blush of the bike course shows 18.3 miles with more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain,” said Nicholas.  “The terrain varies from hard-packed red dirt to new single track peeled out of an abandoned golf course that now rides like high speed grassland cross-country trails.  There are major gulch crossings that drop into river beds and head-high vegetation to navigate through. One thing is for certain, to do well riders will need to bring their climbing legs and descending courage.”

RUN:  Once on the run competitors will be faced with 6.1 mile course with a whole lot of climbing while they weave along dirt trails, through Oleander forests, and into 60-foot high ironwood evergreens to an unexpected mountain lake at the 650-foot level.

“It descends like a slalom course through high green Bermuda grasses and opens up in spots to expose fantastic views of the Pacific,” explains Nicholas.  “Obstacles are everywhere, including a technical, steep downhill into a gully where racers will have to jump over and duck under fallen trees, navigate a rocky dry creek, head through thick elephant grass, into a Cook pine nursery, up a short rope-assisted scramble and along a narrow single track trail with switchbacks that drop all the way down to the beach.  The final test of skill and endurance is a calf-busting 250-meter white sand beach run and of course, one-last uphill back to the Ritz.”

FINISH: There’s food booths, the Paul Mitchell cut-a-thon, XTERRA Gear shop, the Kona Brewing Liquid Aloha Lounge, and a front row seat to one of the greatest spectacles in all of sport - the spontaneous, ecstatic, and sometimes tear-jerking displays of emotion at the finish line.

I got all this information off the Xterra Official Website: http://www.xterraplanet.com/maui/worldChamps.html

Please check it out if you would like more details!

Xterra Bike and Run Profiles



 Xterra Bike Profile

As you can see it is a ton of climbing at the start then has a decent downhill in the middle section and then another good climb before some short rollers and a downhill finish back to transition before starting the run section!



Xterra Run Profile

Again out of transition is a long climb to the highest point of the run course before coming down a steep decent back to grueling beach finish!

Here is what I can gather from the profile images of the course, we are not allowed on the course to preview it until Wednesday. I cannot wait to see it firsthand!!!

2011 Xterra Course Preview-Slideshow

7 Days till Xterra Worlds!!!

WHAT IS XTERRA: The world’s premier off-road triathlon, combining a 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) rough water swim, a 29.5-kilometer (18.3-miles) mountain bike and a 9.8-kilometer (6.1-miles) trail run best described as a tropical roller-coaster ride through pineapple fields and forests.

WHO RACES IN MAUI: A capacity field of 650 athletes from 28 countries and 42 U.S. states including professionals and amateurs.

WHEN: The XTERRA World Championship starts at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 23, 2011.

WHERE: The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Hiking on the Na Pali Coast

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2011

Thank you!

It is a few days after the race and I am overwhelmed by all the support, and inspiration I received this past week. I am so blessed to have such a phenomenal family, and so many caring friends that carried me throughout the race!!!

Preface: Ford Ironman World Championship Race Report

The night before the race, I was feeling extremely anxious. It is the moment where you know in the next 24 hours depending on how you do it could potentially change your life. I have competed in several huge races in my life so far and I am still waiting for the perfect race on the grand stage. Could it be tomorrow? Or, will I have yet again a streak of bad luck; bike mechanics, illness, or injury?

Anyone, who has followed my racing career, knows that when I am having a good season it is Great, but when I am not, it is pretty terrible. I have qualified for ten World Championships between Triathlon and Xterra and have been National Champion in both. Not bad for a 24 year old, but what you might not know is the bad racing streak I have also experienced throughout the years and usually at the races that matter most. Last year alone, I had two very bad bike crashes that not only broke the bike frames I was riding at the time but also two helmets. This trauma will make anyone timid on the bike which costed me winning some pretty serious races the rest of the season.

Prior to this race season, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Did I lose my tenacity to compete? But at the end of last year’s season I was introduced to Adventure Racing by LifeQuest Transitions which changed everything. I learned that not only could I race for 20 plus hours but I got stronger throughout the duration of the race. This was the moment I know I could tackle my childhood dream of finishing an Ironman and perhaps qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona.

I signed up for Ironman St. George in May, which was only made possible through the support of Wheat Ridge Cyclery. This was the start of an outstanding racing season. If you have not read the race report and are interested please see my blog. This is where I qualified for the Ford Ironman World Championship.

At the end of this racing season I will have competed in a total of fifteen races. Three of which are World Championships, 70.3 Ironman which is a half ironman distance triathlon where I placed 3rd in the 24 & under age group, Ironman I placed 8th in my age group and soon the Xterra World Championships, which is an off road triathlon. I am Mountain Regional Champion for Xterra and a series winner for the Boulder series triathlons. I competed in four Adventure races including my longest race to date 36 hours. My very first ever 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race the Bailey Hundo, the furthest I have been on a mountain bike by far in one day. My training this summer consisted of racing nearly every weekend. I did some crazy back to back races, for example, the Bailey Hundo Mountain Bike race on Saturday and the next day the Boulder Sprint Triathlon. I also did an Adventure race on Saturday and an Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. This is by far the most racing I have ever done in one season. I had two overall first place finishes, four age group first place finishes, 2 second place finishes, and one third place finish.

This was the year that everything was coming together, except for a digestive issue that has been causing major pain the past few months. I have had a on and off case of diarrhea that was hampering my training and was becoming progressively more severe. I had several tests done and still no answers as to what was causing it and how to cure it. It would appear most often whenever I would run, and once it hit me my running pace would just collapse.

I thought I was in the clear because I went two and half weeks before Kona without any issues. Unfortunately this was not the case.

Ford Ironman World Championship Race Report

I woke up at 4:00 AM ready to race! There was so much hype leading up to the race the past week I was ready to get on with it. I ate my usual pre-race breakfast, oatmeal and banana and had some pedia-light which I absolutely swear by! I put on my race uniform and drove down to the race start. There were an overwhelming number of athletes arriving at transition simultaneously. We were herded like cattle through a chute for body marking. Here is where you say goodbye to your loved ones and continue alone. After getting your number stamped with a template on both arms (1928 the year before the great depression) I was directed to get weighed in. The last time I weighed in for a sporting event was back in High School when I was the only freshman and the first ever female wrestler for Holy Family High School. The reason why they weigh you for Ironman is to determine if you need medical assistance immediately during or after the race if you lose too much weight. Finally, they take you into the transition area where you can do last minute preparations on your bike and gear before the race starts. I did my normal pre-race checklist and was super excited to start my race. I left the transition area with a great feeling that today was going to be my perfect race day!

I got to see my mother, father and boyfriend, the best support crew anyone could ask for, one last time before officially heading to the race start. The pro men and women started 30 minutes before the age groupers and then it was our turn. There was over 1800 age group competitors and I knew if I wanted to get a good start position on the swim I would have to tread water for a few minutes, 20 minutes to be exact. I entered the water and swam straight to the start line. I positioned myself front row center. 20 minutes of treading water feels like forever when you are preparing for the biggest race of your life so far. The man next to me had done 8 Kona Ironman races and said we were in the best starting spot. Race officials paddled back and forth on surf boards to make sure everyone stayed behind the starting line. It wasn’t bad at first but the last three minutes before the start cannon everyone wanted to be on the front row and it turned into a mash pit in the water, everyone was kicking and pushing each other for position, it was out of control. Finally, the starting cannon erupted and we were off. I have never in my life felt like I was swimming so hard and not moving an inch. Every stroke seemed like I could only feel bodies and no water. You had to swim with your head above water for the first minute otherwise you were getting pummeled in the head by arms and legs. I don’t remember getting this beaten up even back in the day during my wrestling matches. It slowly started to spread out but I swam in a group the entire duration of the swim, 2.4 miles. Right before the turn around buoy a gentlemen clocked me on the bridge of my nose; it was extremely painful and created an instant headache which lasted for the duration of the race. Once I could see the dock to exit the water I was super excited, please God get me out of this water and onto my bike! The swim took me 1:13:17, 4 minutes longer then Ironman St. George. Currents in the ocean were definitely a factor. I was disappointed with myself but so happy to get on the bike, my favorite part of the race.

Once you exited the ocean by running up stairs that were installed just for the race you ran through transition. The first section had about 20 hoses hanging from the tent canopy to allow participants to rinse off the sand and salt water. I bypassed this opportunity and headed directly to the women’s changing tent. For Ironman races they have gender specific changing tents where you change before the next element of the race. Here I slipped off my 2XU speed suit, which is fantastic if you are looking for a good speed suit. I pulled on my compression sleeves for my legs and placed on my socks and biking shoes. I had a volunteer who at the same time was putting on my racing belt. She was super sweet and collected my goggles, cap and speedsuit and placed them in my bike gear bag as I was running out of the tent to collect my bike. I had several people screaming my name, “Go Danielle” all the way through transition. Once I reached my bike I tossed on my helmet and sunglasses, grabbed my bike off the rack and raced out of transition which took me a total time of 3:07.

There is a designated bike mount in every triathlon where you cannot get on your bike before this line. There were about six people mounting their bikes at the same time. You have the option to mount the bike with your shoes already clipped on your bike or to wear your shoes and run through transition with your bike. I chose the second option, I already had my shoes on and mounted the bike with no problems until another competitor was trying to put his feet into his shoes already attached to his pedals, the first option, and wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. Before I knew it I was being edged into the fence line by another racer. Since I was in race mood I was pretty upset and informed him he needed to pay attention in a very stern voice. I felt bad about this a few second later, but, no time to worry about the past, it’s time to race!

The bike course is a 112 miles of grueling, hot, humid riding. The first ten miles takes you through town and you feel like you just entered the Tour De France with the cheering crowds that pave Kuakini Highway. Here I saw my phenomenal cheering squad twice and they let me know I was in 14th place in my age group out of the water and I would have to ride incredibly hard to catch the leaders. After seeing them I was headed to the Queens Ka’ahumanu Highway which is the majority of the bike leg about 90% leading you through the Lava fields to the small village of Hawi. The majority of outward journey is slightly uphill to Hawi the last seven miles of the ride being much more of a climb into the tiny town of Hawi, pronounced(Havi), this is the turnaround point on the bike where you head back down into Kona. The first 80 miles on the bike went fantastic, I was making up significant amounts of time on all the women in my age group and things were looking great. Then it hit me! I could feel a stabbing sensation in my abdominal region and knew it was going to make for a long marathon. It was as if someone let all the air out of my tires, I instantly started to slow down due to the cramping. I was getting really gassy and the pain started to move towards my chest cavity. Ouch! Instantly my thinking changed from could I win this race to will I be able to finish! I weighed the pros and cons in my head to continue or not. Will I harm my health by finishing, I could not know for sure but I determined to finish as long as I could still move. I thought of the entire LifeQuest community and wounded soldiers back home that I was racing for and I wasn’t going to let them down for anything. They are going to have to drag me off this race course before I give up! Each minute I felt more awful yet my will to finish strengthened! I had three race competitors ride beside me and say, are you OK? You’re losing so much salt that your biking shorts are no longer black they are white. You need sodium tablets immediately. Great, what am I going to do I don’t have any with me. This was the biggest learning lesson of the day. Don’t do an Ironman without Sodium Tablets!!! I was getting closer to the bike transition and my family informed me I was now in third place in my age group. I finished the bike split in 5:32:13. Wow, so close to having a fantastic race and now I have a marathon to run and I know I will have “the runs” in no time, this should be interesting!!!

At transition bike catchers stand at the bike dismount line to receive your bike when you come into transition. Once you hand them your bike you race through transition saying your race number so that the volunteers can retrieve your running gear bag for you before you reach the changing tents again. Here I changed into running shorts, put on a running hat and my running shoes. Quickly, I was out the tent and out onto the run course this transition took me 3:39.

The first two miles were surprisingly strong and I thought to myself, oh this is great maybe I will be ok… On your race number is your name so the crowds can cheer you on, and boy did they. “Danielle you are looking great keep it up” or “Wow, Danielle you look so strong.” Heck yes, I look strong I was saying in my head but my stomach rumbled a different tune. By mile seven my stomach overwhelmed my mind and I headed to the nearest porta-potty where I spent what seemed like eternity!!! By the time I exited I was shaking and the cheering drastically changed to “Girl, you can get through this, hang in there!” Fantastic, the crowd even knows I am dying inside! What was worse was I left transition before reapplying sunscreen to my shoulders because I was in such a hurry. Now I could feel my skin boiling to add an additional element to the fun! I had another 20 miles to go down the hottest part of the run course. I was back on the Queens Ka’ahumanu Highway running to the energy lab, where electricity is produced from the heat in the ground because it is so naturally hot, this is where the run course turnaround is located. The run course includes four miles inside the lab facility and this is where most people absolutely hit the wall, finally only seven miles back into town to the finish! During St. George I was feeling so great on the run that I needed to walk for only about 2 minutes the entire race. I was able to complete my first marathon ever in 3:46. The St. George Course was one thousand percent hillier than Kona. Today however, I had to walk at almost every aid station located one mile apart throughout the run to bring my stomach halfway under control. In the energy lab, I had to take yet another pit stop in the porta-potty, more wasted time! Upon leaving the energy lab I recognized I was on the home stretch. I looked at my watch and calculated I was getting close to finishing over 11 hours; this thought was unconceivable to me. No way am I going to have 11 in my time. It took everything I had to force myself to jog/run the last five miles. My stomach was doing flips and again the soldiers I was racing for popped into my head. I know I was in pain but nothing like a lot of these young men and women had been through. Then it was as if God was reading my mind and I saw on the other side of the road still making his outward journey toward the energy lab was a gentlemen with two prosthetic legs, running! Wow, if he can run after swimming and biking then I can too. I was able to make it back into town where the cheering was so inspirational and uplifting. I could hear the voices of my parents, boyfriend so clear through the crowds. Andy from Wheat Ridge Cyclery was at the head of a funnel of people you had to run though to get to the finish line. What a truly emotional and powerful feeling it was to cross the finish line at 10:57:13. Not the time I had anticipated at the start of the day but under the circumstances, I was very happy!

At the finish line, they have athlete catchers because many Ironman finishers actually collapse upon finishing. Here I was helped directly to the medical tents where I received my first ever IV after a race. My heart rate would not come down and my sodium levels were very low. They had me drink chicken broth because I was shivering uncontrollably. My volunteer doctor, Peter was amazing and didn’t leave my bed side. The sight of looking at all the other cots occupied by athletes was extremely humbling. Ironman Kona is a course that takes a huge toll on all its finishers!
After a long time, I was released to hug my parents and boyfriend. I had done it; I finished my first of hopefully many more Ironman World Championships!!!

Throughout this race I was also raising money for LifeQuest transitions, I want to thank everyone who helped by making a donation to this wonderful cause to help out our ill, injured, and wounded soldiers!

Epilogue: Ford Ironman World Championships

I am currently in Maui, preparing for the XTERRA World Championship held October 23, 2011. Please continue following my journey on my blog: http://kehoeadventure.blogspot.com/.

If you feel inspired to make a donation to LifeQuest you can do so at this website: ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/lifequest. Please forward to anyone you think may be interested!

Thank you so much again!
Danielle Kehoe

Ironman setting up transition

Day Before the Race - Ironman Swim and prep.

Ironman Pre-Race Banquet

Ironman Pre-Race Banquet from Danielle Kehoe on Vimeo.

Day off - Volcano National Park

Day off - Honu's (Sea Turtles)

Ironman runners, swim, and bloopers

Ironman Foundation Athlete Welcoming

Ironman Parade of Nations

Wednesday 10-5-2011

7:00 Breakfast- Banana
7:10 Run down to the swim start- 2 miles
7:30 Morning Swim (2.4 miles) Whole course, it was extremely choppy today, actually uncommonly heavy swells for Maui.
9:45 Brunch- egg whites, cheese, and veggies
11:00 Interview with 3 Go Magazines at Lava Java
1:00 Bike ride to try out new LQ uniform, did some surges on the bike and felt fantastic today
4:00 Ironman Foundation Athletes get together, I got to talk about LifeQuest Transitions to some very influential people.
7:00 Dinner – turkey salad, with rice, yummy!!!
8:15 Goodnight!

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LifeQuest Transitions

Alica.Pino@lqtransitions.org
719-596-9929
6125 Omaha Blvd
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80915

Young local athlete to race in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 8th while raising funds for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers.

Colorado Springs, Colorado-September 27th, 2010- Danielle Kehoe, a 24 year old age-group elite athlete, is a Colorado native that qualified for the Ironman World Championships. Kehoe is one of seven athletes featured by the Ironman Foundation, which highlights racers who seek to raise funds for charity. Kehoe will be raising funds for LifeQuest Transitions, a non-profit where she works as a personal trainer and life coach for our Military’s wounded, ill and injured.
Kehoe’s passion for racing started at an early age. She has been racing competitively in triathlons since she was seven years old, so it was no surprise that she beat out her many competitors with a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run (her first ever marathon) to qualify. However, Kehoe races for a bigger cause that is very close to her heart. The Ironman Foundation’s mission is to “leave Ironman's legacy through philanthropy, voluntarism and grant making; by supporting various athletic, community, education, health, human services and public benefit non-profits.” Ironman will feature these athletes during the race on October 8th, 2011, with special offers for donations and will even match donations at different points in the race. Last year, the event was live streamed to over five million viewers. Spread the word about the Ironman Foundation and watch one of our very own local athletes compete with the world’s best.
“I will be thinking about each of the soldiers I have worked with throughout my Ironman race and even in the low moments of exhaustion, fatigue, and mental questioning I will know that there are so many men and women who have been through so much more, and have succeeded!” –Danielle Kehoe
Anyone can donate to Danielle’s cause by visiting her Ironman Foundation page: http://ironman.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=994040&supid=338566524.
LifeQuest Transitions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is “to empower our Nation’s military service members with life skills that enable personal growth, promote leadership development and facilitate positive change during transition into, through and beyond military life.” Visit us on the web at www.myLQ.org.

Ironman Swim and Packet Pickup

Tuesday 10-5-2011

Morning Swim- 1 mile

Packet Pick Up

Breakfast- Banana, Egg Whites, Peanut Butter and Crackers, Fresh Pineapple

Nap

Parade of Nations

Attended the start of the Triathlon Expo

Dinner

Bed time- 8:45pm

Monday 10-4-2011

Morning Swim- 2.4 miles

Breakfast- Banana, Egg Whites, Peanut Butter and Crackers

Nap on the way to Hawi

Bike Ride down from Hawi

Run the Natural Energy Lab section of the course

Dinner (Picnic by the Ocean) during the sunset

Bed time -8:30pm

Please Help Danielle Race for a Great Cause!!!!

As you may know, Danielle Kehoe will be competing in the Ironman World Championships this coming Saturday, October 8, 2011, proudly wearing LifeQuest colors. She is one of eight athletes featured by the Ironman Foundation to help raise funds for her charity of choice, LifeQuest Transitions. This has big potential for LifeQuest, if we help her by getting the word out. Please share Danielle’s site with friends, family and whomever else you’re comfortable reaching out to via email, Facebook, Twitter, and any other means you feel inclined to use. On the day of the race, Ironman will feature Danielle for a ½ hour period, where Ironman will match all donations within that time frame. You can follow her on the day of the race at http://ironmanlive.com/.

To make a donation or find more information, visit Danielle’s Ironman Foundation Page:

http://ironman.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=994040&lis=1&kntae994040=B79A6B4E3A9D4EB9BF35D6A0F8C9CC38&supId=338566524

Danielle’s BlogSpot:

http://kehoeadventure.blogspot.com/


About Danielle:

Danielle Kehoe is a certified American College of Sports Medicine – Health Fitness Specialist (ACSM-HFS) and applies her degree in Human Performance and Adult Fitness and Exercise Science daily at LifeQuest. Danielle’s responsibilities at LifeQuest Transitions include coaching wounded, ill, and/or injured soldiers during physical training sessions and within more focused adaptive mobility training groups. The training that she conducts with LifeQuest participants vastly shortens the cycle to physical resilience and helps our wounded, injured, and ill soldiers to heal themselves.

Danielle is an accomplished endurance athlete having qualified for ten World Championships between triathlon and XTERRA. She holds titles for her age group in both Triathlon and XTERRA National Championships. She also competed in the first Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing National Championship last year in Moab, Utah. She currently races elite for LifeQuest Transitions. Danielle just competed in her first Ironman on May 7, 2011 at the St. George Ford Ironman. Her impressive finish secured her an opportunity to race in the Kona Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, by winning her age group and placing 2nd overall amongst amateur females with a time of 10:46:44. She is training extremely hard to represent us at the highest level in Kona, Hawaii October 8, 2011. Then she will be competiting in the XTERRA World Championship two weeks later in Maui, Hawaii, October 23, 2011.



Let’s help Danielle get the word out about her cause and help her reach the $50,000 Ironman Foundation fundraising goal!!! Please let me or Alicia know if you would like to get further involved. Thank you!

Ironman Run - Natural Energy Lab

Ironman Bike from Hawi to Kona

Product Tip of the Day - Biking Shoes

Tip of the Day - Gear

Ironman World Championship Swim (Point Of View)

Ironman World Championship Pre-Race Bike Ride

Ironman World Championship Pre-Race Swim

Here is the 24 & Under Competition!

1920 Katharina Grohmann F 24 F18-24 GER

1921 Verena Rau F 24 F18-24 GER

1922 Julia Reichert F 24 F18-24 CAN

1923 Larisa Marsh F 24 F18-24 NZL

1924 Claire Geiger F 24 F18-24 USA

1925 Whitney Engle F 24 F18-24 USA

1926 Katie Araujo F 24 F18-24 USA

1927 Monica Obsitos F 24 F18-24 USA

1928 Danielle Kehoe F 24 F18-24 USA

1929 Ling Er Choo F 24 F18-24 SIN

1930 Vanessa Larrosa Poveda F 24 F18-24 ESP

1931 Morgan Anderson F 24 F18-24 USA

1932 Jade Garrett F 24 F18-24 GBR

1933 Tatiana Vertiz F 24 F18-24 MEX

1934 Chelsea Tiner F 24 F18-24 USA

1935 Rahel Bättig F 23 F18-24 SUI

1936 Annamarie Hofstetter F 23 F18-24 USA

1937 Thays Santos F 23 F18-24 BRA

1938 Jessica Simpson F 23 F18-24 AUS

1939 Rachel Lindner F 23 F18-24 USA

1940 Vanessa Pereira F 23 F18-24 POR

1941 Madian Ramirez F 23 F18-24 MEX

1942 Erin Holmes F 22 F18-24 USA

1943 Gina Nourmohamadian F 21 F18-24 USA

1944 Chloe Lane F 21 F18-24 AUS

1945 Kelly Kingma F 19 F18-24 USA

If you have been following my blog, I did a race report on Ironman St. George back in May. If you recognize the name underlined above Katharina from GER, she is the one I had to chase down to qualify for the Ford Ironman World Championship. Since only one slot was awarded to our age-group even though we both beat all the boys in our age-group! She is extremely tough competition. If you don't know the story check it out, I am excited to race her yet again!!!

Overall, there is some extremely stiff competition showing up for the World Championship, 12 USA Women and 14 abroad Women

Sunday - 7 Days Out Till Race Day

• Wake up - 7:00am
• Breakfast- Banana
• Morning Swim- Swam the entire swim course 2.4 miles. It was incredible, the water temp is perfect and the fish and coral the entire duration of the swim is breath taking!
• Run back to the Apartment- 3 miles. Felt pretty good on the run, but man, is it Hot out here!
• Brunch- Fresh Mango, Granola, Yogurt, Acai Juice
• Nap
• Drive the Entire Bike Course
• Rode the Majority of the Way out on the Bike Course
• Had a Picnic on the Rocks with the Best Support Crew Ever by the Ocean
• Drove back to the Apartment and on the Way Stopped at to Watch the Sunset over the Ocean Water
• Had a Fest, Salad and Salmon for Dinner
• Now time for bed, Goodnight!
• What an incredible Day!!!

Ford Ironman World Championship Courses

Swim (2.4 miles/3.86 km)

The swim course is an elongated rectangle that is more than one mile long and 100 yards wide. It starts on the east side of Kailua Pier, goes south to the turnaround vessel and returns to the pier. Athletes must swim in a clockwise direction, keep all marker buoys on their right and swim around the turnaround vessel. The start line is located in the water approximately 60 yards from

shore. The swim finish line will be accentuated by one or more colorful “targets.” Lane lines will mark the channel to the swim exit. Even with these race day targets, it is highly recommended that for training and even on race day, athletes use the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel as a reference.

The water temperature is expected to be 79 degrees Fahrenheit. There is usually no surf, but athletes may encounter small swells parallel to the course. Wind chop does not usually occur early in the morning. Currents vary, but are usually weak when moving across the course.

Bike (112 miles/180.2 km)

The bike course begins as athletes exit the transition area, located at Kailua Pier. Athletes will travel up Palani Road to Kuakini Highway then left on to Kuakini Highway (toward the Old Airport Park). Athletes will next make a right turn on to Makala Boulevard traveling toward the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. Athletes turn right on the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway to Palani Road and make a right turn on to Palani Road. (Please note:the Palani Road descent is a NO PASS ZONE. Penalties will be issued to aggressive cyclists.) Athletes make a left turn on to Kuakini Highway to Kahakai Estates Subdivision and return back along Kuakini to Palani Road. Athletes turn right up Palani and then left on to the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway and travel north to Hawi. Along the route, the terrain is rolling with several quarter- to one-mile hills that reach a maximum grade of about 6 percent (six foot rise for each 100 feet of distance).

The bike turnaround is located in Hawi and is one of the official checkpoints on the course. After the turnaround, athletes will be headed back toward town along the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, all the way to Makala Boulevard. Athletes turn right on Makala Boulevard to Kuakini Highway and turn left on Kuakini Highway to Palani Road. Finally, athletes turn right on Palani Road and continue to the transition area. The first aid station is located 15.2 miles out and additional aid stations will be located approximately every seven miles after that along the bike course.

Aid Stations

There will be 11 aid stations along the bike course offering:

Ironman PERFORM sports drink
Water
PowerBars
PowerBar Gels
Bananas

Run (26.2 miles/42.2 km)

To begin the marathon, athletes will exit transition and travel up Palani Road then right on to Kuakini

Highway to Hualalai Road. Athletes turn right on Hualalai Road then left on to Ali’i Drive, continuing south on Ali’i Drive to St. Peters Church near Kahalu’u Beach. This is the run turnaround and one of the checkpoints on the run course. After completing the turnaround, athletes head north on Ali’i Drive to Hualalai Road. Athletes turn right on Hualalai Road to Kuakini Highway and then turn left. Proceeding north on Kuakini Highway to Palani Road, athletes turn right on Palani Road to Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway. Athletes travel left on to the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway to Natural Energy Road at the Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority (NELHA); travel in and out of Natural Energy Road and back onto the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway toward town. Athletes turn right on Palani Road, left on Kuakini Highway, right on Hualalai and right on Ali’i Drive to the finish line! Aid stations will be located approximately one mile apart along the course.

There will be aid stations every mile on the run course offering:

Ironman PERFORM sports drink
Water
PowerBars
PowerBar Gels
Fruit
Cola

Thank you - Ironman Foundation

Thank you everyone who has made a donation to my Ironman Foundation!

http://ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/lifequest

I truly appreciate your support of a very worthy cause.

Please keep them coming, I really want to make my goal to help the soldiers!

Danielle Kehoe

Ironman Foundation

I will be competing in the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona and the Xterra World Championships in Maui this October. I work for LifeQuest Transitions as a personal coach for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers.

LifeQuest and Wheat Ridge Cyclery are sponsoring me in both races and providing me with the amazing opportunity to race for a worthy cause. Please see my personal Donation Webpage hosted by the Ironman Foundation. http://ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/lifequest

The Ironman Foundation will be featuring LifeQuest Transitions and myself on the website seen above and during the live streaming of the Ironman on the internet October 8th. I would ask that you visit this website and make a pledge to support these brave men and women who have served our country so faithfully and need your help!

If you are considering making a contribution and are interested in following the race live, please visit this website: http://ironmanlive.com/. If you make your contribution during the race, Ironman Foundation will be offering additional incentives such as matching donations to make your generous gift even more valuable.

Thank you for helping to make my race become an integral part of the recovery of our wounded service men and women!

Please follow me on my blog for pre-race, race, and post-race write-ups at http://kehoeadventure.blogspot.com/ and via twitter @LQtransition.

Have a glorious day,
Danielle Kehoe
P.S. Have your friends join the excitement and please forward this message onto them, thank you!

Morning song/sunrise with the ukelele

Good morning...from our first hotel

First night at the first hotel

At the airport!

Tip of the day - Speed Helmet

Packing is a All Day Job!

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LifeQuest Transitions
Alica.Pino@lqtransitions.org
719-596-9929
6125 Omaha Blvd
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80915

Young local athlete to race in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 8th while raising funds for wounded, ill, and injured soldiers.

Colorado Springs, Colorado-September 27th, 2010- Danielle Kehoe, a 24 year old age-group elite athlete, is a Colorado native that qualified for the Ironman World Championships. Kehoe is one of seven athletes featured by the Ironman Foundation, which highlights racers who seek to raise funds for charity. Kehoe will be raising funds for LifeQuest Transitions, a non-profit where she works as a personal trainer and life coach for our Military’s wounded, ill and injured.

Kehoe’s passion for racing started at an early age. She has been racing competitively in triathlons since she was seven years old, so it was no surprise that she beat out her many competitors with a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run (her first ever marathon) to qualify. However, Kehoe races for a bigger cause that is very close to her heart. The Ironman Foundation’s mission is to “leave Ironman's legacy through philanthropy, voluntarism and grant making; by supporting various athletic, community, education, health, human services and public benefit non-profits.” Ironman will feature these athletes during the race on October 8th, 2011, with special offers for donations and will even match donations at different points in the race. Last year, the event was live streamed to over five million viewers. Spread the word about the Ironman Foundation and watch one of our very own local athletes compete with the world’s best.

“I will be thinking about each of the soldiers I have worked with throughout my Ironman race and even in the low moments of exhaustion, fatigue, and mental questioning, I will know that there are so many men and women who have been through so much more, and have succeeded!” –Danielle Kehoe

Anyone can donate to Danielle’s cause by visiting her Ironman Foundation page: http://ironman.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=994040&supid=338566524.

LifeQuest Transitions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is “to empower our Nation’s military service members with life skills that enable personal growth, promote leadership development and facilitate positive change during transition into, through and beyond military life.” Visit us on the web at http://www.mylq.org/.

St. George Ironman Report

Don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot do something due to lack of strength, courage, or knowledge. I truly believe that if you set your mind to achieving a goal anything is possible!!!

Growing up, I would sit and watch the Kona Ironman World Championship on television every year and tell my parents that one day I would do that race!

Once I arrived in St. George I attended the mandatory pre-race meeting. After it concluded, I addressed the race director and informed him that it was my first Ironman ever and that I had a question for him. He was extremely nice and said, “What is your question?”  I asked, “how many spots to Kona do you expect to award in the 24 & under female category” he looked at me like I was crazy. He replied, “That is a very difficult age group to get a spot and since this is your first Ironman you should be happy if you just finish, good luck.” I smiled and said, “Oh by the way it’s my first marathon as well.” He more or less raised his brows and gave a half hearted smile back and said, I’ll see you race morning, and walked away. Little did either one of us truly know that come October 8, 2011 I will be achieving a childhood dream, racing in one of the most prodigious endurance races in the world, Ironman Kona World Championship! Thank you so much to Wheat Ridge Cyclery for sponsoring me at St. George’s Ironman making this all possible. Without the generous support of WRC I would never have had the opportunity to qualify!

Saturday May 7^th Race Day

I got up at 4:30 am and ate some oatmeal and a banana. I was so excited to be racing my very first Ironman and marathon in the same race, but also I was very nervous. My father and I had driven the bike and run courses the past two days and I was truly aware that this was the hilliest Ironman in the USA.  I knew I had the mental edge to finish the race after doing a 30 hour Adventure Race in Moab Utah a few months prior. However, I wasn’t sure on my aerobic endurance since my training time leading into the race had decreased from 15-17 hours to about 10-12 hours per week due to commitments at work. I recently started my amazing job at LifeQuest (which I absolutely love and wouldn’t trade for the world) and have been working longer days than my previous schedule at Wheat Ridge and had less time to train. Therefore, I had to adapt my training program from moderate intensity long duration, to high intensity short duration. I knew I was getting great training in, but wasn’t sure how it would transfer over to an Ironman distance triathlon.

St. George’s swim is held in Sand Hollow Reservoir which is absolutely beautiful. The only way to transfer all the athletes to the swim and allow for adequate space in the parking lot for the swim to bike transition area is by escorting all the athletes by bus. Therefore, all the athletes have to meet down town in St. George and board one of the buses they provide and ride about 30 minutes to the Reservoir. I tried to have a conversation with a Colorado athlete about Carmichael Training Systems for whom she is currently racing for and I completed an internship there last year. However, I completely understand she had her game face on and was focused on the upcoming race and was in no mood for talking. So instead, I just sat and listened to the guys in the row next to me talk about the size and quantity of their bowel movements that morning and how they were going to have great races because they were feeling extremely light now. :)

Once I got off the bus, I hurried into the transition area to fill my tires, water bottles, and prep my bike for the race. Ironman races are different than any other triathlon and Xterra that I have done in the past in that you do not set up all your gear around your bike. Instead, everything including your helmet, bike shoes, clothes etc. are placed in a bag which is located in a different staging area than your bike. You must have both your bike and run bags prepped and turned into the appropriate transition areas the day before the race. This is nice because it makes setup on race day extremely easy. St. George had two different transition areas for the swim to the bike located in Sand Hollow Reservoir’s parking lot and the bike to the run which was in St. George’s town square about a 30 minute interstate car drive away.

The professionals started 15 minutes before the amateur athletes. So as the professionals were beginning the race, all 2000 amateur athletes were being herded through a narrow chute from the transition area to the water. At the water’s edge, there were very tiny sharp rocks and the starting line was about a 100 meter swim from the water’s edge.  This causes a huge back up because everyone was being very careful to enter the water without cutting their feet and walking as slow as possible until they were in deep enough water to actually start swimming to the start buoys. Deep water starts are always interesting because you want to be at the front of the line to get good positioning in the swim but you also don’t want to get destroyed by having other swimmers swim on top of and over you or whack and/or kick you in the head.  I was lucky and managed to scurry my way up to the front of the line so I could be right in front for the start. Once I got to my starting position, I looked back and the water was swarming with colored caps and a few hundred people were still up on the beach and had to start from the chute on the shore because there wasn’t enough space for 2000 individuals in the water for the start.

5.4.3.2.1 Blast…. The canon echoed across the water and we were off. It was a very rough start with hundreds of people fighting for position. We remained as a group for over 800 meters which is a long time to be battling other swimmers for position. Finally, it started to gap slightly allowing for us to get into a nice elongated stroke. The swim was one loop totaling 2.4 miles. My goal was to get done as close to an hour as possible. When I exited the water at 1:09:11 I was elated.

I ran/ stumbled up the boat ramp to the transition. I was slightly dizzy from being in a prone position for over an hour to an upright position in a matter of seconds. At the top of the ramp you had to run through the first part of the transition area where you call out your race number and volunteers diligently locate your bike gear bag which is organized numerically and hand it to you as you run by. Then you keep running with your gear bag until you reach the changing tents. There are two tents set up one for the males and the other for the females. Since I had my bike uniform already on under my wetsuit, I just sat outside the tents and took my wetsuit off and put on my bike shoes and helmet.  Then I handed my bike bag now filled with my swim gear to a volunteer and ran to grab my bike and head out of transition onto the bike course.  

The start of the bike course consisted of riding out of Sand Hollow Park reservoir approximately 4 miles mostly downhill with an occasional slight incline to the main road. I felt great once I got on the bike and hammered all the way out of the park. The course was designed to take bikers from the park into the town of St. George across a ridge above the town which was also a huge part of the run course. This was about fifteen miles into the bike and then we entered into a long gradual incline up a valley which was the beginning of two loops. Next we raced through a canyon in which there was a beautiful reservoir and this was a rolling terrain up through a very small town. To get out of the canyon we needed to start climbing the first climb which was extremely short but very steep and the second was the longest and steepest of the three hills and the last was the longest but slightly more gradual than the prior two hills. I felt fantastic throughout the entire bike until I hit mile 80 and then I hit the wall. I had eaten one champ blocks and four Gu’s. I also drank water, EFS, and Gatorade provided by the race course. Up to this point, I was averaging about 21 MPH on the bike but I almost instantly went down to 18 MPH. This was also the first time that a female passed me on the bike and I wasn’t able to stay up with her to overtake her. The worst part was a total of five women passed me between mile 80 and 90 on the bike. I could see what was happening so I ate a bar and by mile 90 I was finally feeling better. I received my second wind by this point and was able to overtake one of the five girls before the run transition. The significance of passing this specific girl was that she was in my age group. She was from Germany and had specifically chosen this race to this race to qualify for Kona. Her name is Katharina Grohmann, and this was her third Ironman race. After completing the entire bike course which was 112 miles we hit the bike to run transition a few seconds apart from one another. My total bike time was 5:47:58.

As you bike into the transition there is a bike dismount line. This is the spot where you have to be completely off your bike before entering the transition area. However, in Ironman as you get off your bike 5-6 volunteers eagerly swam around you to grab your bike from you and rack it so you can focus on getting your run gear bag and head to the changing tent. As you run though the transition area again you call out your number and a volunteer of the same sex as yourself grabs your running gear bag and runs next to you into the gender appropriate changing tent. Once you are inside the volunteer opens your bag and grabs exactly the items you instruct them to and even helps you put it on. Here I switched my biking shorts for running shorts, one of the wisest decisions I made that day. She also put sunscreen on me as I put my shoes and hat on. Then I was out of the tent in a matter of seconds however, so was Katharina. She took the lead for the first half mile and then I passed her thinking I was going to be able put time between her and myself in an attempt to discourage her from chasing me down.

The run course consisted of two laps, each totaling approximately 13.1 miles. The first 4 miles were a gradual incline. At mile 3, I was in position to pass a fellow female competitor whom had passed me on the bike. I thought I was doing well until mile 4 which was the start of the first huge climb! My stomach was feeling off at the start of the run but at this point it felt like a battle field in my stomach. I knew I was in trouble when Katharina put a move on me and passed me and kept increasing her lead all the way up the hill. This was also the only section of the run that I walked for about 90 seconds to get my legs to come back to life after such a demanding bike ride before. I truly believe the reason I walked was because the girl Katharina and I were gaining on would walk for a few seconds at each aid station located at every mile and then start running still managing to stay ahead of me. By mile eight, I got my third wind of the day and I felt like a new person! At each aid station I would grab two sponges and place them in my bra and keep them there until the next station. Upon arrival at the next aid station, I would replace my now completely dry sponges for new ice cold ones. With no shade and a ninety one degree temperature I also drank as much water and Gatorade as I could manage while still running, I also disciplined myself to down at least half a Gu each mile. Only one female passed me on the run that had not passed me on the bike and by the half way point on the run I had managed to catch every girl ahead of myself including Katharina except for two amateur women. I was still nervous that Katharina would somehow come blazing by me out of nowhere. At approximately mile 22 the course entered a cul-de-sac and run into the Elks club parking lot where we looped back and exited the same way we entered. This was when Katharina was coming into this loop as I was exiting and I knew that Katharina was about 2 minutes back this gave me incentive to kick it into another gear. I was running as fast as my legs would allow just praying to God that they would continue without cramping for another 4 miles and not give out on me. I wasn’t sure how my body would handle the stress since I had never pushed myself to this degree before in my life. By mile 24 I passed yet another amateur women and I knew for the first time that I was well on my way to qualifying for Worlds! When I ran down the main street to the finishing chute and had all the spectators cheering for me I was as high as a kite as this was the best feeling in the world. When I crossed the finish line with at time of 10:46:44, an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment, excitement, adrenalin, joy, shock, etc. rushed into my veins. Finally, a race that went smoothly and I could be extremely proud of (no flats, no bike malfunctions, and no crashes)! It was such a powerful moment!!! I did it, I finished my first Ironman, my first marathon, and now I was going to KONA, HELL YEAH!!!!

The volunteers at this race were phenomenal and made it a glorious experience. Right after I finished my legs did start to give out so I was helped to the massage table were my masseuse could barely touch me because I was so sore all over especially my legs.

The next day was the awards ceremony where I was announced the 24 and under St. George champion and a Kona qualifier. This was also when the male first and second place champions in my age group informed me that I beat the first place male (24 and under) time by over 24 minutes! I ended up being the second place female amateur and placed seventh overall when including the professional women! 

Again, I want to thank Wheat Ridge Cyclery for supporting me and believing in me to achieve this feat! I also want to thank my father Dan Kehoe who has been one of my number one supporters all my life. He traveled with me to the race and we had a blast exploring the race course together. Race day he was at every point possible on the race course to cheer me on and give me race split and distances between my competition. I love you Dad! I want to thank God for doing the race next to me. Anytime, I was feeling down I would just pray to him for strength, courage and stamina, which he constantly provided me with. Thank you to LifeQuest for letting me to take the time off from work. The LQ solders also were so supportive and I have gained so much courage from seeing what one can overcome. Finally, I want to thank all my family, EPC teammates and friends who cheered for me from their homes and prayed for me.  I know this was important and helped me feel this positive energy the entire race especially the last four miles of the run!