Around 5 km
Around 12 km
Same shot, just after I passed through.
Around 35 km.
A few key things. I had a good day, running with old friends and new friends. I had a fantastic little holiday with family who came out to support me on my endeavour. I ended up dropping out of the 148 km race at 87 km. The day was super hot, reaching a high of 39 degrees celsius (103 F). I did start the race at what I thought was a slow enough speed to last. Around 34 km I got my first signs of trouble, with tightness coming and going in my legs, and stomach issues beginning. Even though the race was in the mountains, there was no shade, no clouds, and very little trees to block the sun. By 50 km in I was having real issues with my stomach, just felt horrible. Leaving the transition area heading up the hill at the beginning of leg 4 (around 67 km) I started to feel faint, and didn't make it up the hill well at all. By 70 km I was feeling like a real tonne of ass, the heat felt like it was destroying me. At 73 km, there was a river crossing, the runner I was with suggested taking the shoes off and walking through to keep dry as there was 15 km to go until the next crew spot and change of shoes. I sat down at the water station 100 metre later and when I tried to get up and was lightheaded, dizzy and fell back down into the chair. I didn't go on from that point until I could stand up without feeling faint; that took 30 minutes. When I kept going I decided to go to the next water station and re-asses, I felt basically the same, except worse. I was feeling off feelings in my toes and fingers, I hadn't peed in 11 hours, and as well as the light headedness I was feeling funny in the chest (maybe I was having asthma issues due to the elevation).
I decided to drop out at 87 km around 13.5 hours. I was well within the cut off times, but didn't feel moving on was the safest choice. I could possibly have walked it out to the finish and still beat the cut-off time. But finishing is not worth the possible risk. I knew the next leg included lots of deep water, and with the lightheadedness that wouldn't go away I didn't feel like risking falling in a deep puddle, or something worse. I'm totally ok with dropping. Running myself into possibly risky situations isn't worth the risk, just for the reward of being able to say I am a finisher, the risk vs reward ratio tipped in the favour of risk on that day. I enjoy running more than I used to, and seem to be less willing to destroy myself. So that was that.
Thinking more deeply about my DNF though, I think if I were in another race of that distance and feeling the same I will have learned from this and make a different choice. I came into the water station where I ended up dropping out at 87 km at 13 hours. Total cut-off time for the race was 27 hours for 148 km. To finish the race from that under the cut-off time I would have had to do the remaining 61 km in 14 hours, that's a pace of 13:45 min/km (22 min/mile) which is very doable in itself, as long as you can get your head past your current pain state. Also, the cutoff time for that leg was 18 hours for 99 km. I had to go 12 more km in 5 hours. Very doable.
Now here''s the thing; almost immediately (around 13.5 hours) after getting into the car of the volunteer who drove me from where I dropped to the arena, I started to feel better. Part of that was probably me mentally letting go of stress, but maybe I just needed a rest. And within a couple hours I felt tonnes better already. Maybe all I needed was a major rest, and some wicked food in me to be able to ramp it up. What if I had rested at the spot I had dropped for two hours and then kept going. Even with that much I could probably had run the remaining 61 km in under 12 hours. Or what if I had struggled two the next transition area where my crew was waiting, and then rested under the comfort of family and food. Maybe after that I could have even picked up the pace a bit and pushed on faster. So maybe, having pushed hard enough to work myself a buffer under the cut off times, I should have used thta buffer up to try and recover before dropping.
I think I may have just talked myself into doing this race again next year, wrong decisions that are fixable. I don't regret my decision to drop at all. But I think I have definitely learned something from it. After all, I have only been doing this whole ultra thing since 2010, and this was only my third attempt to run further than 100 km. Growing pains I guess.
Write out the thoughts of the race, and talk yourself into a bit of unfinished business.
Happy sighs.
And I'm a week away from a 5 week vacation. !!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment