Finish it up. I had my first race flat in Ralph's last week. Took 25 mins to change it. It sucked. But then I had the best 1/2IM run of my life. Gotta finish.

-C

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Finish it and chalk it up as a workout/practice day. Learn to fix it.

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"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country" JFK - Replace 'country' with the company you work for, friends, family, and strangers and the world will be a much better place.

It should not take much more than 5 minutes to change a flat, clincher or tubular. Why did you even buy a spare, if you don't know how to change it? With all the money and time people spend on races, it just doesn't make sense to let a flat ruin your race. Unless you are going for the overall in a sprint race, a flat should not have that big an impact on your race.

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"When I first had the opportunity to compete in triathlon, it was the chicks and their skimpy race clothing that drew me in. Everyone was so welcoming and the lifestyle so obviously narcissistic. I fed off of that vain energy. To me it is what the sport is all about."

• http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=653092;
• http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=310002;

If you're really worried about that fragile male ego then learn how to change your own flat tire. ;)

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Don't hold back

Yea I flatted at CA half as well, 19.5 miles in. Only took 5 minutes to change, kept the tubular to send in for repair. Of course I followed it up with a not so steller run/hobble/walk knee damaged run. Unless I wipe out and break something there is no DNF on the bike.

I flated 3 times last IMC, never once thought about quiting. The first two times I removed the offending carptet tack and fixed with Tufo sealant. 3 time, I peeled the tire off and put my spare one on (tubular tires).

A month later I flated at about mile 2 of a local Oly Distance race, I ripped that sucker off, put the spare back on (same one that saw me through the rest of IMC) and it took me less than 3 minutes...

I figure I paid for a race, I trained for a race, shit happens during a race and how you deal with it defines you.

Fix it and carry on.

My feeling is that you should never quit a race unless you are injured.

In my 2nd tri ever back in 1990 I flatted about 5k from the end of a 40k bike. I had never changed one before and it took me about 15 minutes to get it figured out (of course it was the rear tre and I was stressed and majorly pissed off about getting the flat in a race). It never entered into my mind to quit. I just timed my "stop" so I could adjust my time later to see how I might have done without the flat. I also figured a little rest would set me up for a good run split and I had the 2nd fastest that day to a little Australian fellow named Welsh who outsplit me by 10 seconds.

thanks everyone for the good advice, links, and encouragement. looks like there's no dnf quitters on slowtwitch!

Well, you still have to get home somehow, so you better plan on changing it or you might be there a long time. Changing a tubular is super simple as long as 2 things are comprehended: 1) you are able to get the old one off, and 2) you have a way to move the valve extender to your new tubular. Then you just slide the new one on, straighten it up as best you can, and fill.

As for only quitting due to injury, I guess I failed that test in my second tri when my brand new front clincher tore the kevlar bead out. Since I was only about 8 miles into the 25 I gave up rather than walk the bike the rest of the way. My only DNF, but then I was young and not as tough as I am now :-)

My rule of thumb is if it is less than 10 miles to go in the bike, I ride the rim in. It takes me about a minute to change a tubluar flat, and I would loose less than a minute riding on the rim for that distance. Of course you have to be very careful on the turns, and avoid any pot holes, but you can go just about as fast on a flat, as with a full tire. Just takes pratice, and I've had to do it many time in training when I would run out of tubes, or blow a tire in the middle of no where....

First flat was in a sprint about 10 yrs ago. Old tubular, flatted going through a construction zone. I ran the last mile back to transition in my socks.

Last year, flatted the rear tubular on some glass (Mighty Hamptons) with about a half mile to go. Just continued to ride it in at about 15 mph. Had to find some woods during the run as there were no facilities on the run course. Finished 4th in my age group, about 2 minutes out of 3rd. :-(

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Behold the turtle! He makes progess only when he sticks his neck out. (James Bryant Conant)
GET OFF THE F*%KING WALL!!!!!!! (Doug Stern)
Brevity is the soul of wit. (William Shakespeare)

Really depends on the course. A friend of mine flatted twice in Nice some years ago. Fixed the first one and rode on the rim for the next 30k with 50k to go, knowing he' lose about 15min or so.

The problem is that the course is quite technical. Once you arrive on the road from St-Laurent du Var to Nice you're fine, but you have to get there.

He took 3 spills. lots of road rash and called it a day after the third spill.

Now, there are cases where you can finish...see for instance Olano in Duitama...

i say finish it also, especially in longer races. at im lake placid two years ago, i got 3 flats in the first 15 miles. i only had two tubes with me so after the second one i started walking my bike. i didnt really know what i was going to do... at that point i thought my race was over, but i figured i might as well try to get to the next aid station so they could call the support vehicle or something. finally, the support vehicle came by and put a new tube in, then realized that i actually had a puncture in the tire so they took the tube out and put a new tire on, then a new tube in... by the time i got riding again i must have been in about last place, but i figured i might as well continue on since i had spent the entire year training plus the $450 entry fee. the rest of the bike ride was awesome because there were so many people ahead of me that i could pass (coming from a swimming background, im usually the one getting passed on the bike). i was definitely glad i didnt quit when i got that 3rd flat because i ended up getting my best time, 2nd in my age group and a kona spot. so, never give up.

Yeah, because kElly is an animal!!!

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-Erik

"I don't half-ass anything. For me its either whole-ass or nothing." -elake

Change it and finish the race if at all possible. DNF sucks, especially if its gear related. If you do go sans spare and you're more than about a mile or so from T2...DNF...that would be an expensive gut check if you ruined your wheel riding it flat for any appreciable distance. There is a time to gut it out and a time to not be stupid.