DNF (Read 709 times)

It was going to be my first 30k race and I knew it would be risky. My left calf had been acting up for weeks, just above the Achilles tendon. Therefore I had done some severe tapering: not run for a week, except for a little test run on Saturday, the day before the race. Also I had considered the possibility of running part of the race, as a kind of training with refreshment stations, like wingz suggested. But considering the possibility of stopping and realizing you really must stop are very different things. Especially as the race started out promising enough. I had run the half marathon on this same course last year and I remember vividly how hard it became for me then after 11 or 12 kilometers. Now it was different. I found a 6 minute/km pace that felt to me as if I could continue forever. At least, it felt that way for over 16 km. I was enjoying the race, the atmosphere and the scenery of the beautiful dunes behind the Dutch coast. At 15k I took a short walking break and continued to the point where the half marathon turned left and the 30k turned right for another 9k loop through the dunes. I turned right because I felt alright... But two kilometers later I started to feel a nagging pain in my left calf. And worse, it was now definitely my Achilles tendon that was starting to send emergency signals. At 20k I had already slowed down to a 7 minute/km pace and the pain became serious. After the next junction I decided to stop at the first kilometer sign I would pass so I could still know what distance I had run. It turned out to be 22k. After a short walking break I gave it one more try but the pain was back immediately, like knives in my left leg. That was when my brain took over: I knew that continuing 8 kilometers in this way would leave me severely injured. So I turned back and walked the shorter route to the village of Schoorl where the start and finish was. As I said, I knew the risk was there. Still having to quit was a disappointment, because it looked for so long like I would make it. Walking back to the finish and arriving there at the wrong side of the barriers where everyone was cheering the runners home was not exactly making me cheerful either. My wife was looking at the runners as I tapped her on the shoulder. Hey, did you finish already? Nope, I did not But enough of that. Let me not sound as if my world has collapsed. I feel good about the kilometers that went well, I feel good about giving it a try and I even feel good about stopping when I really had to, instead of going on to and ending up with a severe injury. So what's next? 1. Rest and rest some more. 2. Recover 3. Build up training without overdoing it. Ahll beh bak!

Sorry to hear it, Bas. Take care of yourself. And use this as motivation to come back and kick that race's @#$% next year. If it's really your Achilles, that's just not something to mess with. My father ruptured his when I was a kid - and he was in a cast all the way up this his thigh for something like 4 straight months. I'd rather have a compound fracture than a badly torn achilles.

Bas, I'm so sorry...but I'm glad you made the decision to not hurt yourself more. Now you need to go join the injury group and get all of you guys back on the road to wellness--literally! k

Bas, smart choice to stop, but I'm sure it was hard. 22k is still impressive, though, with that pain. Take care of yourself and heal quickly!

Oh no! How disappointing and painful on several levels!!! You heal up good, now, you hear?

Thanks for the support, all of you! After two days I feel all the more that the decision was right. I can walk normally so I think there is no serious damage done. JK, that sounds like a very bad injury your father had. Did he recover completely? And yes, I will come back next year to kick that race's @#$%! If I could sign up now for the Schoorl 30k of 2008, I would. Trent, you are right. There is a score here that needs to be settled. bas