Fall racing season has arrived, which means for many the months of suffering through hot, humid runs is about to pay off…unless you’re noticing a little tightness here or a sharp pain there.
In fact, over 120 of the 725 US marathons are in October with the biggest weekend being October 13th…all of that is to say in the coming weeks we sill see moments of triumph, tears of anguish, and a wide range of reasons behind pushing through to the finish line regardless of the pain or pulling out to prevent injury.
Deciding when to pull out of a race in advance and when it’s just race week taper crazies can be emotionally draining. We want so badly to get the hard earned result of our work that sometimes we override common sense.
I personally have done this thinking to myself “it’s what we runners do, we just push through“. Certainly during marathon training, you learn a whole new level of discomfort and it can be too easy to ignore what’s really a problem.Last year at this time three very talented and fast marathon running ladies {whom I also call friends} all experienced one of these dreaded race day moments.
Making their troubles in to lessons, here their stories to help you make smarter decisions around your next race!
THE DNS {Did Not Start}
Mommy Run Fast decided not to race after battling a nagging ankle pain. It’s certainly frustrating after months of training to make this kind of decision and might lead many of us to toe the line anyways.“I’m choosing to celebrate the training that I DID do, as that was really the journey and the bulk of the work!”
THE DNF {Did Not Finish}
Miss Zippy had a small hamstring issue that she was babying and decided to just see what would happen, she pulled out at mile 19 “I’ve learned enough over the years to know that one race is never worth a long lay off.”
THE PUSH THROUGH
NYC Running Mama was primed for a superior performance, but had muscle cramps which she decided to push through “I was tired of quitting. Of making excuses. This is not the kind of person I am. I may not be the fastest runner. Or the best racer. But I’d like to think that I don’t quit at the first sign of things getting tough.”
Learn when you need to DNS, DNF or just suck it up #runchat #FitFluential Click To TweetWhat’s the right decision and how do you know?
Much of it is getting to know your body and being honest about your goals. Each of the above ladies has been running for a long time and learned how to listen to her body, which is a key factor in ensuring you can run for life and not just one finish line.
A few of the questions to ask yourself if you are trying to decide which option is best:
- Has a doctor told you not to race?
- Will you miss a major life event or will it cause major home front issues?
- Have you missed a lot of training leaving you ill prepared?
- Have you been seriously ill in the week leading up to the race, causing dehydration?
- Will finishing mean creating long term injury? { I chose not to do this 5 years ago and was sidelined for 3 months…try to put your ego aside.}
- Have you been training for a high performance goal at a future race? Will finishing compromise that goal?
- If things are going wrong, can you try another race very soon?
- Is quitting just the best momentary option?
- Is it your body or your head ready to stop?
Learn more about distinguishing discomfort from pain >>
Once you’ve made the tough decision about your race, it’s entirely normal to go through a wide range of emotions from relief, to anger, to regret.
There are lots of acronyms for DNF to help us mentally get past it: “Did nothing fatal” to “Do nothing foolish”, but in the end just like the marathon itself is a roller coaster of emotions any decision around it will be as well.
Allow yourself to go through those emotions and then come out stronger.
Recovery – realize that even a DNF took a toll physically and emotionally, give your body time to recover rather than jumping in to an intense training schedule.
Complete guide to post race physical and mental recovery>>
Talk to someone who has been there – It always helps to hear that others have had to do it too
Curing an emotional hangover>>
New goals – get refocused on your next goal
Race medals worth the entry >>
Analyze – was what went wrong within your control? Take a look at how you can adjust your training, if you need to do more cross training or would you benefit from a coach?
Let’s work together >>
Enjoy – remember the race is just a blip in you overall training, enjoy the entire process
Have you ever had to DNS or DNF?
Have you ever pushed through and regretted it later?
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GREAT tips! I have done all of the above. My decision is usually made on whether or not I would be causing further in jury. I DNF my first marathon because I had the flu for a few days leading up to the marathon, and halfway through I realized I was getting dizzy and was severely dehydrated. And just a few weeks ago I cut down from the full to the half because I injured my arches by not breaking in new orthotics. With two other marathons on the docket I didn’t want to prolong recovery. Even though it’s a hard decision to make, I always keep long term goals in mind over shorter ones.
Agreed, I want to run for many years not one race!! I think that’s a hard perspective for a lot of us to have…but it’s worth it.
I have yet to enter my first race. I DNS a half marathon because I did not feel ready. Today I decided to DNS a 5k race in two weeks that includes a steep incline up a mountain side because I know for sure I am not ready. I am registered for a third race in 8 weeks on Thanksgiving day. The route of The Thanksgiving Pilgrimage Run is easier and on flat terrain and I feel certain I will be ready. However, today a runner I know totally guilt-tripped me and said I should do the mountain race in two weeks. They said I could walk the steep incline part, and that the purpose of the run was not to have “fun” but to confront my fears. Well, I disagree, but this criticism from someone who is a runner stung. Comments welcome. I think the third time is the charm and I am looking forward to my first run as something fun and special because it will be on Thanksgiving.
We all run for our own reasons. no one has to run, we choose it. It does sound like you might need to consider how you’re thinking about these races?? Are you putting pressure on yourself for a certain outcome? If you did have to walk the whole thing would that be just horribly unfun or would be it ego? I think that’s something we all fall in to!