I suppose we all want to talk success and tape breaking but anyone remember a time when things didn’t go well ?
First mountain bike race of the season last year. First warm spring day, 85 degrees, very technical course, lots of rock, which I suck at riding. Crashed many times, bonked from the hills and heat. Finished dead last of the sport class, but I did finish in front of half the girls, (there were 6). Half the experts lapped me. I was doing 2 laps they were doing 3.
Sport class sure is harder than beginner.
I was just thinking about this is a.m.
Tri season of 2003 was brutal for me - I had a hip injury in April and took way too long to get it looked at. Long and short of it was I couldn’'t run, but I had my first 1/2 IM on the sked.
I called the RD ahead of time to say I might go over the 8 hour cut off. They were cool, they said, they would be there for me when I finished.
Swim was good, bike was awesome … then the run … oh … the walk of it all. It was a two loop course, people on their second loop assumed I was too - it was horrible … then they all finished and it got lonely, except for one other guy who was injured … he walked with me and then ran with 5km to go.
So … I’m walking it in, thinking 8 hours is gone … and hubby starts yelling at me to walk faster … wtf? Turns out it was not 8 hours yet - though it is dfl … it is my favourite finish photo and the biggest smile you’ll ever see, me crossing the finishin is 7:58:12 … I am 1/2 Iron !
Tri Hard !
My first ever triathlon I was still built for 200m track sprinting not an hours worth of endurance. The run wasn’t pretty…
Expert class mountain bike race a few years ago - a 3 hour plus ordeal even for the leaders. I hit a patch of cactus on a descent and flatted - again and again and again. I’m in last place with a mile to go and see someone in front of me. I’m riding with abotu 15 lbs of pressure in each tire, stopping every mile to put more in. I give everything I have to pass the guy with 300 meters to go, and thus not claiming DFL. However, this jerk pulls off the course with 20 meters to go and DNFs!!! Just so I’d be DFL. I felt like punching him, or at least calling him a pussy, but I was too beat.
Although I’ve never DFL’d, a wierd experiance this year had me close.
Did a 20K trail run. Ran well, for me anyway. I rarely podium and wasn’t looking for it here so I didn’t look at the results until I was leaving the race. To my shock I was second…to last in my AG. Only reason I wasn’t last is I happen to pass a guy in my AG in the last mile or so.
What was REALLY wierd is the same pace I held on a fairly hard, over logs, thru creeks, and lotsa hills, 20K, would have gotten me 2nd place in my AG at a flat road race 10K the following day in the same area.
~Matt
…otherwise known as Murphys law !!!
Although we weren’t quite last, I do believe we were second to last. My wife and I participated in a “sprint” adventure race when we lived on Guam. We called the RD before the race to ask how long the race should take. He said “an average athlete should finish in about 3 hours.” We’re both triathletes so we figured we fit into that “average” category.
The first part was mountain biking, which is not our forte but we did alright, no big worries. This was immediately followed by a jungle stomp up to the top of Mount LamLam, the highest point on Guam. Half way up the “mountain” my wife was so dehydrated she was puking her guts out. I think it took us twice as long to climb that damn mountain as everyone else. I kept asking her if she wanted to bag it and go home, but she persevered.
After conquering the mountain, it was more jungle stomping to get to the coastline. The trail was supposed to be “marked”. Well it wasn’t and we got totally freaking lost. Tried to follow a river which dead-ended us at a nice 30’ waterfall.
The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, coasteering along the beach and two bay swims followed by a short but grueling climb to the finish.
Our finishing time: just over 6 hours. The winning time was 3 hours and this was by a team that went on to compete in the Eco Challenge in Fiji.
We did not do another one of those races. But in hindsight glad we did that one.
<< …otherwise known as Murphys law !!! >>
HEY! I resemble that remark! 
I don’t think I ever got a DFL, but it hasn’t been for lack of trying.
resemble or resent !!!
I tried middle distance running sophmore year of high school, and was utterly terrible at it. Never broke 3:15 for 800M, and the one time I ran a 1600 for time it was something like 7:45. I finished last on a pretty regular basis, decided running hurt too much for what I was getting out of it, and turned myself into a shot putter/ discus thrower the next season. (where I was at least MOP in discus)
Twice. First time before I’d done any running to speak of, trying out for a long-distance (610km) relay run team in high school. Second time, SA Universities x-country championships, 1978. I was alternate for the team, hadn’t been training well. 11km of cross-country in 41min, and hopelessly last…
Oh, and a DNF in an Army x-country, they fed us green eggs for breakfast, I puked several times and wound up in hospital for a couple of days.
Ah, memories…