Anatomy of a DNF

Since I (for some strange reason I don't quite know yet) decided to enter the 2012 Wasatch Front 100 lottery, I have been thinking quite a bit about what caused my DNF there in 2011. Here is what I came up with so far, in descending order:

1. It was not my day: I still maintain that this was the biggest reason for my drop. Some days you have it, others you don't. On that particular day, I just didn't have it. In the back of my mind, I could feel it when I woke up. Plain and simple.


2. Too many races in 2011: Perhaps this should be restated as "too many 100 mile races in 2011." I finished MMT in May and in hindsight, that was more than enough racing for the year. I spent 3 days in the infirmary after that race due to an infection, and also sustained an injury to the tendon in my lower right shin during the race. I finished the race but it took everything I had to get to the finish. I never should have attempted to take on a difficut 100 miler later in the year. I was not mentally recovered yet.


3. No acclimation to the elevation: Different people respond differently to the effects of elevation. By the time I got up to 8,000 or 9,000 feet, it felt like somebody had me in a bear hug.


4. Too intense training crammed into too short a period: If I would have done the same amount of training I did for WF, but stretched it out over an extra month or 6 weeks, I'm confident that would have made a big difference. Everybody is different and some people can handle the day-in, day-out rigors of long running, but I am not one of them. Rest is a critical element for me and I think that I benefit tremendously when I take rest days. When you are on a compressed schedule, rest days are few and far between.


5. Suboptimal racing weight: I do not try to kid myself, I am much more suited to carrying a football and running over/through (NOT around) linebackers than I am to running long distances. I thoroughly enjoy(ed) both. Truth be told, I was probably far too heavy going into the race. I was basically the same weight as when I finished in 2010, but I dodged a bullet that year.


6. Dehydration: Despite drinking lots, I don't think I peed twice in 40 miles. I was probably under-hydrated going into the race, and the elevation only made things worse.

I think all these things (with the possible exception of #1) are correctable.