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:
- DNS which means Did Not Start, then there’s
- DFL which is Dead F__ing Last, and then there’s
- 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. 😊
