The Dreaded DNF

If you read my previous post, you now know that I have 2 of these under my belt. And you asked to understand what happened. No problem!

First off, notice both were at IM WI. That is an EVIL race. Toughest bike course I've ever done. I LOVE training on it, but I am done racing on it....maybe.....

At any rate, in 2003, I was well trained for sure, but my previous 2 IM races had been in relatively cool conditions. At IMLP in 2001, I left my arm warmers on for the entire bike ride, and at IMWI in 2002 (which had PERFECT weather), I also rode with my arm warmers, and even put on a long sleeve running shirt after dark.

2003 IMWI the conditions were mid-90's, 90%+ humidity. I had never had to deal with this before, and ultimately what happened was that I didn't take in enough sodium. Although I will say racing an IM in those conditions is just plain WRONG. At any rate, as the bike wore on, I was overheating and under-salting, and 1/2 way through the marathon, my hands were so puffy I wanted to quit because the stupid band was cutting into my wrist. Could I have finished? Sure. But (and please learn from this), I was given poor advice. First off, a friend who is a nurse, said I was dehydrated. WRONG!!! Then another nurse at an aid station made the same remark. WRONG!!! If they had both been RIGHT by observing hyponatremia, and I had started drinking lots of chicken broth, I would have been fine. Good thing I pulled myself out, because if I kept drinking but not replacing sodium, I would have been in deep doo-doo. I didn't feel like walking 13.1 miles, so I made it to transition and took myself out of the race. Funny thing is that after getting back to my hotel and eating some pizza LIBERALLY SPRINKLED WITH SALT, I felt fine! Lesson learned: if you are puffy, odds are you are hyponatremic.

So my big takeaway from 2003 was that I needed to take in more sodium. And so now, whenever I'm doing an Ironman race, I take 2 Succeed capsules per hour. I just sweat very concentrated.

Cut to 2005, IMWI again. Guess what? This year, it was 110 with that 90+% humidity! I had my sodium under control and my calories and hydration, but that heat just did a number on me. I stopped at about mile 60 of the bike under what seemed like the lone shade tree. As soon as I dismounted, I felt dizzy. I took this to not be a good sign. But, I did not want to be scraped off the road like I'd seen a lot of other bikers taken away in ambulances (IMWI 2005 had the HIGHEST EVER DNF RATE FOR IMNA--close to 20%), so I thought I'd try and make it to the next aid station and see how I felt. Next aid station was 20 MILES AWAY! See, I should have learned from 2003, where after the inaugural race in 2002 (where the bike stations were 10 miles apart, which, IMHO is IDEAL AND REQUIRED FOR IRONMAN), IMNA cheesed out and spaced the bike stations 15-20 miles apart. That' s fine if it's cool, but IMWI is no longer in that category, so 20 miles to wait for cold liquid was a long time. When I arrived at that station, I found out they had run out of bottled water, and if you wanted water it was coming out of a hose into USED water bottles, and they were also out of Gatorade. That sealed my deal. I felt I would be endangering myself to continue under those conditions. So I dropped out.

Now I had nothing to prove this year, and there's always another race. But I decided no more IMWI for me! Keep in mind I completed IMC and IMH back to back (7 weeks apart in 2004), and IMH was pretty hot, but they had cold liquid every 5 miles on the bike. So at IMHI 2004 I was able to keep my core temperature from getting too high by taking in cold stuff rather frequently. Plus there was a lot of wind. IMWI 2005 had let's see--high heat, high humidity, AND high winds! But hotter and more humid than Kona will ever be, plus the IMWI bike course is a lot harder than IMH.

Actually if you look at all IMNA races, the one with the most consistent weather is IMFL. So for those of you for whom this is your first IM, good on you!

So there you have it. Even the great (ha ha, I'm not great) have fallen. I have never gone into an IM race thinking I didn't train enough. It took me my first DNF to lock into my body's needs for sodium, and the second DNF, well, I thought I might get into trouble if I continued--I have limits! I was just respecting myself.

There are those who say finish at all costs. I am not in that camp. I don't belittle a pro who decides to drop because they had mechanicals or were puking or were having a bad day. If you were at a really horrendous movie, would you stay and watch the whole thing? Not me. I have better things to do with my life than obsess about having made a choice to stop doing something I was not enjoying or that I felt might be endangering my health. In the end, it's a personal choice. You will learn from whatever it is you decide to do. I will tell you I know that many athletes had plenty of trouble recovering after finishing the 2 races that I DNF'ed at. So did I make a smart decision? I think so. Besides, I think I needed a year without a completed Ironman race. It's been quite humbling, and on the positive flip side, I am freaking fit!