LA Marathon (Read 731 times)

DNF as in did not finish (just me playing devils advocate) I've actually known quite a few who have trained hard for a race and ended up not being able to finish it (not implying that will happen to you).

No, you're totally right! It is completely a possibility. Not that I want to pay for that, but if I can't do it, I can't. But I would at least try to walk. Thanks for your advice. I appreciate it. I still think I'm crazy, but that's okay with me. I thought I was crazy for doing a half, and I ended up having the perfect distraction from grad school! If I only I had been running for the past 5 years, I probalby would have stayed much more sane.

Deb, I think I posted this on here somewhere before, but I can't find it now. A friend of mine put some thoughts together and it is worth going through given your plans to "jump in" the LA thingy... Here ya go (he was addressing mostly ultra runners with this, but I think it fits nicely)... Some odds and ends to get you through the day, the distance, whatever… Believe in yourself--nothing else will get you to the finish line. Decide before you start what will stop you--if that doesn't happen, you continue. Are you racing or running? Time goal (sub-24, big buckle, age group) or running to finish. Don't let the initial goal be etched in stone. Something may go wrong out there--adjustments will need to be made. Make them and keep going. Run your plan. Stay within your realm. Don't feel bad if someone passes you. Don't chortle with glee if you pass someone. Keep a sense of what you are about. Keep pressing on, maybe it is one of those good days when you pick it up and keep on picking it up. Have faith in walking. Walk when you need to or when you want to, but walk with purpose...no trudging...no survival shuffle...keep a good mindset and walk with a purpose. Be sure your crew (if you have one, a crew is not a necessity) understands that you might go through a transition from nice person to "not so nice" person. Have a talk with them about the need to kick your butt back out on the course. Sympathy may exist, but not to the extent of shortchanging the runner. Problems. Is it a problem or just an inconvenience? Decide which. Find a solution for the problem. Block out the inconvenience. Food. Stick with the safest food there is at the aid stations. Use as much of your own stuff as you can, but don't be inflexible about things not being just perfect. Be flexible as you go. Equipment. If some equipment change comes into your head--is it a need or a want. If it is a need, solve it at the next crew or drop bag point. If it is a want and can't be fixed fairly easily, drop the thought--keep moving. Throwing up, vomiting, coughing the cookies...it may happen even if it has never happened before. It is not fatal. It is an inconvenience. You need more water between the point it happens and the next aid station (it does dehydrate). Drink more. Stay at the next aid station long enough to drink and eat more. Your body is now low on fuel and water. You must pay attention to eating more. You can retore the liquids fairly quickly, but you must eat every chance you get. Try not to throw up on anyone . Don't stop. Keep moving. Low points will come, continued movement will bring you back around. Don't sit in those chairs unless you really need to--you will not really need to until somewhere past 80 miles. Be encouraging to others. Smiles and laughter will be helpful to others. Helping others will be helpful to yourself. Smile and joke with the aid station folks and say thank you to the volunteers. They will help you all through the day and night and...be good to them. They are a great source of energy and inspiration donating all that time to get us through our little escapade. No externalizing of negatives. No, "Hot out here, ain't it?" No, "This is a long hill, eh?" Just believe in yourself, all that training, all those folks you ran with throughout the winter, spring, and summer that got you so strong. Lynn B

There are some really great points on there, Lynn. Thanks, I'll consider that. Especially since I'm not listening to much else, huh?

Just Do It ... and Enjoy It, ...if there comes a point when you're suffering just look around you, and then look behind you...watching everybody suffering but determined to keep going got me to keep trucking along..

I think it's more a matter of when than if, but I will do that. It's gonna be fun. For the first bit, at least!

Consider taking regular walk breaks right from the start so you still have something left for the last 6 miles. Good luck!

good luck! SOunds like you are running to finish and I'm sure you will!

I'm a little late to this thread, and I'm mostly hopping in to cheer on my favorite "Fastest Hippie East of the Pecos": Sayeth Jeff:

Do it. I've never regretted jumping into a race. Even when it took me two hours to jog/walk/crawl the last six miles of a 50k. In fact, that turned out to be one of my most memorable races--and made me go back and do it right. Injuries heal. Glory is forever.

It's hard to top that advice. The others are techically right, of course - but their advice is pretty moot, since you made it clear you weren't going to listen, anyway. Besides, we don't do this to be smart, or careful. We do this precisely because of the risk. The exact reason you won't listen to the good advice is because of the challenge. The fact that you just might fail is only going to make it more interesting. So go for it, Rocky. Have fun. Since you're smart enough not to worry about your time, you'll probably do just fine; you might even surprise yourself. And that advice about taking walk breaks is awfully good - it gave me a 10 minute PR in my second marathon, after running a single 13-miler in preparation. And I hurt a lot less in the following week. Just get ready for pain. It's going to hurt. A lot. At about mile 18, you'll discover a whole new world of interesting pain. Just keep going. If you fail, do it next year. In fact, there's only one reason I might tell you not to do it: it's the risk that you might have such a miserable experience that you'll forever hate running. It does happen. Something to think about. As for the dreaded DNF - it won't happen. Don't think about it. It's not an option. The only way you DNF is if the ambulance (or the coroner) carries your sweaty body (corpse) off the course. There is no quitting. It's not even a choice. Look at it that way, and you'll finish. Or have a really good story about lots of cool IV drugs that you got to play with at the hospital. Which is almost as good. Have fun - wish I could do it with you!