My First ever DNF, Marathons in V.F.F’S and Raw Food
Well, I guess it had to happen sometime… after 28 years of running, I finally had my very own first did not finish (DNF)… and to be honest, I am not surprised. Well, not surprised now, but Sunday when it happened I must admit that I was pretty shocked about it.
So what did happen? Well remember the V.F.F / Canberra Marathon experiment?
Well this is where it happened!
After a week where I was recovering from what ever it was I had, and a good rest, I was feeling fighting fit for the marathon. The big blister on my right sole had cleared up, leaving fresh red/pink skin, a little cracked and new, but everything seemed good to go.
A regimen of fresh organic nutrition, adopting the 80/10/10 since a few months before hand, then changing to a more suitable 75/15/10 since weeks, I reckoned that I was ready to rock and roll.
Race day arrived, I felt ok, and headed down to the start line, under the cold morning shower that all the other runners enjoyed!
Starting of in the mid to front of the pack, I could no longer feel my feet in the Vibram five fingers (V.F.F’s), since a while now!
Anyway, arriving at KM 1 at 4’ 20”, I was on to a good even paced start. As the race went on, so did the cold and the rain, but it was the same for all participants so no worries. Still couldn’t feel my feet.
Got a real nice pace going, passing KM 10 at 36 minutes, right on my schedules time. Heart rate just a little over what I expected (163 instead of 156) so I backed of the pace just a little as not to start off too fast. Still couldn’t feel my feet!
Passing through KM 12 with the start of some pain shooting up my right leg but from where, I was not sure. Time to toughen up and carry on. Still couldn’t feel my feet.
KM 15, avg KM split was 4.20, so everything about still on schedule, pain in right foot was starting to bother me slightly.
And this is where the race started to come apart… As I went from Km to Km, I became aware that I was favoring my left leg to alleviate the pain I felt in the right foot. Although I couldn’t feel my feet due to the cold and wet, I was becoming more and more aware of a pain, a little like that blister on the sole of my sole that I experienced recently whilst out training out on the road in the National Park.
Experience told me not to stop and take my V.F.F’s off ; If you see a blister, an injury you become more aware of it. By just ignoring it, you stay ignorant of it and any damage it is doing!
However, my pace was slowing already by KM16 and I had lost sight of the pack I was pacing myself with. My feet now started to feel like sodden wet cold mullets attached to my legs. A continual pain commenced as well as the involuntary tensing up of my right foot every time it came in contact with the ground, resulting in the continual cramping of the same leg… things started to get a little difficult.
In my experience of endurance ands other races, whether it is running, cycling or all three disciplines such as triathlons, l find that, depending on your intensity and effort, you always go through, or sustain a certain amount of pain. However it is an enjoyable pain, one that you really don’t mind, because overall, you feel ok, and its part and parcel of the challenge, you are enjoying the pain.
At this moment in time, at KM 16, this was not the same pain. The pain I was experiencing was brutal, no enjoyment at all. As the kms went on, the worse it became.
I was also experiencing some amounts of dizziness, sometimes ready to keel over. Lack of fuel? No, I had planned my race nutrition and hydration adequately along the aid stations with my own proven hydration and food, so I can’t put it down to that. Just a fatigue that was overwhelming… can’t really say that I have ever felt this racing…
By now, at the turn around point on the highway, I was toughing it out, my right foot sending pain that seemed to weaken my leg and my left leg compensating for it. At KM 18, I was slowing down, my heart rate slowed right down to recovery pace.
At this point, with the dizziness and leg /foot pain I decided to keep on to make it back to KM 25 where my wife was waiting with my Asics trainers.
This was the “plan B” that I had devised: If I felt that the Vibram five fingers were to uncomfortable to run with, then I would change over to running trainers at KM 25 and try to catch upon lost time.
It took me over 40 minutes to “run” the 7kms to KM 25. It seemed an eternity! I spotted my wife, went over to put on the Asics, and as I sat on the ground, I knew I wasn’t getting up any time soon.
I took of the right V.F.F and my toes were purple, white and shriveled, even some parts of the toes were blue with bruises (or was it the dye from the Vibrams(?!), and low and behold; the new skin on my foot sole had indeed cracked open due to whatever…and was not a pretty sight… I guess my feet are just not made for V.F.F’s!
In the weakened state I was, I decided to call it a day, probably due to the fact that I couldn’t get up anymore without my wife helping me, but more so due to the fact that this was just not painful fun, it was painful misery, of no benefit to carry on in such a state.
It was not an easy decision to take, my first DNF since ever in my running history…that’s hard to swallow, double hard when I know that a lot of people that look to me for an example would probably be quite disappointed… but with business obligations during the week, I really couldn’t afford to do risk my health and do otherwise.
As I limped back to the hotel, I slowly overcame part of my disappointment and only then realized that even the best pros have DNF’S, maybe more than my new unique one only DNF of all my racing history! And well, I had learnt a valuable lesson, which is always worth its weight in gold. And I had my loving wife there to cheer me up and support me, so in all, it was quite a day!
The aftermath: Pre race nutrition and the raw food diet; Since becoming raw (at about 95%) since October last year, six months ago, from one day to the next, (which in itself is a pretty drastic change), I have lost nearly 10 kilos in weight, I think mostly in muscle mass (from 72 kgs down to 63kgs).
Already having a low 7% body fat back then, and following a vegan regimen, I was already quite lean and cut, with no need to loose any more weight.
This it was, I was advised, one of the natural “by products” of going raw. I was informed that I would put it back on within a few months. I am still waiting!
I think that this may be one of the contributing factors of my illness the ten days before the race, a general weakness and upset stomachs due to a mainly fruit and leafy vegetable based diet with a lot of fresh sprouted seeds and grains as a protein provider, (but maybe not enough protein or healthy fats…)
80/10/10: I stuck in as much as practically possible to the 80/10/10 regimen, changing to 75/15/10 in the last few weeks, as I felt that my protein intake was not sufficient, due to my continuing weight loss. Also as one with a very high metabolism, I was becoming hungry very rapidly, even with eating fresh organic fruit all day long…particularly bananas!
In reviewing this, I think that one should adopt these type of regimens to ones self. By that I mean, that no one is the same, and no one diet, regimen, however it is called, will fit all. Sure, proven regimens like the 80/10/10 do work…for certain people. But following it blindly, ignoring what your body is telling you is a recipe for failure.
With out wanting to take anything away from the “raw food gurus” such as Doug Graham etc, I do believe that their advice should be followed by adopting it to your needs, and not with belief that it is the best thing and only thing that can and will work.
My lesson learnt: Listen to your body, experiment and find what works for you and not just for some list of famous celebs and achieving athletes… how many people do not succeed on that type of regimen are figures that do not make the headlines of their books and websites.
Vibram Five Fingers: I
n these “shoes” I always felt comfortable and really felt my running easy, with as you may have read; a lighter feeling of running and a natural landing of the feet, midfoot, underneath the center of mass.
However the downside is; however lightly on your feet, it is the impact that you experience over time that counts.
On short runs on the tarmac, it is sustainable. A short ten km run, I reckon that these are the deal, even for a fast half marathon, depending on the surface. Great for track running, especially for intervals.
However, in the long haul, on a road, unless you have a lot of experience road running bare foot or in the V.F.F’s then I would recommend a long learning curve and gradual progression to toughen up the soles of the feet and build up the progression of sustainability in running with the V.F.F’s over long distance.
But I still say, that I think that they are great! One day I will be worthy to run a marathon with them!
Lesson learnt: Respect the natural law of gradual progression!
ChiRunning; Without a doubt, ChiRunning is the best technique ever. Had I been coming down on my heel, or fore foot, and then pushing off to advance, then I never would’ve lasted so far.
Concerning training less to run more; I believe that someone who has a lot of experience in distance ChiRunning, then if you can keep holding the ChiRunning technique always, over marathon or longer distance, then yes, this is the best way to go. However you must be able to hold that technique in good form for the whole distance at whatever speed you are competing at. I think that this is where I went wrong.
Other than marathons after just completed simultaneously a 3.8 km swim then a 180 km bike, I have not done a marathon by itself since 1990. Since then, and more so, since adopting ChiRunning in 2005, all my runs, (competition and training runs) were mostly 10kms and several half marathon distances.
So I would now like to precise that you do need experience in successfully ChiRunning marathons, to hold the ChiRunning technique over such a distance, in order to later, be able to train less.
My lesson learnt: Don’t take for granted the need to practice new technique at the distance of the intended competiton
So what now? Put all the above lessons together and start out again. Only a fool doesn’t use his/her mistakes to learn and advance in life, so now is the time to see if I am that fool!
Have a great day!
Yours (still) in Raw Food and Chi
J-R Campion 
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