Monday, March 29, 2010

What is your option?

I received an e-mail from a friend. She attached this picture since we had just been talking about all things iron....Ironman things to be exact.

I guess what she is trying to say with that sign is that failure is not an option so don't even think about it. Many people claim that D..N..F do not exist in their vocabulary. It is a hard pill to swallow.

I have been fortunate to have only voluntarily DNF'ed from a race once. It was back when I was mountain biking and my head wasn't in the game. And when you are on one of the toughest courses in Ohio (Vultures Knob)....at night....your head better be in the game or else your head will be splattered on the ground.

Well I had gone over the handlebars twice that night and I withdrew before I killed myself.

I would live to race another day.

So while finishing is always the goal, sometimes one must take the easy way out and regroup to attack again.

So always keep your "options" open.

Game On.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

DNF can be the correct option. It depends on whether the goal is to finish or to compete or to win.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I am one of those that try not to add DNF to my vocabulary. I have thought of it in two races where the swim was horrible. But Im glad i didnt. With the said, I do think I am smart enough that I would voluntary DNF if the situation called for it. Its better to DNF and be able to race again, then not dnf and never get to race again.

Christi said...

I will only DNF when I am going to seriously hurt myself. Otherwise, it does not exist in my vocabulary either!

Matty O said...

Great debate. I like to think that if you are competing at that level and you DNF... its for a darn good reason. You know your body better than anyone and there are times where you have to say I am cashing in my chips and walk.

That being said, I think I have too much of a male ego to ever quit even if it means hurting myself... which worries me. I like to think of it just pushing myself to that next level.

allanjel said...

Now that is my kind of sign!!!

My thoughts on DNF, unless your hurt you don't DNF!

You signed up for the race, even if it means you are gonna suck! You don't see the BOPs dropping because they can't win. I believe even if your intent is to win and you can't, you can still learn something! Dropping is not an option unless hurt/sick and once you do it, it gets a little easier every time to quit.

I have never DNF'd.

The Salty One said...

I DNF'd once. I ran 15 miles of a marathon. I dropped out because my legs felt uncharacteristically trashed very early in the race and I had a baby to take care of at home. I had already completed three marathons so finishing a marathon was not an issue for me and just finishing was not worth the damage I was going to do to my legs by finishing. Also, if I cut it short I had a shot at a good race a couple of weeks later--which I did. While I think allowing DNF to be an option is a bad idea and can become a habit, sometimes it's just the right thing to do.

Anonymous said...

In bicycle racing, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a DNF if you raced properly, contributed to your team goals, or if carrying on is otherwise futile. A DNF is not an issue. It happens by design, because the race happened a particular way, or because of bad luck.
In a simpler sport like triathlon, it doesn't make any sense to DNF unless you would injure yourself or it doesn't fit your training goals (but then, why would you be doing the tri?).