Tag Archives: DNF

I Was Dead Effin’ Last & Here Is What I Did About!

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

I Was Dead Effin’ Last & Here Is What I Did About!

First, the Acronyms…

I just got back from a race weekend in Colorado with my true tribe team – literally, I just came back – and I trained them for this event, but somehow I came in DFL! If you don’t what DFL means that means ‘Dead F__ing Last’!! That’s right! The coach was Dead F__ing Last@ Do I look worried about it at all?? Of course I’m not! Well, outside of the fact that my ultra sign up score is going to get affected by it. lol But really… who cares?

First, let’s talk about a couple of these acronyms that you may have (or may not have) heard, depending on you where you are in your running journey. Right now there are three acronyms:

  1. DNS which means Did Not Start, then there’s
  2. DFL which is Dead F__ing Last, and then there’s
  3. DNF which is Did Not Finish.

There’s a common running community saying that says, “It’s better to be Dead F__ing Last than not finishing than not starting.” And, honestly, I used to subscribe to this idea, but not so much anymore. Why? I’ll tell you a little bit about that in a bit, but let me get back to my story.

My Race Goals…

So, on Sunday morning we were getting ready to do the race. We were doing an 11K and this is a really hard race. It starts at 9200 feet of elevation. You climb 1700 feet in three and a half miles. Then you turn around and come back down the same route. So, it’s a lot of elevation very quickly. It’s a very steep race.

So, as I prepared for this race myself, I really only had a couple of goals. The first goal was that I really wanted to keep working on my pole technique because at this point, I knew that I would be helping out at the TransRockies race – I volunteered to lead the back of the pack group and we use poles a lot. With this in mind, I just wanted to keep honing in on my poles technique and this race was perfect for that.

My second goal was that I just wanted to get more experience at altitude, because, again, I’m going to be back in Colorado at altitude for the TransRockies race. So, my two goals for this race really were not to ‘race’. My goals were really more to focus on those skills and experience. I wasn’t really focused on ‘racing’ that day.

DFL 

As I started, with a couple of the ladies in my tribe, we kind of just really noticed that we were at the back of the pack. We were ‘leap frogging’ with some other people for a while, but then, as we got farther and farther into the race, I kind of felt like we were going to be last. And, as a matter of fact, if you go look at the race stats right now for that race.. I ended up being Dead F__ing Last!

When we came in more-or-less together, they were a little bit ahead of me, but really, much of that was intentional on my part. I may have started the race thinking I didn’t care when I was going to finish. I was there to have fun with my tribe. Also, I had already decided that I was there to work on other things – elevation, poles, and altitude. I was not there for speed at all, so that was that. So, basically, even though I was DFL, I really don’t care, since the purpose I had chosen for my race that day was about the elevation, poles, and the altitude. So, I reached my goals for that race! That’s awesome!

How I Measure My ‘Running Success’

Generally speaking, I’m not the type of person who who measures my running success based on speed. If you go to this video, you’ll hear a little bit more about what I do, as far as what my success is and how I measure my success in a race.

So, let’s go back to that idea where we say a DFL is better than a DNF, which is better than a DNS, and break this down. Basically, this says that coming in last is better than not finishing is better than not even starting. Now here is why I don’t believe that anymore…

I used to believe this, but because I’ve grown in my running journey and I’ve coached more people along the way, really all of those just really depend on what’s happening on that day. Once you start your race, pretty much anything could happen to anybody.

DNS

A DNS is a Did Not Start. I also had one of those once. You know I very rarely get injuries, since I use body-sensing and ChiRunning, but making a call that morning of deciding not to start was very important for my growth as a runner. I had a little bit of an injury – I had ignored some signs recently and had overextended my running, so I was starting to get some plantar fasciitis. I had made some changes in my shoes, so I could have started the race that day. I had already spent the money on the race and I started thinking about all the training I’d already done to get to this start line. But, at the end of the day, I decided NOT to start. So, yes, I have a DNS on my record, but it was a really good call, because I could have made that injury so much worse if I had decided to push through and run.

So, I just decided not to start, and guess what? I volunteered instead and still had a fabulous time! I got to help out the other runners. So, if you decide not to start a race, maybe because you’re feeling a little injury or for some other reason, and you’re making the call not to start, that’s a great idea! That’s a much better and smarter plan versus starting it with an injury, then possibly injuring yourself Then maybe you won’t be able to run for the next six months. So really, at the end of the day, it boils down to what are your goals and how will this decision affect them?

DNF

If you think about a DNF (Did Not Finish), another great example that I have for a Did Not Finish was the same exact race last year. I did the 12 miler I was training for to get more mileage and I know that, at the top of the race, there’s a pretty steep short scramble up some rocks and loose gravel to get to the turn-around point… and I happen to be afraid of heights! lol So, when I got to that point in the race, I kind of looked at it, wondered if I should give it a good college try, and then I was like, “Nope! I’m out!” And that was my very first DNF. Of course, again, it goes on my ‘permanent record, on UltraSignup that I didn’t finish, but who cares? Right? My goal for that race was to get the elevation and the altitude and it was training I had done a for marathon the day before, so for me, the question was, ‘What is my goal for this race?’

‘Racing’ A Race

I’m rarely ever really ‘racing’ in a race. For me, they’re ‘events’, not ‘races’. Most of my races are training runs for another race and when I DO ‘race,’ I’m usually not racing others, but trying to beat one of my previous times or distances, instead. I know I’m not a fast runner. I’m not going to win the race, so, for me, it just depends on what goals I set for myself for that event.

Writing Your Own Running Story

One of my number one mantras that I’ve learned to use (and I really encourage all my runners to use) is to think about the fact that I am ‘writing my own running story’ and that everybody else also is writing their own running story. You just don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives and, you know what? Who cares if you’re there to do your own thing? Just keep focusing on yourself, regardless of whether it might be a DNS or it might be a DNF or it might even be a DFL. YOU have to make that call for yourself and for that one race.

Develop Your Own Personal Running Mindset

I believe this really speaks to the whole mindset part of running. It’s very easy to be disappointed in yourself if you’ve made a decision not to start or to DNF a race because you might hurt yourself. Or even just being Dead F__ing Last. Who cares, right? But these could be things that could affect you mentally, so these are exactly the type of things that we go over in my Tribe community. Who is the TRU Tribe, you ask? The TRU Tribe is my group of ladies. We train together. We learn together. And we grow together. These are the types of things that I teach in the TRU Tribe, so, if you’re interested in checking us out, send me an email at Lisa@TheRunningUniversity.com and let me know you are interested in a 30 day free trial. 😊

My first DNF: Did Not Finish 🙄

Posted on by by Lisa Pozzoni

Who celebrates a DNF with a shot of Fireball?  THIS girl!

DNF stands for Did Not Finish and can be a runners worst nightmare.  

Some runners put a lot of time into training for an event, money into gear, traveling etc. Making a call to DNF can seem like you’re making a decision to QUIT.

Depending on what race it is, a DNF shows on your “official” record and drops your overall “score”down.  Some sponsored athletes are “forced” to DNF if it looks like they won’t place well at a race because it may make the company they are representing look bad.

So there are a lot of negative emotions around DNFing.

Several of my athletes have DNFd races before.  Some were “valid” reason while some were not (in my opinion).

Making the decision to DNF is a big one because it could be construed as quitting and most people don’t like to be quitters.

While the reason to DNF is personal, here  are a few reasons why it would be a consideration in the middle of a race:

  • you got injured during the race and continuing to run could cause surgery or not running again for awhile 
  • you’re not feeling good (sick to stomach, etc) and you could be in further danger of hurting yourself 
  • you’re putting yourself in harms way 
  • you die (morbid idea but possible!)
  • at some point you decide it’s ok to make the call to quit because you’re not having fun anymore, it’s not your A race or it just doesn’t matter and the world won’t end because you have a  DNF 😃 (THIS!!)

I went into this race knowing the very top of it was going to be a big challenge for me. A few friends did it last year and the last 500 so feet is scrambling on hands and knees to the very top. I have no problem scrambling but it was at high elevation and I’m deathly afraid of heights. 

Heading to the top of that mountain behind us! 3500 feet of elevation gain in 6 miles!

I signed up for this race because it was perfect timing for some altitude and elevation training for TransRockies (my bucket list and A race of the year!). I had never done it before. One of my #trurribeteam members Jan, did it last year and said it was the hardest yet best thing she had ever done.  I decided to make it a Ladies Training Program and a few of us decided to get out of our comfort zone. 

When I picked up my race bib, it was number 252. This is a special number for Greg and I. It was our first apartment number. When we moved into it, we found 2 quarters and 2 pennies! (coincidentally Sunset Point of the I-17 is Exit #252 too)

Anyways….it was a lucky number for me.

As I started climbing up, I had the voice in the back of my head whispering about that final scramble.  From the start, this race was no joke.  First of all I was tired from my cumulative training which included doing the 2nd hardest race I’ve ever done the day before (Silverton Alpine Marathon).  Add the altitude and hard climb and I was averaging 35-45 min miles.  I checked the cutoff the day before and say that I had 5.5 hours to complete it.  The higher I climbed, the less likely it looked like I could finish in that time.  Mind you, it was an out and back so the return would be downhill but it was also a pretty steep downhill so not as runnable for me. I finally got the “top” and was greeted by 2 of my friends who were volunteering at the aid station.  I looked at the scramble and my first thought was:

I told them I was thinking of DNFing right away.  They encouraged me to go so I figured I’d put in my big grill panties and suck it up.  While I looked up at everyone on their hands and knees scrambling on loose rock, my heart was pounding as I made the attempt. My feet kept slipping and I really wanted to be one of those people doing it….but I realized I was completely miserable in that moment, was not having fun, I was more than likely not going to finish on the 530 hrs AND my A race was happening in 3 weeks!

I laid there for a few minutes with my face inches from the dirt, got really present and debated sucking it up or DNFing. 

One of the things I ask my athletes right away when they are signing up for a race is what’s your Why?  My why for this race was strictly getting a good training run in.

TRR has been in my bucket list for years, I volunteered a few years ago and was supposed to run it last year but Covid…there was no way in hell I was letting this race get in the way.  Anything could’ve happened and I wasn’t about to really to take the risk.

I turned around and told my friends I was making the call.  They were so sweet.  They tried to convince me not to DNF and offered to help me up the mountain but I had already made up my mind.  I was making a very mindful choice to take the DNF. Once the decision was made, a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I could relax.  I “celebrated” with an Instagram live and a shot of fireball and starts climbing back down.  Good news is that I wasn’t swept off the mountain so I only missed about .4 miles of the 12 and still got a great day of training done.

I won’t lie and say I was a little bit disappointed in myself…. however Kendall Mtn was not my A race and I truly believe that I made the right decision. 

The key was getting present, think about my WHY, being mindful and not letting my ego get the best of me!

I remember listening to a podcast from Trail Runner Nation awhile ago and one thing stuck in my head. Coach Jimmy Dean Freeman used these words instead for the acronym: Do Nothing Foolish.

I am super proud of myself for not doing anything foolish and at the end of the day, I still had an epic weekend of training mileage at altitude with elevation gain so I’d say it was a success in my book!