OK, I'll toss this into the DUMB RUNNER category. I took a DNF at the Olympic North Discovery Marathon in Port Angeles this weekend. This was my first DNF. Long story short I started throwing up on Friday afternoon and felt sick all day Saturday. I think it was food related from a trip I made to Salt Lake City last week but there is some sort of stomach related illness going around as well. When I woke up on Sunday I felt pretty good so I decided to give the marathon a shot. I felt pretty good for the first 8 miles and then the tank was empty. Obviously not being able to eat much the day before and my digestive tract not in full swing my glycogen levels were probably at about zero. Just before the half I ran into Kate, actually she caught up to me, whom I'd met at the Western States training runs. I told her I was going to drop at the half. I told her what was going on and she advised me to quit as well. Since Kate is a MD I had to quit - doctors orders! Besides, I have bigger fish to fry in a couple of weeks.
I hung around the aid station that had a Hawaiian theme. I was wondering how I was going to get back to the finish line when a white Subaru pulled up. The driver came up to me and asked me if I was Eric. This was Kate's friend Dick who was giving race support to Kate running the Full Marathon and his wife who was running the half. Kate asked him to give me a ride back to the start. THANK YOU Kate and Dick! Dick and his wife live in the Sequim area. He is retired from HP Corvallis where he developed the inks for their ink jet printers. His wife was a professor at OSU. Now they spend their time kayaking, hiking, and Mt. Climbing.
The next two weeks will involve lots of rest, light running, and final planning for Western States. I've got one more week of work before a two week vacation.
23 comments:
Eh, who knows if it was dumb to start, but it was certainly smart to stop when the going got ridiculous. I have a DNF under my belt that I'm also not too proud of, but that experience has taught me many things about running that who knows when/where/how I would have learned without it.
Yes, your fish for frying are much bigger. I hope you recover well (As an aside, I'm going to SLC in a few days and now I'm scared of the food there!) and taper into WS perfectly.
Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan
You do have bigger fish to fry, and how exciting to get all the bugs out of the way NOW.
Hope you're feeling much better and can rest up for your "vacay"!
Yep, i am with Meghan. Glad you stopped, there was nothing to prove there. While I officially consider myself DNFing once at LEadville, I also stopped once at PacRim 24 at 17 miles (that year Rob pulled double a day) - just was bored, cold and had nothing to prove. This one I never looked back at. So now rest up, get healthy and eat GOOD food:)
Yeah Wendy's right, be sick now and be fine for the BIG DAY! You sound like you had some good friends around you that day looking after you!
Enjoy the vacation time Eric!
Wow a DNF, that's tough. Well I'm sure it was for the best. You better get better soon. Lot's to do. ;)
So, remember what I said about me printing your posts now? I'm skipping this one.
A wise decision! You have been working hard and nothing needs to be on your mind come WS-Day.
Wes
You are a SMART man. DNF is better than never starting at all.
Wishing you a speedy recovery!!
Get well quickly, Eric! Carbo-loading for Western States on saltines and ginger ale just won't cut it! I remember last summer when I got the stupid stomach flu before climbing to Camp Muir with you guys, and was so weak and dehydrated. Yes, it was a dumb decision to even start out on the trek, but I guess we always hope for a little magic and that things will somehow work out. If it weren't for being able to sit on my sorry rump and glissade down that snowy mountain, I'd probably still be up there! Glad you had the courage to quit when you did yesterday. Hope you get back your strength in no time!
Linda
Tough call on the DNF especially when the bling is so nice. The stomach flu has made it around my house a bit as well and the vomiting seems to come out of nowhere. Rest up.
It's true, taking the DNF is tough. That's why you should really feel proud of yourself for doing the smart thing. We are so driven, that sometimes knowing when to quit is really hard. I ran a race once where I should have stopped, but pride wouldn't let me and I ended up injured. Lesson learned: there are much worse things than a DNF!!
Rest up now!
It's just a blip in the grand scheme of things. You'll be back next year for your bling. Now rest up for your big event!
Atleast you took your DNF like a man! I chickened out of my first DNF at the Seattle Ghost and finished the half-marathon option when I was scheduled to do my first 50k.
I hope you're feeling better and you'll rebound from this even stronger before WS in...OMG! In less than two weeks!!!!!!
Tough break there Eric. Get whatever that is out of your system and get yourself back to 100%. Go give WS100 all you got.
It's been said, but dumb would have been to keep running and to have stayed sick longer. I would have passed up running for a Hawaiin themed aid station even if I wasn't sick! Definitely, get well soon - time to get your sleep in and mentally prepare. You've done everything you can physically. I'm so excited for all you maniacs doing WS - can't wait to watch your progress online!
Tough call, but smart considering the circumstances, especially with the big event right before the door! Rest up and enjoy your tapering!
Sounds like you made the best decision out there, but it must have been hard to get that first DNF. Still, with such an exciting race coming up in a few weeks, a small one like this hopefully will be forgotten soon enough. As everyone else said, good to get all the bugs and such out of the way now so that you'll be good to go come WS
I'm sure DNFs are hard (I'm actually anticipating one for myself with my upcoming 50k...), but it sounds like you took care of yourself, which is probably for the best.
Great idea to take a DNF at a wet and miserable marathon instead of on the hot, dusty and scenic WS course! I am envious of your upcoming race and hopeing that all goes as planned.
You seem to be taking the DNF well, at least you had good reason and as you say you can't argue with the Doc can you. At least you can chalk up a half on your run counter!
Good decision out there Eric, there was so little to gain by continuing on but so much to loose especially with WS on the horizon. Consider how great you’ll feel on June 23rd when you’re so well rested! Run easy!
Good for you for following doctor's orders! :) Get healthy and ready for the BIG one! I can't wait to read that report. You're going to do awesome!
Why call it a dumb runner thing? It's not as if you decided two days before to get sick in order to be able to run without fuel. That would have been dumb. It's dumb when you let you car run out of gas and do nothing about it. But this was nature.
Sure, a DNF chews at our pride. But pride is not an end or a means. Why beat yourself up just because you are alive and the live organism asserted its needs?
I just read on your countdown: there are 6 days and 9 hours left until you big adventure. Look forward. Get ready. Run.
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