Bintan 70.3 Wrap up

So Bintan 70.3 is done and semi-dusted. It did not go well.

In fact it went in a DNF kind of way. First DNF in a long time actually, which I guess is a good thing. I have to say though that this is probably the happiest I have ever been with a DNF. 

The reason for my unexpected jubilance is because of the why behind my withdrawal. I withdrew because throughout the day I kept having persistent chest pain and shortness of breath. It hit me first at the end of the swim and then hit me some more in the first 20km of the bike, such that I was questioning the wisdom of continuing. It calmed down though and I got through the rest of the bike feeling okay. Feeling good in fact. Once I was on the run though the chest pain came back and just kept on coming. After about 3km I eased right back and it went away. But then hit again at the end of the 1st lap. It was at that point that I decided that racing with chest pain really wasn't the wisest choice and that there are some forms of pain which you are not supposed to 'push through'. I pulled the pin then and headed to the medical tent, where I spent the next hour under observation. It is a decision that I have not regretted for an instant. 

The chest pain thing is not new, but the severity with which it hit me today is. I have a bit of an erratic heart beat, which actually isn't unusual for an endurance athlete. Sometimes when my heart skips a beat I get a bit of pain and tightness in the chest. Once again, not that unusual from what I have heard. I have used the fact that it isn't unusual to ignore the pain for a year or so now. It is the athlete way after all. There isn't anything wrong unless you admit it. In the last year the pain hasn't usually been that bad, perhaps hitting me once or twice in a race. It has occurred to me that it probably isn't a good thing, but the effects have been minimal so I have pushed on. Lately though it has been getting worse, hitting at least once per training session. More if I am running. It is a symptom of one of the more dangerous sides of our sport that training and racing with chest pain seemed like a good idea in the first place. The good old 'finish at any cost' mentality. If anything the race today was probably a bit of a wake up call that ignoring this may not be the wisest course of action. 

I am not particularly sure what is wrong, or if anything is. When I had an ECG last year it picked up the erratic heart beat but nothing else unusual. I have since come to realise that the testing probably needs to be done under strain, since that is when the pain is worst. Anyway, whatever the issue is (if anything) I know that racing with the pain the way it was really wasn't a good idea. Whatever normal is, that wasn't it.

As I was pulling out I ran through all the usual things in my head. I would have come all this way for nothing. Raced over three hours for nothing. Explain to people that I got a DNF. At the time I was sitting in 7th place and I was going to give that up. All those things occurred to me as I stepped off the course. However, what also occurred to me is a promise I have made to my wife not to hurt myself, or worse, in the name of a sport. I have ended up in hospital after races before and she doesn't want to have to go through that again (nor do I actually). In the end that promise is why I stopped today.