I dnf'd at km 87 of 148 at sinister on saturday. Massive heat and zero clouds and zero shade on the course made for an ass kick of a day. I dropped when I was still well under the cut off times; fingers tingling, chest feeling funny with the first hints of asthma I've felt in a couple years (maybe due to elevation), body shakes were coming on their way, and I was feeling faint in the head.
In the past (at the death race for example) I would have pushed on walking to the finish. On saturday I dropped, the other possible options such as making my body worse, or even passing out and getting severely injured were too great a risk to continue. So I dropped. I'm ok with it.
It seems as though the more I run on a daily basis, and the more fun in my daily runs I have, the less I feel like I 'need' to finish a race. I feel like I'm quite deep in the middle of a process of transitioning my reasons for running. Going from running searching for a sense of purpose in life and to prove that I am capable of doing something tough; and now I'm very much moving heavily towards running for pleasure. I like where I'm heading, but still feel a few questions lingering as a result.
I'll write a probably excessively detailed race post later, just felt this thought was worth writing.
Just checked out the web site http://www.sinister7.com/race_details.php Incredible - hot weather never helps the situation. Very tough race - climbs, time limits at each check point, running in the dark. Always next year if you want to finish this race. Still, 87 K in hot weather conditions is very impressive :-)
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