Home Chat General Chat

Another on dedication - what's the worst thing you've done to complete a race?

md6md6 Posts: 969
I'm really boring. The worst I've done is carried on despite injuries. And you end up performing worse than you would have, with a worse injury than you would have. However, I never really regret doing it...

Comments

  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    So, continuing the there from previous posts about what people would do to win. I'm interested in what the 'worst'/most embarrasing/most unpleasant thing everyone has had to do to complete a race?



    I'll start off to give everyone an idea of what i'm getting at. In this years Paris half marathon i was going along quite well and feeling good went through 10k faster than i've ever finished a 10k, through 10 miles on course for about 1:42 (my target was 1:45 - first half mara) then about 11 miles in, i realised that i was starting to dehydrate and everywhere i looked people had water and or powerade. It dawned on me i had mised the last water station which was about 10.5 miles or so. Now not being the type of person to panic i almost gave up there. I thought to myself that I may die, then as reason came back around, i thought, it's only a few miles i'll make it. However having gone so fast i was fading fast, and realised that i had to do something. So after trying in my mos broken of french asked someone for their bottle and got a rather curt, non! Realised that there was nothing for it. I spotted a half full bottle on the floor and grabbed it up. Wiped the mud off the top, poured a little out and glugged down the rest [:'(]. This helped, but as it was so late (i was already nearly dehydrated) it wasn't enough to get me through, I dumped what was left of my dignity and grabbed another part drunk bottle from the floor and downed that. It worked and in the end i got through and even had regained enough energy to have a sprint over the last 500m. I finished in 1:55 in the end, which wasn't great but wouldn't have been possible without my 2nd hand floor drink



    So the questions is, what have you done to finish????????????
  • thats exactly what was running through my mind on my last 10k! the sun was beating down so strongly (even though it was in newcastle in the middle of april) and I really needed water. I didnt see any half done bottles but believe me - i was looking!!!



    in the end i went on and grabbed two bottles of water at the finish. I havent really done anything that bad yet to get a finish or a good time, but I know for a fact that if i had to id do a paula radcliffe or grab an old bottle (providing it was the result of someone else doing a paula radcliffe!!) x
  • Hmmmm, I'm not really good enough for it to be worth trying to slow other people down e.g. pulling on their wetsuit zip, loosening brakes or letting down tyres in transition (all of which I've heard of) - the difference between 55th and 54th in my age group is not going to excite the Olympic selectors..... So the only thing I can think of is that, when some annoyingly fast cyclist overtakes me (typically wearing an aero helmet and having disc wheels), I use up every one of my 15 seconds drafting grace by trying to hitch a free 3km/h by sitting on their rear wheel as they come past.

  • Cheryl6162Cheryl6162 Posts: 356
    This wasn't actually me but thought you might want to hear it anyway.....



    My ex, who shall remain nameless, was competing in a long distance cycle race when the call of nature became such that it couldn't be ignored any longer for fear that he would be sitting an inch or so higher on his saddle if he didn't stop and take action. He ducked into some nearby bushes, squatted and unloaded. Following hot on the heels of relief was the realisation that he had no loo roll or any other acceptable means of..well, you know.....



    He finished the race with a PB but wearing only one very expensive Cannondale sock.........
  • Cheryl6162 wrote:
    He finished the race with a PB but wearing only one very expensive Cannondale sock.........



    God i hate you people so much.

  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    @comanighttrain. The lady doth protest too much, methinks. Do you have some obsession with bodily function which you're trying to hide?
  • the ladys not for turning.



    I just cant make a cost-benefit analysis work for doing something undignified to save a few seconds on something which isnt life or death important.

  • MGMG Posts: 470
    comanighttrain wrote:




    I just cant make a cost-benefit analysis work for doing something undignified to save a few seconds on something which isnt life or death important.





    Then, with that in mind you'll never quite understand the brain of a triathlete. Cost/benefit theorys are something which just dont do.

  • jibby26jibby26 Posts: 261
    MG wrote:


    Then, with that in mind you'll never quite understand the brain of a triathlete.  Cost/benefit theorys are something which just dont do.





    Not true, I think the theory goes "If it costs a lot then it must benefit me"
  • MGMG Posts: 470
    What I was trying to say was generaly I dont care what it cost/benfit theory, if it makes me faster I'll pay......
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    I once shat myself horrendously on the finishing straight. The worst thing was some forum member took a picture and the bastards turned it into a caption competition.
  • jon_gjon_g Posts: 318
    peeing while i was running during ironman was a low point for me. didnt think i could get going again if i stopped.



    ps, sorry comanightrain, i know how much you hate me[:)]
  • ipay1980ipay1980 Posts: 84
    the redacr half marathon weekend just passed, was going to use as a training run. i tired a different nutrition strategy in the morning. at mile 5 had bad stomach pain, at mile 9 had the call of nature. this part of the course was by the sand dunes, it was hot and sunny, and loads of people - i had to get in the dunes and sh*t with 4 people walking past, and no paper. did not feel great but got up and ket going, at mile 12, same feeling, but thought would hold until the end of the race, but ten seonds later i was in the bushes having another sh*t!



    i was not happy! I cruised in, very conscious of smells and appearance of my behind! completed in 1hr 30! think i need to work on my pooing technique!



    safe to say that nutrition strategy shall not be used again!
  • ipay!!finally someone on here from roughly the same area! I wanted to do the redcar half but didnt want to overtrain. was down there on good friday though for the new marske mermaid 10k - did you do that one? Its a lovely place to run, but dont envy your predicament - little bit windy in those dunes!! haha x
  • ipay1980ipay1980 Posts: 84
    no did not do that one. where you based? what distance you training for?
  • Im in newcastle but have mates in middlesborough. Im trying olympic distance this year - what about you??
  • ipay1980ipay1980 Posts: 84
    based in stockton, training for IMUK. doing wetherby and cleveland short course as olympic ones,and then the cleveland steelman! You should stretch yourself to the latter! a good event.
  • RockieRockie Posts: 40
    I did the cycle leg for a sprint triathlon relay this weekend. Simple bike leg, I thought, no swim or run for me, this'll be a proper sprint. Good thing too, 'cuz I was just recovering from the flu, hence had a forced taper of two weeks for a 20 km cycle. I get gas (stomach) problems very easily and so I never drink water on any workout shorter than an hour. Think is, I never train at 10 am in 33 degrees celcius.



    I don't know what the UV index was last Saturday in Tobago but it was hot. I got thirsty after 5 km, after 10 km I couldn't even swallow. I didn't feel ill or that I was in danger of injury, but my lips down to my throat were so dry I had to wonder what it was doing to my oxygen exchange in my lungs. I felt like I had to get some kind of liquid down there. Then, one of the olympic distance athletes, obviously well hydrated, rode past me and spat to his side. Right in front of me, I had to dodge it. That got my thinking, I still had the sniffles from the flu. No spit in my mouth or throat, but lots of phlegm in my nasal cavity. So, I took a long, hard snort...
  • Im afraid i may urinate on the move too - i just read that holding it during exercise in can cause your nut/s to swell up and become incredibly painful.
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    comanighttrain wrote:


    the ladys not for turning.



    I just cant make a cost-benefit analysis work for doing something undignified to save a few seconds on something which isnt life or death important.





    And you have turned. congratulatons sir, welcome to the realms of p*ssing yourself in the name of sport
Sign In or Register to comment.