Joroinen 1/2 Ironman SM

How do you explain quiting a race while still in a position to win? I don't expect most people to understand this because it is not a normal decision to make. However, when you consider the whole picture, this was the only option I was given at the Joroinen 1/2 Ironman Finnish championships.

Starting the race was even a big question as late as two days before the Saturday race. I had three main things to consider with the race: 1) my daughter was born only one week ago and I did not want to leave her and Emilia at home 2) the last 3 weeks I had knee pain from ITB syndrome, which had stopped me from running at all 3) the last month my training had been very poor because of a new job, a baby coming, and the knee problem. So understandably it was a big question if starting Joroinen was even a good idea.

But after Emilia and I decided it would be ok to travel with our little one, I decided to accept the risk that my knee might not work during the run. This was an important race to me even if I was not properly prepared. I really wanted to show I was capable of winning the national championships after last year's 2nd place. It would have been an honour to take the top spot of the podium in my adopted country's national championships.

The knee pain I had been dealing with was the worst kind. It was not possible to run through this kind of an injury because it gets worse every step and eventually the knee will stop moving completely. I had the same injury three years ago when trying to run my first marathon. I made the mistake then of running through the pain and I paid for it dearly with a mandatory 6 month vacation from any running. I knew better this time that stopping when it started to hurt was the only option if I wanted to race again this season. And with Antwerp Ironman 70.3 only three weeks away, I needed to keep this knee working.

Starting the race I knew there was a chance the pain would return, but I decided to try my best anyways. From the beginning of the swim I had a good feeling and quickly fought to the front of the field and settled into a rhythm. After lap 1 of 2, I was about 5th place and within striking distance of a few more. By the end of the swim I came out in about 4th place with my coach Mika Luoto, and made a fast transition onto the bike.

I knew the bike was my chance to get out in front, so I quickly settled into a fast tempo and began to pull back time on the early leaders of Jarmo Hast and Marko Törmänen. Unfortunately for Törmänen, a flat rear tire ended his race about at about 30kms. And by km 50 I had past Hast for the lead. I continued to push hard to the end of the bike to get as big a lead as possible over the chasing DRAFT GROUP.

Once on the run, I felt relatively ok, but awkward also because of not running at all for almost three weeks prior to the event. I started very slowly to allow my body a chance to warm up to running again. Then at the start of lap two began to feel the pain returning to my knee. I tried to keep relaxed in the hopes it would go away, but it was a losing battle. My knee was already locking by km 8 of the run, so I stopped to put my knee strap on in the hopes it would stabilize the problem. Unfortunately, two kms later when coming through the lap/finish area, the pain was getting to the point it would cause long term damage if I continued. At that point I still had a small lead over Hast, but I knew I could not run any more with this problem quickly developing.

I pulled to the side and took my number off. Game over.

I know I made the right decision to stop the race. Sacrificing my health and possible chances to race well in Antwerp was not worth it. I regret not being able challenge Hast for the win, but there will always be another chance. Plus with my current running fitness it would have been tough to out run Hast who is a well established Olympic distance racer.

The only bad taste left from this experience was with a few other people's comments regarding my withdrawal from the race. Some saw me stopping only because I was getting caught by Hast. This was simply not the case. But I can understand why it may have looked that way. I stopped just before the start of another 5km lap. I was not going to damage my knee for another 5km just so people wouldn't think badly of my decision to drop out.

I proved I am capable of leading after the bike and now need to focus on getting my running to function like it should so I can compete for the overall victory. I have no doubt that given proper training and injury free time, I am can race at the highest level.

I want to thank the organizers of the Joroinen race for putting together an amazing event. I will be back next year and hope to put on a good show for you!

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post. I try to write more soon and will try to write a little less...

Best,
Darby