DNF
I DNF’d my 50-mile race this past weekend.
DNF means “Did Not Finish,” and is a household term in the ultra running world. The race consisted of four 12.5 mile loops with about 1000ft of elevation gain per loop. My plan was to start easy and hopefully have enough gas to still push later in the day. I finished the first lap in what I thought was a sustainable pace, but in retrospect, it was a little too fast. This left me feeling sluggish on loop two, and I couldn’t get my legs moving. When I crossed into the finish line/aid station after loop two, I thought, that’s it for me.
I was sad and upset for about 20 minutes then I got over it. Looking back, I was able to gain some valuable training insights.
I was in good 50k shape, but 50 miles is a different beast. I’ve run 50k many and more times, but 50 miles I’ve only done twice. The main difference being that with a 50k, if you have a sufficient base, you can get away without frequent long runs. My lack of endurance that long runs build was noticeable. My legs felt dead at mile 25, no big deal for a 31 mile run, but if you’re only halfway, yikes.
My hope was that I would leverage any fitness built leading into and after pacing 45 miles of the Wasatch Front Race. Wasatch was primarily hiking, which is what I’m more conformable and trained to do. I like really long, steep climbs and then some flat and downhill running followed by more of the same. Stone Cat was not like that, it was much more runable, and my legs were not conditioned for that as well as they are for a slower pace.
Timeframe. After Wasatch, feeling hyped on running, 6-weeks out for 50 miles seemed like enough time, but it wasn’t. It took me a good three weeks to get into a training rhythm and when I finally did it was race week.
Goals. My expectation was to run the race in 10-12 hours. Some 100s require a sub-12-hour 50-miler for entry, so I wanted that at a minimum. When my legs felt so dead, and I realized even 12 hours was slipping away from me, it was easy to call it a day and chalk it up to a productive long rather rather than an endless slog fest.
I’m bummed I didn’t accomplish my goal, but I gained some insights into training and there will be other ones to chase after. Onward!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain