If I Had Known...

[Tiana]

Recap of Deschutes Dash:

If I had known....

1. My kids were going thru my nutrition the night before the race and lost (ate) it, I would have packed more in my bento box.
2. The first half was all uphill going up to Mt. Bachelor, I would have opted for the sprint.
3. It was going to be 90 degrees on the run, please refer to number 2.
4. I could reach my max heart rate in the middle of the run towards the end of the run (with loads of walking involved), I would have bagged it and jumped in the river instead.

All of this being said, still had loads of fun and glad I finished. It was awesome seeing Don, Jon, Joe and Erin. The scenery was spectacular and the food...incredible. I will definitely need to work on hills. I have a lot of (m)ass to haul up them there mountains. Luckily what goes up.... Chris got in some mountain biking and was so giddy from his ride he bought everyone at our table dinner and drinks as we watched the Tour at Deschutes Pub. Can't wait for our next road trip!:) Great job guys!

[Doc Rob]

Nice job T, the pub sounds like the best part.

[Don Colter]

It was definitely a fun race, but hard. I'm really glad I didn't look closely at the bike course profile before entering. I didn't even think about it until I ran into Tiana just before the race and she mentions that she drove the course and there is 1,800 feet of climbing. Now that I know, I will definitely do the Olympic race again. However, do a little more hill training.

The swim was great, although you definitely had to work around to find the main current and stay off the sand bars and out of the moss and water grass.

The run was good, but HOT. Good preparation for Emmett though.

I must admit one of the highlights of the race was while I was at the park waiting for the swim to start I noticed this guy trying to act really studly and make some time with a girl. He had his wetsuit on up to his waist and it looked a little funny, well he had it inside out. I thought about discretely telling him his wetsuit was inside out and he could keep a small amount of dignity, then I decided against doing the honorable thing and let him keep on with his wetsuit inside out. I was in the first swim wave so I lost track of him and don't know if anyone told him.

I look forward to doing the race next year. Although I plan on spending more time in Bend and taking in the food and drink choices.

[joereed]

Great job Don and Tiana! I must say, I was pretty happy to be doing the sprint after riding casually up some of the hill while you guys were racing.

It was definitely fun to be out on the bike course and be able to see you guys coming cruising down the hill the other way. You all looked great and strong!

On the sprint side, I had a lot of fun. They race definitely has some kinks to work out (like standing in line for a half-hour to check in at the swim start....after you already checked in the day before and at T1 earlier that morning....WTF?).

The downriver swim was sweet! 1300 yards for the sprint but it goes by really fast. Erin was in the same wave I was, so it was nice to have someone at the start. We both ended up getting out around the same time, pretty close to the front of our wave, which was exciting.

The 12 mile bike was on the same course as the olympic, just shorter. I felt pretty good. The best part was passing one guy who yelled "ROCK ON" to me. Sweet! Making the turnaround was great because it was all downhill from there.

The run was nice and flat along the Deschutes River....and even though it was a little hot, it wasn't as bad as the day before for the Olympic-distance folks. I did mistake the end a little early so took off too fast at about mile 2.5....woops. :D

All in all it was a fun race.....and great to have a few people there! Bend is a very cool town and fun to tour around. Good beer, good shops, cool restaraunts and a great candy store!

One last thing, the race director is very good and was open to feedback. I have no doubt they'll make changes for the better next year. Would be cool to get a good group up there....well worth checking out and even staying a couple days extra.

[Rachel]

Great job to you all! I'm glad it was you instead of me racing in the heat though :D.

I would be into going next year...either for Pacific Crest (in lieu of Boise 70.3) or this Deschutes in July, depending on other season races scheduled. It would be especially fun to plan a few days extra to catch a concert at the ampitheather in downtown Bend....check it! Good line up this year.
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